Beards, Weird Deaths, and Tipping

1.  Only five U.S. presidents have had beards, and all five were Republican:  Abraham LincolnUlysses S. GrantRutherford B. HayesJames Garfield, and Benjamin Harrison.

2.  A song called “Ready ‘n’ Steady” by an artist named D.A. made the Billboard “Bubbling Under the Hot 100” chart for three weeks in June of 1979, meaning it was just on the verge of being a top 100 hit.  But no one was able to find a copy of the song for over 35 years, until one finally surfaced in 2016.  Before that, most people thought it never actually existed.

3.  You’re 104 times more likely to choke to death than to die from being struck by lightning.

4.  If you plan to tip your mailman or mailwoman around Christmastime, USPS workers are allowed to accept gifts as long as they cost $20 or less.  There’s no official policy for UPS, but they’re discouraged from accepting anything.  FedEx employees can accept gifts valued at $75 or less, but they cannot accept cash.

5.  Why is the person screaming in the famous painting “The Scream” by Edvard Munch?  It’s based on a moment after the Krakatoa volcano exploded in Indonesia in 1883, and it made the sky red as far away as Norway, where Munch lived.