Strange But True: Flame Grilled Cologne
By Lucie Winborne
The next time you cut your yard, you can thank Edwin Bearn Budding for inventing the lawnmower in 1830. But while most inventors take pride in their creations, Budding was so concerned about what his neighbors might think of his new contrap- tion that he only tested his prototypes at night.
There are more than 12,000 species of ants.
Hall of Fame pitcher Lee Smith didn’t play baseball until he was a high school junior and, even then, just tried out to win a $10 bet. His turn to play came when his team’s star pitcher was killed in a hunting accident.
One sunflower is actually 1,000-2,000 tiny flowers held together by a base.
Have you ever dreamed of smelling like a hamburger? No? Well, you could have in 2015, thanks to Burger King Japan’s release of a limited-edition cologne called Flame Grilled ... and yes, it smelled like a Whopper.
On Jan. 1, 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt shook the hands of over 8,510 people, setting a record that lasted more than 70 years.
Sodium citrate makes any cheese into a creamy nacho cheese sauce. Curiously, its chemical formula spells out Na3C6H5O7 (NaCHO).
In England and Wales, it’s legal to con- sume alcohol on private premises from the age of five.
Gesundheit! Ever wonder why someone “blesses you” when you sneeze? The custom was introduced by Pope Gregory the Great in 590 A.D. Since sneezing could be a sign of the plague, it was considered proper to offer a potentially ill person a blessing.
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Thought for the Day: “Once I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: ‘No 3 good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.’”
- Eleanor Roosevelt