The 250th “Did You Know…?” column!

Incredible.

I am overwhelmed with the 250th column of silly trivia that I call “Did You Know…?”

Thanks to all who have been so accepting and supportive of my column. To all of you who enjoy the trivia I place here weekly … I do this for you!

Your words of support mean the world to me, and none of this could be done without you.

(Well, you and the publisher of this newspaper, anyway.)

Don’t stop now! If the urge to write hits you, my e-mail is didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com, and I always reply quickly. Snail-mail me at P.O. Box 426, Manchester, GA 31816. Snail-mail replies take a bit longer, but you’ll get one.

The plan is to keep bringing the trivial things in life to you each week, so who knows? The 500th column could arrive in about five years or so!

It’s a goal, one that I plan to reach. (And by the way, the fifth anniversary of the column is coming up in a couple of months!)

Did you know …

… Alaska has a very low population density? The largest state by area in the country, the population density of Alaska is a mere 1.28 residents per square mile. Putting that into perspective: If the island of Manhattan, in New York City, had the same population density as Alaska, 29 people would be living on the island. (And you still wouldn’t go into Central Park at night.)

… the average American eats eight and a half pounds of pickles a year? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, that average American – whoever it is – finds dill pickles twice as popular as sweet ones. (That really puts them in a pickle, doesn’t it? Or does it put the pickle into them?)

… one of the most popular television programs in Japan was also one of the simplest? A program called Zenryoku Saka featured five minutes of footage. Each week, the show featured a different girl running up a different hill. That’s all. And it was one of the most widely-watched programs in the country. Zenryoku Saka means “Run for the Hills!” in Japanese. (More people would run if there was gold in them there hills!)

… the official name of the nation of Greece is not Greece? It’s actually the Hellenic Republic, also called Hellas or Ellada. (Now that’s what I call an identity crisis.)

… in Tokyo, you can buy a toupee for your dog? (If your dog needs a toupee, I’m not sure what advice I can give you.)

… the first arrest for marijuana took place in 1937? Samuel Caldwell (1880-1941) was arrested October 2, 1937; the day after the Marihuana Tax Act of that year went into effect. He was charged not with possession of marijuana – which was at that time legal – but with not paying the incredibly high taxes that had been imposed on it. The annual tax was $24, which was a lot of money back then, and Caldwell didn’t have it. Caldwell was sentenced to a $1,000 fine and four years’ imprisonment at hard labor. He was released in 1940 and died the following year.

… radio waves travel at the speed of light? Of course you know the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. But look at it this way: If a speaker is in front of a packed auditorium and being broadcast at the same time, his words will be heard sooner 13,000 miles away than they would be heard at the back of the auditorium. (So that means the listener out in space gets to the end of the speech first!)

… you could be guilty of gasconade? Don’t worry, you won’t go to prison for it. Gasconade is a term for extravagant boasting or bravado. (It’s also the name of a river in Missouri. Just putting it out there.)

… the first person and last person to die in the construction of the Hoover Dam were father and son? During the time of the dam’s surveying and construction, from 1921 to 1936, a total of 112 people were killed in the effort to build the dam. The first was a surveyor, John G. Tierney (1885-1921), who drowned in the Colorado River on December 20, 1921. Exactly 14 years later, on December 20, 1935, Tierney’s son, Patrick (1910-1935), fell from an intake tower shortly before the dam was completed – the last person to die in the construction of Hoover Dam. (I’ve heard of “keeping it in the family,” but that’s ridiculous.)

… your liver is not really an organ? It’s classed as a gland. It is also the only part of your body that is able to regenerate itself. (With a side of onions, no doubt.)

… the average American eats at McDonald’s about 1,800 times in his or her life? (Notice, though, that they never tell you how many times that average American enjoyed it.)

… 10 human body parts have names only three letters long? They are eye, hip, arm, leg, ear, toe, jaw, rib, lip and gum. (There may be an eleventh, but this is a family newspaper.)

… it is illegal in Memphis, Tennessee, for a woman to drive a car by herself? Sure, it’s a silly law, no longer enforced, but the law states that a man must walk or run in front of the vehicle, waving a red flag to warn approaching pedestrians and other motorists. (And the problem with this is…?)

… the weasel and the ermine are the same animal? The animal’s coat changes with the seasons. In winter, the animal’s fur is white, and it’s called an ermine; in summer, its brown coat leads it to be called a weasel. Either way, it’s the same animal. (No way it could weasel out of that.)

Now … you know!

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