1. The nomenclature hurricane, cyclone, and typhoon refers to the location of the same weather phenomenon. Hurricanes occur in the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific. Typhoon is the term used for Northwest Pacific and in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, the event is called a cyclone.
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1. A growing moon is said to be "waxing" and a shrinking moon is said to be "waning." The left side of the picture is of a waxing moon and the right is of a waning moon. A mnemonic device to help remember the waxing vs. waning phase is to think of the moon as making a "C" shape during the waning phase and associate the "C" with the word "Ceasing," a synonym for waning.
1. Staring in 1970, resulting from a decree of Pope Paul VI, cardinals over the age of 80 when the papacy becomes vacant are not eligible to be part of the Papal Conclave that gathers to elect the next pope. Pope Paul VI also set the maximum number of cardinals that may vote to 120. This number has been changed several times prior to 1970.
1. Paul Jackson Pollock (born 1912, died 1956) was a painter and influential figure in the abstraction expressionist movement. His 8ft x 4ft mural, No. 5 (painted in 1948) sold in 2006 for $140M ($164M adjusted to 2015 dollars). He stopped naming his works and began just numbering them because he felt it allowed people to look at his work without preconceived ideas.
1. After the United States Department of Defense's 3.2 million employees and China Liberation Army's 2.3 million, Wal-Mart employs the most people in the world at 2.1 million people. McDonald's is fourth with 1.7 million employees if the employees of the franchised locations are counted.
1. There are 12 animals that make up the Chinese Zodiac (Shēngxiào). In order they are: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.