A prime number is any number that can be divided only by itself and one. For example, 7 and 11 are prime numbers, but 12 is non-prime (because it can be divided by 2, 3, 4 and 6 in addition to itself and one). Around 300 BCE, Euclid deduced that there must be an infinite [more...]
Las Vegas is the largest city in the state of Nevada. In 1855, Mormons arrived in Las Vegas and established a fort. Las Vegas officially became a city in 1911 and is the largest American city officially founded in the 20th century. Well known areas such as the Las Vegas Strip are not part of [more...]
Independence, Missouri, is the city where U.S. President Harry S. Truman grew up, and the town is proud of that aspect of its history. Among the Truman related sites to visit are: The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, has numerous exhibits related to Truman’s life. It also hosts community events such as symposia related [more...]
For those interested in American frontier religious history, the Kansas City, Missouri, suburb of Independence City is well worth a visit. One of the first things visitors to Independence are likely to notice is the 90-meter-tall (300 feet) Community of Christ temple, as it is by far the tallest structure in the city. The temple [more...]
Is corned beef and cabbage really Irish? Well, the short answer is that corned beef and cabbage is about as Irish as spaghetti and meatballs. The dish was actually invented in the United States in the mid 1800′s, though it was developed by Irish immigrants. Since cattle were used for milk rather than meat in [more...]
The Ancient Romans were known for their highly evolved civilization, and for their inventions like the aqueduct. They were also known to love food and eating, and they often threw elaborate banquets to impress their friends with their knowledge of food and wine and to show off their wealth. That wasn’t how they ate all [more...]
Asteroids, or minor planets, are bodies in the solar system which are smaller than the planets, but larger than meteoroids. Most of them are to be found orbiting between the planets of Mars and Jupiter. However, there are many which pass near earth, and it is a possibility of a collision with one of these [more...]
St. Louis is the largest city in the state of Missouri, founded in 1763 and named after King Louis IX of France. In August 1876 the City of St. Louis voted to secede from St. Louis County and become an independent city. It was once the fourth largest city in the United States, but its [more...]
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas, founded in 1841 and incorporated as a city in 1856. Dallas is a place with lots to offer and an immense and varied set of attractions. There is the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas World Aquarium, artistic districts, and Dallas Cowboys Football (America’s Team) among a long list [more...]
Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska and has more than 40 percent of the state’s population. The city grew from being chosen as the site, in 1914, of a railroad construction port for the Alaska Railroad and incorporated on November 23, 1920. On March 27, 1964, Anchorage was hit by the magnitude 9.2 Good [more...]
A pangram is a sentence that contains all the letters of the alphabet. If no letters are repeated, the sentence is a perfect pangram. Perfect pangrams can be rather unsatisfying, because they need to make use of obscure words, abbreviations, slang or proper nouns. Here are a few perfect pangrams: Cwm fjord bank glyphs vext [more...]
FOBT is the acronym for Fixed Odds Betting Terminals. These are electronic gambling machines, many of which incorporate touch screen technology. In the UK they are to be found in casinos and betting shops. First introduced in 2001 in licensed betting shops, they have been identified as an increasing source of addiction for gamblers. In [more...]
Answerfinder’s article about Burial Clubs reminded me that many people worry about burial costs. Funeral insurance is big business, with a funeral home generally being the beneficiary of funeral expenses policies. This insurance pays for the casket (coffin), the flowers, the funeral service etc. This enables the policyholder to pay “up front” for their own [more...]
Supermarkets are now found in nearly all towns and cities in Britain and they have fundamentally changed the way we shop. They have also changed the look of our high streets, and as some argue, are causing the disappearance of small independent shops. The four largest supermarket chains are Tesco, Sainsbury’s, ASDA and Safeway. The [more...]
In many countries of the world you can buy a clock or watch that will always show the correct time to the nearest second, and which never needs to be set. It will even automatically switch to daylight savings time when applicable. How is this possible? The timepiece includes a radio receiver tuned to a [more...]
Towards the end of 2009, high-end smartphones were released by Nokia and HTC. Although they both have large, high-resolution screens they are two very different devices. What’s the comparison between Nokia’s N900 and HTC’s HD2? Both are convergence devices, but the most striking differences are that the N900 is a chunky side-slider with a hardware [more...]
If you want to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge, you have a few options ranging from from pedestrian to adventurous, and from free to expensive. A public walkway runs along the eastern side of the bridge, 59 metres (194 feet) above the water, at the same level as the roadway. You can look down to [more...]
The World Monuments Fund has issued its list of the most threatened world monuments for 2010. The WMF calls attention to “cultural heritage around the world that is threatened by neglect, vandalism, conflict, or disaster.” The list contains 93 monuments and buildings from across the world. From the richest nations to the poorest. Each of [more...]
When a new device incorporates the functionality of two or more earlier devices, it is a converged device. The development of a convergence device occurs when miniaturization or economics makes it possible to cram extra functionality into an existing device, or when technology common to two devices is factored out to make a more efficient [more...]
A new Constable of the Tower of London is appointed today. But what exactly does the Constable do? The Tower of London was founded by William the Conqueror in the 1080s. The castle is strategically sited on the Thames on the eastern approach to London and near London Bridge, for centuries the lowest crossing point [more...]