Did you know:The first blue jeans came into being in 1853, through the ingenuity of Levi Strauss?
The story goes that Strauss, a German immigrant in San Francisco setting up shop after the Gold Rush, met a prospector asking what he had for sale. At the time, his inventory included rough canvas for tents. The prospector said what he really needed was pants, as they were in short supply just then. So Strauss went right into the workshop and whipped up some overalls, which the miners liked, but as the material tended to chafe, Strauss switched over to a twilled French cloth, serge de Nimes--what we now know as denim. Their color gave them the nickname, "blue jeans."
The first burger chain was not (as I thought) McDonald's, but White Castle, established in 1921? And that, in 1961, White Castle became the first burger chain to sell a billion hamburgers?
The first computer dates from around the first century B.C.?
The first person buried on the moon (!) was an astro-geologist name Eugene M. Shoemaker?
These and other fun facts and odd occurrences can be found in firsts, the latest book by Wilson Casey (aka The Trivia Guy).I loved this book. I'm a fan of trivia, lists and world records, and this was right up my alley!
firsts is compelling reading for anyone on your Christmas list--and we have FIVE copies to give away to our lucky readers!
Entry method (required): Just leave a comment on this post with your favorite bit of trivia you've picked up in your years of wisdom. It can be anything, from how to measure with a dollar bill (they're each 6" long), to your State's official flower (Florida's is the orange blossom).
I am really looking forward to reading those comments!
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Good luck!
13 comments:
i recently learned a potoroo is a marsupial!
subscriber
I'm a subscriber.
I tweeted
http://twitter.com/kewpiedoll04/status/6383477776
Almost is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.
This book would be so much fun! Thank you!
judybrittle at gmail dot com
I recently learned that White Castle was originally started in Wichita, Kansas not in Cincinnati, Ohio where most people think it does.
Most people have never even tasted a White Castle sandwich and some that have wish they hadn't.
Merry Christmas.
Rebecca
I follow you on twitter.
@mommieschildren
http://mommiesgotfivechildren.blogspot.com/2009/12/contests-ending-dec-15th-2009.html
I posted this giveaway on my blog.
Please stop by and follow me, please.
I am following your blog.
It is illegal in Lexington, KY (where I live) to walk through downtown with an ice cream cone in your back pocket!
so there you go. :)
carriemschmidt at gmail dot com
I'm a subscriber
carriemschmidt at gmail dot com
Oprah Winfrey
1986 --- 1st African-American woman to own her own television production company
(according to littleknownfacts.com)
I voted it up!
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