Yes, you learn something new every day. I did from this True Facts list. A few tidbits from this long list:
Sports Illustrated magazine allows subscribers to opt out of receiving the famous swimsuit issue each year. Fewer than 1% choose this option.
There is a company that will (for $14,000) take your ashes, compress them into a synthetic diamond to be set in jewelry for a loved one.
A perfect SAT score is 1600 combined. Bill Gates scored 1590 on his SAT. Paul Allen, Bill’s partner in Microsoft, scored a perfect 1600. Bill Cosby scored less than 500 combined.
McDonald’s restaurants will buy 54,000,000 pounds of fresh apples this year. Two years ago, McDonald’s purchased 0 pounds of apples. This is attributed to the shift to more healthy menu options.
John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, loved to skinny dip in the Potomac River.
A Georgia company will mix your loved one’s ashes with cement and drop it into the ocean to form an artificial reef.
Actor Bill Murray doesn’t have a publicist or an agent.
Dolly Parton is planning on having breast reduction surgery soon to relieve the pain on her back.
George Washington spent about 7% of his annual salary on liquor.
In 1985, the most popular waist size for men’s pants was 32. In 2003, it’s 36
The richest self-made American under 40 is Michael Dell, chairman of Dell Computers. He is worth $18 billion.
Jimmy Carter once reported a UFO in Georgia.
And there are many more (read the list).
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.