Total Trivia

[Gaia_Lorraine]

On November 13th 1946 Frances Xavier Cabrini became the first US citizen to be made a saint by the Catholic Church. By 1950 she was named patron saint of immigrants.

 

[smotherman]

Mona Lisa has no eyebrows in Leonardo da Vinci's painting. During that time, a woman was considered more beautiful if she shaved her eyebrows.

 

[smotherman]

The origins of the soldier term "G.I." is an abbreviation for "Government Issue," which was stamped on all government kits supplied to recruits in the US Army during World War II.

 

[smotherman]

The most popular recipient of Valentine cards are school teachers.

 

[smotherman]

The six official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

 

[fire_breeze]

The most frequently used languages on the Internet are:
1. English
2. Japanese
3. Spanish
4. German
5. French

 

[fire_breeze]

In many languages, the word for "mother" begins with the sound ma and the word for "father" begins with the sound da. But in the Georgian language, deda means "mother" and mama means "father."

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

American actresses Sharon Stone and Lara Flynn Boyle both have appeared in Japanese ads for cosmetics.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

While diamonds are usually considered the most precious of stones, a large, near flawless emerald is worth considerably more than a diamond of the same size.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

Any number squared is equal to one more than the numbers on either side of it multiplied: 5 x 5 is 25, 4 x 6 is 24.

Well I never knew that

 

[fire_breeze]

While diamonds are usually considered the most precious of stones, a large, near flawless emerald is worth considerably more than a diamond of the same size.

And they are so much more beautiful than diamonds.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

And they are so much more beautiful than diamonds.

If I was rich enough to choose either I would certainly opt for the emerald, however as I am not I will have to make do with my brass curtain ring

 

[fire_breeze]

If I was rich enough to choose either I would certainly opt for the emerald, however as I am not I will have to make do with my brass curtain ring

The second best?

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

Emeralds are a member of the beryllium family of minerals with a hardness on the Mohs scale of 7 to 8.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

The birthstone for May and a talisman for Gemini, Emerald symbolizes rebirth and youth. Believed by the ancients to empower the owner with foresight into the future, Emerald is regarded as an amulet for good fortune.

 

[fire_breeze]

In Roman mythology, the Emerald is traditionally the symbol of Mercury, God of speed, wit, and travel.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

The ancient Egyptians mined emeralds nearly 4,000 years ago, and Cleopatra was an avid collector.
Today, most of the world's Emeralds are mined in Colombia, Brazil and Zambia.

 

[desideratum]

Cleopatra, historical Queen and last Pharaoh, was Greek descendant.

When Alexander The Great died his Empire was split between two of his Macedonian Greek generals, Seleucus and Ptolemy. Ptolemy received Egypt.

Cleopatra was the last of the Ptolemy Dynasty, the last Macedonian Greek ruler of Egypt. She was a direct descendant of Emperor/General Ptolemy. Cleopatra spoke Greek, Cleopatra is a Greek name, and Cleopatra followed Greek culture and religion.

 

[desideratum]

Reading & writing in Ancient Egypt was a rarity -- very few knew how to read and write, including most of the Pharaohs. If you were a Priest or a Scribe, you knew how to read or write.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

More damage has been done to Cleopatra's Needle, a hieroglyphic-covered granite obelisk, in the 125 years it has stood in pollution-filled, weather-beaten New York City than in thousands of years in dry Egypt.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

The ancient Egyptians defined the hour to be one-twelfth of the time between sunrise and sunset. So, as the days grew longer in winter and spring and shorter in summer and autumn, the length of the hour varied from one day to the next.

 

[desideratum]

More damage has been done to Cleopatra's Needle, a hieroglyphic-covered granite obelisk, in the 125 years it has stood in pollution-filled, weather-beaten New York City than in thousands of years in dry Egypt.

*aaaaackkkk!*


Egyptian artists didn't know how to draw depth and perspective in their art, so they used frontality -- Depicting front views for the eyes & chest regions and side views for the arms & legs.

 

[fire_breeze]

Emeralds are traditionally thought to enhance the clairvoyance of their wearers.

Egyptian emeralds were introduced to the world about 4,000 years ago, but the stones from those mines are a duller green and are not considered high quality by today's standards.

Mummies were often buried with emeralds and the gems were popular in ancient Rome, but some think that many of the stones called emeralds in ancient times were actually peridot.

Traditionally, emeralds are worn to promote healing and enhance love and contentment.

 

[fire_breeze]

Emerald is the May birthstone and the traditional gift for the 55th wedding anniversary.

Colombian emeralds are among the world's most beautiful, with rich grass-green coloring that's often kissed with a touch of blue. Quality emeralds are also found in India, South Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, and Zimbabwe. Recent finds in North Carolina may provide us with quality emeralds if the mine continues to produce stones.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

The Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) at Giza, built around 2,570 B.C., used 2,300,000 huge stone blocks, weighing 7 million tons in total.
In terms of volume, the largest pyramid in the world is in Mexico. Called Quetzalcoatl, it was built around the year 100 by the Maya out of sun-dried bricks and earth. Although only 177 feet high, less than 40% of the height of Egypt's Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) at Giza, it covers an area of 45 acres. In contrast, the Great Pyramid is 480 feet high but covers an area of "only" 13 acres. It has been estimated that the Mexican pyramid is a million cubic yards greater in volume than the Great Pyramid.