At least 549 people in the U.S. military served continuously from 1945 (end of WWII) through the start of the 1991 Gulf War.

While growing up (or at least while growing older), I drank lots of Tang; but I no longer see the product on our neighborhood grocery shelves. A little investigating (very little) reveals that the product has recently lost some popularity in the United States while sales have boomed internationally. Top markets include Brazil, Mexico and the Middle East.

For all you Animal House fans, the world’s largest food fight takes place annually in Buñol, Spain where approximately 38,000 participants launch 140 tons of ripe tomatoes in less than one hour. The event is held on the last Wednesday of each August and is known locally as La Tomatina.       Splat.

In March of 1857, a man named Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville received a French patent on his phonautograph which “recorded” sounds by moving a membrane attached to a stiff bristle which transcribed the sounds as lampblack marks on paper. Thomas Edison used a similar apparatus on his patented recording device in 1877.

The world’s largest amusement resort (not counting Washington, D.C.) is Disney World (Orlando, Florida).

According to the AKC, the most popular registered dog breed in America is the Labrador retriever. A distant #2 is the Yorkshire terrier.

Anthropologists and archeologists cannot agree amongst themselves as to the identity of the first human inhabitants in the Americas. For decades, the accepted account suggested the original inhabitants crossed a land bridge (Beringia) into what became Alaska and then migrated during subsequent millennia. However, artifacts discovered in Pennsylvania and South America appear to pre-date the land bridge people by several centuries. If you know the correct answer, please contact the Chief of Anthropology at the Smithsonian. Or contact me and I shall see that you receive full credit, unless there is some sort of remuneration involved.

Canada has only one “true” desert. It is called the Osoyoos (pronounced Osoyoos) Desert. The ecology of the region is considered to be a treasure and there is even an Osoyoos Desert Society whose headquarters can be reached at (250)-495-2470, should you wish to join.    

The top recorded speed of an African lion is 50.1 mph. The top recorded speed of a horse with a rider is 47.5 mph. I thought these data tidbits might be of interest as you make plans for today. Well, I recommend that you wear old clothes when visiting Buñol in August – and I hope that you experience a great weekend.