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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Jordan Moore
The first car that could run entirely on ethanol was the Fiat 147, sold in Brazil in 1979. Brazil has since led the world in the production of biofuels.
The star Alpha Scorpii, or “Antares,”
An astronomical unit (AU) is the distance of the Earth to the Sun. One AU is about 93 million miles or eight light minutes.
El Caracol
Most sci-fi TV shows and films depict space battles with raging explosions and fire everywhere. Since there’s very little oxygen in space, though, there’d also be very little fire.
NASA launched the Voyager 1 space probe on September 5, 1977. It’s now 163 AU away, but still communicating with Earth. Not bad for ‘70s tech!
Mental calculators are people who can add, subtract, multiply, and divide large and complex numbers in their heads. Many mental calculators begin as children.
A crew of crows is a “murder,” a group of owls is a “parliament,” a bunch of doves is a “duke,” a gathering of peacocks is an "ostentation."
The ancient Greeks associated owls with wisdom and judgement. The owl was one of the goddess Athena’s symbols.
Corvus, better known as crows, are often ranked among the most intelligent animals. Crows communicate with each other, can make tools, and can recognize individual human faces.
The Andean condor is the largest flying bird in the world,
The Summer Olympics awarded medals for art from 1912 to 1948. Along with literature, music, painting, and sculpture, medals were awarded for architecture.
The iconic Sydney Opera House was designed by a Danish architect Jørn Oberg Utzon. He won a 1955 competition among 233 entries from 28 countries.
Stilt houses are common in regions prone to flooding and cyclones, but on the Indonesian island of Komodo, they also protect the locals from the Komodo dragon!
Hastilude
In the International Federation of Football (FIFA) rules, the goalkeeper is the only player on the field who can touch the ball with his/her hands and can only do so for six seconds.
“I really didn't say everything I said," is one of my favorites “Yogi-isms.”
A malapropism is the incorrect use of a word in place of a word with a similar sound. Yogi Berra was notorious for malapropisms.
“mating (maiden) name.”
mondegreen
"I think we agree, the past is over."
Although US President Teddy Roosevelt did say, “Walk softly and carry a big stick,” the original source was an African proverb.
there are about three trillion trees on Earth, which comes to about 420 trees per person.
boreal
Latin: Boreas, Turkish: Poyraz
taiga.
Methuselah
Although trees tend to be bigger than bushes, this isn’t always the case. The primary difference is that bushes don’t have a single trunk.
about 15 billion trees are cut down annually on the planet,
Not all members of the Arecaceae, or palm family, are trees. Many palms are actually bushes and vines, but even palms that are considered trees don’t have tree rings.
A single, mature tree can absorb more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide every year and release oxygen back into the air.
The term “jungle” generally refers to tropical rainforests, which is strange when one considers the origin of the word. The jungle is Sanskrit word that means “dry” or “arid land.”
The “royal cup-bearer” was a prestigious and trustworthy position in pre-modern societies. The cupbearer would pour the king’s drinks and taste them for poison if needed.
Before he made his name in electricity, Nikola Tesla worked as a ditch digger in 1886 for $2 a day, which wasn’t too bad for the time.
Serfs were agricultural workers in medieval Europe who were bonded to the land. Serfs couldn’t be bought and sold and typically had more rights than chattel slaves.
Professional mourners have been hired for funerals since ancient times. You may be surprised that it’s still a gig you can get in some places, especially in China.
Placebo singers. The cultural origin of the word Placebo.
The Delhi Sultanate was formed in 1206 primarily through the efforts of a class of Turkish slave-generals. Despite their status, these slaves had the best jobs in the sultanate.
professional dog food taster.
Cuida carros are common in many cities in Latin America. For a few pesos, they’ll watch your car while you get something to eat.
The Earth’s rocks are divided into three categories: igneous, sedentary, and metamorphic.
The earliest maps were actually maps of the land of the afterlife.
Lapis lazuli is a dark blue metamorphic rock
Basalt is the most common igneous rock on Earth, comprising about 90% of all volcanic rocks.
The Greek geographer, Ptolemy (ca. CE 100-170), made the first map that showed the Earth as a sphere. He also included longitude and latitude lines and correctly hypothesized there were more continents.
The American Revolution (1775-1783) is viewed by some historians as more of a civil war than a revolution because the government in London was never threatened with replacement.
Canadian psychologist, James Alcock, is one of the world’s top critics of ESP and parapsychology. He lectures, writes, and conducts his own experiments that debunk ESP claims.
Popeye is considered too “alpha” for today so good luck finding him on reruns.
many American cartons made in 1930 to 1960s have had some of their content heavily edited due to racial stereotypes. “Blackface” was a common gag in the Tom and Jerry series.
On October 12, 1997, American folk singer John Denver died when the Long-EZ two-seater he was flying crashed off the California coast. Denver’s license was suspended at the time.
a 40% chance
Should have been, “40% more chance”
airplane emergency oxygen masks, right? The fact is, they only have 15 minutes of oxygen!
