Did You Know? Articles at Halfvalue.com

Did you know...

...that the Alexander Column (pictured) on Palace Square in Saint Petersburg, despite its weight of 600 tons, is set so nicely that no attachment to the base is required?
...that former movie actress Vera Ralston personally insulted Adolf Hitler in the 1936 Winter Olympics, and won a silver medal?
...that a circumferentor was an important tool to surveyors for mapping the North American frontier?
...that the works of Polish poet Jerzy Ficowski were banned for several years in the People's Republic of Poland, following his criticism of the government?
...that only one percent of the Key West National Wildlife Refuge is above sea level?
...that Christopher and Cosmas were two Japanese men who travelled the world's oceans with the English explorer Thomas Cavendish between 1587 and 1592?
...that Reverend William Mitchell was an Anglican missionary, and the first ordained person to provide Christian religious services in the Swan Valley area of the Swan River Colony in Australia?
...that Popeye Village, where the 1980 film Popeye was filmed, is now one of Malta's most popular tourist attractions?
...that a commission as an Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska gives authority over "all officers, seamen, tadpoles and goldfish" under one's command?
... that the Chartered Society of Designers is the world's largest and oldest chartered body of professional designers, and is unique in having designers of all disciplines?
...that the Temple Sanitarium hired the first female anesthesiologist to work in the U.S., Dr. Claudia Potter, in 1906?
...that the Ahmedabad Stock Exchange is the second oldest stock exchange in India, and first functioned under a banyan tree?
...that in the Finnish wilderness, a backpacker can spend the night in a rent-free wilderness hut?
...that the chrysargyron tax forced some Byzantine families to sell their children into slavery and prostitution?
...that Australian Olympic medal-winning swimmer Gary Chapman died in a fishing accident, after retiring from swimming to pursue this very hobby?
...that spoons, eyeglasses, and toothbrushes have been removed from stomachs using endoscopic foreign body retrieval techniques with specialized cameras?
...that in the 1930 Polish election, due to government censorship, opposition papers were reduced to using images of Nietzsche, because he resembled dictator Józef PiBsudski?
...that 19th-century German Wilhelm Hasenclever did not live to see the political party he co-founded get its present name, the Social Democratic Party of Germany?
...that Henryk ZieliDski (pictured), a modern Polish historian who studied in the underground university in his youth, died in mysterious circumstances?
...that the Byzantine Komnenian army was deployed in places as far-ranging as Italy, Hungary, and Egypt, and was instrumental in the Komnenian restoration of the empire?
...that the film Autism Every Day, though praised by many parents of autistics, has been heavily criticized by people with autism?
...that NASCAR driver Stephen Leicht, who started racing at age 7, was unable to participate in go-karting for 6 months after rupturing his spleen in an accident at age 11?
...that Heraldo Muñoz, former National Supervisor of the People's Stores under Allende, is now Chile's Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations?
...that the technique of double-balloon enteroscopy allows any position along the gastrointestinal tract to be visualized in real-time? (pictured: polyp in small intestine)
...that Pando, an aspen colony, is the oldest known living being at 80,000 years, and the heaviest at six million kilograms (6,000 tonnes)?
...that the deployment of Panjandrum, an experimental British weapon devised during World War II, invariably resulted in the random firing of dozens of cordite rockets into the air?
...that John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle inspired one of the pioneering works of British satire, and half a century later, fell down the stairs at the coronation of Queen Victoria?
...that if one of the dams of Ukraine's Dnieper River reservoirs is destroyed, it may cause radioactive contamination of the whole Black Sea area?
...that Humphrey the whale may be the most publicized Humpback whale in history, having twice wandered off his migration course into San Francisco Bay?
...that of the 27 U.S. Marines in World War II who threw themselves onto exploding grenades to save others, Richard K. Sorenson was one of only 3 to survive?
...that a zayat is a combination rest-house and religious school funded and run by Burmese Theravada Buddhists, as an act of daná (meritorious charity)?
...that the remains of Henri Huet and three other noted war photographers, shot down in their helicopter over the Ho Chi Minh trail in 1971, have never been found?
...that the EU legal doctrine of state liability was first introduced following the Italian government's failure to properly compensate laid off workers?
...that Nicholas II of Russia and his family preferred the cosy apartments of the Anichkov Palace to their official residence, Winter Palace? (Anichkov Palace in Saint Petersburg)
...that the Grand Chartophylax was considered the right arm of the Patriarch of Constantinople?
...that the scandalous tales of Aristides of Miletus are still being discussed after over two millennia, although not one word of them has survived?
...that the endangered cui-ui sucker fish was a staple of the Native American Paiute tribe for over a millennium?
... that William Lee was U.S. President George Washington's personal servant, and the only one of his slaves freed by Washington in his will?
...that bread and salt is a traditional greeting ceremony (pictured) symbolizing hospitality in Slavic countries?
...that StanisBaw Warszycki, a wealthy 17th-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth magnate, gave rise to many legends about his cruelty, and several places in Poland claim sightings of his ghost?
...that in the Penguins' Rebellion, over 800,000 Chilean high school students demanded education reforms from the government of Michelle Bachelet?
...that the victory of Alexios I Komnenos over the Pechenegs at Levounion marked a resurgence of Byzantine military power after half a century of turmoil?
...that Tropical Storm Larry caused five deaths and US$53.6 million in damage when it struck the Tabasco state of Mexico, the first landfall in the state since 1973?
...that the All Saints Church, Henley Brook, the oldest church in Western Australia, held its first service almost eight years before it was consecrated?
...that a catholicon was a purported universal remedy taken orally or rectally?
...that a cento is a poetic work composed entirely of verses taken from other authors?
...that British architect Ron Herron proposed building massive robotic walking cities in 1964?
...that the poem The Absent-Minded Beggar was written to raise money for servicemen's families during the South African War?

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