“Formosa” is both a province in Argentina and the former name of Taiwan.
Curiously, those locations are on precisely opposite sides of the earth. Noon at one is midnight at the other, and midwinter at one is midsummer at the other.
Trivia
Where the Boys Are
Men per woman:
- Northern Mariana Islands: 0.77
- Russia: 0.86
- Puerto Rico: 0.92
- United States: 0.97
- Canada: 0.98
- United Kingdom: 0.98
- Australia: 0.99
- Iceland: 1
- India: 1.06
- Greenland: 1.12
- Qatar: 1.87
The world average is 1.01.
A Confederacy of Squares
When asked his age, mathematician Augustus De Morgan used to offer a clue: “I was x years of age in the year x2.” (He was 43 in 1849.)
That quirk puts De Morgan in a pretty exclusive club. Other members include Charles Atlas (who was 44 in 1936) and Jake Gyllenhaal (who will be 45 in 2025). Next up: Babies born in 2070 will be 46 in 2116.
Strange Neighbors
The border between Delaware and Pennsylvania is a perfect curve.
It’s the arc of a circle centered on the cupola of the courthouse at New Castle.
It’s the only such boundary in the territorial United States.
Food for Thought
A force of 1 newton is about the weight of an apple.
Trivium
Twelve percent of people dream only in black and white.
Trivium
Reno, Nevada, is farther west than Los Angeles.
See Other Canvas
Picasso’s full name was Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Clito Ruiz y Picasso.
Trivium
The first day of a new century can never fall on a Sunday, a Wednesday, or a Friday.
It’s a quirk of the Gregorian calendar.
Terse
Maine is the only state with a one-syllable name.