Today's Dippit!

Quote

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

Thomas A. Edison

Joke

I don't play soccer because I enjoy the sport. I'm just doing it for kicks!

Fun Fact

Humans are just one of the estimated 8.7 million species on Earth.

Human beings may dominate the planet with our sprawling cities and far-reaching technology, but we are, in fact, just one species among some 8.7 million that live together on planet Earth. One 2011 study published in the journal PLoS Biology estimated that "the various forms of life on the planet included 7.8 million species of animals, 298,000 species of plants, 611,000 species of mushrooms, mold and other fungi, 36,400 species of protozoa, and 27,500 species of algae or chromists." And it's worth noting that the researchers did not venture to put an estimate on the number of bacteria.

Reading Fact

The first ebook in the world is The Declaration of Independence, released in 1971.

In 1971, passionate technologist and futurist Michael Stern Hart was given access to a Xerox Sigma V mainframe at the University of Illinois. Inspired by a free printed copy of the Declaration of Independence, he decided to transcribe it into the computer.

He made the file available to other users of the computer network, with the annotation that it was free to use and distribute – marking the beginning of the legendary Project Gutenberg, an initiative dedicated to making books freely available in digital format.

History Fact

In colonial America pregnant women didn't receive painkillers during delivery because pain was considered God's punishment for Eve's eating the forbidden fruit.

Movie/TV Trivia

The Theory Of Everything

In an e-mail to director James Marsh about the portrayal by Eddie Redmayne, Stephen Hawking said there were certain points when he thought he was watching himself. In addition to his copyrighted voice, Stephen Hawking also lent the filmmakers his Companion of Honour medal and his signed thesis to use as genuine props in the film.

Movie/TV Quote

"Why don't you come up sometime and see me?" 

She Done Him Wrong, 1933

Conversation Starter

Did anything make you upset today?

Writing Prompt

How Do Your Parents Share the Responsibilities of Parenting?