Five Fun Facts For Friday – January 28, 2011

My high school English teacher used to start class on Friday with 5 words or phrases written on the board.  He’d then regale us with stories about the words or phrases, varying from tidbits about their etymology to translation of foreign phrases to quotes and more.  He called it Five Fun Facts for Friday.  If we walked into class and there weren’t 5 words on the board, we’d start asking about that day’s five fun facts.

Years later, and I do mean many years, I still remember this teacher and the way he made learning fun.  I’ve also noticed when I come across little tidbits of information that I often think of them in terms of five fun facts, so today I’m going to share them with you.  Sometimes I discover something new, sometimes it’s a reminder, and sometimes it’s just something that makes me say hmmmmmm.

While I’m not promising that I’ll have five fun facts every Friday, I thing you’ll see the concept again!

1. There are 200 species of potatoes, and thousands of subspecies, that are native to the Andes region of Peru.  And, and additional 150 types of sweet potatoes.  No wonder potatoes figure prominently in Peruvian cuisine.
2. You really can drive on the beach at Daytona Beach (and a few other beaches in the area).  There is a beach permit required (the fee price depends on if you are a resident or non-resident), and vehicle hours are posted.  The beach is always open and free to pedestrians and bicyclists depending on tides.
3. You can get a bone marrow transplant from a baboon, assuming, of course, you can find a match (source).
4. Colder temperature may help you lose weight.  While certainly not the only factor in losing weight, turning down the temperature a few degrees can help you burn more calories (source).
5. Hawaii, Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation), and the part of Indiana (that portion in the eastern time zone) do NOT observe daylight savings time.  Neither does Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa.  I know this at one level, but when it’s time to make a phone call I have to sit down and think it through again.

Photo credit: SXC

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