Page 8 - Other Facts

Tea is the most popular drink in the world!

Other than water, of course, we're talking about manufactured drinks. Tea plants are native to East and South Asia. According to The Story of Tea, tea drinking began in modern day Yunnan province during the Shang Dynasty as a medical drink. From there, the drink spread to Sichuan, where the tea evolved from a medicine to a comforting beverage.

Since then, tea has spread across the world. In 2003, the world tea production was 3.21 million tons annually. In 2010, tea production reached over 4.52 million tons. The largest producers of tea are India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and of course, the United Republic of China.

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A man broke into Buckingham Palace twice! He even got to hang out with the Queen!

Talk about a royal pain. Michael Fagan was an unemployed father of four who managed to evade electronic alarms as well as both palace and police guards-TWICE!

On his first attempt, he scaled a drain pipe, briefly startling a housemaid who decided not to act. Fagan entered through an unlocked window on the roof and spent the next half hour eating cheddar cheese and triscuts and wandering around. He eventually drank half a bottle of white wine before becoming tired and leaving.

On his second attempt, he found his way into the Queen’s bedroom. He spoke with her for 10 minutes, and even asked for a cigarette (which a maid brought to him) before he was kicked out.

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There’s a woman mayor who is 92 and has held office for 35 years!

Hazel McCallion, dubbed “Hurricane Hazel” by her supporters, has held the office of mayor of Mississauga, Ontario since 1978! Born in 1921, Hazel is one of the longest serving elected leaders in history, recently being reelected to her 12th consecutive term!

In the late 70’s when Hazel took office, she faced a series of difficult tests, yet each time proved herself to be as tough and determined as any man could hope to be! In 1979, there was a train derailment, which spilled a mess of toxic chemicals and resulted in a huge explosion.

By the next day Hazel had already ordered parts of her city to evacuate, which is no easy task. She personally oversaw the transportation of over 218,000 people, all with not a single injury, making it the largest and most successful North American evacuation exercise to date!

After this incident there was nothing that could deter Hazel’s supports. Another story that exemplifies her no-nonsense attitude was when she received news of a person attempting to commit suicide and was asked for help.

She arrived on the scene and bluntly told the man to get down so emergency crews could do more worthwhile crises. The man was so shocked he immediately calmed down and surrendered to police!

Let’s hope Hazel continues to accomplish great things event at the age of 92!

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Learn why Sesame Street purists refer to Elmo as the 'Little Red Menace.'

As adorable and beloved as Elmo is, he gets a fair bit of hate from hardcore Sesame Street purists. Some have complained that Elmo’s prominent status has caused some of the older characters (e.g. Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Cookie Monster, etc.) To have greatly reduced roles.

In it's FAQ, the Sesame Workshop responds to the allegations that Elmo referring to himself in the third person will teach children improper English by stating that this behavior “mimics the behavior of many preschoolers.” That’s right, preschoolers; you know, the age group that the show Sesame Street is produced for.

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There are more barrels of Bourbon in Kentucky than there are people

Bourbon is a pretty big part of the Kentuckian culture. Not only do the locals love it, but apparently, it generates and sustains employment and is a major tourist trap.

Distilling contributes to nearly $2 billion in gross state product each year and has doubled it's importance to the state’s overall economic activity in the last 13 years.

In the last decade, distilling created 4 percent new job growth. At the moment, there are 4.7 million barrels of Bourbon aging in Kentucky-the largest inventory since the 1980’s. That means that there are 400,000 more barrels than people!

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