Americans consumed 23.8 pounds of candy per capita in 2008.
Source: Census Bureau
Swine Flu Emergency?
Q: Did President Obama declare a national state of emergency because of H1N1?
A: Yes, but claims that this is an effort to instill panic in the American population show a misunderstanding of what such a declaration actually means.
November 5, 2009
The World Series began as a best-of-9 championship in 1903, but was changed to a best-of-7 in 1905. It reverted to a best-of-9 briefly, in 1919-1921.
Source: MLB.com
November 4, 2009
In a 2008 survey of teenagers on their cell phone use, 42 percent of respondents said they could text while blindfolded or without looking at the keypad.
Source: Harris Interactive
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Oct. 27-Nov. 2
This week, readers sent us comments on cap and trade, "Obama phones" and insurance coverage for abortions.
In the FactCheck Mailbag we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
November 3, 2009
The first words stored on a hard drive were: "This has been a day of solid achievement."
Source: Computerworld
Boehner Misrepresents FactCheck.org’s Findings
Last week House Republican Leader John Boehner’s office issued a "Leader Alert" titled "10 Facts Every American Should Know About Speaker Pelosi’s 1,990-Page Gov’t Takeover of Health Care."
It’s a partisan document containing misleading characterizations of the bill. But the bullet point that bothers us most is #2, which reads:
MASSIVE CUTS TO MEDICARE BENEFITS FOR SENIORS. Despite grave warnings from CBO, FactCheck.org, and the independent Lewin Group that cuts to Medicare of the magnitude included in Speaker Pelosi’s bill would have a negative impact on seniors’
November 2, 2009
Originally, indigenous people in what is now Mexico celebrated the Day of the Dead around August. The Spaniards moved it to Nov. 1 and 2 to coincide with the Catholic All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
Source: Arizona Republic
November 1, 2009
In the 800s, Pope Boniface IV declared that Nov. 1 would be All Saints’ Day, a designation that is seen as an attempt to supersede a Celtic celebration marking the beginning of winter, when ghosts were thought to roam the earth.
Source: History.com
Court Watch: Pennsylvania Slime
In another installment of our occasional Court Watch series, we look at mudslinging in the final days of the contest to fill a Supreme Court vacancy in Pennsylvania. In one ad, the state GOP alleges that Democratic candidate Jack Panella, a Superior Court judge, “turned his back” on the wrongful imprisonment of hundreds …