The British slang for white-collar worker is "black-coat worker."

Since the 1980s, Birkenstock footwear has become popular among medical professionals (e.g. dentists, nurses) and others who work on their feet. In Germany, the sandals are most often used as houseslippers, but in the United States they have become a part of everyday clothing from professionals to blue collar workers, even to the entertainment ...Read more

Louis Pasteur, whose work on wine, vinegar, and beer led to pasteurization, had an obsessive fear of dirt and infection. He refused to shake hands, and he carefully wiped plate and glass before dining.

Following the second flag raising, Rosenthal had the Marines of Easy Company pose for a group shot, which he called the "gung-ho" shot. A few days later he was asked if he had posed the photo. Thinking the questioner was referring to the 'gung-ho' picture, he replied "Sure." As a result of this , Rosenthal has repeatedly been accused of having ...Read more

Bugs Bunny was popular during the World War II years because of his bombastic attitude, and began receiving special star billing in his cartoons by 1943. Like Disney and Famous Studios had been doing, Warners put Bugs in opposition to the time's biggest enemies: Adolf Hitler, Herman Goering, and the Japanese. The infamous 1944 short Bugs ...Read more

Walter Brennan started out in films as a stuntman. He began playing old men at age 32 after his teeth were knocked out in a mob scene.

In the state of Queensland, Australia, it is still constitutional law that all pubs (hotel/bar) must have a railing outside for patrons to tie up their horse.

The Pac Man video arcade game featured colored ghosts named Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde.

Elizabeth Taylor was seriously considered for the lead role of Nurse Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical South Pacific. Taylor auditioned for composer Richard Rodgers, but she was so nervous that her normally sweet voice turned raspy -- she lost the part

A strict feast is observed for 24 hours before Christmas Eve, and is followed by a celebration meal, in which a light Milanese cake called panetoni features as well as chocolate. Presents and empty boxes, are drawn from the Urn of Fate - lucky dip, which always contains one gift per person. By twilight, candles are lighted around the family ...Read more

That was the year the famous slogan, "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand" debuted with M&M's first TV commercials.

The weight of the Sun is two billion billion billion tons, about 333,420 times that of the Earth.

Before 1850, golf balls were made of leather and were stuffed with feathers.

Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, is home to the largest mustard museum in the world, housing 1,493 different varieties from Argentina to Switzerland and 48 of the U.S. states. Of yellow mustard alone, the museum has about 200 varieties.

William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) was the first U.S. president to die while in office. At 32 days, he also had the shortest term in office.

Pigs, dogs, and some other animals can taste water, but people cannot. Humans don't actually taste the water, they taste the chemicals and impurities in the water.

When Orville and Wilbur Wright were children, their father brought them a rubber-band-powered flying toy called a "bat." The brothers credited this toy with getting them interested in flight.

Scientists at Oxford University's Imperial Cancer Research Fund found that people who eat fresh fruit daily had 24 percent fewer heart attacks and 32 percent fewer strokes.

An organization called SCROOGE was formed in 1979 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The acronym stands for the "Society to Curtail Ridiculous, Outrageous and Ostentatious Gift Exchanges."

The jellyfish known as a Portuguese man-of-war is actually not a single animal. Rather, it's a colony of animals--made up of several hundred individuals of the same species. The members of the colony are adapted to perform different functions. One animal may form a float, while others provide the tentacles for fishing, and yet others digest the ...Read more