Know it all

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The first commercially successful toaster was introduced in 1909. The first ‘pop-up’ toaster was developed in 1926. It was called the Toastmaster.

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Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented the first bread slicer. He started working on it in 1912 and in 1928 finally designed a machine that sliced and wrapped the bread. The first loaf of sliced bread was sold in a bakery in Battle Creek, Mich. By 1933, 80 percent of all bread was sold pre-sliced.

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Humans have been eating raised breads for more than 6,000 years.

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Ben & Jerry’s introduced Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream in 1991. They spent five years developing the ice cream flavor before it was released.

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Do you know how many cups in a pint? How many pints in a quart? How many quarts in a gallon? See answer at end.

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Shedd Aquarium in Chicago claims to be the world’s largest indoor aquarium. One of the features at the aquarium is a 90,000 gallon tank.

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The Monterey Bay Aquarium opened on October 20, 1984. The aquarium has 550 different species of animals and plants on display. Sea otters are one of the most popular attractions.

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Sea otters wrap themselves in kelp when they are resting.

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Kelp is a type of brown algae. Kelp forests grow along rocky coastlines. The kelp holds on to the rocky bottom with root-like structures called holdfasts. Long strips of kelp grow toward the surface of the water, with gas bladders at the top that keeps the kelp upright.

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Seaweed is a staple in the Japanese diet. Various types of seaweed are used for cooking. Kombu is a large type of seaweed that is used in soup. Wakame is usually sold in dried form. Nori are thin, dried seaweed sheets used in many sushi dishes.

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Things to say to the sushi chef: "Oishii” means delicious. "Arigato” means thank you. "Domo arigato gozaimasta” is a very polite form of thank you, said after the conclusion of the meal.

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In Japan, baseball is the nation’s best-attended spectator sport. Nippon Professional Baseball, similar to Major League Baseball, has a Central League and a Pacific League. The baseball season consists of 140 games and ends with the Japan Series Championship.

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The first Godzilla movie in 1954, "Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” was filmed in black and white on a small budget. Godzilla was a mutant beast as a result of nuclear war. The film met with success in the United States, in part because the film’s American distributor added footage that featured Raymond Burr as an American reporter in Tokyo.

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The television series "Perry Mason” ran from 1957 to 1966. Raymond Burr (1917-1993) is most famous for his role as the lawyer in the series. Perry’s secretary was Della Street, played by Barbara Hale. Perry was also assisted by private detective Paul Drake, played by William Hopper.

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The first black person appointed to the United States Supreme Court was Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993). Born in Baltimore, Marshall was the grandson of a slave. Marshall was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1961.

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While on tour, Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) always used a Fender Stratocaster guitar and a Marshall Amplifier.

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Musician Jimmy Buffett moved from Mississippi to Nashville to pursue his dream of becoming a country singer. He wrote for the music magazine "Billboard” before he became successful in his singing career.

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"Margaritaville,” Jimmy Buffet’s classic hit song, debuted on his 1977 album "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.” Buffet has a Margaritaville line of clothes and a chain of Margaritaville restaurants.

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Answer: There are two cups in a pint. There are two pints in a quart. There are four quarts in a gallon.

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

E-mail knowitall@smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 x114.