Interesting Facts

Slaves in the District of Columbia were freed in 1862, nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation. #InterestingFacts

Did you know that le point zéro des routes de France is a marker just in front of the Notre Dame cathedral that marks the center point of Paris? The distance to all other cities in France is measured from this point. #InterestingFacts @notredameparis

It's Tax Day. The deadline to file income tax returns in the United States was moved to April 15th from March 1st in 1955 in order to give everyone more time to process tax returns. #InterestingFacts #TaxDay @IRSnews

Perforated rolls of toilet paper became readily available in the 1880's. In 1935, Northern Issue began advertising their new "splinter free" toilet paper. #InterestingFacts

On 14 April 1914, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic. The Titanic was operated by White Star Line, a British shipping company. It merged with Cunard Line in the '30's and in 2005 became part of @CarnivalCruise. #InterestingFacts #Titanic

BTS released their first studio album in six years. All the members just completed their mandatory 18 months of military service in South Korea. ARIRANG has spent the past three weeks at number one on the @billboard200 chart. #InterestingFacts @BIGHIT_MUSIC

The Liberty Bell was originally named the State House Bell. It got its new name in the 1830's when it became a symbol of the anti-slavery movement. #InterestingFacts #LibertyBell

Handel's Messiah debuts 13 April 1742 in Dublin. The familiar Hallelujah chorus is not the end of the oratorio. It is merely the end of Part II of the 3 part oratorio. Part I focused on prophecy. Part II on the Passion. Part III on the resurrection. @VisitDublin #InterestingFacts

The Beatles album Abbey Road just re-entered the Billboard 200 chart this week. It has spent 505 weeks on the Billboard 200. #InterestingFacts @thebeatles @billboard200 @billboard

Before R. Norris Williams became a tennis champion at @Harvard, the U.S. Championships, the @DavisCup, and the @Olympics, he survived the sinking of the #Titanic in 1912. He is in the @TennisHalloFame and served in the @USArmy. #InterestingFacts

On 12 April 1861, the US Civil War began when the Confederacy opened fire on Fort Sumter (SC). The barrage was so great that it was 2 hours before fire was returned. The Union soldier who fired that first shot back? Capt. Abner Doubleday. @baseballhall #InterestingFacts

@kendricklamar had a noticeable stutter as a young child. He excelled in school and graduated high school with straight A's. #InterestingFacts

@Drake dropped out of high school to pursue his acting career. He got his diploma when he was 25. Early in his career he fell off a stage and tore his ACL. #InterestingFacts

The # symbol is known by many names; number sign, pound sign, hash, and hash tag. Did you know that @BellLabs workers came up with the word "octothorpe" to describe it in 1968? The real story is probably lost to history, but octo- comes from the 8 points. #InterestingFacts

The USS Abraham Lincoln CVN-72 is one of 10 Nimitz class aircraft carriers for the @USNavy. In 2002-03 it was deployed for 290 days, a record at the time. It is currently supporting operations in the Persian Gulf. #InterestingFacts

Belladonna is a toxic herb that was used by women in Medieval times to dilate their pupils to appear more attractive. DON'T TRY THIS! It is in the nightshade family along with tomatoes, potatoes & eggplants. #InterestingFacts #belladonna

The Professional Golfers' Association of America, or @PGA, was created in New York City on 10 April 1916. You can attend 1 of 14 Universities to complete the PGA Golf Management University Program and become a PGA member. #InterestingFacts

The Artemis II mission debuted the first functioning toilet on a moon mission. The Apollo astronauts had tubes and bags to deal with the waste produced. #InterestingFacts @NASA @NASAArtemis

Six of the eight Harry Potter films have been nominated for 12 total Academy Awards but have won zero. #InterestingFacts #Oscars #HarryPotter

Franklin Roosevelt responded to the Dust Bowl of 1934 with the Great Plains Shelterbelt project. Over the course of 12 years, 220 million trees were planted from North Dakota to Texas to create a wind break. It worked. #InterestingFacts #DustBowl #Shelterbelt #FDR