Sunday, May 20, 2007

10 things I didn't know until last week

1. Dismas and Gestas are the apocryphal names given to the two thieves crucified along with Jesus Christ. In some sources, they are also referred to as Dumachus and Titus.
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2. The first Bishop of Rome to bear the title of “Pope” was Boniface III in 607 - earlier Bishops of Rome are customarily extended the title Pope as a courtesy, except in strict historical discourse.
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3. Bock’s Car is the name of the US Army Air Forces B-29 Bomber that dropped the second atomic bomb - Fat man - on Nagasaki.
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4. Susan B. Anthony, the women’s suffrage campaigner, is the first non-fictitious woman to be portrayed on circulating US coinage.
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5. The title role of Dirty Harry, 1971, was originally intended for Frank Sinatra - who pulled out because of injury. It was subsequently refused by John Wayne and Paul Newman before being finally accepted by Clint Eastwood.
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6. Hawai’i is the only US state that grows coffee commercially.
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7. In earlier days, law dictated that all gondolas in Venice be painted black unless they belonged to a high official. The custom continues till today.
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8. Europe has no deserts.
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9. Greater Tokyo has 35 million residents - more than the entire population of Canada.
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10. The term Ouija is supposedly derived from the combination of the French and German/Dutch words for yes - ‘Oui’ and ‘Ja’ respectively.
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About:
Iqbal Mohammed is Head of Innovation & Strategy at a digital innovation agency serving the DACH and wider European markets. He is the winner of the WPP Atticus Award for Best Original Published Writing in Marketing & Communication.

He blogs about #innovation, #technology and #marketing at misentropy.com. You can reach him via email or Twitter.