AWESOME FACTS ABOUT EVERYTHING CXXXII

1. "Because it's there" - one of the most famous quotations of all time, is incorrectly attributed to Edmund Hillary. Hillary and his Tibetan mountaineer guide Tenzing Norgay were indeed the first (documented) men to reach the summit of Mt. Everest - on May 29, 1953. But it was a century ago - in 1923 - in answer to a reporter's  question about why anyone would want to climb Mt. Everest, that George Mallory replied, "Because it's there." Mallory, a famed British mountaineer, and his companion, Andrew "Sandy" Irvine, were lost on Mallory's third expedition to reach the summit in 1924. Mallory's remains were discovered on the North Face in 1999. Irvine's body has not been found. It is disputed (and hotly debated) whether Mallory and Irvine made it to the summit in 1924. Edmund Hillary did leave us with a quote of his own: "It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." 

2. If you have $1.19 in 3 quarters, 4 dimes, and 4 pennies, you have the largest number of coins that can't make change for a dollar.

3. Giraffes have 7 vertebrae - the same as humans.

4. Charles Darwin had 10 children.

5. John Hanson served as the first president of the original United States Government under the Articles of Confederation in 1781. George Washington became our first President in 1789 - under the Constitution.

6. The expression, "Can't hold a candle to" comes from the literal task of a skilled tradesman's apprentice.

7. The "bird in the hand" of  the proverb was a preying falcon - more valuable than its prey. 

8. The expression "acid test" refers to a test used by miners in the California Gold Rush.

9. The word "sacked" - meaning fired form a job - refers to tradesmen who would carry their own  tools with them in a sack when they were dismissed or no longer needed at a job.

10. The average IKEA store is 300,000 square feet - the size of 5 football fields.