Believing that a war with the United States was inevitable, Canada’s first Prime Minister proposed a plan to amass an army of Sikhs, well-known for their courage in battle, to invade California on behalf of Canada. His strategy was to send these Sikh warriors to California to take control of San Francisco, using it as a safeguard for Montreal and Canada. This perceived threat of a U.S. invasion in 1867 was predicated on a proposed bill from 1866 – which ultimately did not pass – that would have allowed the British colonies to become part of the USA if they wished. This idea wasn’t completely off the table, as there were still discussions about Newfoundland potentially joining the United States instead of Canada up until the late 1940s.
Animal Instincts: The Drive to Earn Food vs. The Desire to be Served
Research has shown that a variety of animals such as rats, gerbils, mice, birds, fish, monkeys, and chimpanzees all prefer to work for their meals rather than receiving it freely. However, cats were the only exception found in the study, demonstrating a preference for being served their food instead.
The Extraordinary Saga of Sega: 7 Unusual Facts You Probably Didn’t Know
Born amidst the sun-kissed shores of Hawaii as an American enterprise, Sega initially served as a key distributor of coin-operated jukeboxes, games, and slot machines to military installations. The company made an unexpected move to Japan following the US government’s decision to outlaw slot machines in 1952, marking a new chapter in its corporate narrative.
Long before the era of Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, Sega was already setting the pace. In an impressive display of foresight, the company rolled out an online gaming subscription service in 1994, years ahead of industry giants Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo.
The compassionate side of Sega was revealed when Kenji Eno, a renowned video game designer, discovered that his creations were admired even by blind fans who played them with extraordinary dedication. Touched by their efforts, he created “Real Sound: Kaze no Regret“, a unique blank-screen game designed solely for visually impaired players. In a noble gesture, Sega distributed a thousand consoles, pre-loaded with the game, to blind individuals. The game remains a favored choice among visually impaired players today.
The New Jersey–based video-game developer Imagineering created a peculiar game in the ’90s, ‘Desert Bus.’ Players undertake an 8-hour real-time journey from Tucson, Arizona, to Las Vegas, Nevada, and earn just a single point for each completed trip. Despite its seemingly dull objective, the game’s quirky charm has attracted a cult following.
The iconic Sonic the Hedgehog 3 game harbors a unique secret; the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson, was involved in its music production. His involvement was short-lived due to the contemporaneous child molestation scandal or his dissatisfaction with the sound quality of the Sega Genesis. Nonetheless, some samples of his songs still remain in the game, though.
Sega produced an RPG named Segagaga for the Dreamcast. The game’s objective mirrors the real-life struggle of the company: to ensure Sega’s survival in the fiercely competitive console market.
The tale of Sega’s resilience climaxed in 2002 when the company’s president made an extraordinary sacrifice. To rescue Sega from bankruptcy following the Dreamcast’s failure, he gave up his entire company stock worth $695 million. Tragically, his heroic effort was followed by his untimely demise after a fierce fight with cancer.
The Formation of Ace Hardware: A Tribute to WWI Heroes
The Ace Hardware Corporation, presently known as the largest hardware retail cooperative on the globe and the biggest non-grocery retail cooperative in America, was established in 1924. This happened when three innovative individuals joined their hardware stores in Chicago, forming what they called “Ace Stores”, a name inspired by the ace fighter pilots of World War I.
7 Remarkable Insights into the Life and Legacy of Anne Frank
Anne Frank, one of the most well-known victims of the Holocaust, continues to captivate the world with her compelling story. However, there’s far more to her life and legacy than what’s commonly known. Here are seven intriguing facts about Anne Frank that shed new light on her life, her writings, and the profound impact she’s made on the world.
1. Anne’s Hidden Humor and Candor: Anne Frank was not only a chronicler of her times but also a typical teenager. She penned four dirty jokes in her diary, which she subsequently concealed with paper. The concealed jokes remained undetected until 2018. Furthermore, Anne candidly wrote about her sexual awakening in her diary. However, these sensitive passages were excised by her father in later editions of the diary.
2. The Frank Family’s Failed Immigration: In a heartbreaking twist of history, Anne’s family attempted to immigrate to the United States to escape the impending Holocaust. They applied for a visa in 1938. Sadly, their application was lost in the chaos that ensued following a German bombing in 1940. A second attempt in 1941 was thwarted when all American consulates were shut down by the Nazis.
3. Anne’s Schoolmate-Turned-Hollywood Producer: Peter Lassally, an accomplished Hollywood producer who worked with Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and Craig Ferguson, shares a surprising connection with Anne. He survived a concentration camp and, in his earlier years, attended the same grade school as Anne Frank.
4. Controversies Surrounding Anne’s Diary: Anne’s diary, known for its poignant narration and candidness, has faced its share of controversies. In 1983, an Alabama school attempted to ban the book, citing it as “a real downer.” It is also banned in Lebanon for allegedly casting Jews, Israel, or Zionism in a positive light.
5. The Arresting Officer and Anne’s Height Markers: When the Frank family was arrested, Anne’s father pointed to her height markers on the wall as evidence of their long concealment. The arresting officer, later reflecting upon the event after the diary’s publication, said, “I bought the little book last week, to see if I was mentioned there, but I was not.”
6. The Quest to Validate Anne’s Existence: When her existence was questioned by a group of protesters claiming Anne Frank was a fictional character, a determined Nazi hunter and concentration camp survivor named Simon Wiesenthal embarked on a five-year journey. His mission was to track down the man who arrested Anne Frank and thereby substantiate her existence.
7. Preserving Anne’s Legacy through Saplings: Anne’s legacy continues to grow, quite literally, through saplings from the chesnut tree that once graced the garden of ‘de Achterhuis’ where she was in hiding. These saplings are being nurtured in New York and ten other locations in the United States. This initiative forms part of a project aimed at preserving Anne’s legacy and promoting the values of tolerance and understanding she espoused.
Five Fascinating Insights into the Lives of Night Owls
Unveiling the nocturnal side of human nature, we delve into the fascinating world of night owls. In this article, we explore five intriguing facts that highlight the distinct biological, psychological, and societal aspects that define these creatures of the night.
- The Extended Biological Clock Night owls, in an intriguing contrast to the rest, possess an inner biological clock that tends to run slightly longer than the standard 24-hour cycle. This unique circadian rhythm systematically pushes their schedule a little later each day. As a result, falling asleep at conventional times and awakening in the morning can often pose a significant challenge for these nocturnal individuals.
- Comparative Personality Traits Research has illuminated a fascinating contrast between morning people and night owls. While morning birds generally exhibit greater levels of happiness and a lower propensity towards unfavorable habits, night owls score higher on the intelligence scale. Furthermore, night owls have been found to display a heightened degree of sexual promiscuity.
- Workplace Advantages Night owls often find their stride in professional settings. These individuals are not only potentially more successful in the workplace but are also credited with being better at lateral thinking. This knack for approaching problems from novel angles makes them indispensable in brainstorming and innovation-oriented tasks.
- Financial Success and Intellectual Brightness Scientists have provided compelling evidence that night owls, on average, outshine early risers in terms of financial success and intellectual prowess. Despite being in a world geared towards morning routines, night owls manage to earn more than their early-bird counterparts.
- Genetics and Mortality A fascinating genetic aspect underlies the categorization of individuals as early birds or night owls, and this also correlates intriguingly with the time of one’s death. Those inclined towards the morning are likely to meet their end around 11 AM, whereas night owls, true to their nature, are most likely to pass away around 6 PM.
From ‘Nutella’ to ‘Ella’: French Court’s Intervention in Baby Naming
In France, a judicial ruling prohibited a couple from naming their daughter “Nutella,” leading to a mandated change of her name to “Ella.” This decision was taken in the parents’ absence, as they did not attend the hearing. The judge reasoned that the name Nutella would inevitably expose the girl to mockery or derogatory perceptions.
Revival of History: The Unearthing of America’s Oldest Time Capsule
In 1795, a time capsule, which is currently the oldest in the United States, was concealed in the Massachusetts State House’s cornerstone by Governor Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. It was inadvertently discovered in 2014 during a repair job on a water leak by workers.
The revealing of the time capsule’s contents was undertaken in the museum gallery, amidst media presence, on January 6th, 2015. The procedure, necessitating extreme delicacy to avoid any damage to the capsule, spanned nearly five hours. The capsule housed several invaluable artifacts providing a more intimate understanding of our past. Among these were old newspaper editions and ancient coins, one of which was the scarce Pine tree shilling. Another intriguing discovery was a silver plate engraved by Paul Revere and a unique copper medal featuring the first US president, George Washington, a singular artifact.
Following a temporary exhibition at the museum, these historical treasures were re-encased within the time capsule and conserved once more.
Digestive Transit Time of Lego Heads: The FART Score Study
A group of six physicians designed a study in which each of them ingested a Lego head, with the goal of establishing the average transit time for an object frequently swallowed. Their findings were quantified and presented through a metric they humorously termed the ‘Found and Retrieved Time’ or ‘FART’ score. On average, the FART score calculated indicated that these objects took approximately 1.71 days to pass through the system.
Preserving Heritage: The Centuries-Old West African Song in the Mende Language
A family from Georgia has maintained a unique heritage by transmitting a mysterious song through generations, dating back to their ancestors’ era of enslavement. Upon investigation, researchers confirmed that this song was an authentic West African funeral tune in the Mende language, remarkably preserved through mother-to-daughter transmission over several centuries.