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lightbulb
  • The oldest glowing lightbulb is over 109 years old and lives in fire stations in Livermore, CA. It is known as the Centennial Light and was first switched on in 1901 and has never been switched off

newspaper
  • Less than 30% of people read an entire newspaper
  • The first newspapers were either distributed in China or in Rome where they were made out of stone or metal

nurse
  • Florence Nightingale, the most famous nurse in modern history, was only a nurse for three years of her life
  • James Derham in 1783 was a black slave who worked as a nurse, which eventually paid for his freedom. He then moved to Philadelphia and became a doctor
  • In poor countries, there is 1 psychiatric nurse to every 1,000,000 psychiatric patients
  • Nepal has the lowest ratio of nurses per capita in the world. The highest is in Finland
  • The first nursing school dates back to 250 B.C, and was founded in India
  • In olden times, male nurses were only found in organizations such as The Teutonic Knights, the Knights of Lazarus and the Knights Hospitalers (founded in 1119)

yoyo
  • In the Philippines around 1500, the Yo-Yo was a weapon. A 4 pnd stone used like a wrecking ball
  • In Tagalog, it means ‘come-come’ or ‘come back’
  • Pedro Flores, a Phillipine migrant, was the father of the yo-yo in the United States
  • California is home to the first mass produced yo-yo

tablecloth
  • Tablecloths were originally meant to serve as towels with which guests could wipe their hands and faces after dinner

words, origin
  • The word avocado comes from the Spanish word, aguacate, which in turn is derived from the Aztec word ahuacatl, meaning testicle
  • Vanilla derives its name from the Latin word for vagina
  • Gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnazein which means to “exercise naked.”

stewardess
  • A young lady named Ellen Church convinced Boeing Air Transport that her nursing skills and love of flying would qualify her to assist with the passengers and emergencies. She became the first known stewardess
  • Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.

potato
  • When potatoes were brought from South America over to Spain, it took about 200 years before it was recognized as food. (Now they can’t get their hands off it. Go figure.)

Da Vinci, Leonardo
  • Leonardo Da Vinci could also draw with one hand and write with the other
  • He ALSO wrote his notes backwards, going from right to left, just as a mental exercise.Thanx De Composed
  • He was the first to record that the number of rings in the tree trunk revealed its age and that the width between the rings indicated the annual moisture

ketchup
  • Okay, ketchup actually began in Thailand. There it was labelled “Kachiap”. (Funky? I think not. Try their sweet chicken sauce. Thumbs up.)
  • 4 tablespoons of ketchup has about the same amount of nutrition as a ripe tomato
  • Sweden is the largest spender on ketchup. $4 per capita. Australia is second at $2.50
  • The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottles was chosen because it has significant meaning for its creator an his wife


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