The new median age of voting members of the House of Representatives is 57.5 years, and the new Senate’s median age is 64.7 years.

Montpelier, Vermont, is the only U.S. state capital without a chain restaurant.

The term “melting pot,” referring to the U.S. as being a fusion of nationalities, cultures, and ethnicities, first came about in the 1780s, but the term was popularized in the 1908 play, The Melting Pot.

Kansas City stationery store owners Rollie and Joyce Hall invented gift wrap in 1917. They went on to create Hallmark.

EMI medical engineer Godfrey Hounsfield created the first CT scanner. He used a brain from a cow slaughtered by a kosher butcher because it wasn’t hemorrhaged. According to urban legend, money from EMI Music – from the Beatles – helped fund Hounsfield’s research.

This article appears in January 24 • 2025.

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