Interesting Things with JC #437: "Bacon" was first mentioned in writing around 1500 B.C.

Interesting Things with JC #245: “42 Round Boxing Match” - April 17, 1860 — The first “world championship” boxing match took place on this day – not in a grand stadium like New York’s Madison Square Garden that was to host later famous battles, but in an open field…in southern England!

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.

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.

If you visit the Restaurant Chiggeri in the city of Luxembourg, you can take your pick from more than 2,200 different wines. A professional connoisseur is on-site to guide you with what food is best paired with each wine. The majority of the wines on the menu having been there for more than six months. The wine menu is said to resemble a telephone book!

On March 3rd 1980, the first nuclear submarine and the first vessel to go to the North Pole, the USS Nautilus was decommissioned. The Submarine was the sixth vessel of the US Navy to bear the name. The Nautilus was in active naval service from 1954 to 1980 and was the 571st submarine in the fleet.

As the Olympic games draw to a close, let's look at some of the more interesting things about the city of Beijing. It is China’s second-most populous city after Shanghai, estimated at 20.4 million people. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. The first city erected on the spot, Jicheng, was founded in 1045 BC and was the capital of the Ji Kingdom.