tomato

and speaking of......tomato. The tomato is technically a fruit, not a vegetable. It was also the first whole product to be genetically engineered, being first marketed in 1994. Since then, more than 50 other genetically engineered foods have been deemed safe by the FDA. And, it makes a mighty fine sandwich, whether with B & L or not. Provided by RandomHistory.com

hurricanes

and speaking of......hurricanes. The Hurricane of 1900 made landfall on the city of Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900. It had estimated winds of 135 mph at landfall, making it a Category 4 storm. The hurricane caused great loss of life with the estimated death toll between 6,000 and 12,000 individuals; the number most cited in official reports is 8,000. At the time of the 1900 storm, the highest point in the city of Galveston was only 8.7 ft above sea level. The hurricane had brought with it a storm surge of over 15 ft, which washed over the entire island. The surge knocked buildings off their foundations, and the surf pounded them to pieces. This hurricane is to date the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the United States. Lets all hope and pray for better results as Hurricane Irene barrels north toward the outer banks, New York City and New England at this very moment. (Note: This event was before the advent of storm names. Courtesy: Wikipedia)

did you know

and speaking of......did you know. That a 42-U.S. gallon barrel of crude oil provides slightly more than 44 gallons of petroleum products. This gain from processing the crude oil is similar to what happens to popcorn, which gets bigger after it's popped. The gain from processing is more than 5%. One barrel of crude oil, when refined, produces about 19 gallons of finished motor gasoline, and 10 gallons of diesel, as well as other petroleum and miscellaneous products such as plastics, etc.

belief

and speaking of......belief...... If you always believe What you have always believed, You will always feel the way you have always felt. If you always feel The way you have always felt You will always think the way you have always thought. If you always think the way you have always thought, You will always do what you have always done. If you always do what you have always done, You will always get what you have always gotten. If there is no change - There is no change. Unknown Author

love

and speaking of......love. One of the greatest predictors of love is proximity. Physical closeness leads to increased emotion, and it is not unusual to hear stories of bosses falling in love with their secretaries. On the other hand, scientists now think that at a critical time in childhood (sometime between ages 4-6), boys and girls who live in close proximity lose their ability to fall in love with each other, perhaps preventing the destructive act of mixing one's DNA with close kin. Credits: RandomHistory.com

your heart

and speaking of......your heart. The average heart beats 100,000 times per day -- in an average life span, this amounts to as many as 3 billion heart beats. The heart pumps blood through a series of vessels ranging in size from the aorta, which is as thick as a garden hose, to capillaries, which are so small a dozen of them could fit inside a human hair. Every 24 hours, the body's blood travels about 12,000 miles, a trip that comes close to equaling the Earth's circumference at the equator, around 24,800 miles. Credits: The World Almanac 2010

common sense again

and speaking of......common sense. The following sentence should be patently obvious to even the most most mentally challenged of us. According to one study, using a cell phone while driving can be just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated, causing drivers to miss traffic signals and react more slowly to driving conditions. Frighteningly, the NHTSA estimates that more than 100 million U.S. drivers use their cell phone while driving and about 8% of drivers on the roadway at any given daylight moment are either conversing or texting on their cell phone. and speaking of......common sense.......... credits: www.randomhistory and me

roses

and speaking of......roses. Roses are a traditional symbol of love and, depending on their color, can suggest different nuances of love. For example, red roses indicate passion and true love. Light pink suggests desire, passion, and energy; dark pink suggests gratitude. Yellow roses can mean friendship or jealousy. A lavender or thornless rose can mean love at first sight. White roses mean virtue or devotion - and some roses even combine colors to creat more complicated meanings. credit: www.randomhistory.com

favorite foods

and speaking of...... favorite foods. Mine would be the hamburger. Those of us who share a love for this "delicacy" have our own ideas as to the best toppings. There was a time that I liked them best basically unadorned, just mayo and a tad of onion along with a cold (real cold) glass of milk. First tried it this way upon recommendation of a waitress at 'Bulldog Restaurant' on I-85, Commerce, Georgia. Absolutely the best ever, before or since. The 'Bulldog' became a required stop for many years thereafter on trips up and down I-85. Still love a plain burger, but have refined my tastes somewhat, to sometimes dress them up with some combination of cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon, mustard or maybe even pickles. Course being a southerner, adding coleslaw (good) and chili (good) can sometimes be hard to beat. My wife, on the other hand, has a sweet tooth and her favorite food, for the most part, would be any dessert. As a matter of fact, she asked me to include this favorite recipe: Frozen Lemon Pie 1 small frozen lemonade 1 large cool whip 1 can eagle brand milk 2 graham cracker crusts Mix, pour into crusts and freeze Remove about 5 minutes before serving Sounds like a burger and slice of pie could be a real winner. Let us hear some of your favorites.............

presidential facts

and speaking of......facts. The presidential faces on Mount Rushmore are as high as a five-story building, about 60' from chin to top of the head. The pupils of eyes are 4' across and the mouths are 18' wide. The carving took 14 years, from 1927-1941. The total cost was about $990,000. A total 450,000 tons of stone was removed. Imagine what today's cost would be.

credits: www.randomhistory.com & me

dogs

and speaking of......dogs. A Dalmatian named Milly who herself was born in a huge and rare litter of 16 puppies has proved lightning can strike twice after she also gave birth to 16 beautiful spotted pups six weeks ago. Milly's new arrivals were delivered at Newlands Veterinary Clinic in Ludlow, Shropshire, U.K.

candy

and speaking of.....candy. M&M’s were created by Forrest Mars (the son of the founder of Mars, Inc.) and his business partner, Bruce Murrie (the son of the president of the Hershey company). Because both their last names started with “M,” they called their new candy M&M’s. The original colors were red, yellow, green, orange, brown, and violet.

interesting facts

and speaking of.......interesting facts.

The answer to the eternal question "Is it better to be a jock or a nerd?":

Michael Jordan having "retired," with $40 million in endorsements, he makes $178,100 a day, working or not.

• If he sleeps 7 hours a night, he makes $52,000 every night while visions of sugarplums dance in his head.
• If he goes to see a movie, it'll cost him $7.00, but he'll make $18,550 while he's there.
• If he decides to have a 5 minute egg, he'll make $618 while boiling it.
• He makes $7,415/hr more than minimum wage.
• He'll make $3,710 while watching each episode of Friends.
• If he wanted to save up for a new Acura NSX ($90,000) it would take him a whole 12 hours.
• If someone were to hand him his salary and endorsement money, they would have to do it at the rate of $2.00 every second.
• He'll probably pay around $200 for a nice round of golf, but will be reimbursed $33,390 for that round.
• Assuming he puts the federal maximum of 15% of his income into a tax deferred account (401k), his contributions will hit the federal cap of $9500 at 8:30 a.m. on January 1st.
• If you were given a penny for every 10 dollars he made, you 'd be living comfortably at $65,000 a year.
• He'll make about $19.60 while watching the 100 meter dash in the Olympics, and about $15,600 during the Boston Marathon.
• While the common person is spending about $20 for a meal in his trendy Chicago restaurant, he'll pull in about $5600.
• This year, he'll make more than twice as much as all U.S. past presidents for all of their terms combined.

Amazing isn't it? However...

If Jordan saves 100% of his income for the next 450 years, he'll still have less than Bill Gates has today.

Game over. Nerd wins.