Page 2 - Best of the Month

Alaska is both the east- and westernmost state in the US!

The Aleutian Islands of Alaska cross the 180 degree-meridian longitude. This means that these islands are part of the Eastern hemisphere. This means that Alaska is the state that is farthest north, east & west in the United States!

If you don't believe in that technicality, the easternmost state is Maine, then Alaska retains it's northernmost and westernmost titles, and Hawaii rounds out the group by being the southernmost.

Of the lower 48 states, Maine is easternmost, Minnesota the northernmost, Washington the westernmost and Florida the southernmost.

(Source)

An Italian bank takes Parmesan cheese as collateral!

If you're in the market for a bank loan in Italy, you can use cheese as your collateral. There's a special cheese bank that has state of the art security features to protect the 300,000 wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese stored in there.

Here's how this business works: Parmigiano-Reggiano takes a long time to properly age. Farmers have a hard time getting through tough times due to the long time between production and sale. This is where the bank comes in.

In exchange for a cheap loan, the bank will keep the farmers' wheels of cheese during the period where the wheel are just supposed to sit and age. This let's farmers run the rest of their business, make future sales, pay wages, while the cheese ages.

Read more about this interesting business model at the source.

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The Big Mac had 2 failed names before a secretary coined its famous name!

The Big Mac was invented by Jim Delligatti, one of the earliest McDonald's franchisees, who operated in the Pittsburgh area. Delligatti's McDonald's kitchen in the Ross Township of suburban Pittsburg was the birthplace of the Big Mac in 1967.

The sandwich had 2 names before McDonald's settled on Big Mac. First, it was called 'Aristocrat,' which apparently was too difficult for costumers to pronounce. The second name was 'Blue Ribbon Burger,' but that failed to spark any meaningful sales.

Finally, Esther Glickstein Rose, a 21-year-old Advertising Secretary at MacDonald's Corporate HQ in the suburbs of Chicago coined the term Big Mac. That name stuck and it became the world's most famous fast food sandwich.

(Source)

An Indian tradition has mothers throwing their babies from 50-feet high!

Every year, in Sholapur, India, moms from around the region come to fulfill a tradition that is supposed to secure good luck to their children: Dropping them from a 50-foot-tall building.

The babies are caught by people holding a bed sheet down below. Check out the video below to see it in action!

(Source)

Navy Dolphins recently found a 130-year-old torpedo!

Yes, the Navy has trained dolphins that aid the military branch in underwater exploration. In this case, the dolphins found a piece of history off the coast of San Diego.

Built about 130 years ago, the type of torpedo they found is called a Howell and it's one of the first torpedoes built that can propel itself. Only 50 of the 11-foot-long devices were made, and only two remain in existence.

The torpedo is now being cleaned and being made ready for it to be displayed at the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington.

(Source)