Quote
"Children learn to smile from their parents."
Shinichi Suzuki
Joke
Did you hear the rumour about butter?
Well, I'm not going to spread it!
Fun Fact
The longest place name on the planet is 85 letters long.
People who live in Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya Hill, Australia, need a little patience when it comes to learning to spell their hometown's name. But you know what? So do the folks from Lake Chargoggagoggman-chauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg in Massachusetts and Tweebuffelsmeteen-skootmorsdoodgeskietfontein, South Africa.
None of them have quite as much work to do when jotting down their address as those who live in Taumatawhakatangihanga-koauauotamateaturipukakapikimaung-ahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, New Zealand, though. At 85 letters long, this is the longest place name in the world.
Reading Fact
Anaïs Nin wrote her erotic short stories – published posthumously in the collection Delta Of Venus – for the “personal use” of a “private collector”. The collector paid her a dollar a page, and told her to stick to the pornography, “no analysis, no philosophy”.
History Fact
Columbus Didn't Actually Discover America
No, this European explorer did not discover America. Columbus was 500 years too late. In fact, it was the Norse explorer Leif Erikson who landed on American shores during the 10th century. Erikson could be considered the first European to discover America.
Movie/TV Trivia
Play It, Sam? Dooley Wilson, Sam in Casablanca, was a professional drummer who couldn’t play the piano. He simply mimed along, copying an offscreen pianist.
Movie/TV Quote
"She doesn't even go here!"
Mean Girls (2004)
Maybe you're whining, thinking that "Stop trying to make fetch happen" is the more iconic Mean Girls quote, but listen: if you "have a lot of feelings," we have no time for you. Damian Leigh (Daniel Franzese) is the only one who will call out the random "Crying Girl" during the assembly in Mean Girls, when all the girls are tasked with writing apology notes to one another after Regina George's "Burn Book" goes public. It is, of course, extra funny that the entire time his towering frame is dressed in a giant light blue hoodie and dark sunglasses, as if those will disguise him in an all-girls assembly. Hey, he and Janis go everywhere together, where else was he supposed to be? Part of what makes this quote so funny is his nubby silhouette rising from the crowd of girls (perfect for screencapping and pasting on T-shirts and mugs and office desktop computers), then subtly covering his face with a graceful hand.
Conversation Starter
What is the longest book you have read?
Writing Prompt