Interesting Facts about California

California has many active volcanoes! One of the most famous ones is Mount Lassen, in the Cascade Mountains.
California had more registered vehicles than any other state.
In 1936, a 5" x 8" brass plate bearing evidence of Sir Francis Drake's 1579 expedition was found on a California hillside.
During the 30 years after the Gold Rush, $1.26 billion in gold was discovered in California.
At the turn of the century, California had a reputation as a healthful place to live. In fact, in 1900 ten percent of California's population was composed of people who lived there for health reasons.
The first air show in the United States was held in Los Angeles in 1910.
One-third of downtown Los Angeles is devoted to parking space.
California has been the host of three Olympic Games. Two summer games have been held in Los Angeles, in 1932 and 1988. One Winter Olympics was held in Squaw Valley in 1960. California is the only place in the modern world which has had this distinction.
One of the most famous zoos in the world is the San Diego Zoo. It was founded in 1916. It is home to 3,900 animals of 777 different species. The San Diego Wild Animal Park, which is in nearby Escondido, covers 1,800 acres, and its exhibits simulate its animals' natural habitats. The zoo facilities in San Diego are well known for their innovations and their conservational and educational programs.
Mendocino County, on the north coast of California, is known for the whales which migrate along the shores there. Every year, gray whales migrate from their summer homes off Alaska to their winter homes near Baja California in Mexico. From December to February, many people come to the coast in Mendocino County to see these majestic animals on their journey south, as they travel the closest to the shore.
One of the country's largest ski areas is Mammoth Mountain. It has 150 trails totaling 30,000 feet and 30 lifts. The season there sometimes runs until the Fourth of July!
The largest consumer bank in the world, the Bank of America, is based in San Francisco.
EI Centro, in the Imperial Valley, is the largest U.S. town located below sea level.
California's official language is English, but many Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean speakers live there. Many newspapers are printed in these languages. Before the arrival of European settlers, the Native Americans there spoke 21 different languages!
The state fossil of California is the saber-tooth cat. Many examples of these have been found in the La Brea Tar Pits, near Los Angeles.
91% of all California's people live either in or near a city. Twenty-one California cities have populations over 100,000.
California was officially made a state on September 9, 1850, but because of the slow communication of that day, the news didn't reach California for almost two months! When the news finally arrived in San Francisco, people danced in the streets.
San Francisco is believed to have the largest population of Asian people of any city outside Asia.
One of the most notorious attractions in the Bay Area is the old Alcatraz Island prison, which was closed in 1963. Al Capone was one of many criminals who stayed there. No prisoners are known to have successfully escaped from Alcatraz.
California is famous for its earthquakes. Sometimes they are devastating, and other times they are moderate tremors. Earthquakes usually happen near a fault line, a crack in the Earth's crust. The most dangerous Californian fault is the San Andreas fault, which runs for 650 miles in California. But most Californians are not intimidated by the danger.
With collections featuring the traditional to the unusual, over 190 museums regularly have exhibitions in cities all over California.
One of the most famous natural attractions in California is El Capitan mountain in Yosemite National Park. It is three times taller than the Empire State Building and is made mostly of granite. One side of the mountain is a wall which doesn't provide many easy places for a climber to hold. El Capitan is an internationally known challenge for climbers. Only the most experienced climbers dare try to climb the wall — it usually takes from three to five days to make it, forcing climbers to sleep carefully on ledges in special hammocks.

Monkeyshines on America, Feb1998 California, Part 2

Space Life

Space has no air, water, or grocery stores. Plus, there's no gravity on an orbiting space station. How will astronauts survive?

Starting in January 2000, the first astronauts will live for three months in the partly-finished International Space Station. Here's how the station will keep them alive:

SHELTERING WALLS -- Thick metal and plastic walls hold air inside and protect astronauts from space temperatures, which can rise to 120 degrees C (250 degrees F) and drop to -100 degrees C (-150 degrees F).

BREATHABLE AIR -- Astronauts mix oxygen and nitrogen gases from tanks to make air. People breathe out carbon dioxide gas. Special filters pick up the carbon dioxide and send it into space.

RECYCLED WATER -- Water from sinks, sweat, and even urine will be piped through a filter. The filtered water will be cleaner than most tap water!

LONG-LASTING FOOD -- Specially sealed plastic bags keep food free from bacteria (tiny organisms) that can rot it.

GRAVITY SUBSTITUTES -- Chairs, beds, tables, and walls have straps to keep people and objects from floating away.

ASTRONAUT INTERVIEW: NANCY CURRIE!

What is it like to float in space? It feels a little like floating in a swimming pool. There's no real difference between "up" and "down," so you can never fall. I've even floated headfirst down stairs.

Can you swallow upside down? You can. One astronaut on my first flight ate every meal "upside down" just because he could!

What's your favorite space food? Vanilla pudding! I don't usually eat it.

What's the longest time a person has spent in space?

Valery Polyakov (val-ERI polly-YA-kof), a Russian cosmonaut, lived in space for 439 days straight! The longest I've orbited is 13 days.

Do you get used to space?

In the first few clays of orbit, most astronauts get headaches and round faces. That's because without gravity, blood and other body fluids float up to your head! In a few days, though, your body adjusts and you look and feel fine.

Is space scary?

Not really -- at least when I'm in orbit. But launching and landing can make you nervous. You're sitting on 3 million kg (7 million lb) of fuel!

What do you see out the window? Every 90 minutes -- every time we circle Earth -- we see a sunrise and sunset. We're not much closer to stars than you are on Earth. But we're not looking through the atmosphere (the air around Earth), so the view is very clear. We got fantastic pictures of moon craters!

Did you always want to be an astronaut?

From the moment I could walk I wanted to fly airplanes. When I was a kid there were no female astronauts, so I was 24 before I realized I could be one. I studied science in college and learned how to fly in the Army. Then I helped train astronauts to fly a shuttle-like airplane. I was accepted to astronaut training school and in 1991, I became an astronaut.

By: Allen, Laura, Scholastic SuperScience

Interesting Animal Facts

All dogs are members of the Canis familiaris species.
The earliest records of a distinct breed of dogs are the Southern sight hounds. These include the Saluki (hunting dog) of Sumeria and the Greyhound of Egypt.
If reptiles aren't fed properly, they will become obese (fat) and this could prove fatal for them.
The simple act of petting your dog or watching a fish swim in an aquarium can actually reduce a human heartbeat and blood pressure.
The Chihuahua was a highly regarded animal of the Aztec Empire.
80% of all veterinarians have private practices that deal primarily with small animals.
Private veterinarians are responsible for the health for over 52 million dogs, 55 million cats, and 11.7 million birds just to name a few.
Sheep have individual "bleating" sounds that allow baby lambs to identify their mother.
Sheep do not have any top front teeth. The roof of their mouth is so hard it allows them to bite and eat grass without the use of teeth.
A ruminant animal is one that has 3 extra parts to its stomach. These extra parts allow the animal to digest a wide variety of plants and grass. (*The sheep is an example of a ruminant animal.*)
Many communities have established critical care units for animals (similar to emergency rooms for humans) so that animals with sudden injuries can be immediately taken care of. (In case of an emergency, check the yellow pages of your phone book for the facility nearest you.)
The AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) has teamed up with CompuServe (one of the world's premier computer information services) to develop NOAH, the Network of Animal Health, which brings state-of-the-art electronic information and communication services to all those interested and active in the veterinary profession.
For more information about Veterinary Medicine... American Veterinary Medical Association http://www.social.com/health/nhic/data/hr1500/hr1548.html
You can reach the Guide Dog Foundation For The Blind through the World Wide Web page http://www.guidedog.org

Monkeyshines on Health & Science, Jan99 Veterinary Medicine

Interesting Fact about Presidents

By Phyllis Barkas Goldman

• Who originated "shaking hands" at receptions in the White House in 1801?

Thomas Jefferson

• Which President was the first to have his daughter born in the White House?

Grover Cleveland

• What President was the first and only President to keep sheep on the grounds of the White House?

Woodrow Wilson

• Who was the first President to cross the Atlantic on the S.S. George Washington?

Woodrow Wilson in December of 1918

• Who was the first President to live in the White House?

John Adams in 1800

• Which President put the first library in the White House?

Millard Fillmore

• Who was the first President to install indoor plumbing in the White House?

Millard Fillmore

• Who was the first President to travel by railroad?

Andrew Jackson in 1833

• Who was the first President to travel by steamship?

James Monroe

• Who was the first President to be inaugurated in Washington D.C.?

Thomas Jefferson

• Which President was the first to have his picture taken while in office?

William Henry Harrison

• Who was the President that was not elected?

Gerald Ford

• Who was the first Roman Catholic to become President of the United States?

John F. Kennedy

• Which President was the first to speak on television?

Franklin D. Roosevelt

• Who was the first President to tour Moscow?

Richard Nixon

• Who was the first President who was a veteran of the Navy?

John F. Kennedy

• Who was the first person to grow a tomato in North America?

Thomas Jefferson

• Who was the first President to be born in the 20th century?

John F. Kennedy

• Which President was the first to be born in a hospital?

Jimmy Carter

• Can you name the first man to obtain the Presidency because of the death of the President?

John Tyler

Source: Monkeyshines on the United States Presidents, Games, Puzzles & Trivia

Interesting Science Fact

By Phyllis Barkas Goldman

The first plastic was used to make billiard balls. The material was used by Isaiah and John Wesley Hyatt to enter into a contest to find a new material for billiard balls.
Thomas Edison directed the U.S. Navy's research on torpedos and anti-submarine devices during World War I and served as head of the Naval Consulting Board.
The paper clip was invented in 1900 by Johann Vaaler.
In 1701 Jethro Tull invented the seed drill. Before this invention, farmers simply scattered seeds across the fields.
Tull's seed drill placed the seeds in holes in rows so that fewer seeds were wasted, there was less over-crowding, and weeding plants was easier.
African-American scientist George Washington Carver developed ways to make such products as coffee, soap, ink, cheese, dyes, and plastics from peanuts!
Sir Isaac Newton developed his laws of gravity after an apple fell off a tree and hit him on the head!
Famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau helped develop the diving apparatus called the aqualung. This device allows divers to stay underwater for very long periods of time.
In the first century B.C., parchment was used to write on. Parchment is the dried skin of certain animals, especially sheep.
It was not until around 100 A.D. that a Chinese court official named Ts'ai Lun used hemp, mulberry, bamboo, and straw to invent paper. For 500 years after this, the art of paper making was kept a secret.
Despite the good intentions of patents, some people abuse them by making false proposals.
These "patent submarines" file hundreds of patents and delay their approval for years. They wait for someone else to patent a similar product, then rise like a submarine and sue for hundreds of millions of dollars. Actions like these can slow the progress of much needed inventions and waste court time with false accusations.
The pencil was invented in 1565 by Swiss inventor Konrad Gesner. The lead was made of graphite.
The ancient Chinese invented hundreds of products that are still used today. Some of their most famous innovations include the abacus, the kite, paper, the wheelbarrow, the oil lamp, gun powder, and the umbrella.
As a boy Isaac Newton preferred monkeying around to studying. His creativity led him to create a windmill that could grind wheat and a clock that was run by dripping water.
George Washington Carver never tried to patent His products or obtain any profit from them. He donated the award money he received to his George Washington Carver Foundation for future scientists.
The first mechanical calculator was invented in 1642 by Biaise Pascal to help his father do his taxes faster. The first pocket calculator did not appear until 1971.
In 1903 Mary Andersen made cleaning the windshield much easier by developing a windshield wiper that could be controlled from inside the car.
Before windshield wipers were invented, drivers used to rub carrots or onions on the glass of the car to prevent icing or just use their hands to wipe off snow, ice, or rain during bad weather driving.
Italian scientist Galileo Galilei discovered sun spots, the mountains and craters on the moon, and four of Jupiter's moons with a telescope he built himself in 1609.
Wilbur and Orville Wright invented and flew the first powered airplane in Kittyhawk, North Carolina in 1903. The brothers established a company to build their planes in 1909.
During the late 1700s and early 1800s many people were frightened by new technology. Some people even believed that someone was going to invent a huge machine that would blow up the world!
The first synthetic rubber gloves were made in 1952. They were intended to be used in surgical and industrial procedures. The London rubber company introduced household rubbergloves in 1961.
Anton van Leeuwenhoek invented the first single-lens microscope in 1676. Van Leeuwenhoek was not even a scientist — he worked for a draper and created his microscope to look more closely at cloth fibers.
The first metal-lined bathtub was built by Adam Thompson in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1840. It weighed almost one ton.
The telephone made its first public appearance at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876.
This huge show of American accomplishments was held to celebrate the 100th birthday of the United States. Also appearing at this event was the first hot dog seller.
The first aluminum pot was made in 1890 by Henry Avery of Clevland, Ohio. Avery's wife used the pot for 43 years.
The first automobile resembling a car was built by Cugnot during the eighteenth century. It had only three wheels.
The first brown paper grocery bags were made by Charles Stilwell in 1883 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Stilwell called his invention the "S.O.S" which stood for "Self-Opening Sack."
In 1817 the first bicycle was developed by German Karl von Drais. His bicycle, however, did not have pedals — the rider moved himself by pushing his feet along the ground.
Kleenex tissues were first invented to be used as surgical bandages and air filters in gas masks during World War I. After the war, however, they were marketed as "Kleenex Kerchiefs" for use as make-up removers. Finally, people just began using the cloths for nose-blowing.
In 1816 a French doctor named Rene Laennec invented a device for hearing the sounds made by the heart and lungs. The device was named the stethoscope. Most modern doctors own one.
The zipper was created By Whitcomb Judson in Chicago, Illinois in 1893. It was meant to Be used for lacing up boots.
The invention was a very long process — it took 20 years for Hudson to complete his device and another W years to get people to use it!
The first hot-air balloons were made by French brothers Joseph and Jacques Etienne Montgolfier. In 1783 they had their first flight with a duck, a sheep, and a rooster as the passengers.
The first known patent given to an African-American was issued in 1834 to Henry Blair, who invented an improved seed drill for farming.
A spinning motion picture device was invented twice — first by William Horner in England around 1834, where it became known as the "wheel of the devil", and again in 1860. The second inventor was a Frenchman named Pierre Desvignes. His name for the device was "zoetrope", which means "wheel of life."
Some inventions are highly specialized. Kingdom Isambard Brunei invented a machine that could get coins out of a choking person's throat.
In 1874, barbed wire was patented by Joseph Glidden. His invention was designed to keep cows from wandering away from the farm. When barbed wire became available to the public, many cowboys were put out of work.
The Persians invented the windmill in about 600 A.D. It was used to grind grain. Later, windmills were used in Holland to pump water from flooded land. Today, windmills are used to generate power.
The ancient Egyptians first created hula hoops from dried grapevines. These children's toys went on to become popular with kids and adults alike during the hula hoop craze of the 1950s.
The teddy bear is named after America's 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt. Toy salesman Morris Michtom created the stuffed bear in 1902 based on a political cartoon about Roosevelt.
Silly Putty, first called "nutty putty," was originally created to be a cheap substitute for rubber during World War II.
When no real use was found for the putty, Connecticut toy store owner Paul Hodgson began selling the novelty in 1949. It went on to outsell every other item in his store!
In 1857, Elisha Otis developed the first elevator for carrying passengers. This elevator was based on a hoisting apparatus that Otis had designed in 1853.
The passenger elevator allowed for the development of the skyscraper. Nobody would have built such tall buildings without a safe way to get people to the top of them.
In 1892, Emile Reynaud invented the praxinoscope, which he used in 1892 to show movies in the "Theatre Optique", in Paris, France. The "Theatre Optique" was the world's first movie house.
German Karl Benz competed with engineer Gottlieb Daimler in the development of the automobile. Daimler's first vehicle in 1886 was faster than that of Benz and became more popular. The two manufacturers combined their companies, however, in 1926.
In 1811 Peter Durand created the first canned food. However, it was not until 1855 that the can opener was invented!
The oldest known mirrors were found in the ancient ruins of a Turkish city called Catal Huyuk. These mirrors are made of a volcanic glass called obsidian and were crafted during the sixth millenium B.C.
A 15 year-old boy from Euclid, Ohio created his own Internet company called ExchangeNet in 1995.
Michael Krause, has watched his company grow to become one of the largest companies to provide Internet service in the northern Ohio area.
The first writing, which is called cuneiform, was invented in Sumeria in 350 B.C. Five hundred years later, the Egyptians invented hieroglyphic writing.
Around 1000 B.C. ice skates were invented in Europe. The blades were made from the bones of animals.
The Etruscans of central Italy invented false teeth nearly three thousand years ago. By 700 B.C. they were making dentures that were sturdy enough to chew food.
The table fork was invented in Byzantium during the fourth century A.D., but it did not become popular in Euope until four hundred years later.
The first raincoats, developed in 1819 by Charles Macintosh, were criticized by people for smelling bad and looking like sacks.
The creator of liquid paper, better known as "white out," is the mother of Mike Nesmith, guitarist for the musical group the Monkees.
Bette Nesmith Graham went to work as a typist in 1951 to support herself and her son. However, she made many mistakes in her work and needed an easy way to cover them up. So, in her kitchen she made a white tempura paint which became so popular with the other secretaries that she began selling it. The product was first called "Mistake Out" and later renamed Liquid Paper.
The first coins appeared in Lybia during the seventh century B.C. More than a thousand years later (11th century), a famous Mongolian emperor named Kubla Khan introduced the first paper money.
In 1952, an American doctor named Paul Zoll used electricity to revive a heart. This led to the invention of the pacemaker. Pacemakers are devices which keep the heartbeat regular by sending out tiny electrical impulses.
The electric guitar was invented by Adolphus Rickenbacker in 1932. The Rickenbacker guitar company still exists today.
In 1934 Wallace Hume Carothers and his team produced nylon, which was the first all-synthetic cloth. In 1939, nylon stockings went on sale and became an instant sensation.
In 1863, an Englishman named George Harrington invented a clockwork dental drill. After being wound up, the drill would run for two minutes.
Before they were famous American presidents, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln were inventors. Jefferson originated many different devices, but his most complex is the cipher wheel which was used to make coded messages.
In 1849 Lincoln patented an adjustable buoyancy chamber to help steamboats pass over shoals and sand bars.
During the seventeen hundreds a disease called smallpox was killing people all over the world. In 1797 an English doctor named Edward Jenner noticed that the milkmaids who caught a mild disease called cowpox seemed to be immune to smallpox.
Jenner decided to conduct an experiment in which he would infect a person with cowpox and then try to infect the same person with smallpox. The first person who Jenner tested his experiment on was his son. The boy did not become infected with smallpox. He was the first person to be vaccinated. Thanks to Edward Jenner's development of the vaccine, there are no more cases of smallpox.
The ice cream cone was invented at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. When a French-American ice cream vendor named Arnold Fornachou ran out of paper ice cream dishes, a Syrian baker named Ernest Hamwi gave him waffles.
Fornachou rolled the waffles into cones and used them to serve ice cream. Less than fifteen years later ice cream cones were being used all over the country.
Thomas Allbut invented the first clinical thermometer in 1866. Since even a slightly abnormal body temperature is a definite sign of a health problem, this invention has been extremely useful in the detection of illness.
To get ice cream for his girlfriend Bess, Ole Evinrude had to travel four miles by rowboat. In 1909 Evinrude made his trip easier by inventing the outboard motor. With the new motor, his rowboat became the first motorboat.
The mobile phone was originated at Bell Telephone Laboratories during the 1940s. Thirty years later, mobile phone services became available to the public.
The first motion picture device was called the phenakistoscope. It was invented in 1832 by Joseph Plateau, who was partially blind.
The television went through many stages of development and had many different contributors. Scientists from all over Europe and the U.S. began developing ideas for the t.v. in the 1880s. The first working system was created by John Logie Baird in 1925 in Scotland. In 1930 both Philo Farnsworth and Vladimir Zworykin of the United States independently devised electronic television systems.

Source: Monkeyshines on Great Inventors

Interesting Facts about Sport

By Daniel P George

• Top salary of New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth: $80,000 in 1930.

Top salary of San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds: $7.29 million in 1993.


• Texas Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan's best fastball: 100.8 miles per hour.

Florida Marlins pitcher Charlie Hough's best knuckleball: 68 miles per hour.


• Quarterback Frank Reich's greatest NFL game: Leading Buffalo to a 41-38 victory in 1993 after the Bills trailed Houston 35-3.

Frank Reich's greatest college game: Leading Maryland to a 42-40 victory in 1984 after the Terrapins trailed Miami 31-0.


• Number of yards gained by Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton in his first eight NFL rushing attempts: 0.

Yards gained by Payton during his NFL career: 16,726.


• Largest major-league ballpark: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colo., 76,100 seats.

Largest NFL stadium: L.A. Coliseum, Los Angeles, Calif., 92,488.

Largest NBA arena: Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, N.C., 23,698 seats.


• Most touchdown passes in a season by an NFL quarterback: 48, Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins, 1984.

Most touchdown passes in a season by a college quarterback: 54, David Klingler, Houston, 1990.


• Most points by Chicago Bulls forward Michael Jordan in a college basketball game: 39.

Most points by Jordan in an NBA game: 69.


Winningest college football team: Michigan, 731 victories.
Most bowl game victories: Alabama, 25.
Most NCAA Basketball Tournament victories: UCLA, 67 (through 1991-92 season).
Most national championships: UCLA, 10 (through 1991-92 season).
Most national championships in college football: Notre Dame, 11.
Winningest college basketball team: North Carolina, 1,536 victories (through 1991-92 season).
Number of times driver Richard Petty has won the Daytona 500: 7.
Number of times Wayne Gretzky has led the National Hockey League in scoring in a single season: 11.
World Series victories by the New York Yankees: 22.

Source: Boys' Life