“America’s Sweetheart,” the actress Mary Pickford, was born in Canada.
In 2010, an investigation led by Christopher C. Burt convinced the World Meteorological Organization that El Azizia, Libya, did not have the hottest recorded temperature – 136.4°F in 1922 – and that it was probably a mistake. The “real” record is probably 129°F in Death Valley, Calif., in 1960, 1998, 2005, and 2007.
Occam’s razor is known for William of Ockham, a Franciscan friar from Ockham, Surrey. So it really should be called William’s razor.
The U.S. has 4.4% of the world’s total population, but 22% of the world’s prison population, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Fainting goats, also known as myotonic goats, will freeze their muscles for three seconds if they feel panic, which usually results in the animal falling on their side. The reason for the fainting is a muscle condition they share with humans called myotonia congenita.
This article appears in May 12 • 2017.