Meme Kidnapped from scarlettina

[gnomi]

In the comments below, share a factoid or a bit of info that other people can learn about from you (so no making stuff up that isn't true)... advice, educational stuff, whatever. However, do not repeat knowledge on a subject that has already been commented on, and if you see something you didn't know about before make sure to let the person know.

As scarlettina did, I'll start with a randomness:

Until 1698, when the Virginia governor specified that Capitol would be the name of the planned statehouse in a village then known as Middle Plantation, the word capitol had been used only as the name of the great Roman temple at Rome.

(quoted from Garner's Modern American Usage, p. 127. Garner cites Mitford M. Mathews, American Words, pp. 62-63 (1959; repr. 1976))

Comments

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

(Boy, my head's full of useless knowledge.)

If you want to say "thank you" in Cairo or in Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem, you'd say, "Shukran." To say "No, thank you," you'd say, "La, shukran." This knowledge is also useful in Moroccan restaurants where, on occasion, I've received extra treats with my meal for "speaking the language."

Boeing Company (the aerospace giant) is so big that, annually, they hold their own crafts fair and, as a separate event, a coin show.

Seattle's Space Needle was erected as a defining symbol of the city for the 1962 World's Fair. At the time, its roof—now white—was bright orange. For its 40th birthday, it was painted orange again in celebration.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Ooh, neat! Seattle-local trivia. Thanks!

(I knew about "shukran" from when I lived in Israel. The long-distance operator had a recorded message because there were usually significant wait times. And the message played in Hebrew, English, and Arabic. So I heard "shukran" over and over while waiting for a human.)