Category Archives: Featured Facts

The Beatles Song Named for a Woman that was About a Man

The Beatles were famous for their beautiful, inspired love songs dedicated to women- “Michelle”, “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”, “Eleanor Rigby”, “Julia”, “Lovely Rita”, “Lady Madonna”, “Dear Prudence”.  Even other Beatles’ classics, not graced with titles using proper nouns: “She Loves You”, “She’s a Woman”, “Girl”; and of course “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Love Me Do”, “P.S. […]

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The First Person to Use the Temporary Insanity Defense was a Congressman Who Murdered the Son of the Composer of “The Star Spangled Banner”

You might think the temporary insanity defense was a relatively new thing.  I mean, maybe it began in the 1940s or possibly the ’30s.  What with all the psychobabble around in those times.  But, no.  It was actually much earlier. It all started with a guy named Daniel Sickles.  Sickles (1819-1914) was a U.S. Senator and later a Congressman, as […]

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Interesting United States President Facts Part 4 (33th-44th President)

This is a continuation of the four part “Interesting U.S. President Facts” series.  If you’re interested in the other parts, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. 33) Harry S. Truman Facts: The “S” in Truman’s middle name doesn’t stand for anything.  His parents picked it to honor both of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman […]

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Interesting United States President Facts Part 2 (13th-24th President)

This is a continuation of the four part “Interesting U.S. President Facts” series.  If you’re interested in the other parts, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 3, Part 4. 13) Millard Fillmore Facts: Fillmore was the first President to have running water in the White House. While touring Europe later in life, the University of Oxford offered him […]

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“Ye” in Names Like “Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe” Should Be Pronounced “The”, Not “Yee”

Today I found out the “ye” as in “Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe” should be pronounced “the”. The “Ye” here is not the “ye” as in “Judge not, that ye (you) be not judged”, but is rather a remnant of the letter “thorn” or “þorn” (Þ, þ).  The letter thorn was used in Old Norse, Old English-Middle English, Gothic, and Icelandic […]

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Why Do the British Pronounce “Z” as “Zed”?

Now You Know

Jack asks: Why do the British pronounce “Z” as “Zed”? It’s not just the British that pronounce “z” as “zed”.  The vast majority of the English speaking world does this.  The primary exception, of course, is in the United States where “z” is pronounced “zee”. The British and others pronounce “z”, “zed”, owing to the origin of the letter “z”, […]

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Sleeping Beauty is Based on a Story Where a Married King Finds a Girl Asleep and Can’t Wake Her, So Rapes Her Instead

Today I found out Sleeping Beauty is based on a story where a married king finds a girl asleep and can’t wake her, so rapes her instead. The story is called The Sun, the Moon, and Talia, written, or at the least collected and composed, by the Italian poet Giambattista Basile. It was published in 1634 in his “Pentamerone” collection […]

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