The Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge is the world’s longest of any type of bridge. It is in China and is a 102.4 mile-long viaduct on the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway.
The word ‘pontiff’, often applied to the Pope or other high-ranking clerics, comes from the term ‘Pontifex Maximus’. He was the head of the College of Priests in Ancient Rome. The term is thought to be derived from the Latin words ‘pons’ (bridge) and ‘facere’ (to make).
August Derleth wrote a series of novels about Solar Pons, a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes. He eventually wrote more stories about Pons that Conan Doyle wrote about Sherlock.
The first Roman emperor, Augustus, was the grand-nephew of Julius Caesar.
A Bloody Caesar, or just “Caesar” is one of the most popular cocktails in Canada. It’s made from vodka and Clamato juice, which is a mix of tomato juice and clam broth. Hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce are also added. The glass is rimmed with pepper and the whole garnished with a stalk of celery.
The drink is extremely popular in Canada, but virtually unknown out of the country.
That cocktail sounds revolting.
According to Wikipedia the first “cocktail party” took place in St Louis, Missouri, in a house which has subsequently become the official residence of the Catholic Archbishop.
The Lea & Perrins brand of Worcestershire sauce dates from 1837 and has continued to be the leading global brand.
Sorry Bullitt, I got in first.
The city of St Louis was named after King Louis IX of France. The last King Louis of France was Louis XVIII.
“The Last King of Scotland” was a film released in 2006.
It tells the fictional story of Dr. Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young Scottish doctor who travels to Uganda and becomes the personal physician to the dictator Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker).
James McAvoy played the role of Mr Tumnus the faun in the Narnia films.
When James Lipton interviewed Robin Williams and asked him, “If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?”, Williams answered,
"There’s seating near the front.
"Or… The concert begins at 5. It’ll be Mozart, then Elvis, and then you have one of your choosing.
"Or… just nice, if heaven exists, to know that there’s laughter there, that’d be a great thing. Just to hear, God goes, ‘Two Jews walk into a bar…’ "
Sir Thomas Lipton, 1st Baronet, created the Lipton tea brand. He was a passionate yachtsman and challenged five times for the America’s Cup.
Actress Peggy Lipton of The Mod Squad was married for 16 years to jazz trumpeter Quincy Jones.
16 is the base of the hexadecimal numeral system. It uses the digits 0-9 and the letters A, B, C, D, E and F to represent numbers.
The number 16 in hex is 10.
The English word ‘hex’, meaning an evil charm or spell, is derived from the Ancient Greek word ‘hexe’, a witch.
“Night Witches” is the English translation of Nachthexen, a World War II German nickname for the female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, known later as the 46th “Taman” Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, of the Soviet Air Forces. The regiment was formed by Colonel Marina Raskova and led by Major Yevdokia Bershanskaya. It was the most highly decorated female unit in the Soviet Air Forces, each pilot having flown over 800 missions by the end of the war and twenty-three having been awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union title. Flying Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes, their specialty was to shut off the engine and glide silently over German lines, dropping their bombs directly on troops before they knew they were under attack.
The title of Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” is based on a misconception. The painting did not show a night scene at all, but over the years dirt and coats of varnish darkened the scene so it was given the nickname that is now known as its title (the original title was “Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq”). The painting also has been cut down over the years so a portion of it has been lost.
I made this post on Saturday. Weird.
BIP:Rembrandt lived beyond his means, buying art (including bidding up his own work), prints (often used in his paintings), and rarities, which probably caused a court arrangement to avoid his bankruptcy in 1656, by selling most of his paintings and large collection of antiquities.
Also in 1656 the law was changed to allow the (re)settlement of the Jews in England.