The first state minimum wage law in the U.S. went into effect in Massachusetts on July 1, 1913. It would be another 25 years before the minimum wage law went into effect nationally.

The first true calculator, the abacus, originated in China during the sixth century B.C. Its stone-like beads, shifted along vertical strings, enabled the Chinese to perform basic arithmetical operations with speed and ...Read More

St. Nicholas was bishop of the Turkish town of Myra in the early fourth century. It was the Dutch who first made him into a Christmas gift-giver, and Dutch settlers brought him to America where his name eventually became ...Read More

It has been estimated that the typical American will spend an average of 2 years of his/her life reading newspapers.

The female knot-tying weaverbird will refuse to mate with a male who has built a shoddy nest. If spurned, the male must take the nest apart and completely rebuild it in order to win the affections of the female.

The Irish custom of "feeding the wren" on December 26 consists of carrying a wren door to door, to collect money for charity. The custom is based on a legend of St. Stephen. Once he was forced to hide in a bush, but a ...Read More