UK group The Tornadoes' hit single "Telstar" was the first UK single to reach Number 1 in the USA on December 22, 1962. This was more than a year before the Fab Four made it to Number 1 in the USA with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" on February 1, 1964.

An alternative to the outdated slang expression “cat’s pajamas” was “cat’s meow”. Both terms meant that someone or something was wonderful or remarkable.

In 1811, Louisiana was the first state in the U.S. to declare, by statute, English as its official language. It would be 109 years before a second state in the U.S. a " Nebraska a " would issue a constitutional amendment to make English the official state idiom there.

Russian submarine designers are building military submarines out of concrete. Because concrete becomes stronger under high pressure, "C-subs" could settle down to the bottom in very deep water and wait for enemy ships to pass overhead. Concrete would not show up on sonar displays (it looks just like sand or rocks), so the passing ships would not...Read more

The first footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater (now Mann's Chinese Theater), were made by Norma Talmadge in 1927. Legend has it that she accidentally stepped in wet concrete outside the building. Since then, over 180 stars have been immortalized, along with their hands and feet and even noses

Inventor Gail Borden, Jr. invented condensed milk in the 1850s and later the popular Lazy Susan table aid, but he struck out with one other invention: the poorly-received "meat biscuit."

Americans consume more than 10 billion bowls of soup each year.

A jet or turbo-jet powered aircraft uses more fuel flying at 25,000 feet than 30,000 feet. The higher it flies, the thinner the atmosphere and the less atmospheric resistance it must buck.

According to the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association, a tennis ball is supposed to bounce between 53 and 58 inches when it is dropped on concrete from a height of 100 inches. The concrete surface should be 4 inches thick.

Chocolate has over 500 flavor components, more than twice the amount found in strawberry and vanilla.

Oddly, no term existed for "homosexuality" in ancient Greece -- there were only a variety of expressions referring to specific homosexual roles. Experts find this baffling, as the old Greek culture regarded male/male love in the highest regard. According to several linguists, the word "homosexual" was not coined until 1869 by the Hungarian ...Read more

The Coast Guard Academy in July of 1976 was the first U.S. service academy to admit women.

Only about 30 percent of teenage males consistently apply sun protection lotion when going poolside, compared to 46 percent of female teens.

In many countries, it is the custom to wish friends a "Happy Birthday" on January 1st, rather than a "Happy New Year." This day is nicknamed "Everyman's Birthday," and is considered the day when everyone becomes a year older, whether it's their actual day of birth or not. Similarly, this practice is observed in horse racing. No matter when a ...Read more

After more than a century as a dessert for royalty alone, ice cream was made available to the general public for the first time at Café Procope, the first café in Paris, in 1670.

The heart beats faster during a brisk walk or heated argument than during sexual intercourse.

You can tell the sex of a horse by its teeth. Most males have 40, females have 36.

The color of the blood of an octopus is bluish-green.

The country with the most post offices is India with over 152,792, compared with just over 38,000 in the United States.

Until 1796, there was a state in the United States called Franklin. Today it is known as Tennessee.