Geography facts
More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska.
The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply.
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country.
Canada has more lakes than any other country, making up much of the worlds fresh water. Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village."
Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first paved road anywhere.
Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent. See more fact at:
http://nowthatsnifty.blogspot.com/2009/12/interesting-geography-facts-and-tidbits.html Thanks, Bill.

Fourscore is an adjective originating in the 13th century meaning four times twenty or eighty. Its most famous use is in the first word of ten sentences spoken by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Gettysburg_Address/

Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof (pronounced /ˈzɑːmɨnhɒf/ in English; born Eliezer Levi Samenhof, December 15, 1859 – April 14, 1917) was an ophthalmologist, philologist, and the inventor of Esperanto, a constructed language designed for international communication.In 1910, Zamenhof was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, by four British Members of Parliament (including James O'Grady, Philip Snowden) and Professor Stanley Lane Poole.[9] (The Prize was instead awarded to the International Peace Bureau.) The minor planet (1462) Zamenhof is named in his honor. It was discovered on February 6, 1938 by Yrjö Väisälä. Also, hundreds of city streets, parks, and bridges worldwide have been named after Zamenhof[10]. In Lithuania, the best-known Zamenhof Street is in Kaunas, where he lived and owned a house for some time. There are others in France, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain (mostly in Catalonia), Italy, Israel, and Brazil. There are Zamenhof Hills in Hungary and Brazil, and a Zamenhof Island in the Danube River.[11] Zamenhof is honored as a deity by the Japanese religion Oomoto, which encourages the use of Esperanto among its followers. Also, a genus of lichen has been named Zamenhofia rosei in his honour.[12] His birthday, December 15, is celebrated annually as Zamenhof Day by users of Esperanto.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._L._Zamenhof


Census Bureau Releases 2010 Statistical Abstract Depicting the State of Our Nation
Texting More Than Doubles in the Last Year: "How r u? The way we communicate is rapidly evolving, as evidenced by the fact that the number of text messages sent on cell phones has more than doubled from 48 billion in December 2007 to 110 billion in December 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010. The Statistical Abstract, aka “Uncle Sam’s Almanac,” perennially the federal government’s best-selling reference book, has been published since 1878 — before automobiles, airplanes and motion pictures had even been invented. Contained in the 129th edition are more than 1,400 tables of social, political and economic facts which collectively describe the state of our nation and the world. Included are 53 new tables, covering topics such as worldwide space launch events this decade, the use of complementary and alternative medicine, the type of work flexibility provided to employees, employment status of veterans and road fatalities by country."
See also Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project: Teens and Sexting, December 2009

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational employment projections to 2018
Occupational employment projections to 2018: "Professional and related occupations and service occupations are expected to create more new jobs than all other occupational groups from 2008 to 2018; in addition, growth will be faster among occupations for which postsecondary education is the most significant form of education or training, and, across all occupations, replacement needs will create many more job openings than will job growth...Total employment, a measure of all jobs in the U.S. economy, is projected to increase by 15.3 million over the 2008–18 period, representing a growth rate of 10.1 percent. Among occupational groups, strong employment growth is expected in healthcare occupations and in computer-related occupations, whereas employment in production occupations as well as farming, fishing, and forestry occupations is expected to decline."

Condemned in Illinois
While living in Bloomington, Illinois, I put out my worn garbage can. When I went to retrieve it, I found that garbage collectors had turned it over, and taped a note to the bottom that said CONDEMNED.

Peas (Petits Pois)
1 small head lettuce
2 c. fresh peas
12 pearl onions
4 parsley sprigs
4 oz. butter
1/4 c. water
1 t salt
Pinch sugar
Remove outer leaves from the head of lettuce and remove stem. Cut lettuce head into quarters. Tie quarters together with kitchen string and place in a large pot. Add the peas and peeled pearl onions. Tie parsley sprigs together with fine kitchen string and place on top. Cut up butter and sprinkle on top of vegetables. Pour in the water. Sprinkle on the salt and sugar. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat. Make sure water does not completely evaporate. Remove parsley and string from lettuce before serving. http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/france/peas.html

On December 18, 1944, the US Supreme Court decided Korematsu v. United States, upholding the wartime relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps. Read Executive Order 9066, issued by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, under which the internments were authorized. View photos from the Japanese American internment camps, collected by the University of Utah Library....." [more]

The Islamic calendar was created 1,414 lunar years ago (which is 1,371 years ago by the 2009 calendar's standards). And today—December 18, 2009 A.D.—is New Year's Day, 1431 A.H., in the Islamic calendar. The Writer's Almanac