Before being the head of FEMA during Hurricane Katrina, Michael Brown was the Comissioner of the Arabian Horse Association

1. Michael D. Brown was appointed the head of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), by president George W. Bush and was in charge during Hurricane Katrina natural disaster. He is widely seen as the chief person responsible for the slow and inadequate response of FEMA during Katrina. It is interesting to note that before joining FEMA, Brown had 12 years of experience in the International Arabian Horse Association, working his way to the Stewards Commissioner. It is unclear how this prepared Brown for his FEMA appointment. Brown has repeatedly shifted the blame of the inadequate response on then Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco and then New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin.

The term Siamese Twins originates from the conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker who were born in Siam, now Thailand

1. The term Siamese Twins originates from the conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker who were born in Siam, now Thailand. The twins traveled with P.T. Barnum's circus.

-40 Fahrenheit equals -40 Celsius

1. The conversion of Fahrenheit to Celsius is Tf=(9/5)*Tc+32. This equation makes the following instance true: -40F=-40C

The heat of chili peppers is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU)

1. The heat of a pepper is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU) named after the pharmacist Wilbur Scoville. The SHU, devised in 1912, uses high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to measure the amount of capsaicin present in the peppers. The scale goes from 0-16million units and a measurement of one part capsaicin per million corresponds to about 15 Scoville units. The hottest Jalapeño has a SHU of about 8,000. A Habanero pepper has about 100,000-300,000. The hottest pepper, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, has an average SHU of 1.2 million units.

Although today 100 pence gives one British pound, prior to 1971 a Pound was divided in 240 pence

1. Prior to 15 February 1971, the British pound was divided into 20 shillings and each shilling into 12 pence making 240 pence in each British pound. After February 15 1971, often known as "Decimal Day," 100 pence was redefined as one Pound sterling.
2. St. George's Day, similar to Valentine's Day, is celebrated on April 23rd. Particularly in Catalonia, a province of Spain, there is an exchange of gifts between couples where men give women roses and women give men books. More recently, a mutual exchange of books is also customary.

Augusto Pinochet was a Chilean military dictator who ruled Chile from September 1973 to March 1990

1. Augusto Pinochet, was a Chilean general who took over the country in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973 and ruled until transferring power to a democratically elected president in 1990. During his regime, Pinochet's government was tough on opposition movements, killing over a 1,000+, imprisoning another 80,000+, and torturing another 30,000+. Interestingly, Pinochet's implemented many progressive economic policies such as privatization of state owned companies, implementation of free-trade, and overall stabilization of inflation. Policies implemented under Pinoche from 1973-1990 lead to a 50% jump in Chilean GDP (picture below). Pinochet was put on trial in 2004 for over 300 charges of human rights violation, tax evasion, and embezzlement. He died on December 10, 2006 while under house arrest and still on trial.

Charlie Bucket is the main character in Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate factory

1. Charlie Bucket is the main character in Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate factory.

Toyota named their first hybrid card Prius (Latin for before) because they thought it was launched before environmental awareness was a social issue

1. Prius is Latin for "before." Toyota named their first hybrid car released in 1997, Prius because Toyota thought that it was launched before environmental awareness became a social issue.