All citizens of South Korea legally have a birthday on January 1. There is no regard for the date on which one was actually born. I might add that people are considered to be one year old on their first January 1, two years old on their second January 1 … and so on.
It was in 1961 that New York’s Museum of Modern Art first displayed its new prize acquisition: a work of art by the famous Henri Matisse entitled “Le Bateau.” The work was carefully guarded and proudly displayed for 47 days. On the 47th day, a knowledgeable visitor named Genevieve Habert informed one of the administrators on duty that the art piece was hanging upside down. Genevieve was correct and “Le Bateau” (The Boat) was returned to the exhibit shortly after being carefully inverted.
Are you adept at speedily or artfully traversing over ice and/or snow? At this year’s Winter Olympics, more than 6,500 athletes are scheduled to compete in 102 events.
Meanwhile, the going rate for a 30 second TV commercial during this year’s Super Bowl is $5 million. Gosh, I shall feel guilty for leaving my TV room or ignoring the ads.
Some rather strange traditional beliefs in Morocco involve that hue-changing lizard called a chameleon. A woman who suspects her spouse of cheating can clandestinely mix chameleon flesh in with her husband’s food and have his fidelity restored. Additionally, should a person of any gender believe he/she might be living under a curse, that individual can toss a live chameleon onto a fire and circle the fire three times. If the lizard explodes, the curse is ended. If the poor creature melts or simply burns up, the curse continues. Rumor has it that these superstitious rituals are unpopular amongst chameleons.
Some herpetologists claim that a Galapagos sea tortoise named Harriet was the world’s oldest living animal when she passed away a while back. Harriet was estimated to be 175 years old and resided her last few decades in the Australia Zoo (Queensland). One of my grandsons inquired whether I inherited Harriet’s title, subsequent to her death.
Moooo. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the year 2017 found 515,000 milk cows producing in Texas. I acknowledge that I am late with the information, but January 11 was National Milk Day.
Scientists aver that the celebrated Confucius likely has more than 3 million descendants living at this very moment. Well, keep your Matisses suspended correctly – and have a great week.
James White is a retired mathematics teacher who enjoys sharing fascinating trivia. He can be reached at [email protected].
