The morality of the game must have appealed to the Victorians, who took to the game when it was published in 1892 in England. Called Snakes and Ladders, the game play was pretty much the same but some of the vices and virtues were renamed according to Victorian ideals. So Penitence, Thrift and Industry elevated a player up a ladder to squares ...Read more

The ruby, sapphire, emerald, and aquamarine are not specific minerals. The ruby is the red and the sapphire is the blue variety of corundum. An emerald is the green variety and an aquamarine is the blue variety of beryl.

Sir Isaac Brock, the hero of the War of 1812, was buried four separate times. He was first buried in a fort, then in the old Brock monument, then in a temporary grave after that monument was damaged in an explosion, and finally laid to rest under the current Brock Monument.

Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa on a piece of pinewood, 77 cm x 53 cm (30 in. x 20 7/8 in.) in the year 1506.

The seven natural wonders of the world are suggested to be Mount Everest in Nepal/Tibet; Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe; Grand Canyon in Arizona; Great Barrier Reef in Australia; the Northern Lights; Paricutin volcano in Mexico; and Rio de Janeiro Harbor in Brazil.

The venom of the Africanized honey bee is no more toxic than that of the common honey bee's.

Celebrating the New Year is a tradition that dates back nearly 4000 years. If you had lived in Mesopotamia and Babylon 4,000 years ago (c. 2000 B.C.), you probably would have celebrated the new year in mid-March, at the time of the Vernal (Spring) Equinox. If, however, you were an Egyptian, your new year began with the Autumnal Equinox and the ...Read more

Scallops are considered the safest shellfish to eat raw. Most of the danger in eating raw shellfish stems from the fact that shellfish filter large amounts of sea water to obtain nutrients. Toxins, bacteria, and viruses tend to accumulate in this filtration apparatus. The filtration apparatus in scallops is, however, discarded; only the scallop'...Read more

The history of Michelangelo's David goes back to 1464. The Operai had plans to commission a series of twelve large Old Testament sculptures and contracted Donatello's assistant, Agostino to create a sculpture of David. He only barely began to rough out the piece before quitting in 1466 and the block of marble remained neglected for twenty-five ...Read more

A survey revealed that perpetrators of violent acts on TV dramas go unpunished 73 percent of the time.

Comedienne-turned-talk-show-hostess Rosie O’Donnell reportedly took the role in the film Exit to Eden after learning that sex symbol Sharon Stone had turned it down.

Whoville is the home of the merry and warm-hearted Whos. They live just south of snowy Mount Crumpet, a steep, 10,000 foot high mountain which is home to The Grinch, a bitter, cave-dwelling creature with a heart "two sizes too small."

If a pin was heated to the same temperature as the center of the Sun, its heat would set alight everything within 60 miles of it.

In Rome, the world's first paved streets were laid out in 170 B.C. The new streets were popular as they were functional in all types of weather and were easier to keep clean, but they amplified the city's noise level.

Compressive structures (i.e. a structure that stands on its own) would be similar to those used for aerial masts. While these structures might reach the agreed altitude for space (100 km), they are unlikely to reach geostationary orbit (35,786 km). Due to the difference between sub-orbital and orbital spaceflights, additional rockets or other ...Read more

Medical grade adhesives are in the same chemical family of cyanacrylate but use a more expensive version of the glue that has butyl or octyl esters making them safer for surgical work. Medical grade super glues have been used to close wounds instead of stitches, and the potential for larger surgery use is great. The invasiveness of stitches is ...Read more

Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest Americans ever, never carried any cash. He was once put off a London train because he did not have the fare.

Because microwave ovens cook so fast, microbes can survive on the surface of the food. To counteract this problem, cover the cooking dish with another dish of glass or ceramic, not plastic. The steam that accumulates will heat the surface, thus killing any surviving microscopic critters.

Oak trees are struck by lightning more often than any other tree. It has been theorized, this is one reason that the ancient Greeks considered oak trees sacred to Zeus, god of thunder and lightning.

Only about 30 percent of teenage males consistently apply sun protection lotion when going poolside, compared to 46 percent of female teens.