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1
...that
Saltwood Castle (pictured ) in
Kent , England, was the site where four knights plotted to kill
Thomas Becket in
1170 ?
Saltwood Castle, Kent, 1831
...that the fruit of the
colocynth is such a violent
laxative that it was even used by
pregnant women to induce
abortion ?
...that
U.S. Marine Corps
Medal of Honor recipient
Jay R. Vargas , one of four brothers who were
decorated war
veterans , requested that his medal be engraved with his mother's name instead of his own?
...that the blind cave beetle
Anophthalmus hitleri is threatened by
poaching due to its curious name, which is a dedication to
Adolf Hitler ?
...that
M. E. Clifton James
posed as
Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery as part of an
Allied deception plan called
Operation Copperhead in 1944, and then went on to play himself in a 1958 biopic called
I Was Monty's Double ?
...that
Jean-Baptiste Le Blond , chief
architect of
Saint Petersburg from
1716 until his death, introduced the distinctions between state
apartments and private apartments into French architectural practice?
...that the
Hairpin Banksia spike (pictured ) contains over 1,000 individual flowers around a central woody axis?
Banksia spinulosa
...that in Japan, the
Simpsons are better known for appearing in
C.C. Lemon
commercials than for their television show?
...that
Perth Gaol was built in the 1850s to house
convict labour, but by 1891, it was a
geological museum?
...that the native ornate
plainchant of
Benevento ,
Beneventan chant , co-existed with
Gregorian chant for over a century before it was abolished by papal decree?
...that the
music video for the song "
Vindaloo " was a direct parody of that of "
Bitter Sweet Symphony " by
The Verve , which was in turn a mocking recreation of the music video for "
Unfinished Sympathy " by
Massive Attack ?
...that
Aleksander Krzyżanowski , commander of
Polish resistance in the
Vilnius region, was arrested by the
Soviets after his unit helped them
liberate Vilnius from the Germans ?
...that the
noble rhubarb (pictured) of the frigid, sunburnt
Himalaya creates its own protective
greenhouse with
ultraviolet -blocking panels?
Noble Rhubarb
...that the
Christian sect of
Collegiants was formed in
1619 to defy the
Synod of Dort , which had forced
Holland to dismiss
liberal
ministers ?
...that according to the
U.S.
NIH ,
elective c-section and natural
birth have "similar degrees of risk" for most women?
...that the
Neo-Baroque equestrian
Monument to Nicholas I (1859) is the only statue of a 19th-century
tsar in
Saint Petersburg that was not demolished or relocated during the
Soviet era ?
...that
American
country musician
Cowboy Copas's private plane crashed in
Tennessee in 1963, killing him and everyone onboard, including fellow country music star
Patsy Cline ?
...that
Hindustani classical musician
Pandit
Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (pictured ) ushered in a renaissance of Hindustani music by his reorganisation of
Ragas ?
Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande
...that the
Diademed Sifaka is an athletic
lemur whose small groups defend a
rainforest
territory of up to 125 acres by
scent marking ?
...that
Britain 's regulations on
bread sales, as originated from the
Assize of Bread and Ale (
1266 ), were enforced for six centuries?
...that a type of
reflex hammer was popularized as a medical instrument after two neurologists brawled in
Vienna ?
...that
web notes were an experimental attempt by the
U.S.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing to find a cheaper alternative to
intaglio printing , but ultimately failed due to quality issues?
...that
Sonoma Creek (pictured) , a
California -designated critical
coastal
watershed , drains the acclaimed
Sonoma Valley
Wine Country , and provides a home to many
endangered species ?
...that the prosecution of writer and poet
Perihan Magden for urging defiance of mandatory military service has complicated
Turkey 's negotiations for membership in the
European Union ?
...that
Indian classical dancer
Mrinalini Sarabhai was married to
Vikram Sarabhai , considered the Father of the
Indian space program ?
...that the
Railsback curve shows that on a normally-
tuned
piano , low-
octave
notes will be lower and high-octave notes higher than expected, due to
inharmonicity ?
...that
Saugumas , a
Nazi -controlled
Lithuanian
secret police of the 1940s, was modelled after the infamous
Gestapo ?
...that the
Chinese box turtle (pictured ) has at least four
common names , and there is debate over its
genus classification?
Chinese Box Turtle
...that
ANTARES , a
neutrino
telescope under construction in the
Mediterranean Sea , will find neutrinos from
outer space by looking downward, into the
Earth ?
...that
Coldplay 's
A Rush of Blood to the Head Tour featured frontman
Chris Martin performing songs after inhaling a
helium balloon?
...that
Szeged 's
public transport company is one of only four city transport companies that operate
tram service in
Hungary ?
...that
Maraba Coffee , the first
Rwandan
coffee to gain
Fairtrade status , is used to make the only coffee
beer sold in the
British Isles ?
...that the legendary
Tamil stage and film artiste
K. B. Sundarambal was also a political activist, and the first film personality to enter an
Indian state legislature?
...that a new "
dwarf " dinosaur, a
sauropod named
Europasaurus (pictured ), was recently discovered in Northern
Germany ?
Size comparisons of adult and juvenile Europasaurus, and human. Size comparisons of adult and juvenile Europasaurus, and human.
...that economist
Barbara Ward , an early advocate of
sustainable development , was the first woman ever to address a
synod of
Roman Catholic
bishops ?
...that
climacteric years , occurring
septennially , were considered critical and dangerous moments in an
Ancient Greek 's life?
...that
New York Times theater critic
Howard Taubman said, "it is the destiny of the theatre nearly everywhere and in every period to struggle even when it is flourishing"?
...that due to protests and financial problems, the
Saint Petersburg Dam was one of the
Soviet Union 's most notorious long-term construction projects?
...that shortly after
Capt.
William Swift was given command of the
maiden voyage of
USS Connecticut , it was recalled to port because of a bout of
typhoid , and then run aground near
Culebra, Puerto Rico ?
...that Grand Duchess
Maria Pavlovna of Russia (pictured) was noted as a patroness of
Schiller ,
Goethe , and
Liszt ?
Portrait of Maria Pavlovna
...that
Super Typhoon Kate of the
1970 Pacific typhoon season , which struck the
Philippines less than a week after
Super Typhoon Joan , was at the time the deadliest typhoon ever to strike the Philippines?
...that 18th-century professional
portrait
painter
Tilly Kettle was the first
British painter to work in
India ?
...that, at the time of its construction in
1838 , the
Moscow Triumphal Gate in
Saint Petersburg was the largest
cast-iron structure in the world?
...that
British
pianist
Antony Peebles has performed in
concerts in 128 different countries around the world?
...that the
DSSAM Model is a
computer simulation used to study water quality of the
Truckee River , and assisted in conservation of two
endangered species ?
...that on every
December 8th , families celebrating
Fête des lumières in
Lyon ,
France , line their windowsills with candles to express gratitude to
Mary, mother of Jesus ? (pictured )
...that
Abner Kneeland became the last person in the
U.S. jailed for
blasphemy , in
Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Kneeland ?
...that
cledonism was an ancient form of
divination by listening to the chance words of passers-by, an example of which appears in the
Odyssey ?
...that in almost 100 years of existence,
Ireland King of Arms granted only three
coats of arms ?
...that a
client was an
Ancient Roman who traded his
vote for protection, in a similar way to the activities of modern
organized crime ?
...that if
U.S. -based
PacifiCorp decommissions the
Condit Hydroelectric Project in 2008, Condit Dam will be the largest
dam ever removed for environmental reasons?