TRIVIA BITS 28 APRIL

 

• The US President's Cabinet is composed of: the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Treasury, the Secretary of Defence, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Health/Human Services, the Secretary of Housing/Urban Development, the Secretary of Labour, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Education.
• The US state Maryland was named after Queen Henrietta Maria.
• The US state of Florida first saw the cultivation of oranges in 1539.
• The 'v' in the name of a court case does not stand for 'versus', but for 'and' (in civil proceedings) or 'against' (in criminal proceedings).
• The vaccine for smallpox was developed in 1798.
• The Vatican's Swiss Guard still wears a uniform designed by Michelangelo in the early 16th century.
• The vegetarian composer Richard Wagner, once published a diatribe against 'the abominable practice of flesh eating'.
• The venom of a female black widow spider is more potent than that of a rattlesnake.
• The verb "cleave" is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.
• The vintage date on a bottle of wine indicates the year the grapes were picked, not the year of bottling.