Trivia for July 2019

Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia is the medical term for brain freeze (ice cream headaches).¹

Oraibi, Arizona has been continuously inhabited since sometime around 1100 CE.² St. Augustine, Florida, which makes the claim it is the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States, was not founded until 1565, more than 450 years later.³

Damascus, Syria has been continuously inhabited since around 6300 BCE.⁴ There is evidence of settlement in the wider Barada basin area dating back to 9000 BCE.⁵

The Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War (Victory Day) is a national holiday in North Korea celebrated on July 27 to mark the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement which brought a cease fire to the Korean War that took place between 1950–1953.⁶ A truce isn’t quite the same as a victory. Ceremonies are held at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Memorial.

Montana is the only U.S. state with a Spanish state motto: Oro y Plata (Gold and Silver).⁷ They also have a state soil: Scobey Soil.

The sum of all the numbers on a roulette wheel is 666—1+2+…+35+36+0+00.

Louisiana and Hawaii have three consecutive vowels in their names.

A standard 52-card deck of playing cards has 220 dots—1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10 × 4 suits: ♣ clubs, ♦ diamonds, ♥ hearts, and ♠ spades.

California’s official state fabric is denim.⁸ Its official state fossil is the saber-toothed cat (Smilodon californicus).⁹

Footnotes

1. “Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia“. Biology-Online Dictionary.
2. “Oraibi, Arizona“. Wikipedia.
3. “St. Augustine, Florida“. Wikipedia.
4. Moore, A.M.T. The Neolithic of the Levant. Oxford, UK: Oxford University, 1978. pp. 192–198.
5. Burns, Ross (2005). Damascus: A History. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-27105-9. p. 2.
6. “Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War“. Wikipedia.
7. “Education Information“. Montana.gov.
8. CA Govt Code § 423.6
9. CA Govt Code § 425.7