Facebook's Original Membership

 The founders of Facebook had initially limited the website's membership to Harvard students; however, later they expanded it to higher education institutions in the Boston area, the Ivy League schools, and Stanford University. Facebook gradually added support for students at various other universities, and eventually to high school students as well. Since 2006, anyone age 13 and older has been allowed to become a registered user of Facebook, though variations exist in the minimum age requirement, depending on applicable local laws.

Gimlet

 

The gimlet is a cocktail made of gin and lime juice. The cocktail was described as having gin and a hint of lime in a 1928 advertisement. "A true gimlet is half gin and half Rose's lime juice cordial and nothing else," according to a description in Raymond Chandler's 1953 novel The Long Goodbye. This corresponds to the proportions recommended by The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), which call for half gin and half lime juice. Modern tastes, on the other hand, are less sweet, with at least two parts gin to one part lime and other non-alcoholic ingredients.

The origin of the cocktail's name is a point of contention. It may be named after a tool used to drill small holes (alluding to the drinker's "piercing" effect) or after the surgeon Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Gimlette (27 November 1857 - 4 October 1943), who is said to have first added lime cordial to the daily gin tot of the Royal Navy's men to help combat the ravages of scurvy on long voyages.

The vodka gimlet is a variation of the beverage that uses vodka instead of gin. The Daiquiri is a lime juice drink that is made with light rum rather than vodka or gin. In the "Pimmlet," 2 parts Pimm's No. 1 Cup and 1 part London Dry Gin are substituted.

Rapper/Actor Ice-T

 The man who would become famous as Ice-T was born Tracy Marrow in Newark, New Jersey. Ice-T is known for his raps about street life and violence, as well as his influence on the genre of gangster rap. After losing his parents at a young age, he became involved with inner city crime and hustling. His talent for rhyme saved him from a life on the streets, and he released his debut album, Rhyme Pays, in 1987. His pseudonym, Ice T, is an homage to the legendary pimp and raconteur Iceberg Slim. The rapper also has a career as an actor, most notably playing a detective on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 2000.

Silk Production

 

Silk was first produced in China during the Neolithic period, by the Yangshao civilisation (4th millennium BC). Until the Silk Road opened in 114 BC, the art of silk manufacture remained limited to China, albeit China retained a virtual monopoly over silk production for another thousand years. Silk was not just used for clothes in China; it was also utilised for a variety of other purposes, such as writing. During the Tang dynasty, the colour of silk worn had social significance and served as an essential indicator of social position.

Around 300 AD, silkworm agriculture expanded to Japan, and by 552 AD, the Byzantine Empire had obtained silkworm eggs and was able to begin silkworm cultivation; around the same time, the Arabs began to weave silk. Chinese silk exports have declined as a result of the expansion of sericulture, however they continue to dominate the premium silk market. The Crusades introduced silk manufacturing to Western Europe, particularly to numerous Italian kingdoms, which experienced a boom in silk exports to the rest of Europe. During the Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) in Europe, advances in industrial technology began to emerge, with equipment such as the spinning wheel making their debut. During the 16th century, France joined Italy in building a flourishing silk trade, despite the failure of most other nations to create their own silk industry.

Much of Europe's silk business was transformed during the Industrial Revolution. Cotton became more cheaper to make as a result of advancements in cotton spinning, leading to cotton production being the major emphasis for many factories and driving the more expensive production of silk to diminish. New weaving methods, on the other hand, boosted the efficiency of silk fabric manufacturing; one of them was the Jacquard loom, which was designed to produce extremely intricate silks with embroidery-like motifs. Production fell due to an outbreak of many silkworm illnesses at the time, notably in France, where the industry never fully recovered.

Donald Trump's Yearbook Award

 Hailing from the 1964 graduating class of New York Military Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, former President Donald Trump was voted "Ladies' Man" by his graduating class in his high school yearbook's "popularity poll." The yearbook shows that Trump, was a member of the varsity soccer, baseball, and football teams. He also won numerous athletic awards and a "neatness and order medal" in 1960. “I did very well under the military system,” Trump said in an interview. “I became one of the top guys at the whole school.” Trump further claimed he was "the best athlete" in every sport at his school.

The Gettysburg Address

 

The Gettysburg Address is a speech given by US President Abraham Lincoln on the afternoon of November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after Union soldiers defeated Confederate armies in the Battle of Gettysburg. It is considered to be one of the most well-known addresses in American history.

Despite the fact that it was not the day's principal speech, Lincoln's meticulously planned address is regarded as one of the finest and most significant expressions of American national purpose. In just 271 words, Lincoln described the United States as a nation "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," making reference toward the signing of the Declaration of Independence 87 years prior, and portrayed the Civil War as a test which would decide whether such a nation, fractured by the secession crisis, could survive.

Despite the speech's significant position in American history and popular culture, its precise phrasing is contested. The five known copies of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address differ in several points, as well as from contemporary newspaper editions of the address. The location of the platform from where Lincoln gave his address is also unknown. The speakers' platform was moved 40 yards (or more) away from the customary location at Soldiers' National Cemetery at the Soldiers' National Monument, and was wholly contained within the private, neighboring Evergreen Cemetery, according to modern research.

Polo Field

 When you watch a polo match, it’s readily apparent that the field is significantly larger than those fields utilized in many outdoor sports, such as soccer, baseball, and football. The Polo Field is a vast rectangular field of grass defined by two goal posts on opposing ends. Polo Fields are 300 yards in length and 160 yards in width, covering a total area of 432,000 square feet. The field is approximately the size of nine football fields. Ideally, the field is also top-dressed with sand to enhance traction for the horses, making it easier to reach faster speeds.

Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone

 

The Twilight Zone is an American media brand based on Rod Serling's anthology television series. The episodes cover a wide range of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, supernatural drama, dark comedy, and psychological thrillers, and they usually end with a macabre or surprising twist and a moral. It was a critical and popular success, and it introduced many Americans to popular science fiction and fantasy motifs. From 1959 until 1964, the initial series, which was shot entirely in black and white, aired on CBS for five seasons.

Rod Serling was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen presenter best known for his 1950s live television plays and the anthology television series The Twilight Zone. On and off the screen, Serling was involved in politics and worked to shape television industry standards. He was known as Hollywood's "angry young man," arguing with television executives and sponsors on a variety of subjects such as censorship, racism, and war.  

McDonald's Filet-O-Fish

 The Filet-O-Fish was the brainchild of Lou Groen, a McDonald's franchise owner in Cincinnati, in response to falling hamburger sales on Fridays resulting from the Roman Catholic practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays. McDonald's CEO Ray Kroc originally hated the idea and said, "I don't care if the Pope himself comes to Cincinnati. He can eat hamburgers like everybody else. " Kroc eventually reconsidered, and the Filet-O-Fish was added to the menu throughout 1963 until reaching nationwide status in 1965. The Filet-O-Fish represented the first major expansion of McDonald's original menu, and has since become a Micky D's staple around the globe.

Curling

 

Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across an ice sheet toward a goal area divided into four concentric circles. It's connected to shuffleboard, boules, and bowls. Two teams of four players take turns sliding large, polished granite rocks, also known as stones, across the ice curling sheet toward the home, which is marked on the ice as a circular target. Each team has eight stones, with two stones being thrown by each participant. The goal is to get the highest score possible in a game; points are awarded for stones that are closest to the center of the house at the end of each end, which ends when both teams have thrown all of their stones. A game typically has eight or ten ends.

Since 1998, curling has been a medal sport in the Winter Olympics. Men's, women's, and mixed doubles competitions are now available (the mixed doubles event was held for the first time in 2018).

The International Olympic Committee ruled in February 2002 that the curling competitions from the 1924 Winter Olympics (formerly known as Semaine des Sports d'Hiver, or International Winter Sports Week) would be recognized legitimate Olympic events rather than demonstration events. The first Olympic medals in curling, which was played outdoors at the time, were awarded at the 1924 Winter Olympics, with the gold medal going to Great Britain, two silver medals to Sweden, and a bronze medal going to France. During the 1932 Winter Olympic Games, a demonstration competition was staged between four Canadian teams and four American teams, with Canada winning 12 games to 4.  

John Wayne Airport

 John Wayne Airport is a commercial airport located in Santa Ann, California and serves Orange County and the greater Los Angeles area. Originally named Orange County Airport, it was renamed in 1979 in honor of actor John Wayne, who lived in neighboring Newport Beach and died that year. A 9-foot bronze statue of "The Duke" was installed at the airport in 1982. In June 2020, a name change was requested in response to racist and bigoted comments the actor made in a 1971 Playboy interview. The resolution has asked the board to restore the airport's name back to Orange County Airport.

LaGuardia Airport

 

LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport that is located in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. The facility, which now spans 680 acres, was founded in 1929 and began functioning as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, and it is sometimes referred to as the "USS LaGuardia" by pilots because of its short runways that are surrounded by Flushing Bay, giving the impression of landing on a ship.

Airline service to domestic (and limited international) destinations is the primary focus of the airport. It was the third busiest airport in the New York metropolitan area, behind John F. Kennedy and Newark, and the twenty-first busiest in the United States by passenger volume, as of 2019. While the airport serves as a hub for both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, commercial service is restricted by a curfew, a slot system, and a "perimeter rule" that prohibits nonstop flights to or from destinations more than 1,500 miles.

LaGuardia was known in the 2000s and 2010s for having outdated and filthy buildings, inefficient air operations, and low customer service metrics. In response to these critiques, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) stated in 2015 that a multibillion-dollar rebuild of the airport's passenger infrastructure would be completed by 2025.  

O. J. Simpson

 Orenthal James Simpson was born in San Francisco, California, on July 9, 1947. His aunt named him Orenthal, allegedly after a French actor she admired. Following a high-profile 1995 criminal trial, O.J. Simpson was famously acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Simpson was eventually sentenced to 33 years in jail for kidnapping and armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2008. After nearly nine years in prison, O.J. was released on October 1, 2017.

Clark Gable

 

Clark Gable, also known as "The King of Hollywood," was an American film actor who was born William Clark Gable. During a 37-year career that included three decades as a leading man, he appeared in more than 60 films in a variety of genres. Gable died of a heart attack at the age of 59, and his final on-screen role was as an old cowboy in The Misfits, which was released after his death in 1961.

Gable was one of the most dependable box-office performers in history, featuring sixteen times in Quigley Publishing's annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll. The American Film Institute voted him the seventh-greatest male movie star of classic American film. He starred alongside some of the most well-known actresses of the time. Joan Crawford was one of his favorite actresses to work with, and they collaborated on eight films together. He collaborated with Myrna Loy seven times, while he appeared in six productions with Jean Harlow. He also appeared in four films with Lana Turner, as well as three with Norma Shearer and Ava Gardner.

It Happened One Night is a 1934 American romantic comedy film directed and co-produced by Frank Capra in partnership with Harry Cohn, in which a pampered socialite (Claudette Colbert) seeks to get out from under her father's thumb and falls in love with a roguish reporter (Clark Gable). The screenplay by Robert Riskin is based on Samuel Hopkins Adams' short tale "Night Bus," which provided the film's title in August 1933. The film, which is considered a "pre-Code" production, is one of the final romantic comedies made before the MPPDA began strictly enforcing the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code in July 1934. It Happened One Night was only four months old when the law was enacted.  

Tornadoes

 Tornadoes are one of Mother Nature’s most destructive forces and can come in all shapes and sizes. Rope tornadoes, which get their name from their rope-like appearance, are among the smallest and most common types of tornadoes. Most tornadoes begin and end their life cycle as a rope tornado before growing into a larger twister or dissipating into thin air. A stovepipe tornado is generally more dangerous than rope tornadoes as their paths tend to be wider, and can leave a larger trail of damage. Wedges are usually major tornadoes, and are given the rating of an EF-3 or higher. Wedge tornadoes have produced some of the most powerful and catastrophic tornadoes in history.

Steven Spielberg

 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 American science fiction film starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut, written and directed by Steven Spielberg. It depicts the story of Roy Neary, an ordinary Indiana blue-collar worker whose life is turned upside down after an encounter with an unexplained flying object (UFO).

For Spielberg, Close Encounters had been a long-awaited project. He had an agreement with Columbia Pictures for a science-fiction feature in late 1973. Though Spielberg gained sole credit for the screenplay, it was co-written by Paul Schrader, John Hill, David Giler, Hal Barwood, Matthew Robbins, and Jerry Belson, who all contributed in different ways. The title comes from Ufologist J. Allen Hynek's taxonomy of close encounters with extraterrestrials, in which the third type refers to human sightings of extraterrestrials or "animate entities." The visual effects supervisor was Douglas Trumbull, while the extraterrestrials were conceived by Carlo Rambaldi.

The film's roots can be traced back to director Steven Spielberg's boyhood in New Jersey, where he and his father witnessed a meteor shower. Spielberg completed the full-length science fiction film Firelight when he was 18 years old. On a shot-for-shot basis, many moments from Firelight were included into Close Encounters. In 1970, he published "Experiences," a short story about a lovers' lane in a Midwestern rural village and the "light display" seen in the night sky by a group of teens. After finishing The Sugarland Express in late 1973, Spielberg negotiated a deal with Columbia Pictures for a science-fiction feature. The offer had previously been rejected down by 20th Century Fox. Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips have agreed to serve as producers.  

Celebrities Who Worked for the USPS

 Some of America’s most well-known actors, businessmen, and cultural icons began their careers as postal employees. As a young man, Walt Disney worked as a delivery worker, as did actors Bing Crosby and Rock Hudson. Before becoming famous, Charles Lindbergh spent much of his time flying as an airmail pilot. Although many people are aware that Benjamin Franklin served as the first Postmaster General, the USPS also employed Abraham Lincoln before he became president. Other notable postal employees include funnyman Steve Carell, businessman Conrad Hilton and Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Owls

 Because all raptors are protected by state, federal, and international law, private individuals are prohibited from keeping a native owl as a pet without a falconry license. They may only be possessed by trained, licensed individuals while undergoing rehabilitation, as "foster parents" in a rehabilitation facility, in a breeding program, or for educational purposes. Even in these instances, the person licensed to keep the owl does not "own" the bird. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service retains "stewardship" of the birds so that they may recall them at any time if permit conditions are not being met.

Scarab Beetles

 

Several kinds of beetle, most notably Scarabaeus sacer (often known as the sacred scarab), were considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians.

The picture of a beetle is used in Egyptian hieroglyphic script to signify a triliteral phonetic that Egyptologists translate as xprw or hpr(w) and means "to come into being," "to become," or "to transform." Depending on the context, the derivative term xprw or hpr(w) is translated as "shape," "transformation," "happening," "way of being," or "what has come into being." It could be significant in terms of existential, fictional, or otologic terms. The scarab was associated with Khepri, the god of the rising sun ("he who has come into being"). The dung beetle was thought to be only male-sexed and reproduced by depositing semen inside a dung ball, according to the ancients. The beetle's alleged self-creation matches that of Khepri, who builds himself from nothing. Furthermore, a dung beetle's dung ball mimics the sun.

Khepri, according to the ancient Egyptians, renewed the sun every day before rolling it above the horizon, then carried it into the other realm after sunset, only to renew it the following day. A tripartite depiction of the sun god, with the beetle as a sign of the morning sun, can be found in certain New Kingdom royal tombs. The nightly "death" and "rebirth" of the sun is depicted in the astronomical ceiling of Ramses VI's tomb as the sun being swallowed by Nut, goddess of the sky, and re-emerging from her womb as Khepri.

The scarab is a symbol of metamorphosis, renewal, and resurrection that appears frequently in ancient Egyptian religious and funerary art.  

Robin Williams' Roommate at Juilliard

 Both Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve received their training at Juilliard, a performing arts college in New York City, in the early 1970s. While pursuing their degrees that would lead to successful Hollywood careers, Williams and Reeve became best friends and roommates. On the surface, they seemed to have little in common. Reeve noted, "We clicked right away because we were exact opposites." The friends made a pact that whoever first broke through as an actor would help the other. Although neither performer is still with us today, the comedian and 'Superman' star struck up a death-do-us-part friendship that would last decades.

Count

 

Count is a historical title of nobility in some European countries, with varied degrees of relative status and generally occupying a middle position in the nobility system. A count's land was denoted by the etymologically similar English term "county." In the aristocracy structures of several non-European countries, such as hakushaku during the Japanese Imperial Empire, equivalents of the rank of count exist or have existed.

Doctor Hannibal Lecter M.D. is a fictitious Lithuanian-American serial murderer who is known for eating his victims, earning him the moniker "Hannibal the Cannibal." Hannibal Lecter was born in a wealthy aristocratic family in a historic castle in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 1933. His father, simply known as Count Lecter, was a descendent of the warlord "Hannibal the Grim" (1365-1428), who defeated the Teutonic Order at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. He is the eighth generation in his family to carry his ancestor's surname.

The main adversary of A Series of Unfortunate Events and its various adaptations is Count Olaf. He is a crook, mastermind, and serial killer who commands the Volunteer Fire Department's Fire-Starting members. He is a Baudelaire foe who plots to deprive them of the Baudelaire fortune.

The titular character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula is Count Dracula. In succeeding works of fiction, he is regarded as both the prototypical and quintessential vampire. Some features of the character are said to be based on the 15th-century Wallachian Prince Vlad the Impaler, better known as Dracula, and Sir Henry Irving, an actor for whom Stoker worked as a personal assistant.  

Leghorn Chickens

 

Leghorns are a chicken breed from Tuscany in central Italy. Birds were first exported to North America in 1828 from Livorno, on the Tuscan coast. Originally termed "Italians," the breed was renamed "Leghorn" in 1865, an anglicization of "Livorno." The breed arrived in Britain from America in 1870. Many countries employ white Leghorns as layer hens. Other Leghorn species are rare.

The Leghorn's origins are unknown, however it looks to be descended from light Tuscan breeds. They were first shipped to North America from the Tuscan port of Livorno. The first exports were reported in 1828, "about 1830," and 1852. They were called "Italians" until 1865, when they were called "Leghorns" in Worcester, Massachusetts.

American Standard of Perfection 1874 Leghorn, black, white, and brown (light and dark). It was followed in 1886 by rose comb white. Red, black-tailed red, and Columbian followed in 1929. Black, buff, silver and golden duckwing were added in 1981.

The breed was first imported to Britain in 1870, and then re-exported to Italy. White Leghorns from the 1868 New York Show arrived in Britain in 1870, and brown Leghorns in 1872. These birds were little, weighing around 1.6 kg, and were bred with Minorca and Malay stock to gain weight. Gold and silver duckwings evolved in Britain in the 1890s, from crosses with Phoenix or Japanese Yokohama birds. Observations of Buff Leghorns in England began in 1888.