The Woolly Mammoth Was Still Alive When The First Pyramids Were Built: The Woolly Mammoth was still roaming the earth in 650 BC, when the first pyramids were being built. These creatures died off well before civilizations arose, but the pyramids are still here. When Star Wars Premiered France Was Still Beheading People: The last execution in France, by guillotine, was on September 10th of 1977. That was the same year that Star Wars premiered. There Are Whales Living In The Ocean Today Who Were Alive When Moby Dick Was Written: Moby Dick was written in 1851 and astonishingly enough, there are some whales, that were swimming in the ocean at that time, that are still alive. Some bowhead whales, that have been living off the coast of Alaska, are over 200 years old, placing their birth at around 1814. Betty White Is Older Than Sliced Bread: In the case of Betty White, the saying "older than sliced bread" is true. The actress was born in 1922, and sliced bread wasn't invented until 1928, by Otto Frederick Rohwedder. Amazing!
May of 1977. I remember seeing it in the first theater with Dolby Surround Sound - the Twin Tilton in Northfield NJ (Just outside Margate / Ventnor / A.C. / Longport). I thought my uncle was taking me to see some boring black & white WWII movie like he always watched. Man, I was hooked from the first rumble of the Imperial Star Destroyer seemingly going right over my head.
What people really don't know is that the French actually beheaded people for seeing Star Wars. It was one of their initiatives to prevent incursions of Anglo-Saxon culture into la belle France. Just ask Ludi, he barely escaped with his life!
Some good examples there. And while only tangentially related, I am consistently amazed at how little understanding most people have of big numbers. I say "amazed" because such numbers are used frequently, and impact their lives in extremely important ways. So, for example... How long would it take to count to a trillion? If you were to count one number per second, it would take: 1 million = 12 days 1 billion = 31 years 1 trillion = 32,000 years How high is a trillion in $1000 bills? If you were to stack (not end-to-end) a trillion dollars worth of $1000 bills together: 1 million dollars = 4 inches high 1 billion dollars = 364 feet high 1 trillion dollars = 63 miles high (give or take a foot or two) This should help some to understand why, among other things, America's National Debt will never be repaid.
If I remember correctly, the last person to be beheaded in France asked to be placed in the guillotine facing up, so he could watch the blade come down. But they wouldn't let him. I never understood that. Kinda like swabbing the arm of a person about to be executed before sticking the needle in.