In the U.S. and France, a septillion is represented by the number 1 followed by 24 zeroes; in Great Britain and Germany, it is the number 1 followed by 42 zeroes.

Le Siecle, a French daily, produced a 9x9 grid with 3x3 sub-squares as early as 1892, but used double-digit numbers rather than the familiar 1-9. In 1895, another French daily, La France, created a puzzle that used the ...Read More

On December 2, 1942, a nuclear chain reaction was achieved for the first time under the stands of the University of Chicago’s football stadium. The first reactor measured 30 feet wide, 32 feet long, and 21.5 feet high. ...Read More

The kiwi, national bird of New Zealand, can't fly. It lives in a hole in the ground, is almost blind, and lays only one egg each year. Despite this, it has survived for more than 70 million years.

During the bubonic plague of London, the city was sealed off to avoid contamination. This meant no food was permitted in. The only people willing to trade with London were the Dutch, who left food on jetties and then would...Read More

In the TV sitcom Cheers, the legal capacity of the popular Boston bar was 75. It was shown in a notice posted over the door.