Refresh for new random facts
1. Samuel F.B. Morse, renowned inventor of the telegraph and Morse Code, twice ran for mayor of New York City...and lost both times.
2. Nathaniel C. Wyeth, son of artist N.C. Wyeth, brother of artists Andrew, Carolyn and Henriette Wyeth, developed the plastic soda bottle while working as an engineer for the DuPont Company.
3. The first vending machines were installed on New York City elevated subway platforms in 1888 and dispensed Tutti-Fruiti gum.
4. The word Yahoo comes from Jonathan Swift's 1726 book Gulliver's Travels. The Yahoos were vile, repulsive, and materialistic creatures, an allegory for British society that Swift witnessed at the time.
5. Fortune cookies were invented in America, in 1918, by Charles Jung.
6. Philip Morris, the first owner of the Marlboro brand, died of lung cancer.
7. Thomas Jefferson invented the first hideaway bed ever patented in the United States.
8. The original 12 stocks on the Dow Jones were cotton oil, sugar, tobacco, gas, cattle, electric, gas, lead, coal, leather, utility, and rubber companies.
9. Citibank adopted its cable address as its official name. It was originally known as the "City Bank of New York."
10. The Mall, the biggest departmental store in Washington, D. C. is 1.4 times bigger than the Vatican City.
When me and old Abe used to sit by the fire he would tell me the darndest tales about this great land of ours.
