Page 58 - Best of the Month

Ducktales and Chip 'n Dale were the first cartoons to premier in the Soviet Union since the Cold War started!

If you're a child of the late 80s – early 90s, you probably remember these two cartoons. The first showed the adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his three grandnephews on globetrotting adventures. The latter told the tales of a team of mini-mystery solving detectives.

Both cartoons were met to great success, and were the first Disney cartoons to be produced for syndication. Ducktales has been named one of the best animated shows of all time. Both shows were translated into many languages.

Ducktales and Chip 'n Dale were the first American cartoons shown in the Soviet Union after the Cold War started. Another interesting foreign language note about Ducktales is that it's one of the few cartoons shown in Spain that used the Latin American dubbing instead of being dubbed by a local team.

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A small 62-mile gap in Panama is the only gap in a highway that connects Central, North and South America!

The Darién gap is a 99 mile long by 31 mile wide area completely covered in swampland and forest that separates Panama's Darién province with Colombia. Constructing in the Darién gap would have extremely high costs and immeasurable ecologic impact, which is why it remains undeveloped.

However, this small gap is the only thing that prevents the Pan-American Highway from connecting all three continents. If you measure a straight line between where the highway stops in Panama and starts in Colombia, there's a 62 mile gap between the roads.

There have been plans to remedy this missing link in the Pan-American highway since 1971, but they have been halted because of the extensive environmental damage this would cause. There is evidence that this gap has prevented the spread of foot-and-mouth disease to Central and North America, among other factors.

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An ancient papyrus version of the book of Revelations has the number of the beast as 616 and not 666!

666 has long been associated with the end of times, and has been the subject of much controversy and some very scary and entertaining movies. However, a new papyrus document that has become readable thanks to modern technology might change that perception.

Using a technique called multi-spectral imaging, researchers have uncovered texts that include many ancient Greek and Roman literature. Among those writings, are third and fourth century versions of the book of Revelations in which the number of the Beast of the Apocalypse is said to be 616 and not 666.

It's believed that the Beast referred to Roman Emperor Nero, and that the different numbers reflect different spellings of his name. If you want to read more about these manuscripts, check out the source!

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The first person to fly over the North Pole actually missed it!

Richard Byrd gained renown 87 years ago by becoming the first person to fly over the North Pole. However, it is now being reported that he missed it by as much as 80 miles.

A first clue was that the flight was supposed to take 18 hours, but only took him 15 hours and 44 minutes. The man also didn't have a written down flight plan. Byrd is said to have relied on a solar compass, a tiny barograph and measured speed with a stopwatch.

However, it is possible that Byrd saw the North Pole, given that his altitude gave him 90-mile visibility. However, the real record holder for being the first to fly over the North Pole goes to a Norwegian who accomplished the feat days after Byrd.

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A woman was born with two pelvises and four legs!

Josephine Myrtle Corbin was born in Lincoln County, TN in 1868. She had a rare form of conjoined twining called dipygus. As a result, she was born with two complete bodies from the waist down.

Her two small pelvises were side by side and she had two inner legs smaller than the outer ones. However, each inner leg was paired with it's outer leg. It's reported that she could move all four of her legs, but she had a hard time walking, as three of them were unusable: Two were too small, and the other had a clubbed foot.

His dad started showing her when she was just one month old, charging a dime. This started her successful career as a sideshow attraction that resulted in her earning as much as $450 a week and being able to retire when she was 18.

She married a doctor and had four daughters and a son. It's rumored that 3 of her kids were from one set of organs and two from the other. It's not possible to confirm whether this is true, but it was medically possible.

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