Interesting Things with JC #247: "Melbourne Florida”. Originally known as Crane Creek, this area was inhabited in 1878, and shortly afterward the community got renamed to Melbourne. Melbourne continued to thrive economically and the early 1950s saw the city get to even newer heights. A space complex was constructed to the north at Cape Canaveral and subsequently, there was an influx of other aerospace industries. There's the world renown historic bone bed and the childhood home of Jim Morrison is also in Melbourne!

Interesting Things with JC #246: “The Sullivan Brothers” - The five Sullivan brothers were World War II sailor brothers of Irish American descent who, serving together on the light cruiser USS Juneau, were all killed in action in and shortly after its sinking around November 13, 1942.

Interesting Things with JC #244: "Alfred Levy and the Invention of Hold Music” - Music on hold was born out of an accidental discovery by factory owner Alfred Levy in the early 1960s. The phone lines in his factory were somehow picking up a radio signal from the radio station nearby, and callers could hear music when they were put on hold.

Interesting Things with JC #243: "Shrek the Sheep" - After evading humans for years, on April 15th 2004 in a cave in New Zealand, Shrek the Sheep was finally caught. The merino sheep had grown an amazing 27kg or 60lbs worth of fleece during this time.

Interesting Things with JC #242: "Charles Lightoller" was trapped underwater after helping save people as the Titanic sank. A boiler exploded and sent him rushing back to the surface where he helped 30 more people. In WW2 he helped save another 127 people at Dunkirk.

Interesting Things with JC #241: “The Flying Scotsman” - Mr. Alan Pegler brought the "Flying Scotsman" with a train of three British passenger cars, to the United States in 1968, traveling from Coast to Coast as an exhibition to promote global British exports. The details of the trip would forever change Pegler, as the fate of the train was unknown at the time!

Interesting Things with JC #240: “Belgian Waffles” - There are many different types of Belgian waffles, there is no such thing as a singular Belgian Waffle. The two most popular types of waffles that you'll find are Brussels waffles and Liege waffles.

Interesting Things with JC #239: "Traffic Lights" - Most common traffic lights operate based on timers. In areas that are not as congested, timers are not the best idea, as rural drivers may be sitting at a red light for an extended period of time. This is where sensor based traffic lights are more of an advantage. The actual sensors used can vary greatly per location, they could be lasers, rubber hoses filled with air, video cameras or inductive loops.

Interesting Things with JC #237: "Lee's Legendary Marbles" is in the amazing and quaint town of York Nebraska and is one of the most unique places to visit. Lee started the collection in 1954, and even has uranium glass marbles from the early 20th century.

Interesting Things with JC - #235: “Sea of Okhotsk” is at the same latitude as the Gulf of Alaska, but unlike the Gulf, the sea freezes between October and March. At 611,000 square miles (1,583,000 sq km) the sea is considered one of the richest north temperate marine ecosystems in the world, and one of the most biologically productive of the world’s seas.

Interesting Things with JC #229: "The Spaghetti Trees of Switzerland". The BBC pulled off one of the best April Fools’ Day pranks, convincing the British population that not only did spaghetti grow on trees, but that they could grow their own by sticking dry spaghetti into cans of marinara sauce…is this even real?!

Interesting Things with JC #228: "Devil's Backbone - Texas Hill Country" - Stretching from Wimberley to Blanco within the Texas Hill country, the rugged and scenic area known as Devil’s Backbone comes from an earthquake that occurred here over thirty million years ago. The area is made up mostly of ranches and hunting cabins. Ghost stories are an important part of the history here!

Interesting Things with JC #226: "Hedy Lamarr" is often recognized as an early Hollywood starlet, with film credits such as "Algiers" and "Boom Town." As an inventor, Lamarr made significant contributions to radio and technology and systems. During World War II, she invented a radio-guidance system for torpedoes. The frequency-hopping technology has been used to develop Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

For more information on this and other amazing stories, please visit - https://www.womenshistory.org

The Sunken City is the name given to the site of a natural landslide which occurred in the Point Fermin area of the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles. A slump in the land caused a huge portion of the city and beachside homes to slide into the ocean.

The Santa Ana Zoo opened in 1952 and has remained a beloved local destination for over 70 years. In 1949 Joseph Edward Prentice donated 16 acres of land for Prentice Park to the City of Santa Ana. He stipulated in his agreement that at least 50 monkeys, his favorite animal, be kept in the park at all times!

Interesting Things with JC #222: "The Château Laurier" is said to be haunted by the ghost of Charles Melville Hays, the president of the company that built the hotel. Hays died on the Titanic, 12 days before the hotel's opening. The Châteauesque rooflines of several federal government buildings in Ottawa, Canada were inspired by the commanding presence of this hotel.

Interesting Things with JC #221: "The Catford Cat" is iconic to the south east London suburb of Catford. You know you’ve entered Catford once you catch sight of the gigantic fibreglass feline. It is Catford’s landmark, perched atop the crowds in the center of town.

Interesting Things with JC #215: “Giant Tortoise of Seychelles” - Historically, giant tortoises were found on many of the western Indian Ocean islands, as well as Madagascar, and the fossil record indicates giant tortoises once occurred on every continent and many islands with the exception of Australia and Antarctica.

Seychelles is located in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa, it's an archipelago consisting of 115 islands and is neighbour to tourist destinations like Mauritius and Maldives. The beaches of the Seychelles are among the most beautiful beaches in the world, with turquoise blue water, powder-soft sand, and fascinating granite rocks.

The four leaf clover is one of the most common good luck symbols of the Western world. An independent study carried out by Swiss researchers looked at 5.7 million clovers and found that the likelihood of finding one four-leaf clover was one in 5,076.