AWESOME FACTS ABOUT EVERYTHING CXXXI

1. "Nessun Dorma", one of the greatest tenor arias ever written, has a surprising story behind it. It is from the opera "Turandot" by Giacomo Puccini. Short version: Princess Turandot is a a sadistic psychopath who delights in murdering her many suitors. Handsome Prince Calaf has rightfully won her hand by correctly answering her three riddles (See TURANDOT - posted August 5, 2024 under Riddles). Calaf has not revealed his name, and in a grand gesture allows the Princess to get out of the marriage if she can guess his name. The Princess then declares, "Nessun Dorma" - None shall sleep - that is, until someone can find out the Prince's name - so she can then kill him, like the others. By the way, she also tells her subjects that she will kill every one of them if they can't find out the name. Does her attitude put off the Prince? Nope. He loves her all the more and then echoes her words when he sings the celebrated aria. Confident that he will win her hand in the morning, the climactic top note at the end (high B) appears on the word "vincero" - which literally means, "I will win."

"Nessun Dorma" was the signature aria of the great Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti. It is often sung at sports events and there are few who can deny its emotional and heroic power.

2. Jack St. Clair Kilby invented the integrated circuit while working for Texas Instruments in 1958. With Robert Noyce, who worked for Fairchild Semiconductor, they invented the microchip in 1959. 

3. A butt is a unit of measure for wine, equal to 126 gallons.

4. Dover, Delaware was founded by William Penn in 1683.

5. Three-fourths of all known chemical elements are metals

6. A phillumenist is a collector of matchbooks, match boxes, and related items. 

7. 40,000 tons of space dust settles on the Earth every year.

8. The Swanson Company had 260 tons of turkey left over after Thanksgiving in 1953. They packaged it into aluminum-sectioned tins with peas and potatoes, and the frozen TV dinner was born.

9. Rapping isn't so new. Flyting, a contest consisting of the exchange of insults between two parties, often conducted in verse, was a popular form of entertainment in Scotland in the 15th and  16th centuries.