Did You Know? Articles at Halfvalue.com

Did you know...

...that the natural history of Australia began over 2,500 million years ago when some of the world's oldest rocks formed the Yilgarn craton? (pictured)
...that Raymond Monvoisin was a French painter and Legion of Honor recipient invited by the Chilean government to establish an Academy of Painting in Santiago, and who also dabbled in mining and ranching?
...that Onesimos Nesib, who translated the Bible into Oromo, was accused of blasphemy for delivering sermons in his native language and not Amharic, the language of the local Orthodox priests?
...that, according to Guinness World Records, carbon subnitride burns with the hottest flame of any chemical, at 5260 K (4987 °C, 9008 °F)?
...that Roy Smeck's virtuoso ukulele performance in the 1926 sound film "His Pastimes" sealed his reputation as "Wizard of the Strings"?

...that the Fremantle Arts Centre (pictured) was originally known as the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum and was built between 1861 and 1868 by British convicts?
...that the Christii fly primarily lives under the bark of smaller branches and twigs of dead aspen trees?
...that Russian poet and dissident Vadim Delaunay was a descendant of the the last governor of the Bastille, marquis Bernard-René de Launay?
...that the Banksia series Spicigerae is a taxonomic series of Banksia characterized by cylindrical inflorescences?
...that South African trade union legislation uses the term "conscientious objector" to refer to workers who do not want to join unions on the basis of personal beliefs?
...that Drei Chinesen mit dem Kontrabass is one of the most popular German children's songs?

...that the 18th-century Cabañas Hospital (pictured) in Guadalajara was built on one level, so as to facilitate the movement of the sick, the aged, and children?
...that in 1935, English cricketer Betty Snowball scored 189 runs against New Zealand in the fourth ever women's Test match, setting a world record that was not beaten for over 50 years?
...that during the Beslan school hostage crisis 74-year-old school teacher Yanis Kanidis refused to leave his students and ultimately died to save their lives?
...that the Christmas carol "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella" was originally written as dance music for French nobility?
... that Lost and Found in Translation, an episode of Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, marks the first use of footage of Japanese Super Sentai actors in a Power Rangers series?
...that on arrival at Buckingham Palace, all 3,000 guests to the Children's Party at the Palace received a hamper with snacks put together by Jamie Oliver?

...that Tortuguero National Park (pictured) is the third-most visited park in Costa Rica, despite the fact that it can only be reached by airplane or boat?
...that Nicole Manske of Speed Channel and auto racer Danica Patrick were on the same cheerleading squad at their high school in Rockton, Illinois?
...that Margherita Gonzaga d'Este ran her own balletto delle donne in the late 16th century, comprised entirely of women who frequently cross-dressed?
...that Hispanics have participated in every conflict in which the United States has been involved, and over forty Hispanics have been awarded the Medal of Honor?
...that Other Songs, an award winning novel by Jacek Dukaj, a Polish science fiction writer, describes a unique world in which the ideas of Aristotle and Hegel replace the laws of physics?
...that Olympic pair skating champions Andrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet refused to defend their title at the 1936 Winter Olympics because Nazi Germany was hosting the Games?

...that Lake Washington, the main reservoir for Newburgh, New York, holds enough water to supply the city for a year?
...that SS Rajputana, a P&O liner traveling between Plymouth, England and Lahore, British India, was converted into a cruiser and eventually sunk by a German U-boat west of Iceland?
...that at the end of his 13-match first class cricket career, John Howarth had a batting average of 0.00, setting a new world record and leading to him being dubbed one of cricket's worst batsmen?
...that although the presence of Armenians in Bulgaria dates to the Early Middle Ages, their large-scale emigration to the country only began in the 19th century?
...that P57, a steroidal glycoside isolated from the African cactiform Hoodia gordonii, is believed to be the active chemical constituent responsible for the appetite suppressant activity of Hoodia extracts?
...that some historians claim that Russian engineer Fyodor Pirotsky built the world's first electric tramway?

...that the Monastery of Alcobaça, founded in 1153, includes the first Gothic buildings built in Portugal?
...that in 2003 Erin Crocker became the first woman to qualify for the Knoxville Nationals sprint car race?
...that in the Battle of Wgierska Górka, four unfinished and undermanned Polish bunkers held out against an assault of an entire German division for two days and two nights?
...that British paediatrician June Lloyd, Baroness Lloyd of Highbury is commemorated in the coat of arms of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, as a supporter holding a staff of Aesculapius entwined with a double helix rather than the traditional snake?
...that the Bangladesh Nazrul Sena, founded upon the philosophy of Kazi Nazrul Islam, pioneered the introduction of computer science and multimedia education for children at the kindergarten level in Bangladesh?

...that on September 21, 1995, statues of the Hindu pantheon (Ganesha pictured) in countries around the world were reported to be drinking spoonfuls of milk offered to them by worshippers?
...that the pellets regurgitated by some predatory bird species have been found to contain bird bands once attached to their prey?
... that the WWE Video Library has an archive of over 75,000 hours of footage dating back more than fifty years, representing a very significant portion of the visual history of modern professional wrestling?
... that Luís Alves de Lima e Silva was a Brazilian military hero praised for his victories in the War of the Triple Alliance, and that his birthday is celebrated annually as Dia do Soldado?

...that the Mafra National Palace (pictured) was built during the reign of King John V of Portugal, in consequence of a vow he made, promising to build a convent if his wife, the Queen Mary Anne of Austria, gave him descendants?
...that in 1883, Southern Pacific Railroad tried to block the California Southern Railroad from installing a level junction across their tracks in Colton, California, by moving a locomotive slowly back and forth at the intersection point?
...that after Harry Ashmore won the Pulitzer Prize in 1958, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus vetoed a resolution to rename Toad Suck Ferry to Ashmore Landing on the grounds that the name change would defame a well known landing?
...that the fish Echiodon rendahli has a portion of its intestine protruding from its belly, so that while living inside sponges it can defecate outside its shelter without being exposed to outside dangers?
...that Ogyu Sorai is considered to be one of the most influential Confucian philosophers in Japan during the Tokugawa period?

...that the Brownsea Island Scout camp held by Robert Baden-Powell in 1907 was the official start of the Scout movement and will be celebrated as part of the Scouting centenary in 2007?
...that there is a pattern to the names of the class of medications called "monoclonal antibodies"?
...that there have been at least fifteen deaths at the Welsh cave Porth yr Ogof in the last twenty years, all but one in the seven-metre-deep Resurgence Pool?
...that in musique mesurée Renaissance composers attempted to bring back the musical traditions of Ancient Greece through the use of ancient meters and musical modes?
...that by using measurements of the flux of solar neutrinos within the framework of the Standard Solar Model physicists have estimated the temperature of the core of the sun to within 1%?

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