Bastille Day was not recognized as a national holiday in France until 1880, 91 years after the storming of the Bastille.

95% of the horses that raced in the 2012 Kentucky Derby had the thoroughbred Mr. Prospector in their pedigree (and of those who did 55% had him in their pedigree more than once.)

Jimmy Carter is the only U.S. president to have completed at least one full term in office without making a nomination to the Supreme Court during his presidency.

Alabama uniquely observes Presidents Day as “Washington and Jefferson Day” even though Thomas Jefferson’s birthday is on April 13th.

According to the Behavorial Insights Team of the British goverment 90% of UK citizens pay their annual income taxes on time.

Before becoming involved in politics Margaret Thatcher was a research chemist for J. Lyons and Co. developing an emulsifier for ice cream.

According to the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., one quarter of the 100 highest-paid American CEOs earned more than their employees paid in taxes in 2010.

Harry Reems (true name Herbert Streicher) became the first and, to date, only actor to have charges brought against him by the U.S. federal government for appearing in a movie, specifically the 1972 seminal porn feature DEEP THROAT. [Editor’s note: And, he kind of looked like Steve Martin in his later...

More than 80% of the worlds almonds are grown in California, and it requires approx. 75% of the U.S.’ population of bees to pollenate the crop annually.

Approximately 82% of the homicides committed in Chicago last year occured outdoors.

According to recent ACNielsen research the average American television viewer watches programming on only 17 channels.

According to a January 2012 Gallup poll the chance a U.S. worker is of normal weight and without a chronic health problem is 1 in 7.

According to Digital UK the average British dog watches 50 minutes of television each day.

According to a Pew Research study the percentage of Americans who say the Bible should be taken literally has fallen in Gallup polls from an average of about 38% of the public in the late 1970s and early 1980s to an average of 31% since that time.

According to “60 Minutes” there are 204 of medical maurijauna dispensaries in “The Mile-High City” of Denver, Colorado – roughly three times the number of Starbucks and McDonald’s combined.

In 2011 the Department of Homeland Security paid a total of $6,279 on Sno-Cone machines in Michigan.

According to Tokyo’s Kirin Institute of Food & Lifestyle, China ranks number one in global beer producers by volume, ahead of the United States which is ranked second.

In 1659 the celebration of Christmas was outlawed by the Puritans in Boston and was not revoked until 1681, however Christmas celebrations did not become fashionable in the region until the mid-19th century.

The Plymouth Thanksgiving feast lasted three days and was attended by 53 Pilgrims and 90 Native Americans.

“Un-Thanksgiving Day,” or The Indigenous Peoples Sunrise Ceremony, has been held on Thanksgiving annually since 1975 to commemorate the Red Power Movement’s 1969 occupation of Alcatraz Island.

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project in Washington 13% of cell phone owners have admitted to pretending to be on the phone to avoid talking to someone in person.

The League of Women Voters sponsored all Presidential general election debates until withdrawing in 1988 due to what it perceived as “the hoodwinking of the American public” and in fear that the “two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American...

John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson and Chester A. Arthur all served their entire terms as President of the United States without having a Vice President.

The smallest island with a country status is Pitcairn located in Polynesia and measuring just 1.75 square miles (4.53 sq km).

According to Genesis 1:20-22 the chicken actually came before the egg.

According to some researchers the Aztecs sacrificed one out of every five children born during 15th Century Mexico.

According to a study by Oxford scholars Bent Flyvbjerg and Allison Stewart each Olympics has overrun its initial cost estimate by an average of 179%.

It took Montreal 30 years to pay off the debt incurred from hosting the 1976 Summer Olympics after the city overspent its initial cost estimate by 796%.

As of July 15, 2012 Olympic athletes are banned from promoting any brand, product, or service on Twitter.

Synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics are currently the only two Olympic events in which male athletes may not compete.

Figure skating and ice hockey were featured during the Summer Olympics prior to the inaugural 1924 Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France.

Australia, Great Britain and Switzerland are the only countries to send a team to every modern Olympic Games since their inception in 1896.

One of the first instances of the use of performance-enhancing drugs during the modern Olympics occured at the 1904 games held in St. Louis when it was discovered marathon winner Thomas Hicks [middle] had been given strychnine and brandy by his coach.

The current 3-medal format was introduced during the 1904 Olympics held in St. Louis. Prior to that a silver medal was awarded for first place and a bronze medal awarded for second place.

Every Olympic gold medal must contain at least six grams of pure gold.

A Note from Ernessa: We know you love our One More Thing feature, but instead of re-running those for this BEST OF cycle, we’re bringing you special all-new, Olympic-themed Thought Chucks. That’s how much we love the Games. U! S! A! Approximately 150,000 condoms will be distributed to athletes competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics in...

In 1986 YANKEE DOODLE DANDY was the first computer-colorized film released by Ted Turner.

According to a recent study by National Geographic 65% of Americans believe President Obama would be more equipped to deal with an alien invasion than a President Romney.

There are approximately 45 miles of nerves in the skin of an average human.

According to a recent Carnegie Mellon University study approximately 10.2% of children under the age of 18 have had their indentities stolen, 51 times higher than the 0.2% rate for adults in the same population. [photo...

Marvel’s film of THE AVENGERS has accounted for 38% of all ticket sales occurring in the second quarter of 2012.

According to a 2010 survey conducted by SUNY Upstate Medical Center 55% of bypass-machine doctors admitted to talking on their cell phones during heart surgery.

According to the Italian SOS Impresa Group the Mafia is currrently Italy’s largest lending institution.

Louisa Johnson, wife of President John Quincy Adams, was the only First Lady born outside of the United States.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C., 72% of political ad spending during the 2010 elections would have been prohibited before Citizens United     mood image...

The U.S.S. Iowa is the only battleship in the world equipped with a bathtub (installed for use by Franklin D. Roosevelt during WWII).

According to research conducted in 2009 by Symantec nearly 9 out of every 10 emails sent daily are spam.

According to research done at Harvard University a typical person’s financial deision-making abilities peak at age 53.3.

According to a 2011 Guardian Media study, the chance of a U.K. diaper-changing table containing trace amounts of cocaine is 9 in 10.

According to Arizona State University research there are an estimated three parking spaces per car in the United States.

According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life only 1% of the world’s Christians lived in sub-Saharan Africa in 1912, whereas today nearly 24% do.

Crucifixion was first introduced in Japan during the Sengoku period (1467-1573) and was periodically used as a form of punishment through World War II.

“It’s a Small World” is the only Disney song never to have been copyrighted.

According to the U.S. Postal Service 89% of its expenses go toward labor costs.   Today’s Woman Nerd of the Day: Marie...

In the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feast of Saint Valentine on February 14th was removed from the General Roman Calendar by Pope Paul VI due to lack of formal information on Saint Valentine’s life. featured image credit: St. Valentine Kneeling in Supplication by David Teniers...

According to The New York Times 71% of the current U.S. debt was accumulated during Republican presidential terms.

Wildlife trade is currently the second-largest illegal trade in the world following the drug trade.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration armed robberies of pharmacies have increased by 81% since 2006. featured image...

The maximum number of Friday the 13th’s that can fall in a calendar year is three, with 2012 being the latest year in which this will actually occur.

According to research in the newly published “Not Under My Roof: Parents, Teens and the Culture of Sex,” the teen pregnancy rate in United States is four times higher than in Netherlands, partly due to the fact that 6 out of 10 Dutch women are on “the pill” at the time of their first sexual encounter. featured image...

t is believed eunuchs were employed as high ranking advisors to emperors in China since they were incapable of having children and thus not tempted to seize power in order to start their own dynasties.

According to the annual Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education more than 700,000 foreign students came to the U.S. to study last year, a record high for U.S. colleges and universities. featured image...

A Gallup poll taken just before the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor found that 52% of Americans expected war with Japan “some time in the near future,” while 27% did...

Libby’s pumpkin pie filling is not actually pumpkin but another kind of squash called a Dickinson for which Libby’s bought all the rights and has developed its own version called “Libby Select No. 12.” featured image...

According to a 2009 article in The Economist, the highest price ever paid for an Andy Warhol painting is $100 million for a 1963 canvas titled “Eight...

According to Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, every time the price of oil increases by $1 a barrel the U.S. military’s costs increase by $31 million. featured image credit:...

Hawaii, Alaska and South Dakota are the only three U.S. states that do not recognize Columbus Day at all.

In the early days of Yellowstone National Park the geyser nicknamed “Old Faithful” was often used to launder clothing. featured image credit:...

Jørn Utzon is only the second architect whose work (the Sydney Opera House specifically) has been declared a World Heritage Site during his lifetime. featured image credit:...

According to the Department of Mathematics at the University of Copenhagen there are 915,103,765 possible ways to combine six eight-stud LEGO blocks. featured image credit: Jez...

Of the 147 survivors huddled on the raft of the Méduse only 15 were found alive when the Argus accidentally found them 13 days following the ship’s running...

The head of Australian criminal Edward “Ned” Kelly was used by police as a paperweight following his execution in 1880.

Officially all deaths as a result of the September 11 attacks were ruled to be homicides except those of the 19 hijackers. featured image credit: wikicommons current mood image credit: Bob...

According to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association there are 4.7 million barrels of bourbon and other whiskeys currently aging in Kentucky, outnumbering the state’s population of 4.3 million. featured image credit;...

Until reaching agreement with Peru in 2007 Yale University retained the first artifacts of Machu Picchu excavated by Hiram Bingham under the argument that the country did not have the infrastructure or proper conditions to take care of them. featured image credit:...

The Paramount release WINGS is the only silent film to have won a Best Picture Academy...

Due to his precise and methodical ways of cataloging artifacts it took nearly a decade for Howard Carter to empty the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Richard Nixon’s letter to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger officially resigning the Presidency of the United States was only one sentence long.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: According to the National Association of Theatre Owners a movie ticket purchased for the avergae price of $1.65 in 1971 would cost $9.20 in today’s dollars if adjusted according to the general inflation rate, higher than the actual current industry average price of $7.86. If you liked this post, please do us the further boon of Liking the Fierce and Nerdy page on FaceBook. Also, we’re giving great stream on Twitter, so do give us...

DEMOCRACY NOW! THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Most historians have concluded that the Declaration of Independence was actually signed nearly a month after its adoption on August 2, 1776 and not on July 4 as is commonly believed. Thanks for reading! Please do us the further boon of Liking the Fierce and Nerdy page on FaceBook. Also, we’re giving great stream on Twitter, so do give us...

The United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates that there are as many as 3 million shipwrecks spread across the ocean floors of the planet. featured image credit: yeowatzup Thanks for reading! Please do us the further boon of Liking the Fierce and Nerdy page on FaceBook. Also, we’re giving great stream on Twitter, so do give us...

The first feature film exhibited on a regularly scheduled commercial airline flight was MGM’s BY LOVE POSSESSED made in 1961 and starring Lana Turner and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. Thanks for reading! Please do us the further boon of Liking the Fierce and Nerdy page on FaceBook. Also, we’re giving great stream on Twitter, so do give us...

Hugh Hefner assembled the first issue of Playboy on the kitchen table in his Chicago apartment in 1953 at a cost of $600.

Harlan Fiske Stone was the first nominee to the Supreme Court to appear before the Senate to testify on his own behalf during his 1925 confirmation hearing.

According to the ocean advocacy group Oceana 84% of seafood in the U.S. is imported annually and of that amount only 2% is inspected. featured image credit: Nemo’s great...

Queen Elizabeth II’s trip to Ireland two weeks was the first visit to that country by a British monarch since George V’s in 1911.

Tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica, however the vast majority occur in the “Tornado Alley” region of the United...

The dress Marilyn Monroe wore during her rendition of “Happy Birthday” sung to President John F. Kennedy sold at auction in 1999 for $1.26 million.

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, betrothed to Frederick, Prince of Wales, was so nervous upon meeting the royal family for the first time that she vomited upon her future mother-in-law, Queen Caroline. featured image credit:...

According to NPR the average person will spend approximately one year of their lifetime being sick in bed.

According to Dr. Charles Czeisler of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School a pilot falls asleep unintentionally during one out of every 10 transatlantic flights. featured image credit: Fly For...

During the “First Battle of Fort Sumer” on April 12, 1851 Confederate batteries fired for 34 straight hours on the...

In response to the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan’s life by John Hinckley ABC temporarily renamed the lead character of The Greatest American Hero from “Ralph Hinkley” to “Ralph...

According to the 2010 census Detroit lost a quarter of its population since 2000, which calculates out to 1 person every 22 minutes. featured image credit:...

Despite the overwhelming publicity at the time the Exxon Valdez disaster does not rank in the top 20 largest oil spills in terms of volume of oil released.

The China Syndrome, which was theatrically released in the United States twelve days before the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown, became a box office hit largley because of the...

According to a 2010 study Louisiana’s adult obesity rate is the 8th highest in the nation at 28.9 percent; the state also has the 7th highest rate of overweight youths, ages 10-17, at 35.9 percent. featured image credit: Editor...

Blue (rather than green) was the color originally associated with St. Patrick’s Day. featured image credit: David’s...

The autopsy report of Julius Caesar by the Roman historian Suetonius is the first recorded post-mortem in history. featured image: Karl Urban as Julius...