Arizona Daily Wildcat Online
sections
Front Page
News
Opinions
· Columnists
Sports
· Men's Hoops
Go Wild
Live Culture
Police Beat
Datebook
Comics
Crossword
Special Sections
Photo Spreads
Classifieds
The Wildcat
Letter to the Editor
Wildcat Staff
Search
Archives
Job Openings
Advertising Info
Student Media
Arizona Student Media Info
UATV -
Student TV
 
KAMP -
Student Radio
The Desert Yearbook
Daily Wildcat Staff Alumni

Fast facts


Photo
Illustration by Mike Padilla
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Print this

Things you always never wanted to know

  • In 1938, a coelacanth was found off the coast of Madagascar. Until that time, this primitive fish, a direct ancestor of air-breathing amphibians, was believed to have become extinct more than 60 million years ago.

  • Charles Dickens believed that a good night's sleep was possible only if the bed was aligned from north to south. In this manner, he thought, the Earth's magnetic currents would flow straight through the recumbent body.

  • Some dinosaurs were as small as hens.

  • The umbrella originated in ancient Egypt, where it was used by the royal family and nobles as a symbol of rank in a theocratic hierarchy. Practical use came later.

  • Howard University was named after its founder, Oliver O. Howard, a white Union general who was dedicated to the cause of black education. General Howard founded the university in 1867 and served as its president from 1869 to 1874.

  • Georges "Tiger" Clemenceau (1841-1929), twice premier of France, spent four years in the United States as a young man. He worked as a journalist, taught French at a women's college in Stamford, Conn., and married one of the students. They separated after seven years.

  • When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, the fact of his authorship was known only to the Continental Congress and a few of his friends. The identity of the writer of the most famous document of the American Revolution was not generally known until it was published in a newspaper in 1784.


    Write a Letter to the Editor
  • articles
    Likins' tuition proposal: more fees
    divider
    Student tuition proposal less than Likins'
    divider
    Evangelist incites angry student response on UA Mall
    divider
    Walking condom raises awareness
    divider
    Custom UA license plates fund scholarships
    divider
    Faculty OKs academic integrity reform for athletics
    divider
    ACLC fosters growth among Ariz. students
    divider
    On the spot!
    divider
    Fast facts
    divider
    Police Beat
    divider
    Datebook
    divider
    Restaurant and Bar Guide
    Housing Guide
    Search for:
    advanced search Archives

    NEWS | SPORTS | OPINIONS | GO WILD
    CLASSIFIEDS | ARCHIVES | CONTACT US | SEARCH



    Webmaster - webmaster@wildcat.arizona.edu
    © Copyright 2005 - The Arizona Daily Wildcat - Arizona Student Media