Trivia & Miscellaneous

[Daniel E.]

Mexican Spanish - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Mexican Spanish (Spanish: español mexicano) is the variety of dialects and sociolects of the Spanish language spoken in Mexican territory. Mexico has the largest number of Spanish speakers, with more than twice as many as in any other country in the world. Spanish is spoken by just over 99.2% of the population, being the mother tongue of 93.8% and the second language of 5.4%.

 

[Daniel E.]

Canada and Australia (in dark green) are less corrupt than the US:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

The Corruption Perceptions Index(CPI) is an index which ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys."

 

[Daniel E.]

Tomato juice - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Tomato juice was first served as a beverage in 1917 by Louis Perrin at the French Lick Springs Hotel in southern Indiana, when he ran out of orange juice and needed a quick substitute...

In the United States, most tomato juice is made from tomato paste. In Canada, tomato juice is unconcentrated and pasteurized, made from fine tomato pulp from ripe and whole tomatoes...

In the UK tomato juice is commonly combined with Worcestershire sauce.

 

[Daniel E.]

"A twenty-five-year-old is 133 percent more likely to pay an overdraft fee than a sixty-five-year-old, and nearly 11 percent of consumers between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five have more than ten overdrafts per year. No wonder millennials envision a future without banks."

-- The Unbanking of America: How the New Middle Class Survives (2017)

Similarly: Yes, overdraft fees cost Americans more than burglaries

Many credit unions are even worse than banks when it comes to charging multiple overdraft fees.

Some great news about overdraft fees, including Capital One and Citibank no longer charging them:

Elizabeth Warren is not happy with America's banks: ‘They are still squeezing families on overdraft fees’

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing this week to discuss bank overdraft charges.

www.marketwatch.com

Ally announced its plan to eliminate the fees across the board last June, becoming the first among the major U.S. banks.

Capital One and Citibank followed suit in the intervening months. Others are lowering their overdraft fees: Bank of America will reduce its overdraft fees from $35 to $10 starting from May; Wells Fargo announced plans in January slashing non-sufficient fund fees and overdraft protection fees, and offered a 24-hour grace period before charging overdraft fees.

JPMorgan Chase also announced last December that it would eliminate insufficient fund fees, and will increase the overdraft cushion from $5 to $50 in addition to a one-day grace period and early access to direct deposit.

Increased competition from the fintech companies in Silicon Valley also prompted more U.S. banks to give up overdraft fees, analysts say. As fintechs offer easier access and services online, mainstream banks have offered more fintech-inspired services in an effort to stay relevant, including no-fee overdrafts.

 

[Daniel E.]

List of the oldest currently registered Internet domain names - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Rank	Date of registration	Domain	Registered to
1	March 15, 1985	symbolics.com	Symbolics
2	April 24, 1985	bbn.com	BBN Technologies
3	May 24, 1985	think.com	Thinking Machines
4	July 11, 1985	mcc.com	Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation
5	September 30, 1985	dec.com	Digital Equipment Corporation
6	November 7, 1985	northrop.com	Northrop Corporation
7	January 9, 1986	xerox.com	Xerox
8	January 17, 1986	sri.com	SRI International
9	March 3, 1986	hp.com	Hewlett-Packard
10	March 5, 1986	bellcore.com	Bell Communications Research
11	March 19, 1986	ibm.com	IBM
12	March 19, 1986	sun.com	Sun Microsystems
13	March 25, 1986	intel.com	Intel
14	March 25, 1986	ti.com	Texas Instruments
15	April 25, 1986	att.com	AT&T
16	May 8, 1986	gmr.com	General Motors Research Laboratories
17	May 8, 1986	tek.com	Tektronix
18	July 10, 1986	fmc.com	FMC Corporation
19	July 10, 1986	ub.com	Ungermann-Bass
20	August 5, 1986	bell-atl.com	Bell Atlantic
21	August 5, 1986	ge.com	General Electric
22	August 5, 1986	grebyn.com	Grebyn Corporation
23	August 5, 1986	isc.com	Interactive Systems Corporation
24	August 5, 1986	nsc.com	National Semiconductor
25	August 5, 1986	stargate.com	Stargate Information Services[2][3]
26	September 2, 1986	boeing.com	Boeing
27	September 18, 1986	itcorp.com	Interrupt Technology Corporation
28	September 29, 1986	siemens.com	Siemens AG
29	October 18, 1986	pyramid.com	Pyramid Technology
30	October 27, 1986	alphacdc.com	Alpha Communications Development Corporation

 

[Daniel E.]

Why your favourite colour is probably blue

From a young age we are primed to choose a favourite colour, but strangely as we grow up our preference often changes – and it's largely due to influences outside our control.

www.bbc.com

 

[Daniel E.]

What Did Neandertals Dream About?

What did Neandertals dream about? Did Neandertals have just as many creative dreams as Homo sapiens living at the same time?

www.psychologytoday.com

What did Neandertals dream about? In all likelihood, they still dreamt of the same common themes we dream about and that is being chased, falling, flying, being unable to move, being unprepared, improperly clothed or naked, being lost, losing a tooth or having sex.

 

[Daniel E.]

In Arizona, I have had tacos that are more like a tortilla with a salad on top than anything else:

Mexican cuisine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Tacos are the top-rated and most well-known street Mexican food. It is made up of meat or other fillings wrapped in a tortilla often served with cheese added. Vegetarian fillings include mushrooms, potatoes, rice, or beans.

 

[Daniel E.]

USNews rated Canada #1 for quality of life and best country overall. The US is way down the list at #20 for quality of life (#6 overall). Australia is #6 for quality of life and also ranked immediately above the US for overall best country.

 

[Daniel E.]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilma_Mankiller

Wilma Pearl Mankiller (Cherokee: ᎠᏥᎳᏍᎩ ᎠᏍᎦᏯᏗᎯ, romanized: Atsilasgi Asgayadihi; November 18, 1945 – April 6, 2010) was a Native American (Cherokee Nation) activist, social worker, community developer and the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation...

In 2021 it was announced that Mankiller, along with Maya Angelou, Sally Ride, Adelina Otero-Warren, and Anna May Wong, were selected to have their likeness appear on the quarter-dollar coin as a part of the United States Mint's "American Women Quarters" Program.

 

[Daniel E.]

The Big Book of Canadian Trivia

Here in one big book is all the trivia and facts about Canada anyone needs to know. The Big Book is jam-packed with facts and stories. There are stories of important Canadian artifacts and history including what became of Canada’s World War II spy camp. All regions and provinces are covered, as...

www.google.com

 

[David Baxter PhD]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilma_Mankiller

Wilma Pearl Mankiller (Cherokee: ᎠᏥᎳᏍᎩ ᎠᏍᎦᏯᏗᎯ, romanized: Atsilasgi Asgayadihi; November 18, 1945 – April 6, 2010) was a Native American (Cherokee Nation) activist, social worker, community developer and the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation...

In 2021 it was announced that Mankiller, along with Maya Angelou, Sally Ride, Adelina Otero-Warren, and Anna May Wong, were selected to have their likeness appear on the quarter-dollar coin as a part of the United States Mint's "American Women Quarters" Program.

Unfortunate name, although it kinda applies to a couple of my exes.

 

[Daniel E.]

Sandra Day O’Connor: First Woman on the Supreme Court

As the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States, Sandra Day O’Connor became an inspiration to millions.

--------

A quote from her in 1992:

"At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life. Beliefs about these matters could not define the attributes of personhood were they formed under compulsion of the State."

 

[Daniel E.]

https://gothammag.com/bentley-motors-nft

“Bentley customers are living their lives online, purchasing luxury goods with digital currency, and establishing businesses in the Metaverse. We’ve always engaged our customers where they explore their passions, and today that means being present in digital marketplaces and offering NFT assets. We’ve seen how NFTs have raised the profiles of both art and artists, and we believe the same can happen in the luxury automotive space” said Alain Favey, member of the board for Sales and marketing.

These NFT drops are the essential first steps Bentley needed to take into the Web3 world. In the future, Bentley plans to explore NFCs (non-fungible chips), online gaming, blockchain technology, and Metaverse applications.

All proceeds from the NFT and future endeavors will go towards the brand’s philanthropic efforts and supporting students passionate about engineering, design and manufacturing. Bentley also hopes to use its proceeds to support organizations dedicated to increasing sustainability, especially when it comes to transportation.

 

[Daniel E.]

Lithia water - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Between the 1880s and World War I, the consumption of bottled lithia mineral water was popular.

Lithia water contains various lithium salts, including lithium citrate.

An early version of Coca-Cola available in pharmacies' soda fountains called Lithia Coke was a mixture of Coca-Cola syrup and Bowden lithia spring water.

The soft drink 7Up was named "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda" when it was formulated in 1929 because it contained lithium citrate. The beverage was a patent medicine marketed as a cure for hangover. Lithium citrate was removed from 7Up in 1948.

 

[Daniel E.]

2021 Census shows changes in Australia’s religious diversity

www.abs.gov.au

The 2021 Census has revealed increasing diversity in the religions Australians identified, reflecting continuing changes in our social attitudes and belief systems.

Christianity is the most common religion in Australia, with over 40 per cent (43.9 per cent) identifying as Christian. This has reduced from over 50 per cent (52.1 per cent) in 2016 and from over 60 per cent (61.1 per cent) in 2011. As in earlier Censuses, the largest Christian denominations are Catholic (20.0 per cent of the population) and Anglican (9.8 per cent).

While fewer people are reporting their religion as Christian, more are reporting ‘no religion’. Almost 40 per cent (38.9 per cent) of Australia’s population reported having no religion in the 2021 Census, an increase from 30 per cent (30.1 per cent) in 2016 and 22 per cent (22.3 per cent) in 2011.

Other religions are growing but continue to make up a small proportion of the population. Hinduism has grown by 55.3 per cent to 684,002 people, or 2.7 per cent of the population. Islam has grown to 813,392 people, which is 3.2 per cent of the Australian population.

 

[Daniel E.]

"Homemade cancer drugs, violence in hospitals, doctor shortages: We take you inside China’s broken health care system."

Violence against doctors in China - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Public Hospitals in China received full government funding before 1985. After economic reforms, the Hospitals are now receiving very limited financial support from the government, thus forcing them to operate for-profit. Drug and examination costs have become the main means for public hospitals to get profits. Drug sales can even account for 40 percent of China's public hospital revenue.

Higher drug costs and the selection of some high-priced drugs can indeed bring profits to doctors and hospitals, but they greatly increase patients' burden. Patients' dissatisfaction with doctors, caused by inflated drug prices, has become an important reason for the deterioration of doctor-patient relations, especially after its exposure by the media and the government...

Violence against doctors has been cited as one reason for a decrease in the popularity of medicine as a profession.

 

[Daniel E.]

Tex-Mex - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Generally, cheese plays a much bigger role in Tex-Mex food than in mainstream Mexican cuisine, particularly in the popularity of chile con queso (often referred to as simply "queso"), which is often eaten with chips (alongside or in place of guacamole and salsa), or may be served over enchiladas, tamales, or burritos.

 

[Daniel E.]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tejanos

Tejanos...Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo tayshas are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in the region prior to it becoming what is now known as the state of Texas before it became a US state in 1845. The term is also sometimes applied to all Texans of Mexican descent...

The cuisine that would come to be known as "Tex-Mex" originated with the Tejanos. It developed from Spanish and North American indigenous commodities with influences from Mexican cuisine.[31]

Tex-Mex cuisine is characterized by its widespread use of melted cheese, meat (particularly beef), peppers, beans, and spices, in addition to corn or flour tortillas. Chili con carne, burritos, carne asada, chalupa, chili con queso, enchiladas, and fajitas are all Tex-Mex specialties. A common feature of Tex-Mex is the combination plate, with several of the above on one large platter. Serving tortilla chips and a hot sauce or salsa as an appetizer is also a Tex-Mex development.[32] Cabrito, barbacoa, carne seca, and other products of cattle culture have been common in the ranching cultures of South Texas and northern Mexico. In the 20th century, Tex-Mex took on Americanized elements such as yellow cheese, as goods from the rest of the United States became cheap and readily available.[33] Tex-Mex has imported flavors from other spicy cuisines, such as the use of cumin. Cumin is often referred to by its Spanish name, comino.

A common Tex-Mex breakfast dish served is a "breakfast taco." This usually consists of a flour tortilla or corn tortilla served using a single fold. This is in contrast to the burrito-style method of completely encasing the ingredients. Some of the typical ingredients used are a combination of: eggs, potatoes, cheese, peppers, bacon, sausage, and barbacoa. Breakfast tacos are traditionally served with an optional red or green salsa.[34]

 

[Daniel E.]