AWESOME FACTS ABOUT EVERYTHING CXXXIX

1. A beaver is a rodent.

2. Hamlet's mother's name is Gertrude.

3. Seattle-ites say, "The mountain is out." to refer to a clear day - that is, they can see Mt. Rainier.

4. The RMS Carpathia, a British passenger liner, was the only ship to rescue the survivors of the Titanic sinking in 1912. Captain Arthur Rostron heard the Titanic's distress signal and turned his ship around, dodging icebergs and floating ice sheets all along the way, to pick up 705 survivors who had been floating in lifeboats for hours in the North Atlantic Ocean.

5. Who is Merriam in the Merriam-Webster Dictionaries?

    Brothers George and Charles Merriam founded their publishing company, G & C Merriam Co. in 1831 in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1843, after Noah Webster died, the company bought the rights to An American Dictionary of the English Language from Webster's estate. All Merriam-Webster dictionaries trace their lineage to this source. 

6. Although he was born on an Indian Reservation in Prague, Oklahoma, Jim Thorpe is the name of a town in eastern Pennsylvania. The town celebrates the great athlete and Olympic champion's life and Native American heritage.

7. The Kip is the monetary unit of Laos. 1 Kip = 0.00005 of a U.S. dollar. $1 = 21,933 Kip.

8. The former motto of Google and a phrase used in its corporate code of conduct  was "Don't Be Evil". The motto was meant to encourage companies and individuals to act ethically and responsibly, putting the needs of users and customer first, and striving to make a positive impact on society and the environment. Google's motto today and the opening words of its corporate code of conduct is "Do the Right Thing."