Sunday, August 17, 2014

Trivia Bits 17 August

 

The Spruce Goose

The Spruce Goose (pictured)  flew on November 2, 1947, for one mile, at a maximum altitude of 70 feet. Built by Howard Hughes, it is the largest aircraft ever built, the 140-ton eight-engine seaplane, made of birch, has a wingspan of 320 feet. It was built as a prototype troop transport. Rejected by the Pentagon, Hughes put the plane into storage, never to be flown again.

The 1st 20 African slaves were brought to the US, to the colony of Virginia in 1619, by a Dutch ship.

"Layla", a song of American singer Eric Clapton, was inspired by a Persian love story in the classical poem of Persian literature, Nizami Ganjavi's The Story of Layla and Majnun and featured on the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs released November 1970

The 1st nuclear-powered submarine, the Nautilus, commissioned by the United States Navy in 1954, made her maiden voyage on Jan. 17, 1955.

Noted Mexican aviator and national hero Emilio Carranza was known as "the Lindbergh of Mexico" including at age 22, on May 24–25, 1928, he set the record for the third longest non-stop solo flight by flying 1,875 miles (3000 km) from San Diego, California to Mexico City in 18.5 hours.

The maximum number of players in the card game The Resistance, where players attempt to deduce one another's identities, is 10.

The long running Australia soap Home and Away began airing on 17 January 1988 and is set in the fictional town of Summer Bay, a coastal town in New South Wales, and follows the personal and professional lives of the people living in the area.

The term bi-lateral thinking has been credited to originating with Edward de Bono in 1967.

American author of contemporary horror, suspense and science fiction Stephen King wrote and starred in the movie Creepshow with the ensemble cast including Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, and E.G. Marshall with Stephen King playing Jordy Verrill.

The 1st US federal holiday honouring Martin Luther King, Jr. was in 1986.

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