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Just a little fun fact.
There's an American town with a population of one…
Monowi, Nebraska, is the only town in the United States with an official population of one person. Yes, she owes taxes… To herself! She's in her 80s, and she's employed as the village's mayor, librarian, and bartender.
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Fun Facts about Diamonds
• The ancient Romans and Greeks believed that diamonds were tears cried by the gods or splinters from falling stars, and Romans believed that Cupid’s arrows were tipped with diamonds (perhaps the earliest association between diamonds and romantic love).
• The word diamond derives from the Greek word “adamas,” which means invincible or indestructible. Which makes sense because…
• Diamonds are the very hardest natural substance. The only thing that can scratch a diamond is another diamond.
• Diamonds have been valued and coveted for thousands of years. There is evidence that diamonds were being collected and traded in India as early as the fourth century BC. In the first century AD, the Roman naturalist Pliny is quoted as having said, “Diamond is the most valuable, not only of precious stones, but of all things in this world.”
• Ancient Hindus used diamonds in the eyes of devotional statues and believed that a diamond could protect its wearer from danger.
• Many ancient cultures believed that diamonds gave the wearer strength and courage during battle, and some kings wore diamonds on their armor as they rode into battle.
• During the Middle Ages diamonds were thought to have healing properties able to cure ailments ranging from fatigue to mental illness.
• The largest diamond ever discovered was called the Cullinan diamond, and weighed in at an amazing 3106 carats, or 1.33 pounds. Discovered in 1905 in South Africa, the mine’s owner and the South African leaders gave the diamond to King Edward. The Cullinan was eventually cut into nine large diamonds and 100 smaller ones, and the three largest of these are on display in the Tower of London as part of the crown jewels.
• The first known use of a diamond engagement ring took place in 1477, when Archduke Maxmillian of Austria gave Mary of Burgundy a gold ring featuring an M spelled out in diamonds.
• The most mind-blowing diamond facts of all: Scientists have discovered a planet that they believe is composed mostly of carbon and is one-third pure diamond! Discovered in 2004, the planet orbits a nearby star in the Milky Way, and is named “55 Cancri e” (which, in our opinion, is not a sufficiently glamorous name for such an extraordinary planet). Perhaps even more amazing, scientists have discovered a star that is essentially a diamond of ten billion trillion trillion carats. They named the star Lucy after the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” (We approve.)
You can read more here.
Most famous diamonds
• The Hope Diamond, a Fancy dark grayish blue diamond, fashioned into a cushion brilliant cut, was originally 112 ct. before being cut to its present weight of 45.52 ct. It is to be cursed. Although one of its owners, Evalyn McLean believed it to be her good luck charm, her life states otherwise; after possession of the gem, her young son died in a car accident, her husband divorced her and died insane, and her daughter committed suicide.
• The Uncle Sam Diamond, discovered in 1924, is the largest diamond ever found in the U.S. It was found in the world’s only diamond mine open to the public. The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas is a dig-for-fee operation for tourists and rock hounds. Since 1906, more than 70,000 diamonds have been discovered there, including the Uncle Sam diamond, weighing 40.23 ct. In 2015, a park visitor found an 8.52 ct. diamond at the same park the diamond was discovered.
• The Cullinan Diamond, found in South Africa in 1905, weighed an astounding 3,106 ct. It was cut into a total of 105 diamonds of exceptional color and clarity. The Great Star of Africa (Cullinan I) weighs 530.20 ct. and the Lesser Star of Africa (Cullinan II) weighs 317.40 ct. These two diamonds are part of the crown jewels of Great Britain. Cullinan III through Cullinan IX, and the remaining 96 diamonds cut from the Cullinan are in private collections. The two largest stones are mounted in the British crown jewels, while eight others are part of Queen Elizabeth II’s private collection.
• The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond, 31.06 ct., is one of the largest historic blue diamonds ever fashioned. Blue diamonds are extremely rare. The presence of boron impurities is often responsible for the color of natural blue diamonds. However, their color can also be caused by radiation exposure or associated with hydrogen. Blue diamonds naturally colored by exposure to radiation are usually described as green-blue, whereas those with color that is associated with hydrogen are described as gray-violet to gray-blue.
The diamond belonged to the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach and was displayed in the Treasury of the Munich Residence until it disappeared in 1931. It was secretly sold in 1951, "rediscovered" in 1961, and then sold again in 1964 to an undisclosed private buyer. In December 2008, the Wittelsbach-Graff (then called the Wittelsbach Blue) was sold at Christie’s London to jeweler Laurence Graff for just over $24.3 million.
The stone is graded Fancy Deep blue with IF clarity. Because the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond and the Hope diamond have similar color and long-lasting phosphorescence – and both are believed to have been mined in India– there has been widespread speculation that they were cut from the same crystal. But were they? Research published in the Summer 2010 issue of Gems & Gemology indicates that the two diamonds do not share a common parent.
You can read more here.
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Are you superstitious? Do you avoid going under ladders? Do you throw salt over your shoulder? Do you believe that if you break a mirror you will have 7 years of bad luck? What about Friday 13?
Very little is known about the origins of the day's notoriety. Some historians believe that the superstitions surrounding it arose in the late 19th century. The first documented mention of the day can be found in a biography of Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, who died on a Friday 13th. A 1907 book, Friday the Thirteenth, by American businessman Thomas Lawson, may have further perpetuated the superstition. Others believe that the myth has Biblical origins. Jesus was crucified on a Friday, and there were 13 guests at the Last Supper the night before his crucifixion. Another account suggests that the day has been associated with misfortune since 1307 when on a Friday the 13th, the French king gave the orders to arrest hundreds of Knights Templar.
• Yet, the Fear is Very Real... The fear of Friday the 13th is also called friggatriskaidekaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia. Experts say that friggatriskaidekaphobia affects millions of people and estimate that businesses, especially airlines, suffer from severe losses on Friday the 13th.
• Triskaidekaphobia, or the fear of the number 13, is even more widespread. So much so that many high-rise buildings, hotels, and hospitals skip the 13th floor and many airports do not have gates numbered 13. In many parts of the world, having 13 people at the dinner table is considered bad luck.
• Alfred Hitchcock was born on the 13th. The master of suspense was born on August 13, 1899 – so Friday, August 13, 1999 would have been his 100th birthday. He made his directorial debut in 1922 with a movie called Number 13. Unfortunately, the film was doomed from the start and never got off the ground due to financial troubles. Other celebrities and well-known personalities born on a Friday the 13th include actors Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen; novelist and playwright, Samuel Beckett; and former President of Cuba, Fidel Castro. The Day Inspired One of the Highest Grossing Film Series
• The commercially successful Friday the 13th enterprise includes 12 horror movies, a television series, and several books that focus on curses and superstitions. Even though the films and the television series consistently received negative reviews from critics, they have a huge following. The mask worn by the key character in the films, Jason Voorhees, is one of the most known images in popular culture.
You can read more info here.
• Taylor Swift thinks of 13 as her lucky number and has some connections with Friday the 13th: "I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first #1 song had a 13-second intro," she told MTV in 2009.
• Stephen King’s triskaidekaphobia – The number 13 and Friday the 13th in particular, scares even the horror master himself. He wrote an article about it for the New York Times in 1984 and you can read it here.
• Mark Twain was allegedly once invited to be the 13th guest at a dinner party. As the story goes, he went to the dinner despite a superstitious friend's warning. Twain reportedly said, "It was bad luck. They only had food for 12."
• In his No. 1 hit song "Superstition," Stevie Wonder sings: "Thirteen-month-old baby, broke the lookin' glass. Seven years of bad luck, good things in your past. When you believe in things that you don't understand, then you suffer. Superstition ain't the way."
• In some Spanish-speaking countries, Tuesday (Martes) the 13th is considered bad luck. Tuesday is feared because it is the day of the week associated with the Roman god of war, Mars. There is a cautionary saying: "On Tuesdays, don't get married, don't take a trip and don't leave your home."
• Founded in 1882 by Capt. William Fowler, The Thirteen Club of New York was a group of skeptics who defied superstitions by hosting dinner parties on Friday the 13th. At the first dinner, the 13 members performed such unlucky feats as passing under a ladder. They dined on 13 courses, the first by the light of 13 candles. The devil-may-care group tipped over salt containers on the table but were forbidden from tossing any of the spilled granules over their shoulders. The small club evolved into a national organization that boasted such members Grover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt, according to the New York Historical Society.
You can read more here.
• In some countries, Tuesday the 13th is the unlucky day, not Friday the 13th. In Spain and Spanish speaking countries, it's Tuesday the 13th that gets people wound up. Martes, Tuesday in Spanish, comes from the Roman god of war, Mars, forever tying the day to violence, death and bloodshed. In conjunction, Constantinople supposedly fell on a Tuesday during the Fourth Crusade. And then Ottoman Turks supposedly claimed the city on a Tuesday more than 200 years later.
Please follow this link to read more about superstitions: 13 Superstitions From Around the World
