Few heroes have garnered the following of the people as did John F. Kennedy. A powerful speaker, his memorable inaugural speech has left it's mark on history for all time: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Springing from Irish forefathers, Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, ...Read more

The now-extinct ancestor of the horse, eohippus, had a short neck, a pug muzzle, and stood no higher than a medium-sized dog.

The rainbow effect can be observed whenever there are water drops in the air and sunlight shining from behind the observer at a low altitude or angle. The most spectacular rainbow displays when half of the sky is still dark with draining clouds and the observer is at a spot with clear sky overhead. The rainbow effect is also commonly seen near ...Read more

Miami Beach pharmacist Benjamin Green invented the first suntan cream by cooking cocoa butter in a granite coffee pot on his wife's stove, and then testing the batch on his own head. His invention was introduced as Coppertone Suntan Cream in 1944.

You may not have a choice, as the average chocolate bar in the U.S. contains at least 8 pieces of an insect in it. Harvesting of the cacao beans occurs in the tropical countries of South America with low sanitation levels. Cacao tree beans are cut and piled in the farmer's field where they ferment for 6 days. During this process, children and ...Read more

There are more 25,000 McDonald's restaurants in over 115 countries. McDonald's has actually been remarkably responsive to the local cultures: they offer "ayran" (a popular chilled yogurt drink) in Turkey; McLaks (a grilled salmon sandwich) in Norway, and teriyaki burgers in Japan. In New Delhi, India, where Hindus shun beef and Muslims refuse ...Read more

Postmen in Victorian England were popularly called "robins." This was because their uniforms were red. The British Post Office grew out of the carrying of royal dispatches. Red was considered a royal color, so uniforms and letter-boxes were red. Christmas cards often showed a robin delivering

Unlike most fish, electric eels cannot get enough oxygen from water. Approximately every five minutes, they must surface to breathe, or they will drown. Unlike most fish, they can swim both backwards and forwards.

Government by a woman or women is called a "gynarchy."

Mary Anne Nichols, Martha Turner, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, and Catherine Eddowes were London prostitutes who were murdered and dismembered by the notorious "Jack the Ripper" in the autumn of 1888. The perpetrator of these chilling atrocities was never found, although many theories as to

In Armenia, the traditional Christmas Eve meal consists of fried fish, lettuce, and spinach. The meal is traditionally eaten after the Christmas Eve service, in commemoration of the supper eaten by Mary on the evening before Christ's birth.

The Empire State Building in New York City has 6,400 windows.

Some lady beetle, or lady bug, colonies have been reported to contain as many as 500 gallons of beetles. A gallon of beetles contains from 72,000 to 80,000 adults.

While in New York, struggling actor William H. Macy (E.R., Fargo) worked as "voice-over talent" for commercials. His personal "biggest" ad line was that of "Secret: strong enough for a man but made for a woman."

The life expectancy of the average mockingbird is 10 years.

Jayne Mansfield decorated her "Pink Palace" by writing to 1,500 furniture and building suppliers and asking for free samples. She told the donors they could then brag that their goods were in her outlandish mansion. The pitch worked, and Jayne received over $150,000 worth of free merchandise.

In the 1850s, Ohio was the nationa (tm)s largest wine producer. Although its remaining 3,000 acres of vineyards are but a fraction of what they once were, Ohio remains the largest wine producer in the Midwest.

Margaret Mitchell, who wrote Gone With the Wind, never wrote a book before that, and never wrote a book after that. Her original title for the book was Tomorrow Is Another Day; her publisher changed it to Gone With the Wind. The publisher also changed the heroine's name from Pansy O'Hara to

Mechanical clocks were invented in the late Middle Ages. The length of an hour had varied prior to that, depending on the time of year.

A spider is not an insect. It is an arachnid – it has eight legs instead of six, and has no wings or antennae. The same is true of the daddy longlegs, scorpion's mite, and tick – none is technically part of the insect class.