Category: +Did You Know?

Did You Know? You might say, “Vatican City State,” which is the smallest country that is extensively recognized. But Vatican City State is *huge* compared to the self-proclaimed micronation of Sealand. Sealand is only 6 *thousand* square feet, while Vatican City State is 4.7 *million* square feet! Vatican City State is *almost a thousand times larger* than Sealand! The latter is based on an old British gun platform from WWII in the North Sea and boldly proclaimed its independence from the UK in 1967. You have to admire the courage of the plucky Sealanders (all four of them). The only reason their nation hasn’t been crushed by British military might is, apparently, that it’s not deemed worth crushing. LEARN MORE.

Did You Know? The Roman Emperor Nero, after being declared an enemy of the state by the Roman Senate, was forced to commit suicide June 9, A.D. 68. He had high regard for himself as an actor and a musician. Among his last words were the famous phrase, “Qualis artifex pereo,” or, “What an artist dies in me!” Nero had previously put St. Peter and St. Paul to death, and–by an interesting not-so-coincidence–“Nero Caesar” adds up to 666 in Hebrew and Aramaic. Good riddance to this guy. LEARN MORE.

Did You Know? During the French Revolution, arch-terrorizer Maximillian Robespierre inaugurated France’s new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, with large festivals all across France, on June 8, 1794. It didn’t last, but this was one in a series of events that did enormous damage to French Catholicism. LEARN MORE.

Did You Know? The first drive-in theater opened in Camden, NJ on Jun 6, 1933. They had to do experiments to figure out how to make motion pictures work outdoors, and a big audience in cars. The ad slogan for the first theater was,”The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are,” and the first film shown was the Adolphe Menjou film Wife Beware. Many drive-ins devised very elaborate and sometimes quirky modes of comfort. Some drive-ins provided small propane heaters, attempting to entice their patrons to come in colder months. Some drive-ins provided a heating or air-conditioning system via underground ducts to heat or cool patrons. During their height, some drive-ins used attention-grabbing gimmicks to boost attendance. They ranged from small airplane runways, unusual attractions such as a small petting zoo or cage of monkeys, actors to open their movies, or musical groups to play before the show. I remember being taken to drive-ins quite a bit as a boy, including one that had a playground for kids in front of the screen (for use before the movie began). I have fond memories of going, except for that time I got sick as a dog with food poisoning and had to lay in the back, wanting to just go home and die, while everyone else watched the show. LEARN MORE.

Did You Know? The earliest (known) story that is frequently classified as science fiction (involving outer space travel, as opposed to merely battling supernatural monsters, which would be fantasy) is “True History” by Lucian of Samosata. It was written between A.D. 100 and 200, and it was a satire of popular literature of the day. It includes outer space battles. (Yay! Outer space battles!) It also includes a trip to the Moon, where the travellers “find themselves embroiled in a full-scale war between the king of the Moon and the king of the Sun over colonisation of the Morning Star, involving armies which boast such exotica as stalk-and-mushroom men, acorn-dogs (“dog-faced men fighting on winged acorns”), and cloud-centaurs.” (Of course, in reality, the first story that we would classify as science fiction is undoubtedly lost to history, but I hope you enjoy this first surviving one.) Check it out! LEARN MORE.

Did You Know? Jericho has the reputation of being the oldest city in the world, with settlements there dating as far back as 9,000 B.C. (or 11,000 years ago!). Two other nearby cities–Damascus and Byblos–are rivals for the title of oldest city, though. Still, Jericho is pretty epically ancient! LEARN MORE.

Did You Know? The poem “Casey at the Bat” was published June 3, 1888 in the San Francisco Examiner. The author was Ernest Thayer, though since he published it under a pen name, there was originally confusion about this. It’s a highly entertaining poem. So much so that even I, a non-sports fan, can quote parts of it. LEARN MORE.

Did You Know? Earth’s North Magnetic Pole (as opposed to it’s northern true pole) was discovered June 1, 1831 by the British explorer James Clark Ross. Unlike the south pole, when it was discovered, there was no sign of shoggoths. LEARN MORE.

Did You Know? Though he had appeared previously, Mickey Mouse first spoke in the short subject The Karnival Kid, which was released May 31, 1929, directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by The Walt Disney Studio and released to theaters by Celebrity Productions. It is the ninth film in the Mickey Mouse but it is the first in which Mickey speaks. (During his first eight appearances Mickey whistled, laughed, cried and otherwise vocally expressed himself.) Mickey’s first spoken words were in this cartoon, “Hot Dogs!” “Hot Dogs!”, the vocal effects being provided by Disney. Minnie Mouse also appeared. LEARN MORE.

Did You Know? The “Goddess of Democracy”–a 33-foot foam and paper mache statue was unveiled May 30, 1989 in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, before the draconian government crackdown (which I remember vividly; my wife and I were celebrating our first wedding anniversary when they occurred). Of course, the desires for democracy and freedom are understandable, as is the desire for a symbol to represent them, but the whole goddess thing would be better handled another way. We’ve got that whole Statue of Liberty thing covered, without it becoming an Idol of Freedom. LEARN MORE.