Category Archives: Fun Facts

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter

Catching up on the world, I just realized the first Harry Potter novel was published on June 26, 1997 in Great Britain.   The British title was Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone; we know it as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.  I never understood the reason for the change, but we and the British

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Does Cuteness Give Babies an Advantage?

It certainly seems that being handsome/pretty is an advantage for adults, but what about babies?  Can cuteness give them an evolutionary advantage? The latest research suggests yes, at the brain level, attractive infants seem to have a definite edge.  In an article on the New York magazine website (http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/06/cute-babies-have-an-evolutionary-advantage-in-life.html?) — “Cuteness in offspring is a

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Where Did “Dad” Come From?

I’ve been reading the Time magazine daily news brief in my email inbox today about the origin of the word dad.   There are several terms for father, but dad is probably the most unusual.  Where did it come from?  No one knows for sure, but the best theory is it comes from the way babies

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The Benefits of Going to the Moon.

I was listening to a podcast this morning when someone mentioned we went to the moon for political reasons.  I’m not denying there were major political ramifications, but wasn’t it more than world politics? My on-line search tuned up an article from July 25, 2014 entitled “The Continued Socioeconomic Impact of Apollo 11”.  According to

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How to Counter Violent Extremism

After the Orlando attack, you may be wondering exactly what are we doing to counter violent extremism? If you haven’t heard, there is an FBI website entitled “Don’t Be a Puppet: Pull Back the Curtain on Violent Extremism”, aimed at young people who might be leaning toward terrorist groups.   It’s like a video game,

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The Wonderful World of Color

You probably have heard of seed banks, but color banks?  I was surprised to read about just such a collection, a pigment library at Harvard,  in a recent article on the website Fastcodesign.com.  The story goes something like this — Today we have an infinite range of color choices on our computer screens.  But for

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Happy Birthday National Parks

“Keep it for your children, your children’s children, and for all who come after you.” — Theodore Roosevelt A very important birthday is coming up this summer.  The National Park Service (NPS) traces its origin to August 25, 1916,  when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act.   Today the NPS has 20,000 employees who manage

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An Upside to Nightmares?

I don’t know of anyone who thinks a nightmare can be a good experience.  It’s been a long time (fortunately) since I’ve had one, although I tend to have dreams where I either have to go somewhere or do something and I never quite make it. But if you’re unlucky enough to be haunted by

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Do You Really Know Your Doctor?

We’ve been discussing medical care a lot in this country in recent years.  But while catching up on reading over Memorial Day, I found a basic flaw in our healthcare system that everyone needs to know about.  Let’s start with a question — how well do you know your doctor? What got my attention was

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