1...that the broadfish tapeworm is the longest tapeworm in humans, averaging ten metres long and that it can shed up to a million eggs a day? 2...that during the Elizabethan era in England, theatres were constructed of wood and were circular in form, open to the elements and with a large portion of the audience standing directly below the stage? 3...that "I Want You Back", the 1969 debut single by The Jackson 5, was originally intended for both Gladys Knight & the Pips and Diana Ross, and has been sampled by Blackstreet, Jay-Z, and Lil' Romeo? 4...that Google Gulp, a fictional drink developed by Google as an April Fool's Day hoax, is said to boost the intelligence of the drinker? 

"The discovery of the North Pole is one of those realities which could not be avoided... The world needed a discoverer of the North Pole, and in all areas of social activity, merit was less important here than opportunity." -- Karl Kraus

boreal: northward, named for Boreas, Greek mythology's god of the north wind

Olympics: first modern games opened in Athens (1896) WWI: US declared war on Germany (1917) Rwanda & Burundi: a plane crash killed the presidents of the two countries (1994)

Raphael: Italian painter, architect of Italian High Renaissance (1483-1520) scientists: Harold Edgerton (1903-1990) and James Watson (77) musicians: Gerry Mulligan (1927-1996), Andre Previn (76), and Merle Haggard (68)