My father was born in Chillicothe, Texas. I mention this because I thought there must be only one town in America named Chillicothe. There are five. Chillicothe in Ohio was once the capital of the state. Actually, it was twice the capital of the state — interesting story too long for this space.
Scientists have concluded that a fungus Tortotubus protuberans played a huge role in the development of life on this planet. The tiny fungus fed on lichen, bacteria and algae; and then created nourishing soils as the fungi decomposed. It is claimed that this enriched dirt made possible the growth of plants as well as primitive animals, e.g., worms.
The first confirmed discovery of a planet outside our solar system occurred in 1992. Since that date, the number of confirmed “exoplanets” has grown to 2,591 (as of 2016). All the known exoplanets are in our galaxy. I might add that astronomers are cognizant of billions of other galaxies.
Many of us who read Fahrenheit 451 in school were told that 451 F° was the common ignition temperature of paper. Ray Bradbury was an extraordinary author, but was a tad off as a scientist. The ignition point of paper occurs at about 391 degrees Fahrenheit. Perhaps Mr. Bradbury was confusing the Celsius scale with Fahrenheit measurements. Ignition temperature of paper is 450 degrees C° (source: Handbook of Physical Testing of Paper).
Las Vegas, Nevada is world famous nowadays as a gambling and entertainment mecca. In the nineteenth century, Las Vegas (Spanish for The Meadows) was a popular stopover to obtain water from springs in the Mohave Desert. Some settlers even tried farming in the region. A group of Mormons built and temporarily occupied a fort at the site in the 1850’s. Flow from the springs proved to be erratic and the area was unoccupied for long stretches. A town at the location was incorporated in 1911. Surprising to many is that in 1910 Nevada passed a strict law prohibiting gambling of any ilk. Even flipping a coin in order to determine who bought drinks was legally forbidden. It was in 1931 that Nevada legalized local gambling. The first Las Vegas establishment to receive a license in 1931 was a casino dubbed the Northern Club. More Las Vegas casinos have been built since.
During the nineteenth century a town called Las Vegas, New Mexico was much more famous than the town with the same name in Nevada. I shall soon relate a partial history of that village and a sampling of its notorious residents.
Juneau occupies the most area of any state capital in America. The city encompasses more than 2,700 square miles. Well, be kind to any Tortotubus protuberans that you encounter – and have a great week.
