Saturday, May 28, 2011

The elections – Andrew Jackson

The first attempt of former U.S. President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), who is remembered by his nickname “Old Hickory”, to win the presidential function was during presidential election in 1824. 

Although he led in all opinion polls, at the end of the elections neither he nor the other three candidates received enough votes.

Since none of the candidates had enough votes, the House of Representatives decided the election, whose speaker Henry Clay was also a candidate for president. To make this decision, Clay withdraw his nomination (the number of votes he won placed him at forth place so he didn’t had any chance to win).

Excluded from the race, Clay used his influence to bring John Adams on the presidential position. In exchange, Adams appointed Clay as Secretary of State.

For Jackson, this was enough to accuse them of conspiracy against him. The next four years, the “Old Hickory” and his supporters led a campaign in which they accused the President of corruption and fraud.

This had an effect on the next election, in 1828, which are remembered for vicious tricks of both electoral teams.

During that campaign, Jackson was accused to be a multiple murderer, his wife Rachel of bigamy, and Adams of selling American virgins to the Russian emperor. 

In any way, Andrew Jackson won that elections, he rewarded his most loyal supporters with positions in the cabinet and unsuccessfully tried to change the electoral law because of which he lost the previous elections.
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Zuma Fact: #166: Books on the shelf!

Ten books on one shelf can be arranged in 3,628,800 ways.
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Cool – Charles Dickens

The phrase "cool" is widely spread among young people everywhere in the world today.  However, not many people know that among the first who used such phrase, in terms of leaving an impression on those who are present, was Charles Dickens, in 1837.

In his novel “The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club” (also known as The Pickwick Papers), Dickens described a scene in which a coachman is holding the reins of a horse with one hand, a remarkable feat, and then, with ease, with his other hand takes out a handkerchief from his pocket, showing others how "cool" he is.

However, this phrase didn’t spread among the young until the middle of the last century. From then and on it spread mostly thanks to jazz, Charlie Parker and the movie "West Side Story" in which members of the gang the “Jets" were so "cool”...
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Zuma Fact: #165: A year on Mercury, Venus and Mars!

One year on Mercury lasts 88, on Venus - 225, and on Mars - 687 earthly days.
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Theater – Giosue Borsi

During a theatrical performance in the ancient theater in Syracuse, an American tourist approached Italian writer Giosue Borsi (1888-1915). The tourist was deeply impressed with the theatrical performance, as well as with the amphitheater.

We in America have also a theater such as this one“ – the tourist exclaimed proudly. „What do you think, how much time do we need to build such a structure?“ – he asked the writer.

Well ... about two thousand years.” - Giosue Borsi answered.
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Zuma Fact: #164: Mickey Mouse!

In 1933, Mickey Mouse, a cartoon character, received nearly 800 000 of letters from his fans.
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The faithful servant – Count Alessandro di Cagliostro (Giuseppe Balsamo)

During Count Alessandro di Cagliostro’s (1743 – 1795) lifetime, and especially after his death, many incredible stories were circulating among the people about his wizarding powers.

One of many was a rumor that he had discovered the potion of “eternal youth and that he was more than 300 years old.

Unfortunately, curious people were unable to confirm nor refute these rumors.

One of them asked Cagliostro’s servant if he knew how old his master really was.

Bearing in mind the kind of answer the curious man was expecting, witty servant replied:

- I have no idea how old my master is! I am in his service for merely a century!
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Zuma Fact: #163: Theatrical loggias!

The first theatrical loggias were  built in Venice, in 1637.
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Hands are not sufficient – Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) once bet with his older colleague, compatriot Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), in a crate of best champagne. This bet was some kind of playing competition. They both were supposed to play some difficult composition that Mozart wrote on that day, and see who of them will be able to play it to the end.

Haydn agreed and the notes were placed on the spinet.

Just after a few strokes on the piano, Haydn saw that he wasn't up to it. He slowed down, and eventually stopped playing. This was because, while his two hands were playing at the both ends of the piano, he was supposed to press a key in the middle.

He tried to figure out how to do it, but he was out of ideas.

Then Mozart took his place and started playing.

When he got to that "improbable stroke", Mozart bowed his head and pressed the key - with his nose.

 
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Zuma Fact: #162: Dennis Rodman!

Every time he had to leave the game because of disqualification due to 6 personal fouls, former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman (born 1961) gave his jersey to some of the fans in the stands.
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Insurance – Leopold Godowsky, Jr.

Leopold Godowsky Jr. (1900-1983), American violinist,  inventor of first practical color transparency film (Kodachrome) and son of the famous pianist and composer of the same name, once asked his sister to drive his children, three-year-old twins, to his home.

Please drive carefully”, Leopold warned his sister, “as I have two violins worth fifty thousand dollars in the luggage compartment”.

You're so insensitive!” – his sister said. “Which am I supposed to watch first, the twins or the fiddles?

The twins, of course” – said Godowsky. “The violins are very well insured”.
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Zuma Fact: #161: Coffeyville hailstone!

One hailstone that fell in Coffeyville, Kansas in 1970 weighted 768 grams.

It had a diameter of 14.4 centimeters and circumference of 44.7 centimeters.
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Fashion revolution – Charles IX of France

During his reign, French king Charles IX (1550-1574) was persuaded by his mother,  Catherine de' Medici, that conspirators are all around him.

Being convinced in his mother’s words, Charles IX started to believe that handbags and wallets, in which men carried money, are the perfect place to hide weapons, especially knives, so he forbade their production.

He never even dreamed that this would lead to some sort of revolution in men's fashion.

Since handbags and wallets were banned, tailors started making suits and trousers with – pockets.
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Zuma Fact: #160: Blindness!

Every five seconds, one person in the world becomes blind.
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Soul trapped in a violin – Niccolo Paganini

Even when he was still alive, people often claimed that famous Italian violinist Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840) has sold his soul to the devil in exchange for a gift of unmistakable playing.

However, Paganini always denied this and claimed that his soul is, in fact, trapped in a violin.

On one occasion, when Paganini’s precious violin began to curve, he realized that he would have to take it to some constructor of musical instruments who will repair it.

Since he didn’t wanted to lose the violin out of his sight, he watched carefully the repairing process.

Bathed in sweat, trembling, Paganini waited for the outcome of repair.

Each time he heard the sound of tools and creaking of wood, Paganini started to cry and sob.

My God, this is as if you’re drilling my womb with a chisel.” – cried the famous violinist.
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Zuma Fact: #159: Stoat (Mustela erminea)!

The fur of stoat (Mustela erminea, also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel), is changing color with each change of Arctic tides.
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Sunday, May 22, 2011

Dead man's hand – James Butler Hickok (Wild Bill)

On August 2, 1876, legendary Sheriff James Butler Hickok (1837-1876), also know as Wild Bill, walked into a Nuttal & Mann's Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood, Dakota. He went there for a game of poker.

Since he had developed a fear that someone might shoot him from behind, as a precaution, he usually sat with his back to the wall.

Unfortunately, on that day, the only seat available was a chair that put his back to a door.

While playing, he asked twice the other players to change seats with him, but they refused.

After a while, a former buffalo hunter named John McCall walked into the saloon unnoticed.  He approached Hickok from behind and shot him in the back of the head.

Hickok was killed instantly.

In his hands he was holding a pair of aces and a pair of eights, all black.

Since then, this hand in poker is called “dead man’s hand”.
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Zuma Fact: #158: Tearful greeting!

Members of some tribes in the Andaman Islands are still practicing the “tearful greeting”.

According to their custom, when two friends meet, they embrace each other and start crying.
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Sunday, May 15, 2011

Hollywood friendship – Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks

While walking down the Hollywood Boulevard one day, Charlie Chaplin (1889 - 1977) saw a large poster in front of a movie theater that announced a new film comedy in which Douglas Fairbanks played.

There was a young man standing there, and Chaplin asked him:
     - Boy, have you seen this movie?
     - Of course! – the boy answered. 
     - Is it funny? – asked Chaplin.-   What a stupid question. I died laughing.  Fairbanks is the best.
     - Is he good like Chaplin? 
     - Much better than that wretched Chaplin, for whom I only feel pity.continued the young man. 
     - If so, let me introduce myself. I am Charlie Chaplin! – Chaplin angrily exclaimed. 
     - I am pleased to meet you. I am Douglas Fairbanks!

After this unusual acquaintance, Chaplin and Fairbanks became very good friends.
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Zuma Fact: #157: Cars per capita!

United States of America has the most cars per capita (per person).

This country has 765 cars for every 1000 people.
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Academy Award – Frank Capra

A romantic comedy "Lady for a Day" (1933) not only brought popularity to American film director Frank Capra (1897 - 1991), but also a nomination for an Academy Award.

Capra was seriously convinced that he will win the American Academy Award for that film, and before the ceremony, he even wrote a short speech, which he intended to hold after he receives the Oscar.

The host of the event was Will Rogers. When the time came to announce the Best Director, Will, who thought that it would be interesting, said:

Common Frank. Come and get it

Convinced that he is the winner, Frank Capra ran towards the stage and pulled out a written speech from his pocket. At that point, he noticed a strange expression on the host’s face. Will Rogers stammered:

The winner is Frank…Lloyd!”

Embarrassed, Frank Capra came down from the stage. He swore that he will never again attend the Academy Award ceremony. 

But never say never.

Next year, Capra's film "It Happened One Night" won five Academy Awards, including the award for Best Director.  Frank came and received the Oscar.

In his career, Capra won a total of six Academy Awards.
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Zuma Fact: #156: Film tape!

For one minute of a movie, 27 meters of 35mm wide film tape is needed.

This means that for a movie that lasts 2 hours, it is required 3,24 km of such tape
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Salty dreams – Cornelius Vanderbilt

American millionaire, Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), builder of railroads and ships, suffered from insomnia.

Since he was superstitious, and even prone to the occult, he eventually came up with a way to quickly and quietly fall asleep.

Before he went to bed, each leg of his bed was dipped in a big bowl full of salt!

The salt was supposed to keep the evil spirits away from Cornelius.
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Zuma Fact: #155: Ozone!

 
If we had means to compress the entire ozone, we would have form a layer around the earth no thicker than the sole of a shoe.
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The name – Bob Dylan

In 1962, young American singer-songwriter Robert Allen Zimmerman officially changed his name to Bob Dylan. Allegedly, he did it in the memory of one of his literary idols, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953).

Robert was 21 when he done that, and he was just 12 when Dylan Thomas died.

Later, at the peak of his fame, he recalled that event and acknowledged that he had been influenced by Dylan Thomas’ poetry, but:

I didn't change my name in honor of Dylan Thomas. That's just a story. I've done more for Dylan Thomas than he's ever done for me. Look how many kids are probably reading his poetry now because they heard that story

Regarding his change of name, Bob Dylan also said:

"You're born, you know, the wrong names, wrong parents. I mean, that happens. You call yourself what you want to call yourself. This is the land of the free."
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Zuma Fact: #154: Meter!


One meter is defined as the length of the path traveled by light, in a vacuum, during one 299,792,458 part of a second.
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Saturday, May 07, 2011

Who is who? – Waldick Soriano

Waldick Soriano (1933-2008) was a very popular Brasilian singer-songwriter who recorder 83 albums in his career. However, his great career wasn't without a few incidents.

During one of his concerts, Waldick started singing one of his greatest hits Рa song called "Eu Ṇo Sou Cachorro Ṇo" (I'm not a dog).

A few seconds after the song began, someone from the audience let a dog on the stage who had an inscription around his neck saying: „I'm not Waldick Soriano“.

Soriano was deeply offended with that and he began cursing at the audience. In excange, the audince started throwing all kinds of object towards him.

The concert turned into a battlefield and was cancelled.
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Zuma Fact: #153: Densest natural element!

The densest of all natural elements is Osmium (Os).

A cube made of osmium with dimensions 33x33x33cm is equally heavy as a small automobile.
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French ride – Juan Pablo Montoya

In May 2003, the French police confiscated Juan Pablo Montoya’s driving license. The famous former Formula 1 driver was stopped by the French police on his return to Nice. He was driving his BMW 5.

What did he done to have his driving license confiscated?


He was driving his BMW at the speed of 204 km/h on the section of the road where the speed limit was 130 km/h.

To be honest, as soon as the local police realized who he was, they immediately returned him his license. Montoya paid just a small fine for speeding.

Just a few days later, he finished second on the French Grand Prix and drove the fastest lap during the race.

His “practice” outside of the racing track apparently paid of.
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Zuma Fact: #152: Hippocrates' toothbrush!

Father of medicine, ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (460-370 BC), advised people to “wash” their teeth using small ball of wool, which was previously dipped in honey.
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He was no elephant – John Sedgwick

In 1864, during the American Civil War, General John Sedgwick (1812-1864) led the forces of the Union against the Confederate troops when the two armies clashed in Virginia.

Since Confederate forces started advancing, General Sedgwick realized that his soldiers needed encouragement. Therefore, he started shouting:

What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you, dodging that way. They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist…

The General probably wanted to saydistance”, but he never finished his sentence.

He was fatally shot.
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Zuma Fact: #151: Healthy chocolate!



Professors from the Hull York Medical School, UK, have discovered that just 45 grams of dark chocolate a day can reduce a sense of chronic fatigue from which many people are suffering today.
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Unusual relationship – Marlene Dietrich and Eddie Fisher

In his autobiographyEddie: My Life, My Loves”, American singer and entertainer Eddie Fisher (1928-2010) wrote that when he was young, he had an “unusual relationship with German  actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992).

During her life, famous German actress, whose real name was Maria Magdalene Dietrich, was never ashamed of her love affairs. She even boldly admitted that she slept with American President John F. Kennedy when she was 62 years old.

However, when an auction of her books was held in one Parisian bookstore, they found her copy of Fisher's autobiography. Next to the section where he described their „unusual relationship“, Marlene scrawled:

You said it, kid. We never met.

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Zuma Fact: #150: China's gold production!



China is the biggest producer of gold in the world.
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Wrong setup – George Enescu

Famous Romanian violinist, composer, pianist, conductor and teacher George Enescu (1881-1955) was once asked by a distinguished fellow compatriot to take care of musical career of his son, who had ambitions to become a violinist.

Unfortunately, that boy was not musically gifted but since Enescu owed a big favor to his friend, he agreed to do it.

He tried really hard to teach the boy how to play, but his efforts were without much success. Through his contacts he even managed to arrange him a debut concert in the Gavo Concert Hall in Paris.

Since he didn’t have the courage to ask of some pianist to accompany the unskilled violinist on the stage, Enesku took on himself that ungrateful task.

Before the concert, he asked the audience if there is anyone willing to assist him by turning pages for him while he is following the violinist. Alfred Cortot, at that time the most famous pianist in France, volunteered immediately.

As might have been assumed, the concert was a disaster.

Two days later, daily newspaper Le Figaro published a review of the concert. The article was brief, but eloquent:

Last night, at the Gavo Concert Hall, a curious event took place. It was a violin and piano recital at which the man who played the piano should have been playing the violin and the man turning the pages should have been playing the piano, while the man playing the violin should have been turning the pages!
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Zuma Fact: #149: Playing cards in India!



Playing cards in India are round shaped.
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Perfect mask – Winston Churchill and Nancy Astor

Humorous bickering between the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874 -1965) and Lady Nancy Astor (1879-1964) were very common in public. Lady Nancy Astor was known as a fighter for women's rights but she was also engaged in politics.

On one occasion, unable to resist not to tease her in front of many people, Winston Churchill asked Lady Astor:

So, you are once again organizing some stupid masquerade ball. What disguise should I wear so that nobody recognizes me?

"Why don't you come sober, Prime Minister?" – Lady Astor replied sarcastically.

On other occasion, Lady Astor said to Churchill, "If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea," to which he responded, "Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it!"

Probably the most known exchange of such words between them was when Lady Astor said to him "Winston, you are drunk", to which he replied "And you, madam, are ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning".


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Zuma Fact: #148: Siberian conifers!

 
Siberian conifers form 20 percent of all trees in the world.
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Memorial University – Stanford University

In 1884, Charles William Eliot, 21th president of Harvard University, was visited by parents of recently deceased son who died at the age of 16. Eliot received the sad couple and expressed his deepest condolences. In a conversation with him, the sad parents expressed a desire to establish some kind of fund in memory of their lost son.

- I assume that you have in mind an annual scholarship for the best students – said Charles William Eliot.

- Well, we thought of something more useful than that. Perhaps some building… - said the sad parents.

Eliot refused their kind offer telling them that although that would indeed be useful, it is too expensive investment. 

With tears in their eyes, the sad parents got out of his office.

After some time, Eliot was informed that a check worth $26 million was sent to Harvard. It was dedicated to a memory of Leland Stanford, Jr.

Thanks to that money, the famous Stanford University was founded. 

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Zuma Fact: #147: Main food in Ancient Rome!



The main food of the masses in ancient Rome was onion and chickpeas.
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