AWESOME FACTS ABOUT EVERYTHING CXLII

1. Zebras have black fur with white stripes. The cells that produce pigment, called melanocytes, are activated in the black stripes. The white stripes are areas where the melanocytes are dormant, so no pigment is produced.

2.  MIT sends out acceptance letters on Pi Day - March 14.

3. A marmot is a chonky, gregarious, burrowing rodent that gets as fat as possible in the summer and then hibernates until the next summer. 

4. Aloysius Snuffleupagus,  or Mr. Snuffleupagus,  was a character on Sesame Street, visible only to Big Bird.  He had a shoe size of 65 GGG.

5. Coffee pioneer John Arbuckle created YUBAN as the brand name for his personal mix of fresh coffees for Christmas gifts. YUBAN was an abbreviation of Yuletide Banquet.

6. The Cincinnati Red Stockings, founded in 1869 by Harry Wright, was the first totally professional baseball team, with ten salaried players. 

7. Before 1857, baseball games did not have a set number of innings, and would end when a team scored 21 runs (or had to be called for darkness). In 1857, the game was standardized to 9 innings, 9 players on the field, and 90 feet between bases. 

8. Baskin-Robbins is the world's largest chain of ice ream specialty shops. It was founded in 1945 by two brothers-in-law, Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in Glendale, California. Baskin-Robbins is synonymous with its signature "31 flavors" - a marketing concept introduced in the 1950s to highlight the idea that customers could enjoy a different flavor every day of the month. Why did they decide to start with 31 original flavors? Perhaps because the "31" is hidden in the Baskin-Robbins logo.

9. Attila the Hun demanded 3,000 pounds of black pepper from Rome in 408. In exchange, he promised to stop sacking the city.

10.  The America's Cup is a sailing (yachting) competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. The first race in 1851 was around the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom - won by the America - a 100-foot schooner from New York City. In its honor (the boat - not the country), the race was re-named the America's Cup. The owners donated the cup to the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) in 1857 for a perpetual international challenge competition. Since the 1920s, the America's Cup has been between one defending vessel and one challenging  vessel, both of which are determined by a series of elimination races. The race is usually held every three to four years.The trophy was held by the NYYC from 1857 to 1983. The NYYC defended the trophy twenty-four times in a row before being defeated by Australia. Including the 1851 victory, the NYYC's 132-year reign is the longest winning streak (in terms of time) in any sport.  It takes both good sailors and a good boat to win the race. A competitive yacht can cost $10,000,000.