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Illustration by Mike Padilla
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Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
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Queen Victoria's first act after her coronation was to remove her bed from her mother's room.
Pepin the Short, king of the Franks from 751 to 768 A.D., was short indeed - all of 4-foot-6 - yet he carried a 6-foot sword and was a mighty warrior. His wife, by contrast, was known as Bertha au grand pied, or "Big Foot Bertha." They were also the parents of Charlemagne.
In colonial America, the manufacture of clothing at home was a time-consuming, never-ending task. Because it took nearly a year and a half to create linen from flax, a man's shirt often wore out by the time a new one was completed.
The kings of ancient Scythia divided the spoils of victory according to a simple mathematical ratio. Soldiers brought in the heads of the enemies they killed, and the number determined the individual's share. Would-be freeloaders who produced no heads got nothing.
The average IQ score is 100, based on statistics. Sixty-eight percent of the population scores between 85 and 115. Ninety-five percent scores between 70 and 130, and 99.7 percent scores between 55 and 145.
The author of the best-known document in the United States published only one book. Thomas Jefferson's answers to a set of 23 questions about America, circulated in 1780 by the French emissary François Marbois, appeared as "Notes on the State of Virginia."
Bees have been known to treat rheumatism. A number of sufferers have been given relief through controlled stinging. Several bees are placed in an inverted glass over the aching limbs; they soon sting, irritated by their captivity.
The longest presidential inaugural address lasted nearly two hours - almost twice as many as any other presidents' - and was delivered during a snowfall by a hatless, coatless William Henry Harrison in 1841. He died of pneumonia exactly a month thereafter - his was the briefest administration.
The average age of Elizabethan and Jacobean brides was about 24 and their bridegrooms around 27. The primary reason for delayed marriages was to limit births among poorer people. The higher the social status, however, the younger the age at marriage.
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