How's this for a mixed metaphor？ The World Almanac is catnip for my magpie mind。 Since I was a kid， I have loved pouring over the new World Almanac。 I try to say it is because I learn facts and statistics that can illuminate big issues。US life expectancy fell by 1。5 years in 2020， the largest one-year decline since 1943。 （p。 5）The 2020 GDP of $20，936 billion is about 40X the 1960 GDP of $542 billion。 p。 43）The 13th largest urban area in the world is Chongqing， China， which I am betting you never How's this for a mixed metaphor？ The World Almanac is catnip for my magpie mind。 Since I was a kid， I have loved pouring over the new World Almanac。 I try to say it is because I learn facts and statistics that can illuminate big issues。US life expectancy fell by 1。5 years in 2020， the largest one-year decline since 1943。 （p。 5）The 2020 GDP of $20，936 billion is about 40X the 1960 GDP of $542 billion。 p。 43）The 13th largest urban area in the world is Chongqing， China， which I am betting you never heard of。 （p。730） In 2019 40% of American babies were born to single mothers。 70% of black babies were born to unwed mothers。 （p。 161） The US is 8th in per capita GDP， after Luxemburg， Singapore， Ireland （！）， Quatar， Switzerland， UAE and Brunei。 （p。 733）The median income for white Americans is $50，209。 For Black American it is $$31，151。 （p。 47）I admit that I just find some of the stuff interesting。 100 years ago， 1922， James Joyce's "Ulysses" was published and 18-year-old Ralph Samuelson of Minneapolis invented water skiing。 （"Skiing"， one of the few English words with a double "i"） （p。 44）In the decade I was born the first among the top ten most popular boy's name was "Michael"。 In 2020 it was not even on the list。 （p。713）In 1919 Wally Pipp's 9 home runs were the most in the American League。 In 1923 Babe Ruth hit 59。 （p。919）2022 will be the 50th anniversary of the last human landing on the moon。Five of the top twenty biggest grossing American movies， adjusted for inflation， are Star Wars movies。 （p。239）Elephant pregnancies average 660 days。 Kangaroos average 36 days。 （p。 278） Some things are just surprising。Lauren Bacall's birthname was Betty Joan Perske， Kirk Douglas's was Issur Danielovtich， Michael Keeton's was Michael Douglas。 （p。 237）In 1920 Harvard beat Oregon， 7 to 6， in the Rose Bowl。 Players from Yale won the Heisman trophy in 1936 and 1937。 （p。 883）Spencer Silver died last year。 He invented the glue that makes Post-Its stick， as did Biz Markle， the "Clown Prince of Hip-Hop" and Robert Mundell， the "Father of the Euro"） （p。 37）Both the coldest recorded temperature （-25） and the highest recorded temperature （107） in Massachusetts were recorded in Chester， Massachusetts。 （P。 306） A group of owls is a "parliament of owls"。 A group of turtles is a "bale of turtles"。 There is also a "pod of seals"。 （p。711）These things happened 25 years ago; Notorious B。I。G。 was shoot， the DVD player was introduced， Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear and the first Harry Potter book was released。 （p。 42）In Alaska， Arkansas， Iowa， Kansas and North and South Dakota you can get a motor vehicle learner's permit at age 14。 In Massachusetts it is age 16， which is the age that most of those states let you get a regular license。Navassa is a territory of the United States。 It is an island between Haiti and Jamaica。 It is 1，147 acres and has been a US territory since 1857。 It is uninhabited。 Finally， a quiz:1。 What do Conon， Sabinian， Eleutherius and Eusebius have in common？2。 What do William King， George Dallas， Daniel Tompkins， Henry Wilson and Thomas Hendricks have in common？3。 What do Caracalla， Geta， Macrinus and Elagabalus have in common？Answers:1。 They were all Popes （p。 703） 2。 They were all Vice Presidents of the United States。 （p。 467）3。 They were the emperors， in order， of the Roman Empire between 211 and 222。 They were the most powerful men in the world at that time。 （p。 677） 。。。more