December Fun Facts 12.23

Quotable Quotes

100

All roads lead to this city.

What is Rome? This quote derives from the 12th-century expression “A thousand roads lead men forever to Rome.” And, in fact, they did. All secondary cities on the peninsula had a road leading to Rome.

200

This Green Bay Packers coach is credited with saying, “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.”

Who is Vince Lombardi? He gets the credit, but it’s since been discovered that Vanderbilt University football coach Henry “Red” Sanders first uttered the saying in 1948, as recorded in The Birmingham News.

300

“Much ado about nothing” is a 16th-century expression from this playwright.

Who is William Shakespeare? Its meaning is similar to “making a mountain out of a molehill.”

400

This expression is boxing slang for getting out of serious trouble just in the nick of time.

What is saved by the bell? Though the expression has come to be associated with getting out of school work, it originated in boxing circles in the late 1800s as a way of saying a round ended just in time for a fighter to escape defeat.

500

 “With malice for none, with [this] for all” is a quote from President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address in 1865.

What is charity? Lincoln delivered the address just 41 days before his assassination

Regional Foods

100

This lime pie comes from the Florida Keys.

What is key lime? Key lime pie made with regular limes just doesn’t taste the same. Key limes are tart, seedier, and less acidic, making them more flavorful than regular limes.

200

The smell of bagels wafts through the early-morning air in this major East Coast city that never sleeps.

What is New York City? They say you haven’t had a bagel until you’ve had a bagel from New York City. Sandwiches made with bagels are a favorite New York lunch as well.

300

Lobster roll is found in this “New” region of the United States.

What is New England? Good luck finding the “rolls,” sometimes called New England hot dog buns, in grocery stores outside of this region. They look like hot dog buns sliced almost in half on top, but lobster salad in a hot dog bun is not the same.  

400

If you order barbecue in one of these two states, you’ll get a side of mustard barbecue sauce.

What are North Carolina and South Carolina? The sauce is called Carolina Gold.

500

You’ll find most Americans eating nearly the same meal on this day.

What is Thanksgiving? You won’t find another day with more American families sitting down to a similar meal, and you won’t find entire countries or regions anywhere else eating this dinner on American Thanksgiving Day. At a typical Thanksgiving table, you’ll find a turkey dinner with sides such as dressing or breading, cranberry, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole.

Amazing Animal Kingdom

100

This beautiful pink bird is born gray.

What is the flamingo? Flamingos eat a diet of brine shrimp and blue-green algae that contains carotenoids that turn their feathers pink. They also eat with their heads upside down

200

This is the world’s tallest land animal.

What is a giraffe? It can grow up to 19 feet tall, with its neck reaching nine feet long.

300

This flightless bird has the same name as a fruit.

What is the kiwi? Kiwis are an endangered species, with only five percent surviving birth. They’re the national bird of New Zealand.

400

These docile marine mammals “get high” on pufferfish.

What are dolphins? Scientists have observed dolphins handling the pufferfish in such a way that the fish release a toxin. The toxin causes dolphins to get high and even have hallucinations.

500

This is the deadliest creature in the animal kingdom.

What is the mosquito? The World Health Organization reports that hundreds of thousands of deaths each year are attributable to vector-borne diseases, including mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, etc.

1970s TV

100

WKRP is set in this city.

What is Cincinnati? The show’s full title is WKRP in Cincinnati. WKRC, a real radio station in Cincinnati, benefited from the publicity; however, CBS lawyers initially vetoed the name because they feared a lawsuit from WKRC.

200

Kristen shot J. R. on this show.

What is Dallas? The “Who shot J. R.?” plotline riveted viewers in 1980. Other notable storylines include the 1986 season, in which producers brought J. R.’ s brother Bobby back from the character’s death a year prior and claimed the entire season was just a dream of Bobby’s ex-wife, Pam.

300

We keep abreast of the day-to-day life and adventures of the Ingalls family in this family-oriented TV drama.

What is Little House on the Prairie? The show’s set was built on rented land and was to be dismantled at the conclusion of production. In the final Little House TV movie, The Last Farewell, the characters blow up the town to deter developers, giving the series an explosive finale while accomplishing the set’s demolition.

400

This detective series deviates from the norm of “whodunnits” by showing us early in the episodes who committed the crime. The rest of the show explores how it is done.

What is Columbo? The Lt. Columbo character was originally created for an episode of The Chevy Mystery Show in 1960.

500

This show stars Dick Van Patten, who plays the head of a family of many children.

What is Eight Is Enough? The show was modeled on the family life of Thomas Braden, a syndicated newspaper columnist and author of a book by the same name.

December Fun Facts

100

This attack took place on December 7, 1941.

What is Pearl Harbor? President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to it the next day as “a day which will live in infamy” in an address to the joint U.S. Congress.

200

The first 10 amendments of the U.S. Constitution, collectively known as this, were ratified on December 15, 1791.

What is the Bill of Rights? It’s the cornerstone of our republic and enumerates our fundamental freedoms.

300

On December 26, 1917, eight months after the United States entered World War I, President Woodrow Wilson announced the nationalization of most of these means of transportation.

What are railroads? Many railroads were facing bankruptcy, and they were needed to transport essential goods.

400

If you were born between December 22 and 31, you were born under this astrological sign.

What is Capricorn? The goat represents this sign, and people born under the sign are said to be practical and stubborn.

500

The equities markets often rise in December, a phenomenon known as this rally.

What is a Santa Claus rally? According to financial services company the Motley Fool, “It’s not fully clear whether it’s purely psychological or there are some underlying financial reasons for the year-end rally, but history has shown that stocks tend to gain at the end of the year and into the first days of January.”