Trivia Today - Friday, August 1, 2014

Greetings Infomaniacs,

NOTE: Because I will be out of town and doing this week's newsletters ahead of time, I will not be featuring a new mind scrambler this week. Please check back Monday for a brand new mind scrambler!

Wow, hard to believe it is August 1st already! I spent some time in Michigan this week with a couple of my closest friends, their hubbies and little ones.

It was great to hang out on the beach and just enjoy the summer weather. My friends are both teachers and will be returning to school in no time, so we've got to make the most of this time!

Enjoy!
Melissa

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Questions? Comments? Email Melissa


WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "Summer afternoon-summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."

HINT: (1843-1916), Anglo-American writer who spent the bulk of his career in Britain, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism.


RANDOM TIDBITS
You'll hear the term "The Dog Days of summer" very often, but the real "dog days" refers to the weeks between July 3 and August 11. They are named after the Dog Star (Sirius) in the constellation of Canis Major.

France's Eiffel Tower grows by more than six inches in summer due to the expansion of the iron on hot days.

The frequency of a cricket's chirps fluctuates with the temperature, so if you count a cricket's chirps for 15 seconds and add 37, you will have the approximate outdoor temperature (in Fahrenheit).

The first day of summer is called the summer solstice. The term solstice is Latin for sun stand still. The sun is higher in the sky throughout the day, and its rays beam on the Earth at a more direct angle, causing the hotter temperatures we associate with summer.

Frisbees were invented by accident. This toy was first created in the 1870s as a pie plate. Students started throwing them around in the 1940s, changing their use to a form of entertainment.

An educator named Horace Mann invented summer vacation. In 1837, he was elected as Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education. Mann used this platform to reform the school system from adding a break and developing uniform training for teachers.


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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "Summer afternoon-summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."

ANSWER: Henry James.

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