Strange But True: Benjamin Franklin Turkey
By Lucie Winborne
Benjamin Franklin never actually lobbied for the turkey to become the national bird, but he did write that the bald eagle was a fowl of "bad moral character" and that the turkey was "a much more respectable bird."
The world's largest chocolate bar weighed 12,000 pounds.
While digging up stones to build a house in 1885, Australian miner George Harrison found gold ore near Johannesburg, beginning the South African gold rush.
In terms of galactic years, the sun is around 20.5 years old.
Victorian floriography, the practice of assigning codes to flowers to send messages via bouquets and arrangements, associated basil with hatred! The curious link came from the ancient Greeks, who felt basil leaves resembled the opening jaws of a basilisk.
In the 1800s, ducks were called "arsefeet," as their feet are so close to their posteriors.
Painting designs and pictures on fingernails isn't just a modern trend. It was a familiar practice with the Incas, many of whom sported eagle motifs on their nails.
One percent of people are born with a 13th rib.
To preserve the quality of the U.S. Constitution, on display in the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., its protective cases contain argon gas and are kept at 67 Fahrenheit with a relative humidity of 40%.
In the U.K., fish and chips were traditionally wrapped in old newspapers, giving the meal a unique newspaper ink flavor. The practice eventually ended for health reasons.
During the 1904 Summer Olympic Games, American athlete George Eyser won six medals in a single day, including three gold and two silver, in the vault, parallel bars and rope climbing competitions ... with a wooden prosthetic left leg.
Thought for the Day: "Try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud." -- Maya Angelou
(c) 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.