FAST FACTS – Interesting trivia for your next dinner party.

from My Weekly Preview Issue 696. March 10, 2022

WHAT’S ON – Your entertainment guide for the Sunshine Coast.

The most expensive coin in the world was sold for more than $7 million. The 1933 Double Eagle was a $20 US coin made of gold that never went into circulation. A few of the coins were made, but most were destroyed, except for nine that were presumed stolen by US mint workers. After years circulating the globe and falling into the hands of a few notable owners – including the king of Egypt – one of the coins was auctioned off at Sotheby’s in 2002 for a stunning $7,590,020.

Quote of the week

“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.” – Thomas Carlyle

Word of the day

The Earth’s ozone layer has suffered a lot. Fortunately, according to a 2018 report from the United Nations, the ozone layer (a fragile gas layer that protects our planet from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays) will fully heal in 50 years. The recovery is thanks in large part to a global ban on the use of one of the main culprits for the damage: chlorofluorocarbons.

By the numbers

Before Google had everything we needed to know, there was another way people searched for information. Most Millennials have never rifled through a wooden chest of drawers filled with numbered index cards in their local libraries. But for generations, that’s exactly how the Dewey Decimal System and the card catalogue made finding books easy. Computers were doing the task by 2000.

407Km/h

69%

The amount of the world’s water supply held in glaciers and ice sheets. The speed of the fastest wind gust in the world.

85 letters

The world’s longest place name contains 85 letters and belongs to a hill in Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand.

Today in history – March 10

1876 – The first telephone call is made. Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the words “Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you” to his assistant, Thomas A Watson, who was in an adjacent room. 1945 – The most destructive bombing raid in history hits Tokyo. About 100,000 Tokyo citizens died in the fires caused by the US air force’s incendiary bombs. 1959 – A revolt erupts in Lhasa, sparking the Tibetan uprising. Fearing the Dalai Lama’s abduction by China, 300,000 Tibetans surrounded his palace. 2000 – The dotcom bubble bursts when the NASDAQ Composite stock market index peaks at 5408.60. The dotcom boom, which started in 1997, accompanied the advent of countless new internet-based companies. When the speculative bubble burst, many small investors were affected.