AWESOME FACTS ABOUT EVERYTHING CLVI

1. According to Food Industry News, the top pizza seller is Pizza Hut, followed by Domino's and Papa Johns.

2. The aptly named swift is a superb flyer. Sleeping, eating, bathing, and even mating on the wing, swifts rarely touch the ground. They are the fastest birds in level flight, with a top speed of 69 miles per hour

3. "I gotta talk to a man about a horse" is a discreet way for a man to excuse himself to go to the bathroom.  It's associated with Texans today, but its origin is murky - thought by many to have originated in the United Kingdom.

4. Blue Zones are regions of unusually high concentrations of people who live 100 years or more. Researchers have identified five main Blue Zones: 

Okinawa, Japan

Ikaria, Greece

Loma Linda, California

Sardinia, Italy

Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

People in these areas exhibit longer lifespans and lower rates of chronic diseases, often attributed to factors like diet, community, and lifestyle. 

5. Add Samuel Plimsoll (1824-98) to the list of unsung heroes.  The English politician's efforts led to the Merchant Shipping Act of 1876, ending the practice of sending to sea over-loaded and heavily insured old ships, from which the owners profited if they sank. The Plimsoll line is a reference mark locate on a ship's hull that indicates the maximum depth to which a vessel may be immersed to prevent them from being over-loaded and sinking. It is thought that Plimsoll saved the lives of thousands of sailors.

 

6. Japan's total area is about the size of California. It has 14,125 islands, 80% of them covered by mountains.

 

7. Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, was a kindergarten teacher before she began her acting career.  

8. Toto, Dorothy's dog in The Wizard of Oz, was a female cairn terrier. 

9. The colon is the monetary unit of Costa Rica, named after Christopher Columbus (Cristobal Colon in Spanish). 500 colones = 1 US dollar.

10. Pan Am was the first carrier of trans-Atlantic airmail - in 1939.