June 20- Random

Could you imagine a world without pens? More specifically, could you imagine a world without ballpoint pens? You may laugh, but there are many things that make pens more useful than pencils. You can sign papers with them, they don't have to be sharpened, and they aren't scarily sharp. But alas, there was a time where ballpoint pens didn't exist. In fact, it wasn't until 1938 that the ballpoint pen was invented by two brothers living in Europe. One was a newspaper editor, and the other a chemist. Their idea for a pen with a free moving ball and ink cartridge was patented in 1938. By 1940, they had started a successful pen company in Argentina. The idea was noticed by an American, who started selling the pens at Gimbels in 1949. But, for my daily question, I ask: what are the names of the brothers who came up with the original ballpoint pen idea?





The brothers were Lazlo and Georg Biro.
If you liked that fact, I noticed it while reading "The Mental Floss History of the World". It's a fantastic book. Pick it up at pretty much any bookstore, even if you don't like history.

April 25- Random

The game of Monopoly. Invented during the Great Depression, this intense real-estate game involves bribing, tricking, and buying ones way to victory, or, monopoly. The "spokesperson" and mascot for the game of Monopoly is, or was, Rich Uncle Pennybags. But recently, Pennybags changed his name to Mr. Monopoly. Also, with the changing times, (and I suspect a decent dose of political correctness) Mr. Monopoly quit smoking. Which brings me to my question of the day: When was Mr. Monopoly renamed and quit smoking?




He changed his name and quit smoking in 2000. And, just for a bonus, a quick fact: The longest game of monopoly ever was 1,680 hours long, or 70 days.

*I got these facts from Mental_Floss, probably the best magazine ever. Check them out at www.mentalfloss.com