Today's Dippit!

Quote

"You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice." 

Bob Marley 

Joke

How do you talk to a giant?

Use big words!

Fun Fact

America accidentally dropped an atom bomb on South Carolina in 1958.

In March 1958, a B-47 plane was headed to the United Kingdom and was armed with an atomic bomb. This bomb was even bigger than the "Fat Boy," the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

During the flight, the pilots noticed a fault light, so one of them decided to check it out. In doing so, he accidentally released the emergency pin, watching in horror as the bomb dropped to the ground. The good news was, the critical part of the bomb needed to set it off was still on the plane, so it never exploded.

Reading Fact

Geniuses are fast readers

While no direct link of causality has been found between the speed of reading and a high IQ, it can’t be a coincidence that abnormally intelligent people also have well above the average reading speeds.

A regular person can read between 200 and 300 words per minute. Depending on the practice and interest in the subject, that number can go up to 500 words per minute (without sacrificing comprehension). 

Well, what you probably didn’t know is that some remarkable people also had remarkable reading speeds. Napoleon for example was able to read at the absolutely astonishing rate of 2000 words per minute. Stories about Honore de Balzac said that he was able to finish a small novel in under half an hour. 

It can’t be a coincidence that some of the greatest minds in history were also speed-readers, can it?

History Fact

There were female Gladiators.

A female gladiator was called a Gladiatrix, or Gladiatrices (plural). They were rarer than their male counterparts.

Gladiatrices served the same purpose of executing criminals, fighting each other and fighting animals in Rome’s various fighting pits.

Movie/TV Trivia

Django Unchained is the first time in 16 years that Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t get the top billing.

Movie/TV Quote

"I'm a fiend for mojitos."

Miami Vice (2006)

The hardened career criminals and weary law enforcement officers of director Michael Mann's epic crime sagas often speak in clipped, coded language that reveals character through small details. Think of James Caan declaring "I was state-raised and this is a dead place" to a snooty administrator at an adoption agency in 1981's Thief. Think of Robert De Niro sneering, "You must've worked some dipshit crews" to Al Pacino across the dinner table in 1995's Heat. Mann's work in the last 19 years is filled with similar bits of verbal firepower -- "Yo homie, is that my briefcase?" from 2004's hitman neo-noir Collateral almost made this list -- but no quote has the same sleazy-yet-suave quality as a greasy-haired Colin Farrell telling Gong Li, "I'm a fiend for mojitos" in 2006's Miami Vice, a beautiful digital blur of a movie that's only become more celebrated since its release. What's so special about this relatively obscure line? In its mix of tough-guy swagger and unapologetic cheese, it perfectly crystalizes the appeal of this ultra-tense, visually striking remake of the '80s television series. Maybe you laugh. Maybe you shake your head. Maybe you nod in recognition. No matter what, you know Sonny Crockett is a fiend for mojitos.

Conversation Starter

What’s a good place to eat around here?

Writing Prompt

Does Being a Fan Help Define Who You Are?