August 28. 2011

The biggest recorded earthquake was a 9.5 on the Richter scale with an epicenter in Chile in 1960, thus making it over 1000 times stronger than the one felt in central Virginia on August 23, 2011.  For more Virginia earthquake info, check out Earthquakes in Virginia

August 27, 2011

Earthquakes on the East Coast travel farther and can do more damage further from the epicenter than their stronger West Coast counterparts because the underlying bedrock is pretty well-connected (like a concrete slab) while in the West, underlying topography is chopped-up (like a brick patio) causing the energy of a quake to dissipated closer to the epicenter.

August 26, 2011

The biggest recorded earthquake in Virginia (about a 5.8 on the Richter scale) was on May 31, 1897, in Pearisburg, the county seat of Giles County.

August 25, 2011

In earthquakes above 4.5 on the Richter scale, some buildings begin to fall.

August 24, 2011

Virginia is classified as a "moderate" seismic risk, and has a 10-20% chance to experience a 4.75 quake every century or so.

August 23, 2011

Peppers are spicy so that birds (who can't taste spice) and not mammals will eat them and carry their seeds farther than mammals would be able to.

August 22, 2011

In the final two months of pregnancy, a fetus can distinguish differences in tone and rhythm of voices, particularly the mother's.

August 21, 2011

A 20-week-old fetus can be stimulated and irritated by sounds.

August 20, 2011

At 3.5 weeks, a production of neurons in an embryo occurs at a rate of 250,000 per minute.

August 19, 2011

The ovum, even though it only measures 1/175 inch in diameter (the size of a period on a page) is the largest single cell in the human body.

August 18, 2011

"He declined to combat on such unequal grounds and retreated" Meriwether Lewis (on his encounter with a bear).


Meriwether Lewis (an alumnus of Liberty Hall (now Washington and Lee University)), born August 18, 1774 in Ivy, Virginia, was allegedly assassinated (or committed suicide) in his cabin in Tennessee in 1809. 

August 17, 2011

"I like to believe that love is a reciprocal thing, that it can't
really be felt, truly, by one."  Sean Penn

Sean Justin Penn, born August 17, 1960, was married to Madonna for a
very hectic four years, in which he served 33 (of 60) days in prison
for assaulting a photographer, allegedly hung a paparazzo (who had
been waiting for Penn in his hotel room) off the 9th floor balcony by
his ankles, and was charged for felony domestic assault.

August 16, 2011

"I always thought I should be treated like a star." Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone, born August 16, 1958, shares her birthday with Kathie Lee Gifford and Rumer Willis (daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore).  Madonna moved to New York with $35 to her name, got a job at Dunkin' Donuts and joined a band.  She sang, played drums and guitar for her first band "Breakfast Club."

August 15, 2011

"There's something really great and romantic about being poor and sleeping on couches."  Ben Affleck
Also, true bromance at its best: "If I ever woke up with a dead hooker in my hotel room, Matt would be the first person I'd call." Ben Affleck

Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt, born August 15, 1972, was eight years old when he first met Matt Damon (who was 10 at the time).  Matt lived two blocks away, and turned out to be a distant cousin of Ben's.  The two reached stardom when they created "Good Will Hunting." 

August 14, 2011

"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture."  Steve Martin


Stephen Glenn Martin, born August 14, 1945, was once the victim of an art forgery scam.  He purchased a painting entitled "Landscape with Horses" from a Parisian gallery for $850,000 that later turned out to be a forgery when he tried to resell it resulting in a loss of roughly $350,000.

August 13, 2011

"Keep cool; anger is not an argument." Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster served in the House of Representatives for ten years (representing New Hampshire), the Senate for nineteen years (representing Massachusetts), and served as the Secretary of State for three presidents.

August 12, 2011

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." George Washington

One Friday morning, George Washington reported a sore throat, the next night, December 14, 1799, he died, his final words being "'Tis well."   Many people around the world mourned his death.  Napolean, for example, ordered 10 days of mourning in France.  Martha Washington, in order to protect their privacy, burned all of the letters between her and George.  Only five survive.

August 11, 2011

"A woman is never sexier than when she is comfortable in her clothes. " Vera Wang

Vera Ellen Wang trained to be a figure skater, even competing at the 1968 US Figure Skating Championships.  It was only once she did not make the Olympic team that she began her career in fashion. 

August 10, 2011

"Deep breaths are very helpful at shallow parties. " Barbara Walters

Barbara Jill Walters (born in 1929) cohosted NBC's "The Today Show" with Frank McGee, but was not officially titled cohost until his death.  McGee refused to co conduct interviews with Walters unless he could ask the first four questions.

August 9, 2011

"Everybody has to be a little lucky, I think. " Christopher Walken

Ronald "Christopher" Walken, a first generation American, has appeared in over 100 movies and television shows. 

August 8, 2011

"Life is a game and true love is a trophy. " Rufus Wainwright

Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright was nominated for a genie award for Best Original Song at the age of 15, only 2 years after he first started touring.

August 7, 2011

"I don't really look at myself as the kind of person who craves attention, but I've never been to therapy so there's probably a lot of stuff about myself that I don't know. " Al Yankovic

Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic continued on with a concert in Minnesota in 2004 even after he was informed that both of his parents were found dead, victims of carbon monoxide poisoning.  

August 6, 2011

"People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people - and that social norm is just something that has evolved over time. "
Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook,  could read and write French, Hebrew, Latin, and ancient Greek. He was known in college for occasionally reciting lines from Homer's "The Illiad" and other epic poems.

August 5, 2011

"Words impress me. If a man can speak eloquently and beautifully to me, I just melt on the floor."
Catherine Zeta-Jones

Catherine Zeta-Jones married Michael Douglas (25 years her senior to the day) only a few weeks after his divorce was finalized.  Eleven years later, they are still married.  In April 2011, Catherine Zeta-Jones sought treatment for bipolar II disorder.

August 4, 2011

"To read too many books is harmful." Mao Zedong

Chairman Mao's personal physician published a book after the man's death that claimed that he was a chain smoker who rarely left his bed, never bathed or brushed his teeth, and had a large number of sexual partners from whom he contracted multiple venereal diseases.

August 3, 2011

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it
would be a merrier world." J. R. R. Tolkien 

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was orphaned at the age of 12, his father
having died of rheumatic fever when Ronald, as his parents called him,
was only three and his mother having died of type 1 diabetes.

August 2, 2011

"Existence really is an imperfect tense that never becomes a present."
Friedrich Nietzsche  Also, "'Evil men have no songs.' How is it that
the Russians have songs?"  Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche was originally Prussian, but applied for annulment
of his citizenship.  Once granted the annulment, he spent the rest of
his days stateless but claimed (falsely) to be a decedent of Polish
nobility.

August 1, 2011

"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." Leo Tolstoy 
also, "Nietzsche was stupid and abnormal."  Leo Tolstoy 

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, a Russian author (and son of a Count) best
known for his novels "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina", was
described by his teachers as "unwilling and unable to learn". 
Eventually, he found himself in massive gambling debts, so he joined
the Russian army with his brother.