The capital of Montserrat, a British island in the Caribbean, is a ghost town. In 1997, about 80 percent of it was buried under one-and-a-half meters of volcanic lava and ash.
More than half of the population of Canada lives south of Seattle, Washington.
mmm
On N.P.R. tonight, I learned about the African crested rat, Lophiomys imhausi, sometimes called the African maned rat.
They chew the toxic bark of the local Acokanthera schimperi tree, which is also known as the “poison arrow tree.” Then they apply the mixture to their own fur … thus making them the only known poisonous (not venomous) rodent.
As someone who breeds another exotic African rodent (the African soft-furred rat, or ASF, or multimammate) this absolutely FASCINATED me.
Civil war general and later president, Ulysses Grant was also an artist.
More info here:
Speaking of Grant, the house in Wilton, NY, where he died has been kept in the same condition it was at that time, including with all the furniture and fixtures (it’s also just outside the fence of a former prison; when the prison was operating, you couldn’t see the Grant site without being checked out by prison security).
This led to an issue: at the time of his death, Grant was taking cocaine as a way to help manage his pain. There a big bottle of it on the mantle of the living room. Agents from the DEA periodically test it to make sure it’s all there.
More than 9% of Canadian citizens live outside of Canada - making Los Angeles and New York rank among the 10 largest “Canadian” cities.
(about 2% of USA citizens live outside the country).
Chicago is nicknamed the “Windy City,” but not because of the weather. Nineteenth-century journalists first gave Chicago this designation when criticizing the city’s elite as “full of hot air.” They said that the city was full of “windbags,” people with inflated egos who cared about nothing but profit. More and more journalists—from Cincinnati in particular—began using the “Windy City” jab, and it stuck.
Humans actually have four nostrils! Gotta say, that completely boggled my mind.
More boggl-age here?
The nose is more closely connected to our genitals than any other organ. It is covered in that same tissue. So when one area gets stimulated, the nose will become stimulated as well. Some people have too close of a connection where they get stimulated in the southerly regions, they will start uncontrollably sneezing. And this condition is common enough that it was given a name called honeymoon rhinitis.
It continues (and bewildered me)
…it will close one nostril and allow breath in through the other nostril, then that other nostril will close and allow breath in. Our bodies do this on their own.
Internal nostrils…now it makes sense.
Very interesting. On a related note, in a quiz the other week, the question “What is the windiest city in the world?” came up, and several of us incorrectly guessed Chicago. The correct answer is Wellington, New Zealand - which is also the world’s most southerly capital city.
France and the Netherlands share a land border on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin
SMU plays FB at Gerald J Ford stadium but it’s not named for the former US president. He was Gerald R Ford but he played college FB at Michigan . He played on 2 undefeated teams that won national titles. He played linebacker , center and long snapper.
Speaking of SMU…
Peruna was a patent medicine that had 18% alcohol. When SMU took a small horse for its mascot in 1932, they named it Peruna because (some say) it was full of kick. The current horse is Peruna IX. Here’s your multiple choice about this mascot.
Did Peruna…
A) Kick and kill the Fordham Ram mascot when he got too close
B) Spend the night in every sorority house on SMU campus
C) Get his own cab, his own elevator, and his own hotel suite while traveling with the band
D) Defecate at midfield during a TCU - SMU game, the week that TCU unveiled the school’s brand new Field Turf
E) Attend both the commencement of incoming freshmen, and the graduation of seniors
???
The answer is…
All of the above. And more. When Cully Culwell was having difficulty locating a black stallion to replace Peruna VI, he shared, “stallions are hard to obtain now because most young male horses are castrated to make them tamer….a stallion which is more aggressive, better represents the spirit of the SMU Mustangs.” [4]" Peruna - Wikipedia
Mexico City has a larger population than New York. I had no idea it was so large.
Well, NYC is not even in the Top 20 is the world.
I think one issue has traditionally been what you consider a city. Do suburbs, exurbs, etc. count? If you draw your boundaries far out you have bigger populations but how about densities? Manhattan made this list at #8; so did Neza at #54.
That link is for population density. But you’re right that the stats change when you include entire metro areas (and where you draw the lines). I was talking about just the population of the city proper; i.e. people who live within the city itself, which is what I believe Dark Sponge was referring to.
And here is population density by district within cities:
Arizona’s Yuma Union High School Mascot is “the Criminal.” After the original school was burned in a fire in 1910, classes were held in a nearby prison space until a new school was built. A rival high school dubbed their football team “the Criminals”, and the name stuck. It was officially adopted as the new school mascot name in 1917. Over 700 criminals graduate and enter the adult world every year.
On occasion, I’ll catch an episode of Judge Judy which has been on for 25 years. My husband used to watch it all the time so I thought I was very familiar with the show. I always thought she was calling her bailiff Bert. I just found out today that she’s saying Byrd not Bert! His name is Petri Hawkins Byrd.