Page 75 - Other Facts

The British Pound coins form the Royal Shield.

The British Pound has a very rich history. While it’s often called the British Pound or the Great Britain Pound, its official name is British Pound Sterling.

Sterling was the metal with which the old coins were made. The British Pound Sterling was introduced by English King Henry II to replace the silver penny which was made of 100% silver. Like the American penny, it cost more to make than it was actually worth. 

Also, the coins didn’t last too long. Sterling coins were much more durable and made more economic “sense.” The British Pound is the world’s oldest currency. 

In fact, it’s even older Great Britain (the unification of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern England). In 2008, the coins were redesigned so that together they form the Royal Shield. 

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There is a conspiracy theory that Egyptian treasures and tunnels were found in the Grand Canyon in 1909.

Were Egyptians the first people from the East to stumble across America? Some say that in the early 20th century, a pair of Smithsonian-funded archaeologists (Prof. S.A Jordon and G.E Kinkaid) claimed that they found remnants of a thriving Egyptian civilization stowed within a series of caverns carved into the side of a remote portion of the Grand Canyon. The story of this discovery was on the front page of the April 15, 1909 edition of the Arizona Gazette. 

According to the article, a series of strange caves and artifacts were found in the Marble Canyon region of the Grand Canyon. The article also describes a cross-legged idol resembling Buddha, and a large tomb filled with mummified humans. However, all of these claims are denied by official sources. 

There are no records of Kincaid or Professor Jordon within the Smithsonian’s Department of Anthropology, and none of their “artifacts” ever saw the light of day. According to conspiracy theorists, the Smithsonian institute destroyed all artifacts and filled in the tunnels, possibly to maintain the current picture of human history. 

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You can do a loop circumnavigating all of North America East of the Mississippi!

The Great Loop refers to the circumnavigation of Eastern North America by water. This trip varies from 5,000 miles to 7,500 miles. Boats used for the mini adventure range from personal watercrafts to 60-foot yachts. Sailboats and powerboats are also used, but the most common boats are 45 ft. recreational trawlers. 

The main factors affecting the size of the boat are the limited draft in some locations and the 19 foot bridge in Chicago. People travelling The Great Loop are called “loopers.” The number of loopers is growing with the baby boomers reaching retirement age. 

In 2007, more than 150 boat owners notified America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association (yes, there is such a thing) that they were planning to take on the loop in the coming season. 

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The Guinness Book of Records was originally published by Guinness Breweries as a reference for settling pub arguments.

The Guinness Book of World Records is an annually published reference book containing a collection of world records ranging from the impressive to the absurd. It holds records of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world.

You might remember that the book itself is a world record for the best selling copyrighted book series of all time. It’s also one of the most stolen books in the US libraries.

Its roots go back to 1951, when Sir Hugh Beaver, the managing director of Guinness Breweries, got in in argument over what was the fastest game bird in Europe. He realized it was impossible to confirm, and thought that there had to be numerous other questions debated in pubs. To solve the problem, he went to Norris and Ross McWhirter, twins running a fact finding agency in London. His goal was to create a reference book to end all pub debates. In August 1954, the first Guinness Book of Records was born.

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Ever wondered why the Simpsons are yellow?

The choice of color for the Simpsons characters was very strategic, actually. As soon as Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, was given a drawing of the characters in yellow by an animator, he knew it was perfect. 

The idea was that whenever someone was flipping through the channels, they would automatically know The Simpsons was on when they saw the yellow bodies flash by. Speaking of characters, all of them are a digit short of a full, human-like hand. Actually, the only character to ever have five fingers on a hand was God. 

Until 1998, the 8 main voice actors for The Simpsons received $30,000 per episode. From 1998 until 2004 they made $125,000 per episode. Today, they receive $400,000 per episode. The theme song was created by Danny Elfman in 1989. He composed the now famous song in just two days time. That’s not too bad for a two day job. 

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