Bet you didn’t know that Washington State has its own tartan. The symbolic colors are: GREEN for our Evergreen State; BLUE for our rivers, lakes and the ocean; WHITE for snow capped mountains; RED for all the fruit; YELOW for all the grains; and BLACK for Mt.St.Helens.  This tartan was adopted by the Washington State legislature in 1991. Now you know.

Here’s one for you geography buffs:  How many state capitols are located west of Los Angeles?? (tiny answer at the bottom)

Ever watch the TV or YouTube show with Mike Rowe where he visits interesting places? In one video, Mike visited the Hair Museum in Independence, Missouri (near Kansas City). Museum owner and director, Leila, made Mark incredulously laugh many times. “Hair can be black, brown, red, blonde or white….there is no gray!” she quipped.  The museum features hair pictures…. tableaus made from hair, often of a deceased loved one. “This custom dates back to the 12th century,” Leila said. One question on Mark’s mind was this: “Does human hair keep growing after death?” The answer? “No way!”

Tampa Bay Times, October 2022: “Florida lawyer who fought helmet laws died in motorcycle crash not wearing one.” Humm. Serves him right?

How do you feel about this? An original copy of the U.S. Constitution, one of only two known to be in private hands, will be auctioned off in December with bidding estimated to go as high as $30 million, Sotheby’s announced (in November 2022). 500 first printings were made of this historic document and were provided to participants at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Nearly all have been lost to history; of the 13 known to have survived, 11 are owned by governments and institutions.

((Answer to above question:  SIX!!  Carson City, Nevada;  Honolulu, Hawaii; Juneau, Alaska; Olympia, Washington; Sacramento, California; and Salem, Oregon.  HOW MANY DID YOU GUESS?)