Giants pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm hit a home run on his first at-bat in the major leagues.
He played for 21 seasons but never hit another homer.
“Human Bones in Solid Rock”
With others of our fellow-citizens, I have been highly interested in the discovery of human bones in a solid sandstone rock, of a quarry near Cusick’s mill, about six miles from the city, and with the assistance of Mr. Charles Bobbins and Dr. Ball have taken steps thoroughly to investigate this highly interesting subject. … The bones submitted to my inspection are the bones of an adult female, they were contained in a cavity of the solid sandstone rock, perfectly close, having no communication whatever with any fissure or crack of the rock. The cavity represents the shape of the body, invested with flesh; the leg, thigh, hip and part of the back are moulded with beautiful exactness, and would, if filled with plaster of Paris, give a mould, preserving all the graceful curves of the entire body.
— John G.F. Holston, Zanesville [Ohio] Courier, quoted in Mining Magazine, November 1853
A Double Rainbow
You can multiply these two numbers by simply jumbling their digits:
Remarkably, the same thing happens when you square their product:
Person to Person
If you’re an extrovert, you’ll be happiest (in principle) in northeastern Pakistan. That’s the world center of population — from there, the average distance to every human on earth is only 3,200 miles.
Conversely, if you’re an introvert you should visit Easter Island, where you’ll be 9,300 miles from the average fellow man.
See also Point Nemo and Vroom!
Night Drop
Abraham Newland slept in the Bank of England every night for 25 years.
He retired as chief cashier in 1807.
Buried Alive
On Feb. 2, 1799, 42-year-old Elizabeth Woodcock was returning from market to her home in Cambridge when she was overcome with fatigue and lay down in a field. A heavy storm had overtaken her, and she came to her senses under six feet of snow, in which she remained buried for eight days.
Her cries went unheard, but she managed to tie a handkerchief to a stick and thrust it through the snow, where a passing farmer finally noticed it and went for help. When shepherd John Stittle pulled her free, she said, “I have been here a long time.” “Yes,” he said, “since Saturday.” “Ay, Saturday week,” she replied. “I have heard the bells go two Sundays for church.” She’d been lying only half a mile from her home.
Woodcock lost her toes to frostbite and lingered until the following July, when she died. “We are sorry to add,” notes the Gentleman’s Magazine, “that too free indulgence in spirituous liquor is supposed to have been the cause both of the accident which befel Elizabeth Woodcock, and its fatal consequences.”
Roll Call
In November 2006, 23-year-old David Fearn of Staffordshire changed his name to James Dr. No From Russia With Love Goldfinger Thunderball You Only Live Twice On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Diamonds Are Forever Live and Let Die The Man With the Golden Gun The Spy Who Loved Me Moonraker For Your Eyes Only Octopussy A View to a Kill The Living Daylights Licence to Kill GoldenEye Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough Die Another Day Casino Royale Bond.
It’s the longest name in deed poll history.
In a Word
vaccimulgence
n. the milking of cows
Root Cause
Memorize these facts:
With them you can find any two-digit cube root. For example, what’s the cube root of 12,167?
1. Express the number in six digits (012167). Take the first three digits (012) and compare them to the blue cubes above. Find the largest cube that’s less than your three-digit string, and write down its root. Here, 012 is between 8 and 27, so we write down 2.
2. Match the last digit of the number (7) to the last digit of a blue cube above (here, 27). Write down the root of that number (3).
That’s it. Put the two digits together (23) and that’s your root: 233 = 12,167.
This works for any perfect cube between 1,000 and 1 million.
“Curious Account of a Tame Seal”
In January 1819, in the neighbourhood of Burntisland, a gentleman completely succeeded in taming a Seal; its singularities attracted the curiosity of strangers daily. It appeared to possess all the sagacity of the dog, and lived in its master’s house, and eat from his hand. In his fishing excursions, this gentleman generally took with him, upon which occasions it afforded no small entertainment. When thrown into the water, it would follow for miles the track of the boat, and although thrust back by the oars, it never relinquished its purpose. Indeed it struggled so hard to regain its seat, that one would imagine its fondness for its master had entirely overcome the natural predilection for its native element.
— Pierce Egan, Sporting Anecdotes, Original and Selected, 1822