Originally Published July 4, 2009.
Happy Independence Day to all of America. In light of the holiday, here are some interesting facts and trivia you may not have known about the 4th of July and about the founding of the United States in general:

1.) Benjamin Franklin wanted the national bird to be the turkey.

2.) There were around 2.5 million Americans in the United States in 1776.

3.) There are now over 300 million in America today.

4.) Mexico is the leading consumer of manufactured American flags.

5.) $3.4 million worth of American flags were made in China.

6.) The United States imported $193 million of fireworks from China in 2008.

7.) There is more than a 25% chance that the hot dogs and pork sausages that are being eaten today came from Iowa.

8.) 150 million hot dogs are eaten annually every July 4th in America.

9.) July 4th was not declared a national holiday until 1870.

10.) The stars on the original American flag were arranged in a circle in order to symbolize all the colonies were equal to each other.

11.) The first party for July 4th was held  in 1801 at the White House.

12.) Congress actually voted for independence on July 2nd but the Declaration of Independence wasn’t finished until July 4th. When they went to print it, July 4th was the date at the top of the page. (Always remember to write the proper date kids!!)

13.) It is a felony to shoot a bald eagle.

14.) The Founding Fathers actually signed the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776.

15.) Two U.S. presidents died on July 4 – Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.

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Originally published June 2, 2009.

The month of May is over, and now June has arrived. It’s incredible how fast the year is flying by. In honor of the new month, here is a short list of major world events that have happened in the month of June (in no particular order):

1.) D.Day – June 6, 1944

The famed invasion of Normandy by the Allied troops. Part of Operation Overlord, D-Day helped the Allied forces push forward into France and establish a new front on their way to liberate Paris. Many historians consider D-Day the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.  It was the largest and most successful amphibious assault in history and to this day, many accounts and depictions are created in film, television, print and art. Definitely an important world event.

2.) Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria – June 28, 1914

Often referred to as “The shot heard ’round the world,” many blame the assassination as the cause of World War I. A Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, was the assassin. In the aftermath, Austria’s demands from Serbia caused Serbia to activate its alliance with Russia, who in turn, had an alliance with the UK and France, known as the Triple Entente. Austria, in retaliation, activated their alliances with Germany and Italy. The Great War was born. The aftermath of WWI also lead indirectly to WWII, as well as the birth of the Soviet Union. This world event changed the world forever.

3.) Henry Ford test drives the Ford Quadricycle – June 4, 1896

Such a small world event leading to big thing. This small vehicle was the predecessor to all vehicles on the road today. Its top speed was 20 mph and used a gasoline engine. This little invention helped propel Ford to early automotive dominance. After he left the Henry Ford Company (later known as Cadillac), Ford established the Ford Motor Company in 1903. His Model T automobile revolutionized traveling, as people started living in the suburbs because of the car. He also made it affordable for the majority of Americans, due to the invention of the assembly line.

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Easter is a religious holiday. Yet, somehow, a big white (or pink) fluffy bunny managed to sneak in and steal the spotlight with his eggs. Many children enjoy participating in Easter egg hunts and meeting the Easter Bunny. I’ve called the Easter Bunny a member of the “Triumvirate of Evil,” along with Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. If you don’t believe that the Easter Bunny is a member of such group, then check out these 15 photos.

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April 1, a day in which everyone jokes around playing pranks. Unfortunately (and hilariously), some people forget that it is April Fools’ Day and believe everything that’s going on. Thanks to Museum of Hoaxes, here are some of the best April Fools’ Pranks that have been pulled off.

1.) Viagra for Hamsters

In 2000, The Independent had revealed that researchers in Florida had developed a Viagra pill for household pets. The article noted that it was widely known that hamsters think to themselves, “I haven’t had sex for months. Am I so unattractive?” In order to get your hamsters to do the down and dirty, owners were advised to grind up the pills and put them in their pet’s food.

2.) Sidd Finch

In 1985, Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher for the New York Mets. It was reported that this young phenom could throw a fastball at 168 mph extremely accurately. It was also reported that Sidd Finch had never even played baseball before, instead learning the art of pitching in a Tibetan Monastery. Sports Illustrated was overwhelmed with requests about this new phenom, and Mets fan were celebrating. Unfortunately for them, Sidd Finch was an invention of the story’s author, George Plimpton.

3.) Spaghetti Harvest

In 1957, a BBC show announced that Swiss Farmers had grown spaghetti crops. To help the illusion, there was video of farmers pulling spaghetti from trees. Thousands of people called in, asking how to grow their own spaghetti crops. BBC replied ,”place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”

4.) Taco Liberty Bell

In 1996, Taco Bell had announced that they purchased the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Citizens in Philadelphia and around the country called the National Historic Park (the home of the Liberty Bell) to express their anger and outrage over the commercialization of America. Hours later, Taco Bell finally revealed that it was a prank.

5.) Flying Penguins

Recently in 2008, the BBC announced that camera crews in Antarctica had captured footage of flying penguins. This “captured footage” was then put on YouTube as proof. The video mentions that the penguins fly south to the South American rainforests. Check out the flying penguins video on YouTube.

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St. Patrick’s Day is one of those holidays that everyone can celebrate. Just wear a little green and you’re good to go. To celebrate the holiday, here are 15 facts and trivia about Saint Patrick’s Day:

1.) There are no snakes, nor have there ever been, in Ireland. (It is said St. Patrick drove the evil snakes away)

2.) Saint Patrick wasn’t even Irish, he was British.

3.) The Chicago River is dyed green on Saint Patrick’s Day.

4.) 13 million pints of Guinness are consumed on St. Patrick’s Day around the world (the average daily consumption is around 5.5 million pints)

5.) The very first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in the United States, not Ireland.

6.) There are 4 cities in the United States with the name “Shamrock.”

7.) 36.5 million U.S. residents have Irish roots. The population of Ireland is over 4 million.

8.) The original color of the holiday was actually blue.

9.) The highest number of leaves ever found on a clover was 14.

10.) Boston is the most Irish city in America.

11.) Irish people do not actually eat corned beef on this holday. Irish-Americans came up with that.

12.) St. Patrick’s Day is the 9th biggest card selling holiday in the United States.

13.) Seattle, Washington, paints their road stripes green in honor of the holiday.

14.) March accounts for 10% of all Guinness sales.

15.) By law, pubs in Ireland were closed on St. Patrick’s Day because it was a religious holiday.

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Christmas is a time for spending quality moments with loved ones and celebrating the joy of the holidays. Families across the world make migrations to other family member’s houses and stay for extended periods of time, sometimes even longer than they were invited for (like permanently moving in). With all the joy and happiness that is in the air, it’d be a shame if Christmas was ruined. Here are 6 ways how that can happen.

1.) Knocking down the Christmas tree

Way to ruin Christmas

2.) Playing favorites

Imagine all the family is gathered around the tree and everyone is opening their presents. Then the”reject” is done opening their presents and helplessly searches around the tree for more presents that may have their name on it. Meanwhile, the others are still opening their presents and getting good stuff, like iPod Touches and new laptops, while you got a shirt that doesn’t fit and a pair of socks. We all know parents and families secretly play favorites, and it becomes obvious on Christmas. For the reject, Christmas will be ruined and the awkward question of “Is that it?” becomes the elephant in the room.

3.) Regifting/Terrible gifts

I would assume that there’s nothing that sucks more than opening a card you got for Christmas and instead of it being a Christmas card, it’s a St. Patrick’s Day card with the word St. Patrick’s Day crossed out and Christmas written in hand. Also when your Great Aunt Thelma gives you a pack of gum and a Chia Pet Obama, you know your Christmas is going to be a little less special.

4.) Making a huge announcement that shouldn’t be announced

If you want to announce you earned that promotion or that you and your spouse are going to have a child soon, then, by all means, please announce it on Christmas. It will increase the joy factor exponentially. However, if you are announcing you are going back to rehab, got your girlfriend of 2 weeks pregnant, failed out of school, or got pregnant by the guy who works at the Pizza Hut and lives in his mom’s basement, maybe it’s best you don’t announce it in front of the whole family at the dinner table on Christmas.

5.) Getting smashed

Eggnog can be dangerous. Getting smashed and telling your friends and family what you really feel about them might not be the best idea and could most definitely ruin Christmas. In fact, getting smashed is the most likely thing to happen out of everything on this list. It can also lead to number 6…

6.) Getting arrested

Don't be like him and ruin the Christmas spirit!

Image sources:

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Thanksgiving is one of the more widely celebrated holidays in the United States. In giving thanks, here are intriguing facts, figures, and trivia you may not have known about the holiday we call Thanksgiving:

1.) If you wanted to visit every house in the U.S. for Thanksgiving, you would end up visiting 117 million houses.

2.) There are 3 places in the U.S. called Turkey, one each in Texas, North Carolina, and Louisiana.

3.) On average, a person will consume 4500 calories on Thanksgiving.

4.) Turkeys can drown if they look up when it is raining.

5.) The state with the most turkey production in the United States is Minnesota.

6.) Every year, the President pardons a turkey. That turkey will not be eaten and will live peacefully.

7.) On Thanksgiving alone, between 530-680 million pounds of turkey is eaten by Americans.

8.) The first meal eaten by Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong on the Moon was roasted turkey (in a food packet of course).

9.) Thanksgiving was declared an official national holiday in 1941 and signed into federal law, fixed to the fourth Thursday of every November.

10.) The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was held in 1924 and the first character balloon was Felix the Cat three years later.

11.) While Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the U.S., it is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada.

12.) The monetary value of all the turkeys eaten in the U.S. is around $4.5 billion.

13.) Cranberries are native to the Americas.

14.) The first official Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621.

15.) Thanksgiving counts for 1/6th of the amount of total turkeys eaten during the year.

16.) Sarah Hale, composer of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, is credited as pushing Thanksgiving through as a national day of celebration. She wrote to 5 presidents until Abraham Lincoln finally declared the fourth Thursday of November a national day of thanksgiving.

17.) Wild turkeys can fly up to a speed of 55 mph.

18.) The biggest turkey on record was a whopping 86 pounds!!

19.) The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions host a game on Thanksgiving every year.

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Black Friday marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Being the day after Thanksgiving, it is usually one of the busiest shopping days of the year, with stores opening in the wee hours of the morning to sell stuff that you already saw for 10 months straight. People line up for blocks waiting for the doors to open to attempt to be the first one to buy that new HD TV on “sale.” Here are 7 things that are guaranteed to happen during the madness that is Black Friday.

1.) Stampedes and Long Lines

Yes, stampedes. People will gather together in a giant herd just grazing in the parking lot, but when the store opens its doors, they will become a giant crazed stampede of bargain shoppers. The stampedes are becoming so dangerous that a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death in 2008 when he opened up the doors. It’s eerily similar to the scene in The Lion King when Mufasa dies saving Simba.

This scene did not make the final film

2.) Injuries

With all that stampeding going on, there will be injuries. After the initial rush, though, is where the real damage happens. Shoppers are battling each other to grab that last pair of jeans, tripping each other to get to the Home & Garden department first, or shooting each other over toys.

Does anyone see a size 8?

3.) Really long checkout lines

What happens when all those people who rushed into the store are ready to buy and checkout? You’ll have to wait in another line to buy whatever it is you waited since 4 a.m. outside the store to get in the first place. Sometimes checkout lines can be an hour long. Some people wait in that long of a line just for one item. One item. If they only realized they could come back tomorrow or next week or go online and get the item and wait less than 10 minutes in a checkout line.

This better be the best damn pair of pants I've ever worn..

4.) Coffee

You may be asking yourself how do these people do it? How do they have the energy to wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning to stake out in front of a store and battle people to the death for a Tickle-Me-Elmo? Coffee, that’s how! Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, McDonald’s and other places serving coffee get big business from Black Friday shoppers. Sometimes the lines at these places are just as long as the ones in the stores. If only someone would setup a Port-A-Potty outside the stores and charge a nickel for someone to use it…

NEED COFFEE!

5.) Identity Theft

Millions of credit cards will be swiped on Black Friday. How do you know that the temp cashier hired for the holiday season isn’t a con artist or a identity thief? What’s that? Background checks you say? If he is an identity thief, he can just use another identity and clear the background check. Let’s not forget all the credit cards that will fall out of wallets and purses or be dropped on the ground, never to be used appropriately again.

6.) Empty Shelves

After the Black Friday rush, walk into a store. Look at their shelves. What do you see? Some of these stores look like barren wastelands like supermarkets do before a disaster. Some of the more popular stores may have more inventory to help repopulate the shelves, but it will take a few hours until the store looks like it did before the Black Friday shopper apocalypse.

7.) Hot electronic items will be gone within 30 minutes

The newest electronic toys will be gone within 30 minutes of the store opening. Why? Because people want new and hip technology and a way to say they are better everyone else who waited in line. Isn’t that what the holiday spirit is all about in the end?

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