Question

FUN AND INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SUMMER

Answer 1

The hot and hazy days of summer are upon us. Whether your plans include staying close to home, going on a vacation, or taking a road trip, there’s probably a lot of cool and fun things you might not have known about the warmest season of the year. Here are a few interesting and fun facts to help you get in the spirit of the season.

• The “dog days of summer” refer to the weeks between July 3 and August 11 and are named after the Dog Star (Sirius). The ancient Greeks blamed Sirius for the hot temperatures, drought, discomfort and sickness that occurred during the summer.
• In the summer heat, the iron in France’s Eiffel Tower expands, making the tower grow more than 6 inches.
• Popsicles, a popular summer treat, was accidently invented by an 11-year-old boy in San Francisco in 1905. He left a glass of soda sitting outside overnight, and by the next morning the soda has frozen. He began selling them at an amusement park in New Jersey. In the U.S. cherry is the number 1 flavor.
• July, the hottest summer month in the Northern Hemisphere is National Ice Cream Month, which is not surprising. Americans eat an average of 20 quarts of ice cream a year. Vanilla is the most popular flavor, with chocolate coming in a distant second.
• The longest summer bikini parade on record happened on August 19, 2012, in China with 1,085 participants.
• The record for the most people applying sunscreen was on January 8, 2012 in Australia with 1,006 participant applying sunscreen for 2 minutes.
• The first modern Olympic Games were held in the summer in 1896 in Athens, Greece.
• Watermelon is one of the best summer treats. Did you know that watermelons are not a fruit, but a vegetable instead? They belong to the cucumber family of vegetables.
• Frisbees were invented in the 1870’s as a pie plate, but in the 1940’s, college students began throwing them around. They have stopped being used as pie plates and are now a summertime staple.

Be sure to check on your elderly family, friends and neighbors during the hot summer season. Many do not have air conditioning, and their bodies cannot adapt as easily as a younger person. Avoid being out in the heat for extreme periods of time and be sure to drink plenty of water.