Know It All

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President Andrew Jackson (1757-1845) killed a man in a duel in 1806. The man insulted his wife.

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Dueling pistols became popular in the mid-18th century. Sold in pairs, the single shot pistols had the same appearance, reliability and accuracy.

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Pete Maravich (1947-1988), known as "Pistol Pete” was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987. Maravich played on three NBA teams — the Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans and Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics — and was a five-time All-Star.

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The Utah Jazz NBA team was originally based in New Orleans and named for the city’s musical heritage.

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The New Orleans Jazz team had the worst record in the NBA in the 1978-79 season, which was one of their incentives for moving the team to Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Salt Lake City was founded in 1847. Do you know who founded the city? See answer at end.

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One of the main supply and trading points in the West for hopeful prospectors during the 1849 California Gold Rush was in Salt Lake City.

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The medals awarded to the winners of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City were made entirely of metal mined in Utah. Each medal weighed 1.25 pounds.

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The Olympic torch is always lit in Olympia, Greece because it was the site of the ancient Olympic games.

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Croquet and tug-of-war were sports at the 1900 Olympics in Paris.

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The wire arches that the balls are hit through in croquet are called wickets.

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Albert Parkhouse, an employee of the Timberlake Wire and Novelty Company in Jackson, Mich., invented the wire coat hanger in 1903. He was inspired after hearing complaints from coworkers about too few coat hooks.

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The fur most commonly used for fur coats is mink, followed by fox.

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Using chinchillas for their fur goes back to the 1500s. By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas, native to the Andes Mountains in South America, became very rare.

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Chinchillas have the highest fur density of any animal on earth. They have 20,000 hairs per square centimeter. Their fur is so dense that fleas would suffocate in it.

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The original flea market began in 1885 in Paris. Traders set up stalls in an organized outdoor shopping area called "Le Marche aux Puces.” Translated to the "market of the fleas,” the name was a humorous reference to the fact that some of the used goods for sale were likely flea-infested.

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Answer: Brigham Young (1801-1877) founded Salt Lake City. He led members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on a trek to escape religious persecution. When they arrived at Salt Lake Valley, Young decided to settle there and declared "This is the place.” Utah has a state park called This is the Place State Park. Young also founded the University of Utah and organized the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend and Wednesday editions of the Daily Journal.