An organization called SCROOGE was formed in 1979 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The acronym stands for the "Society to Curtail Ridiculous, Outrageous and Ostentatious Gift Exchanges."

Honeybees navigate using the sun as a compass, even when it is hidden behind clouds - they find it via the polarization of ultraviolet light from areas of blue sky.

Leafy face architectural ornamentations are almost always male: green women are rare. However, green cats, lions and demons are also found. On gravestones and other memorials, human skulls are sometimes shown sprouting grape vines or other vegetation, presumably as a symbol of resurrection.

Spyware is a type of program that watches what users do with their computer and then sends that information over the internet. Spyware can collect many different types of information about a user. More benign programs can attempt to track what types of websites a user visits and send this information to an advertisement agency. More malicious ...Read more

Dolphins swim in circles while they sleep with the eye on the outside of the circle open to keep watch for predators. After a certain amount of time, they reverse and swim in the opposite direction with the opposite eye open.

Only about 30 percent of teenage males consistently apply sun protection lotion when going poolside, compared to 46 percent of female teens.

With his new creations and growing fan base, Ed became Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, a hot-roddin' gear head, mad scientist, and struggling artist who financed his inventions by selling drawings and t-shirts at drag events and car shows. Ed would draw cartoons of monsters that he created and pictures of cars. But when he personally airbrushed t-shirts ...Read more

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Maurice Cornelius Escher, known to his friends and family as Mauk, was initially set to be an architect. He was to attend the Higher Technical School in Delft. But, his plans went asunder when he failed his final exams in nearly all of his classes including history, constitutional organization, ...Read more

The British slang for white-collar worker is "black-coat worker."

Since the 1980s, Birkenstock footwear has become popular among medical professionals (e.g. dentists, nurses) and others who work on their feet. In Germany, the sandals are most often used as houseslippers, but in the United States they have become a part of everyday clothing from professionals to blue collar workers, even to the entertainment ...Read more

Louis Pasteur, whose work on wine, vinegar, and beer led to pasteurization, had an obsessive fear of dirt and infection. He refused to shake hands, and he carefully wiped plate and glass before dining.

Following the second flag raising, Rosenthal had the Marines of Easy Company pose for a group shot, which he called the "gung-ho" shot. A few days later he was asked if he had posed the photo. Thinking the questioner was referring to the 'gung-ho' picture, he replied "Sure." As a result of this , Rosenthal has repeatedly been accused of having ...Read more

Bugs Bunny was popular during the World War II years because of his bombastic attitude, and began receiving special star billing in his cartoons by 1943. Like Disney and Famous Studios had been doing, Warners put Bugs in opposition to the time's biggest enemies: Adolf Hitler, Herman Goering, and the Japanese. The infamous 1944 short Bugs ...Read more

Walter Brennan started out in films as a stuntman. He began playing old men at age 32 after his teeth were knocked out in a mob scene.

In the state of Queensland, Australia, it is still constitutional law that all pubs (hotel/bar) must have a railing outside for patrons to tie up their horse.

The Pac Man video arcade game featured colored ghosts named Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde.

Elizabeth Taylor was seriously considered for the lead role of Nurse Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical South Pacific. Taylor auditioned for composer Richard Rodgers, but she was so nervous that her normally sweet voice turned raspy -- she lost the part

A strict feast is observed for 24 hours before Christmas Eve, and is followed by a celebration meal, in which a light Milanese cake called panetoni features as well as chocolate. Presents and empty boxes, are drawn from the Urn of Fate - lucky dip, which always contains one gift per person. By twilight, candles are lighted around the family ...Read more

That was the year the famous slogan, "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand" debuted with M&M's first TV commercials.

The weight of the Sun is two billion billion billion tons, about 333,420 times that of the Earth.