Did you know....?

[Jnmcda0]

In this thread, post some little known, but interesting facts/trivia.

The US national anthem, called the Star-Spangled Banner, has more verses than what is sung at ceremonies and sporting events. Here is the complete song:

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Joseph Heller's famous novel "Catch-22" was almost called "Catch-18", but a book called "Mila 18" by Leon Uris was published just before Heller's book was due to be published. Heller's publisher didn't think it would be a good idea to have another book with the number 18 in the title coming out at the same time, so Heller changed the title to "Catch-22".

The Baby Ruth candy bar is not named after the baseball player Babe Ruth. Rather, it is named after President Grover Cleveland's daughter Ruth.

The first dot com internet domain was http://www.symbolics.com/

President Gerald Ford Jr. was born Leslie King Jr. His father had been abusive and he legally changed his name to that of his stepfather, Gerald Ford.

Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4th, 1826...50 years to the day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Joseph Stalin, who killed millions of his own people, was named Time magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1939 and 1942.

In 1909, census figures showed that Scottish men had the tallest average height in Europe. Due to the number of casualties in WWI, the average height of men in Scotland fell 9 inches by 1930.

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

The only two days of the year in which none of the teams of the 4 major professional American sports (MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL) play a game are the days before and after the MLB All-star game.

Charlie Chaplin once got third place in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.

[Pocketfox]

Originally Posted by Jnmcda0

Joseph Stalin, who killed millions of his own people, was named Time magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1939 and 1942.

That distinction is given to whoever most influenced the world that year, not whoever they judge "best".

1938 - Adolf Hitler
1957 - Nikita Kruschev
1966 - The Babyboomers
1982 - The Computer
2006 - You

Other interesting things I can recall from memory:

The first feature-length talkie was released in 1927, the last theatrically-released feature-length silent movie was released in 1976.

From 1934 until 1968, depiction of interracial relationships, safecracking and childbirth were forbidden in American cinema under the Hays Code.

The average Australian man is 5'10, the average Nigerian man is 5'4. The Dutch are the tallest in the world. Hilliness is inversely proportional to height, as we all suspected.

A 2007 study determined that people wearing fedoras are nearly 400% cooler than their unhatted counterparts.

The film The Road to Ruin is the most profitable film ever, getting a 10,000% return on investment.

The most shocking fact of all: Stephen King is the one who murdered John Lennon!