AWESOME FACTS ABOUT EVERYTHING CLXIX

1. The Karnovsky family, Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, were a major influence in the early life of Louis Armstrong. They gave Louis work in their junk and coal business, welcomed him into their home, and encouraged his talent - perhaps rescuing him from the crime and poverty of their New Orleans neighborhood. They were a second family to Armstrong and he always wore a Star of David as a tribute to their kindness and moral support.

2. "Serendip" was the ancient Arabic name for the island of Sri Lanka, located in the Indian Ocean southeast of India - formerly known as Ceylon. In 1754, English essayist Horace Walpole coined the term "serendipity" to refer to "a happy and unexpected discovery." The source of his new word was a Persian story about three Princes from Serendip. 

3. "The tenth man" is a metaphor for a devil's advocate. In any group of people (9, for example), when everyone agrees, one person should take the opposing point of view - whether he agrees with it or not - so that all aspects of the situation can be considered. 

4. Gold is the most ductile metal. One ounce can be drawn into a 50-mile long wire.

5. The Snickers candy bar was named after a favorite horse of the Mars family. Frank and Ethel Mars named the new candy bar in honor of their beloved racehorse, Snickers, shortly after the horse passed away. The bar was created in Chicago and launched to be an affordable and filling treat during the Great Depression.

6. Florida has the longest coastline of any of the lower 48 states - over 1,350 miles. 

7. Although the name of the candy bar sounds like the name of the famous baseball player Babe Ruth, the Curtiss Candy Company claimed that it was named after President Grover Cleveland's daughter, Ruth Cleveland. The candy maker named the bar "Baby Ruth" in 1921, as Babe Ruth's fame was on the rise, 24 years after Cleveland had left the White House, and 17 years after his daughter, Ruth, had died. The company did not negotiate an endorsement deal with Ruth, and many saw the company's story about the origin of the name to be a way to avoid having to play the baseball player any royalties.

8. The six original Monopoly tokens were the boot, iron, thimble, cannon, top hat, and battleship.

9. The traditional New Year's Eve celebration in Spain is to eat 12 grapes - one for each month of the year - one at a time with each of the twelve bell clock strikes at midnight of December 31. The grapes must be eaten within the minute to insure prosperity for the coming year.

10.  The Statue of Liberty in New York harbor served as a lighthouse from 1886-1902.