Here's your (not so) totally useless fact(s) of the day:

[phkrause]

In 1893, an amendment was proposed to rename the U.S. into the "United States of the Earth."

[phkrause]

The Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda, is a portrait by the Italian artist
Leonardo da Vinci and is one of the most valuable paintings in the world. The
Italian name for the painting, La Gioconda, means "jocund" ("happy" or "jovial"),
or literally "the jocund one", a pun on the feminine form of the sitter's married
name Giocondo. The model, Lisa del Giocondo, was the wife of wealthy
Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The painting is thought to have
been commissioned for their new home, and to celebrate the birth of their second
son.

James

[phkrause]

Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, marks the anniversary of the
end of World War I. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918,
an armistice between Germany and the Allied nations came into effect.

James

[phkrause]

"Groaking" is the act of watching people eat food, hoping they'll offer you some.

James

[phkrause]

Theophilus Van Kannel invented revolving doors because he hated opening
doors for women.

James

[phkrause]

The flag of the state of Wyoming consists of the silhouette of an American bison.
In 1916, an open competition was held for the design of an official Wyoming flag.
A $20 cash prize was offered for the winning design, and the contest received 37
submissions. An artist by the name of Verna Keays took first place with her
design of a bison (Wyoming's official state mammal) with the state seal branded
at its center. On January 31, 1917 the new design was adopted, and signed into
law.

James

[B/W Photodude]

19 hours ago, phkrause said:

Theophilus Van Kannel invented revolving doors because he hated opening
doors for women.

An invention ahead of it's time! Many men have been subjected to verbal abuse by feminists who insist they do not need some man holding a door for them. One man after enduring a tongue lashing from some self sufficient feminist simply replied, "I'm sorry. I thought you were a lady!"

[phkrause]

People pace while talking on the phone because they don't have visual feedback.
So the body reacts by moving.

James

[phkrause]

In "Silence of the Lambs," Hannibal Lector never blinks when he speaks.

[phkrause]

On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state to enter the union.
Oklahoma is known by its nickname, The Sooner State, in reference to early
settlers who flooded the region to claim a stake of unassigned land prior to the
official opening date. People who entered the district illegally to lay claim to land
were called "Sooners." Early legal settlers had a very low opinion of Sooners.
However, like many nicknames, this one's negative connotations faded over time
and Oklahoma adopted the nickname “The Sooner State”.

James

[phkrause]

Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus are both legendary singers, and they have a deep
connection with one another, too. Dolly Parton is Miley Cyrus' godmother. Her
relationship with Miley stems from a long-lasting friendship with the 26-year-old's
father and fellow musician, Billy Ray Cyrus. Billy Ray first met Dolly when he
toured with her after the release of his single "Achy Breaky Heart" in 1992. Miley
Cyrus was born the same year, and Parton has been in her life ever since. Fans
who've followed Cyrus since the Hannah Montana days will likely remember that
Parton made an appearance as Miley's godmother on the show.

James

[phkrause]

Tim Allen overcame his imprisonment for drug dealing as a young man to
become a popular stand-up comedian. He found sitcom success as Tim "The
Toolman" Taylor in Home Improvement in 1991, fueling a successful Hollywood
career. Allen has been highly praised for his voice performance as Buzz
Lightyear in Pixar's Toy Story franchise. Along with Sheriff Woody, he is one of
the two lead characters in all four Toy Story movies. Buzz Lightyear's name was
in honor of Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, the second person to walk
on the Moon.

James

[phkrause]

Thanksgiving didn't become a national holiday until over 200 years later! Sarah
Josepha Hale, the woman who actually wrote the classic song “Mary Had a Little
Lamb,” convinced President Lincoln in 1863 to make Thanksgiving a national
holiday, after writing letters for 17 years campaigning for this to happen.

James

[phkrause]

Unlike the seven men who preceded him in the White House, Martin Van Buren
was the first president to be born a citizen of the United States and not a British
subject. He was born in a Dutch dominated village of Kinderhook in New York
State. He was raised speaking Dutch and learned English at school, making him
the only U.S. president who spoke English as a second language. Standing just
5 feet 6 inches tall, the “Little Magician” was elected Vice President on the
Jacksonian ticket in 1832, and won the Presidency in 1836.

James

[phkrause]

The Ramones were a punk rock band that formed in the New York City
neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. They are often cited as the first
true punk rock group. All of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with
the surname "Ramone", although none of them were biologically related. They
performed 2,263 concerts, touring virtually nonstop for 22 years. In 1996, the
band disbanded. By 2014, all four of the band's original members had died – lead
singer Joey Ramone (1951–2001), bass guitarist Dee Dee Ramone (1951 -
2002), guitarist Johnny Ramone (1948–2004) and drummer Tommy Ramone
(1949–2014).

James

[phkrause]

McDonald's is one of the largest owners of real estate in the world and it
earns the majority of its profits from collecting rent, not from selling food.

James

[phkrause]

For the past 10 years, the U.S. Secret Service has exclusively used the Belgian
Malinois on its canine force. These elite breed of dogs are known for being agile
and effective at detecting explosives. They can often be seen patrolling just
outside the White House gates, sniffing their way through the throngs of visitors,
protesters and joggers passing by. They can run 25 miles per hour and have a
bite that applies hundreds of pounds of pressure per square inch. A Belgian
Malinois dog named “Cairo” accompanied Navy SEALs on the raid that killed
Osama bin Laden.

James

[phkrause]

His fans are known as Hulkamaniacs. He is arguably the most influential
superstar in the sport of pro wrestling. He is Terry Gene Bollea, better known by
his ring name as Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan was one of the most beloved figures in
the World Wrestling Federation during the 1980s, known for his flamboyance and
the frenzy of his fans, which was referred to as “Hulkamania.” Hulk Hogan began
his professional wrestling career in 1977. He quickly rose to super-stardom, and
the resulting fan frenzy, nicknamed Hulkamania, became legendary.

James

[phkrause]

While a British rock band made his name famous nearly 300 years after his birth,
Jethro Tull (1664 – 1741) was renowned in his own right as an agricultural
pioneer and the inventor of the seed drill, the horse drawn hoe, and an improved
plough, all major developments in the agricultural revolution. Tull's methods
helped to provide the basis for modern agriculture. The progressive rock band
Jethro Tull took their name after the 18th century agriculturalist. The name
proved to be popular and memorable, and it stuck.

James

[phkrause]

n 1939, Franklin Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up a week to help stir up the
economy during the Depression so that the Christmas shopping season would
last longer. It was a disaster. Many governors refused to recognize the earlier
holiday, resulting in Thanksgiving celebrations taking place on separate days in
different states. The country became split on which Thanksgiving they should
observe, when 23 states chose to celebrate the holiday on its original date, rather
than move it up a week. A 1941 Commerce Department survey concluded that
the earlier date did nothing to increase sales.

James

[phkrause]

George Washington was the first president to declare Thanksgiving a holiday, but
it was on a year-to-year basis, so each president had to re-declare it every year.
Thomas Jefferson was so adamantly against Thanksgiving that he refused to
declare it a holiday during his entire presidency. Jefferson passionately believed
in the separation of church and state, and thought that the day of "prayer"
violated the First Amendment. It wasn’t until 1863, when Abraham Lincoln
proclaimed Thanksgiving a federal holiday to be commemorated each year on
the fourth Thursday of every November.

James

[phkrause]

There are roughly 100 million turkeys that live on farms across the United States.
On Thanksgiving, we’re expected to eat 46 million of them. The latest 2016
numbers from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service shows that two
thirds of turkeys produced in the U.S. hail from six states. Minnesota leads the
nation in turkey production, with 49 million turkeys. Next is North Carolina, with
33 million turkeys. Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, and Virginia round out the list,
with each state contributing more than 15 million turkeys annually.

James

[phkrause]

Fresh snow absorbs sound, lowering ambient noise over a landscape because
the trapped air between snowflakes attenuates vibration. That's why it gets so
quiet when it snows.

James

[phkrause]

The name “Black Friday” originated in Philadelphia, when it was coined by the
Philadelphia Police Department in 1966 to describe the chaos caused by
massive traffic jams, car accidents and congested sidewalks that resulted from
the shopping day after Thanksgiving. Contemporary use of the term now refers to
it as the point in the year at which retailers begin to turn a profit, thus going from
being "in the red" to being "in the black". Since 2006, there have been 11 deaths
and 108 injuries as a result of Black Friday events.

James

[phkrause]

This game show first debuted in 1964 and is still on the air with millions of people
tuning in every night. The answer, of course, is Jeopardy! — or shall we say,
“What is Jeopardy!” No, we are not shouting at you. Interestingly, the
exclamation point at the end of the word is part of the show’s official name. With
over 8,000 episodes aired, the daily syndicated version of Jeopardy! has won a
record 33 Daytime Emmy Awards as well as a Peabody Award. Another five
awards have been won by Alex Trebek for Outstanding Game Show Host.

James