Abraham Lincoln's Assassination

Seven score and eleven years have passed since Good Friday 1865, when President Abraham Lincoln was shot while attending a play at Ford's Theatre. In the time of mourning, a large number of Christians, especially in the North, had some type of recognition to the Good Friday connection. Lincoln became the first of four sitting American president to be assassinated: Abraham Lincoln (16th President), James A. Garfield (20th President), William McKinley (25th President) and John F. Kennedy (35th President).

An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming. The documentary was a critical and box-office success, winning two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song. The film grossed $24 million in the U.S. becoming the tenth highest grossing documentary film to date in the United States. Since the film's release, An Inconvenient Truth has been credited for raising international public awareness of global warming and reenergizing the environmental movement.

Deal or No Deal

Deal or No Deal was a game show hosted by Howie Mandel, and premiered on December 19, 2005, on NBC. The hour-long show typically aired at least twice a week during its run, and included special extended or theme episodes. A daily syndicated half-hour version of the show debuted on September 8, 2008 and continued for two seasons. Originally, Arsenio Hall was intended to host (and taped the pilot), but was ultimately passed over. Since it became a regular series, Deal or No Deal consistently placed within the 20 most popular programs on television.

10K Race

One kilometer converts to .62 miles. Therefore, a 10K race is the equivalent of 6.2 miles. The kilometer is the primary measurement unit for expressing large distances throughout most of the world, though the United States still uses the mile as its standard. The popularity of 10K races lies in the fact that, for most adults, the 10K distance is long enough to represent a challenge but short enough to remain accessible for an untrained runner. For a real world comparison, you would have to run a football field (including the end zone) 91.14 times to complete a 10K.

Wrigley Field: Home of Chicago Cubs

Wrigley Field is a baseball park located on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the 2016 World Series winning Chicago Cubs. The Cubs played their first home game there in 1916 on April 20, defeating the Cincinnati Reds. Chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. acquired complete control of the Cubs by 1921. Wrigley Field is known for its ivy-covered brick outfield wall, the iconic red marquee over the main entrance, the hand-turned scoreboard, and for being the last major league park to have lights installed for play after dark, in 1988.

Hardest Working Man in Show Business

The Godfather of Soul, the inventor of funk, and the grandfather of hip-hop, James Brown had many titles in life yet none truly do justice to his monumental impact on music. Brown performed five or six nights a week throughout the 1950s and '60s, a schedule that earned him the title "The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business." Brown would routinely lose two or three pounds each time he performed and kept his furious concert schedule in his later years even as he fought prostate cancer.

Dewey Beats Truman in Presidential Election?

Perhaps the most famous incorrect banner headline in history is “Dewey Defeats Truman” which was published on the front page of the Chicago Tribune on November 3, 1948, the day after incumbent President Harry Truman won an upset victory over the Republican Governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey, in the presidential election. In one of history's most iconic photographs, Truman can be seen holding the famous issue of the newspaper soon after winning the election.

Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente became the first Latin American player to collect 3,000 career hits before his death in a plane crash. He led the National League in batting four times during the 1960s, and starred in the 1971 World Series. Renowned for his humanitarian work, he died in a plane crash on December 31, 1972, en route to bringing supplies to survivors of an earthquake in Nicaragua. The next year he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He became the first Latino inducted into the Hall.

Spruce Goose

On November 2, 1947, Howard Hughes piloted his huge wooden airplane, the Spruce Goose, on its only flight, which lasted about a minute over Long Beach Harbor in California. Built with laminated birch and spruce, the massive wooden aircraft had a wingspan longer than a football field and was designed to carry more than 700 men to battle. Completed in 1947, it was flown only once and never went into production. It is currently housed in the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

London Eye

The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. When erected in 1999 it was the world's tallest Ferris wheel. Its height has since been surpassed, but it still remains Europe's tallest Ferris wheel. The structure is 443 feet tall and the wheel has a diameter of 394 feet. It is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom with over 3.75 million visitors annually. Since mid-January 2015, it has been known as the Coca-Cola London Eye.

The White House

The White House is the official residence of the President of the United States, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the White House its current name, engraving it on his stationery in 1901. Prior to that, the building was known variously as the “President's Palace,” the “President's House,” and the “Executive Mansion.”

Which State Is It Illegal to Dress Up as a Priest for Halloween?

In Alabama, it’s illegal to dress up as a priest or other religious clergy member for Halloween. According to Section 13A-14-4 of the Alabama Code, "Whoever, being in a public place, fraudulently pretends by garb or outward array to be a minister of any religion, or nun, priest, rabbi or other member of the clergy, is guilty of a misdemeanor." Breaking the law could earn you a $500 fine and up to a year in jail. If you live in Alabama, we hope that wasn’t your plan for today. If so, you may want to shelve the collar or consider heading to a different state to celebrate.

All About Pumpkins

Where do pumpkins come from? Pumpkins are native to Central America and have been in the Western Hemisphere for approximately 5,000 years. They have spread, and can now be found growing on six continents. What are the top pumpkin producing states? The Midwest is a big source of the orange orbs. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennyslvania produce the most pumpkins. As of 2013, Illinois grows the most pumpkins in the United States with an average of 427 million pounds yearly. Roughly 90 percent of these pumpkins grow within a radius of 90 miles of Peoria, Illinois.

Why Is Candy Passed Out on Halloween?

Where exactly the tradition of trick or treating started is a matter of some debate. But when the custom first came to America in the 1920s and 30s, it wasn't just kids going door to door for candy. The practice back then would yield all sorts of treats including toys and money. And let's be honest, if you're a kid, you love candy, but you probably wouldn't have minded if you got a few less bags of candy corn and a bit more cash. So why did we make the transition to virtually everyone just giving fun-sized candy? You guessed it, the candy companies. They saw an opportunity and started marketing tiny, individually wrapped candies to families who mostly adopted the idea because it was just easier.

Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926. The official cause of death was peritonitis, internal poisoning resulting from a ruptured appendix. For full ten years after Houdini's death, his wife Bess conducted a séance each Halloween. Houdini had told Bess that if it were possible, he would send a message to her "from beyond", in secret code. Though Bess eventually stopped participating in the séances after 1937, members of the magic fraternity have kept the tradition going. Each Halloween, there are numerous Houdini séances held around the world.

Halloween

Halloween began in Ireland as the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31st, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating.

Ahoy!

Saying “ahoy” was at one time the preferred way to answer the phone. The very brief popularity of this telephone greeting stemmed from the fact that “ahoy” was Alexander Graham Bell’s preferred way to answer the phone. The term ahoy was generally associated as a nautical term used for hailing ships. The dictionary says it was Thomas Edison who put hello into common usage. He urged people to instead say "hello" when answering. Because “hello” quickly usurped “ahoy”, by 1889 telephone operators became known as “hello-girls”.

Philatest

A philatelist is someone who studies or collects stamps. The first postage stamps were made available on May 1, 1840, in England, and it didn't take long for the hobby of stamp collecting to arise. Philatelic organizations sprang up soon after people started collecting and studying stamps. They include local, national and international clubs and societies where collectors come together to share their hobby. Philately is the collection and study of postage stamps.

Fruit Loops Toucan Sam

Toucan Sam is the cartoon toucan mascot for Kellogg’s Froot Loops breakfast cereal. Toucan Sam became the mascot for Froot Loops cereal in 1963. With his snappy catch phrase, "follow my nose, it always knows," he became an instant success. In the original commercials, Toucan Sam spoke Pig Latin, and the phrase “OOT-fray OOPS-lay.” Soon after, he began to speak English with the British accent we are familiar with today. There is a debate about whether each loop tastes the same, or if they have different flavors, but according to Kellogg’s they are all the same.

Frederic Auguste Bartholdi

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was a French sculptor who is best known for designing the Statue of Liberty. Bartholdi's statue was finished in January of 1884, and six months later a formal presentation of it was made to the American ambassador in Paris on July 4. It was then disassembled, packed into 214 cases, and loaded onto the frigate Isere. In October 1886, the structure was officially presented as at gift of friendship from the people of France, and installed on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.

The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States and is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The copper statue, designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, a French sculptor, was built by Gustave Eiffel and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed with JULY IV MDCCLXXVI, Roman numerals for July 4, 1776.

"Mr. Personality"

Monica Lewinsky was the host of the reality television dating program, Mr. Personality, on Fox Television Network in 2003, where she advised young women contestants who were picking men hidden by masks. Some Americans tried to organize a boycott of advertisers on the show, in protest of Lewinsky capitalizing on her notoriety. Nevertheless, the show debuted to very high ratings. The ratings, however, slid downward each successive week, and after the show completed its initial limited run, it did not reappear.

The Electoral College

In order to become president of the United States, a candidate must win more than half of the votes in the Electoral College (currently that would be 270 of the 538 total electors). If no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the 12th Amendment to the Constitution provides for Presidential election by the House of Representatives with each State delegation receiving one vote. Twice in our history, the House of Representatives has chosen the President -- Thomas Jefferson's election in 1801 and John Quincy Adams' election in 1825.

Founder of the Special Olympics

Eunice Kennedy Shriver was the founder of Special Olympics, and was a pioneer in the struggle for rights and acceptance for people with intellectual disabilities. Eunice was the sister of President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. Shriver founded Camp Shriver which started on her Maryland farm known as Timberlawn and evolved into the Special Olympics in 1968. Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 5.3 million athletes in nearly 170 countries.

Invention of the Toilet

Thomas Crapper may be well known for selling early toilets, but he didn’t invent them. The original flush toilet was created by Sir John Harington in 1596. Harrington's toilet included a flush valve that would release water from a tank to wash away waste in the bowl. He called his toilet the Ajax, and one of his first installations was for his godmother, Queen Elizabeth I. It took several centuries and improvements in manufacturing and waste disposal for the flush toilet to catch on. Thomas Crapper and Alexander Cummings helped bring the invention to the masses. Crapper was a plumber in England who received many patents for improving toilet technology in the late 1800s.

Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis was born Walter Bruce Willis on March 19, 1955, in West Germany, where his father was stationed in the U.S. military at the time. His career was launched when he played detective David Addison on the 1980s TV hit Moonlighting. In 1988, he became a box office movie star with the success of the blockbuster Die Hard. Subsequent hits such as Armageddon and The Sixth Sense, in addition to his marriage to actress Demi Moore, ensured that Willis remained one of the most well-known actors of his generation.

Muhammad: The Most Common First Name in the World

The name Muhammad is the most common name in the world. It is estimated that more than 150 million men and boys in the world bear the name Muhammad. Muhammad means "the most praised one" and is derived from the Q'ran. It is the name of the Islamic prophet. Throughout the Muslim world, it is popular to name a male child after him. The prominence of the name is a good reminder of the importance of Islam to culture in Muslim-majority societies. This name and its variant transliterations are listed as the most popular names in the world.

The Three Musketeers

The names of the Three Musketeers are Athos, Porthos and Aramis. The Three Musketeers is a historical novel by Alexandre Dumas. The main character of the novel, however, is D'Artagnan, a poor, young adventurer who leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard. Although D'Artagnan is not able to join this elite corps immediately, he befriends the three most formidable musketeers of the age: Athos, Porthos and Aramis.

President John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy is the only American president to win a Pulitzer Prize. Kennedy was awarded the 1957 Pulitzer Prize in Biography for his book "Profiles in Courage". Profiles in Courage is a volume of short biographies describing acts of bravery and integrity by eight United States Senators throughout the Senate's history. The book profiles senators who defied the opinions of their party and constituents to do what they felt was right and suffered severe criticism and losses in popularity because of their actions.

Stephen King

Stephen King is a New York Times bestselling novelist who made his name in the horror and fantasy genres. Stephen King has sold more than 350 million copies worldwide, many of which have been adapted into successful films. King has published 54 novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and six non-fiction books. The Bachman Books is a collection of short novels by King published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman between 1977 and 1982. It made The New York Times Best Seller List upon its release in 1985.

Gene Autry

Gene Autry gained fame as a singing cowboy on the radio, in movies, and on television for more than three decades beginning in the early 1930s. Autry was also owner of the Los Angeles/California/Anaheim Angels Major League Baseball team from 1961 to 1997. From 1934 to 1953, Autry appeared in 93 films and 91 episodes of The Gene Autry Show television series. He is the only person to be awarded stars in all five categories on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for film, television, music, radio, and live performance. The town of Gene Autry, Oklahoma was named in his honor.

USS Enterprise

The USS Enterprise (often referred to as the "Starship Enterprise") is a fictional spacecraft from Star Trek, depicted in four network television series and six feature films. The original show (1966-1969) features a voice-over by Enterprise captain, James T. Kirk (William Shatner), which describes the mission of Enterprise as "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before"

The Addams Family

The Addams Family is a fictional household created by cartoonist Charles Addams. The Addams Family characters have traditionally included Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley and Thing. They originally appeared as an unrelated group of 150 single-panel cartoons, about half of which were published in The New Yorker magazine starting in 1938. They have since been adapted to other media, including a television series, films, video games and a musical.

The Black Eye

Bilateral periorbital hematoma is simply a black eye or a shiner. The so-called black eye is caused by bleeding beneath the skin and around the eye. Technically speaking, a black eye is a bruise or discoloration caused by broken blood vessels under the surface of the skin. Although the name "black eye" would indicate otherwise, the eye itself is usually not injured. The dramatic appearance (discoloration purple black and blue and swelling) does not necessarily indicate a serious injury, and most black eyes resolve within a week.

Papa John's Restaurant

The Papa John's restaurant franchise was founded in 1984 when "Papa" John Schnatter knocked out a broom closet in the back of his father's tavern. He sold his 1972 Camaro to purchase $1,600 worth of used pizza equipment and began selling pizzas to the tavern's customers out of the converted closet. His pizzas proved so popular that one year later he was able to move into an adjoining space. Papa John's is now the third largest take-out and delivery pizza restaurant chain in the United States.

Israeli Airline

El Al is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv in September 1948, the airline has grown to serve over more than 50 destinations. El Al offers only kosher in-flight meals and does not fly passengers on the Jewish Sabbath or religious holidays. El Al is the only commercial airline to equip its planes with missile defense systems, and is considered one of the world's most secure airlines, thanks to its stringent security procedures, both on the ground and on board its aircraft.

Archie and Edith Bunker's Chairs

Archie and Edith Bunker's chairs are on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Originally purchased by the show's set designer at a Goodwill thrift store, the originals were given to the Smithsonian (for an exhibit on American television history) in 1978. The objects are among the most visited and beloved in the collections. When the show's producer Norman Lear thought the show was ending after the eighth season, he donated the chair to the Smithsonian. When Lear discovered the show was renewed for a ninth season, he had to spend thousands of dollars to have replicas made for the next season.

Guam's Slogan

Guam is an island territory of the United States, located 900 miles north of the equator in the Western Pacific. The island is about 4 to 8 miles wide and 32 miles long, making it the largest landmass in Micronesia. Because of its western location from the International Date Line, Guam is the first to experience a new day in the United States, hence the island is “Where America’s Day Begins.” Under the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam to the United States on December 10, 1898. The people of Guam have been U.S. citizens since 1950.

Richard Pryor

On June 9, 1980, during the making of the film Bustin' Loose, Richard Pryor set himself on fire after freebasing cocaine and drinking 151-proof rum. While on fire, he ran down Parthenia Street from his Northridge, California home, until being subdued by police. He was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for burns covering more than half of his body. Although he survived, Pryor received third degree burns and spent six weeks in the hospital recovering.

The Appendix

While a dog’s body shares many similar body features with humans, the appendix is one exception. This is due to the fact that dogs do not have an appendix! In humans, the appendix is a narrow, tube-shaped structure that protrudes from the cecum, a pouch-like portion at the beginning of the large intestine. The term appendix comes from the Latin word “appendix” meaning appendage, an addition at the end. Although scientists have long discounted the human appendix as a vestigial organ, there is a growing body of evidence indicating that the appendix does in fact play a part of the human body’s immune system.

Magic Johnson: Late-Night Talk Show Host

The Magic Hour was a late-night talk show hosted by basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson and debuted on June 8th, 1998. Soon after its debut, the series was panned by critics citing Johnson's apparent nervousness as a host, his overly complimentary tone with his celebrity guests, and lack of chemistry with his sidekick, comedian Craig Shoemaker. The bandleader was percussionist Sheila E., of Prince collaboration fame. She was the first ever female talk show bandleader. The series was canceled after eight weeks.

Invention of the Cheeseburger

Denver, Colorado claims to be home to the world’s first cheeseburger in 1935, although two competing claims go back as far as 1926. A trademark for the name "cheeseburger" was awarded to Louis Ballast of the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In in Denver, Colorado. Louis Ballast first registered the “cheeseburger” trademark on March 5, 1935. Before settling on cheese, he experimented with Hershey bars and peanut butter as burger toppings. On the northwest side of downtown Denver is a stone marker that claims to be the site of the creation of the cheeseburger.

Chef Boyardee

The man who graces cans of beefaroni, Hector Boiardi, was not only a real person, but he was a culinary talent and founder of Chef Boyardee Foods. While working in West Virginia, Boiardi directed the catering for President Woodrow Wilson’s second marriage, to Edith Galt, in 1915. Mr. Boiardi later moved to Cleveland, where he opened a restaurant. The idea for Chef Boyardee came about when his restaurant customers began asking him to sell them his spaghetti sauce. He named his product "Boyardee" to help Americans pronounce his name correctly.

Code Word "W"

The code word for W is Whisky. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) assigned code words acrophonically to the letters of the English alphabet, so that critical combinations of letters can be pronounced and understood by radio or telephone regardless of language barriers or the quality of the communication channel. The 26 code words in the NATO phonetic alphabet are as follows: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, and Zulu.

Wright Brothers First Flight

The first flight was flown by Orville Wright and lasted 12 seconds. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane 20 feet above a wind-swept beach in North Carolina. The inaugural flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. Three more flights were made that day with Orville's brother Wilbur piloting the longest one which lasted 59 seconds over a distance of 852 feet. Their historic aircraft is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Sir Elton John

Sir Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947. He changed his name to "Elton John" in homage to Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and Long John Baldry. He excelled in music from a young age, and released his first self-titled American album in 1970, making him a huge international star. In his five-decade career Elton John has sold more than 300 million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Xanthophobia

Xanthophobia is fear of the color yellow. While, at first glance, this may seem like a foolish fear, it is real to the people impacted by this phobia. Xanthophobia derives from the Greek word “xantho”, meaning yellow and “phobos” which means fear. The common cause of this phobia is traumatic experiences involving the color yellow, like getting stung by a bee or perhaps getting hit by a yellow car. Sufferers would not eat cheese, mustard, bananas, lemons, or anything that is yellow.

Summer Olympics Boycott

The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan spurred Jimmy Carter to issue an ultimatum on January 20, 1980 that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics if Soviet troops did not withdraw from Afghanistan within one month. Sixty-five countries did not participate in the Olympics despite being invited. The Soviet Union would later boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Samsung Galaxy

Samsung Galaxy is a series of computing devices designed, manufactured and marketed by Samsung Electronics. The product line includes the Galaxy S series of high-end smartphones, the Galaxy Tab series of tablets, the Galaxy Note series of tablets and phablets, and the Galaxy Gear smartwatch. Samsung earlier this week announced a worldwide recall on its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after the phone caught fire in several incidents due to battery issues. Samsung's expected losses from the Galaxy Note 7 catastrophe have soared above $5 billion.

The Great Lakes

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. The other four Great Lakes are shared by the U.S. and Canada. Lake Michigan is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third-largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. The Great Lakes form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth, containing 21% of the world's surface fresh water by volume.

Leif Erickson

Leif Erikson was an Icelandic explorer and is generally believed to be the first European to reach North America, some 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Leif Eriksson was the son of Erik the Red, founder of the first European settlement on what is now called Greenland. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation that declared October 9 to be Leif Eriksson Day in honor of the Viking explorer, his crew and the country’s Nordic-American heritage.

Reggie Jackson

Reggie Jackson is a former Major League Baseball player who spent 21 seasons in the majors, most notably with the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. Jackson was nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason. Jackson hit 563 career home runs and was an American League All-Star for 14 seasons. "Mr. October" hit five home runs (including three in Game 6) in the 1977 World Series in one of the greatest postseasons of all-time. He won two Silver Slugger Awards, the AL MVP Award in 1973, and two World Series MVP Awards.

USS Cole

Nearly one year before the attacks of 9/11, the USS Cole, located off the coast of Yemen, was attacked by terrorists. On October 12, 2000, while refueling at a port in Aden, Yemen, the U.S. Navy destroyer Cole was attacked by a two suicide bombers navigating a small motorboat full of explosives. Seventeen sailors were killed and 39 were injured in the blast. The attack was later attributed to a cell within the al-Qaeda network, and had been supervised by Osama bin Laden.

Cast of Saturday Night Live

Sarah Sliverman, Robert Downey Jr., and Julia Louis-Dreyfus were all cast members fired from the late-night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. Contrary to popular belief, Steve Martin was never a cast member on the show. The misconception stems from the fact that he has hosted the show 15 times, in addition to doing occasional surprise appearances. Steve Martin is the only person to host a season premiere, a season finale, and a Christmas show and is the only person to host the show three times in a single season.