Many strange situations have occurred in American history. For instance,
the man who was president of the Confederate States of America once had
a future president of the United States as his father-in-law.

Jefferson Davis married a daughter of Zachary Taylor (Sarah Knox Taylor) on June 17, 1835.  Sarah died from malaria long before the Confederates fired on Ft. Sumter.

Antonio Stradivari (????-1737) made some truly fine violins, cellos and guitars.  It is believed that he crafted approximately 1100 instruments of which 635 exist today.  Each genuine Stradivarius is worth a fortune.  The locations of all 635 extant instruments are known.  Each has been assigned a name and has a recorded history.  Bogus Stradivarius instruments are common.  Even instruments with the authentic Stradivarius interior labels, but inscribed with “sotto la disciplina” were not made by Antonio.  Those instruments were made under his supervision and are not nearly as valuable as the masterpieces crafted by Antonio.  The remarkably skilled artisan had adopted the Latin form of Stradivari (Stradivarius) by the time he opened his own business in 1680.

Corvallis, Oregon is the home of Oregon State University.  The town is somewhat famous for issuing its own currency.

At an auction in Beverly Hills (2010), one of Johnny Cash’s jumpsuits sold for $50,000.  At the same auction one of Michael Jackson’s gloves brought $330,000.

The last pharaoh of Egypt was the famous Cleopatra (not Liz Taylor, the other one).

Scientists have created many useful products by observing and mimicking nature. The product of a recent endeavor may soon be available to surgeons involved with shattered bone repair.  An oceanic creature called a sandcastle worm secretes an adhesive considered to be superior to any human-made glue. Surgeons are optimistic that when the sandcastle worm adhesive is successfully replicated on a large scale, numerous metallic pins, plates and screws may no longer be required for the mending of severe fractures.

A lunar probe launched by NASA has returned data indicating the presence of millions of tons of water on the moon.

The fine glass crystal we use for champagne glasses, etc. is not scientifically crystal. Crystals are made up of lattice (not to be confused with lettuce) molecular structures that are much different from glass.

The largest gold nugget ever found is a matter of dispute because people cannot agree on the definition of “nugget.” Suffice it to say that the heaviest single mass of gold thus far discovered was found in Australia in 1872 and was named the Holtermann Nugget. The mass weighed approximately 630 pounds. I wonder whether one might trade the Holtermann Nugget for a Stradivarius.

Have a great week.