Category: Did You Know?

Clever Usage for New Pennies

Penny
 

1. Curtain Straightener

Make an opening in the bottom hem, slide in a penny or two, and sew the hem back up to keep curtains hanging level and stick-straight.

2. Tread Checker

Insert a penny into a groove of a tire with Lincoln’s head pointing into the tire. If the groove covers part of his head, you’re safe to drive; if the head is in full view, it’s time for new wheels. (The distance between the rim of a penny and Lincoln’s head is 1/16 of an inch―the minimum suggested tread depth.)

3. Table Anchor

If you dine out and the table is unsteady, put a coin under the leg to restore balance.

4. Game Token

Misplaced the thimble? No problem. Sub in a cent.

5. Reader Tip: Makeshift Screwdriver

Use a penny to screw open a toy’s battery pack.
Caroline Brant, Collegeville, Pennsylvania

6. Reader Tip: Icebreaker

Hand out pennies at your next gathering and ask each guest to share a story that happened during the year his or her penny was minted. If the coin predates a friend, let the person improvise.
Rachel Harrison Massa, Stamford, Connecticut

7. Reader Tip: Birdbath Cleaner

To ward off algae, toss in a few pre-1982 coins; the high copper content retards growth.
Suzanne Wesley, Terre Haute, Indiana

Genius Quiz

This quiz is touted for geniuses but you can try it too! 🙂 There are no trick questions. (Answers are in the comments.)

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn’t been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters ‘dw’and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter ‘S’.

Thanks Janet

Did You Know… How Highways Are Numbered?

The numbering system can be summarized in these general rules. One- and two-digit highways are national routes:

Odd numbered routes run north-south, and higher numbers are farther east.
     I-5 runs up and down the West Coast, with I-95 on the East Coast.

Even numbered routes run east-west, and higher numbers are farther north.
     I-10 runs along the Southern states, and I-90 runs near the US-Canada border.

Three-digit highways, or Auxiliary Interstate Highways, run only within a single city.

An odd first digit signifies a spur route, which may begin at a large highway and terminate at a city center.
     I-110 travels into downtown Los Angeles.

An even first digit signifies a loop route around a city or a bypass through a city.
     I-215 travels the perimeter of Salt Lake City.
     I-895 serves as a bypass of downtown Baltimore.

The last two digits signify the highway’s origin.
     I-480 eventually returns to I-80, a primary interstate highway.
     I-185 in Georgia leaves I-85 to go into Columbus.