Archives: Useless Facts

Most people are unaware of the fact that the RMS Titanic had two far less famous sister ships, the older Olympic and the younger Britannic. Prior to the Titanic sinking (Sept. 20, 1911), the HMS Hawke collided with the Olympic, damaging both ships badly, although fortunately no lives were lost. But after the Titanic sank (Nov. 21, 1916), the Titanic’s younger sister Britannic was hit by a mine in the Aegean Sea. It sank and took 30 lives with her.
On board all three ships at the times each of their disasters struck were Violet Jessop, a nurse, and Arthur John Priest, a stoker. Truth is stranger than fiction!

On April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in mid-Atlantic with the loss of 1,500 lives. What most people don’t know is what happened to her two, almost identical, sister ships and what they all had in common. Do you?

The automobile that Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were riding in a car had a license plate “A 111118.” World War I ended four years after the assassination that started it, when the armistice (“A”) came into effect Nov. 11, 1918 (11 11 18). You can’t make this up!

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, set off World War I. What is fascinating about the automobile he and his wife were riding in at the time?

Although the chance of a meteorite striking a house is small, of the three that have occurred in the US last century, two of the houses that were hit are in the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut. That town is only 13.1 square miles in size. The homes were struck 11 years apart, in 1971 and 1982. There were no injuries in either of those instances, but on November 30, 1954, a meteor appeared in the Alabama sky and exploded in the atmosphere just before 3:00 p.m. A chunk went through the home of Mr. & Mrs. Hodges, smashing a hole in the roof and striking Elizabeth Ann Hodges in the hip. Although there were reported close calls and some reported incidents of animals being struck prior to that incident, until then there had been no authenticated cases of a person actually being struck by a meteorite.

The number of documented cases of meteorites striking a house is extremely small. Only three are known to have occurred in the U.S. in the 20th century. What’s interesting about that?

The three smallest bones in the human body, referred to as ossicles, are located in the middle ear. Individually they are named Malleus (hammer), Incus (anvil) and Stapes (stirrup).

What are the smallest bones in the human body and where are they located?

Veterans Day was first called Armistice Day commemorating the first anniversary of the end of World War I – November 11, 1919. The very first Veterans Day parade was held in Birmingham, Alabama in 1947 and continues to be held there annually. France, Britain, Canada, and Australia also honor World War I and II veterans on or near November 11th.
In 1954, President Eisenhower signed legislation changing the name of the holiday to Veterans Day. In 1968, the date commemorating Veterans Day was changed to the fourth Monday in October, but in 1975, President Ford changed it back to November 11th.
In the United States, every year on Veterans Day, at exactly 11:00 a.m. local time, a ceremony is held in Arlington National Cemetery, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, laying a wreath in honor of all those who died serving their country.

Veterans Day is always observed on November 11 and is both a State and a Federal holiday in the United States. First established as a holiday in 1919 with a different name, today marks the 100th Anniversary of the commemorative holiday but the 101st anniversary of the date whose significance it was intended to commemorate (that’s why the image of the poster shows 2018)? What was the holiday’s original name and what does it commemorate?