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 #227: “Velcro” - George Mestral patented Velcro in 1955. Originally envisioned as a fastener for clothing, today, Velcro is used across a wide array of industries and applications; including healthcare, the military, land vehicles, aircraft, and even spacecraft. Do you know how it was invented? Click play and let's find out!

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 A-12 was a high-altitude, Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft built for the US CIA by Lockheed's Skunk Works under project Oxcart. The plane was a one seater with a payload of 2500lbs, 101ft long with a wingspan of 55 feet (31x17 meters). Able to hold 10,590 US gal of fuel, weighing 117,000 lb (53k kg) with dual Pratt & Whitney JT11D-20B turbine engines.

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 #220: "The Great Auk" - While the Great Auk wasn't technically a penguin, it certainly looked like one, and in fact, it was the first bird to be loosely called a penguin. One significant difference, is that true penguins are restricted to the southern hemisphere, especially the fringes of Antarctica. The Great Auk lived along the farthest reaches of the northern Atlantic Ocean.

Interesting Things with JC #219: "Disc Harrows" are farming implements, or tools, used to prepare the soil for planting or sowing crops. They are pulled behind tractors and break up the clods and surface crusts on your land. This helps improve soil granulation and weed destruction. While plowing cuts, granulates, and inverts the soil, creating furrows and ridges, disking breaks up those clods and surface crusts. Let's find out more!

Interesting Things with JC #218: “Elephants” - The word “elephant” comes from the Greek word “elephas” which means “ivory”. The elephant brain is remarkably similar to the human brain, with as many neurons and synapses, as well as a highly developed hippocampus and cerebral cortex. There is a movement called the wooly mammoth revival that seeks to bring the species back to life through the genes of the Asian elephant.

Interesting Things with JC #217: "Spring Equinox" - On the vernal equinox, the first day of spring, the direct rays of the Sun are shining down on the equator producing the effect of equal day and night. After the vernal equinox, the direct rays of the Sun migrate north of the Equator, as the earth slowly tilts.

Interesting Things with JC #216: “Black Parrot of Seychelles” - The black parrot or the Praslin parrot is a bird found only in the Praslin island of Seychelles. Although it is the national bird of Seychelles and a protected species, the black parrot is threatened outside its native habitat.

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.

John Deere dealers keep two colors in stock for green. There's Agricultural Green and Classic Green. Classic is primarily used on two-cylinder models; Agricultural Green is the shade used on newer equipment.

On March 15th, 44BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated by 40 senators and 60 co-conspirators. He was stabbed 23 times during a meeting of the Senate, at the Theatre of Pompey, in Rome. There were many signs for Caeser not to attend the meeting that day…

Charles Looff was a German master carver and builder of hand-carved carousels and amusement rides, who immigrated to the United States of America in 1870. During his lifetime, he built over 40 carousels, several amusements parks, numerous roller coasters and Ferris wheels, and built California's famous Santa Monica Pier. The Crescent Park Carousel was his crown jewel and is the largest and most elaborate carousel he ever constructed.

Countries to the north and south of the tropics, see sunrise much earlier and sunsets much later in summer, than these regions do in winter. On most farms, this isn't a problem. People and animals just shift their habits as the hours of daylight shift. In most cities, the amount of energy used to make artificial light and heat becomes costly, if they don't shift their routines. This is where William Willett, the godfather of Daylight Savings comes in.