Fact O' The Day

[Krandall]

'The first-ever text message read "Happy Christmas."'


Developed as a French-German telecom collaboration in the 1980s, SMS ("Short Message Service") had little initial support on most phones, partially because companies weren't sure what to charge and whether or not messaging should be allowed across subscribers. Neil Papworth, the test engineer who sent the text (alternatively reported as "Happy Christmas" and "Merry Christmas") in 1992, had to type on a PC in a development lab to send the message to a Vodafone colleague's phone.

[Krandall]

'The center of the Milky Way contains the same chemical compound that gives raspberries their taste.'

Astronomers searching for evidence of amino acids in space were investigating Sagittarius B -- the molecular cloud near the center of the galaxy -- when they instead discovered ethyl formate, a chemical that smells of rum and is responsible for the taste of raspberries. The astronomers, who were working from the IRAM telescope in the Spanish Sierra Nevada, also discovered the presence of propyl cyanide/butyronitrile (which is, conversely, highly toxic).

[disco]

'The center of the Milky Way contains the same chemical compound that gives raspberries their taste.'

Astronomers searching for evidence of amino acids in space were investigating Sagittarius B -- the molecular cloud near the center of the galaxy -- when they instead discovered ethyl formate, a chemical that smells of rum and is responsible for the taste of raspberries. The astronomers, who were working from the IRAM telescope in the Spanish Sierra Nevada, also discovered the presence of propyl cyanide/butyronitrile (which is, conversely, highly toxic).

I was trying to figure out what a chocolate bar had to do with astronomy.     I couldn't make the connection.  I just woke up, honest!

[Krandall]

damn kids....

[Colorado700R]

'The center of the Milky Way contains the same chemical compound that gives raspberries their taste.'

Astronomers searching for evidence of amino acids in space were investigating Sagittarius B -- the molecular cloud near the center of the galaxy -- when they instead discovered ethyl formate, a chemical that smells of rum and is responsible for the taste of raspberries. The astronomers, who were working from the IRAM telescope in the Spanish Sierra Nevada, also discovered the presence of propyl cyanide/butyronitrile (which is, conversely, highly toxic).

I was trying to figure out what a chocolate bar had to do with astronomy.     I couldn't make the connection.  I just woke up, honest!

Holy Crap Dan!!!  We really need to get you out of Texas

[disco]

   I just sat down with my coffee and was still waking up.

[Krandall]

'The world's most precise clock is accurate to within a second over 3.7 billion years.'


The idea of the atomic clock has been around for over a hundred years, and in practice such clocks have used cesium-133 for the past half-century (accurate to around 2 nanoseconds per day). The NIST physics lab in Boulder, Colorado has recently developed a quantum logic clock that detects the state of an aluminum ion, and is over 30 times as accurate as the cesium clock standard. In practical terms, a more accurate clock could have wide-ranging applications in everything from relativity experiments to the functionality of GPS.

[Krandall]

'The fastest speed ever traveled by human beings is nearly 25,000 miles per hour.'

Apollo 10, which was essentially a practice run for the Apollo 11 moon landing, returned to Earth on May 26th, 1969. During reentry, the command module hit a velocity of 24,791 miles per hour (39,897 km/h), according to Guinness World Records. The Apollo 10 mission report's own estimate is actually slightly faster (24,816 mph).

[Colorado700R]

"They've gone to plaid!"

[Peelz]

"Ludicrous speeed, GO!!!"

[Krandall]

'Edison helped develop the electric chair to demonstrate the comparative safety of DC over AC.'


After Nikola Tesla went to work for George Westinghouse in the development of AC devices, Thomas Edison (who was in the process of promoting direct current, and in competition with Westinghouse and Tesla) hired an employee to help develop the first electric chair, relying on alternating current in order to demonstrate that it was more dangerous than DC. The first-ever electric chair execution took place in 1890, and was particularly gruesome (the condemned man had to be electrocuted twice, over a prolonged period, until he finally died).

[disco]

Did a quick Louggle Search  and electric chair apparently uses around 2000 volts and 7-12 amps.

[Krandall]

'Calvin Coolidge owned a legion of unusual pets, including a lion named Tax Reduction.'


Coolidge and his wife owned several cats and dogs, a raccoon that was apparently sent to the White House to be eaten one Thanksgiving but was instead named Rebecca and kept, a wallaby, a duiker (small African antelope), and two lion cubs (Tax Reduction's partner was named Budget Bureau). As many of these pets simply arrived at the White House, Coolidge wound up sending most to the zoo, though he kept a chow chow named Tiny Tim.

[Krandall]

'The world's largest crossword puzzle covers the side of a building in Ukraine.'


A residential tower in Ivov, Ukraine is adorned with a 100-foot-tall pattern of large interlocking squares, some blanked out, the rest seemingly bare during the daytime. The questions for the puzzle are located around the city in public places of interest, and at night, the crossword squares are illuminated and the answers written on them become visible.

[Krandall]

'Julius Caesar was once captured by pirates.'


Years before his dictatorship, Caesar was sailing across the Aegean Sea when his ship was boarded by pirates. The pirates intended to ransom him for 20 talents of silver, at which Caesar laughed, commented that they didn't know whom they'd captured, and recommended they ask for 50. While the pirates waited for their ransom money, Caesar seemed entirely unconcerned with the situation and jovially remarked that he would have them all executed. Once free, Caesar raised a fleet, hunted the pirates down and had them crucified.