Trivia People

On March 22, 1972, the United States Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and sent it to the states for ratification.

Here are some things you might not know about the Equal Rights Amendment.

• It was ratified by 35 of the necessary 38 states before a 1982 deadline.

• Defense of traditional gender roles was one of the main strategies employed by opponents of the amendment. Some argued that it would have meant the end of single-sex bathrooms.

• Supporters of the amendment are still trying to gain support in states that had not ratified the amendment before the deadline. The Virginia Senate voted in February 2015 to ratify the ERA, leaving the matter to the Virginia House of Delegates.

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Today is the 52nd anniversary of the closing of the Alcatraz federal prison in San Francisco Bay.

Here are a few things you might not know about Alcatraz:

• It was open for only 29 years. It opened in 1934 and closed in 1964. The closure was because of the high cost of operation and deteriorating facilities due to the salt air.

• The Birdman of Alcatraz never kept birds at Alcatraz. Robert Stroud, a convicted murderer, became a self-taught ornithologist while in prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, but was not allowed to have birds at Alcatraz.

• The 1962 escape attempt by three prisoners was one of the main reasons cited for closing the prison. The prisoners were never found, and were presumed to have drowned by prison officials.

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March 20 is the 20th anniversary of Libby Riddles becoming the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail sled dog race.

Here are three things you might not know about the Iditarod.

• It’s named after the Iditarod National Historic trail, which runs from Seward to Nome via the ghost town of Iditarod.

• It is run in honor of the 1925 serum run which was a sled dog relay to deliver a diphtheria antitoxin to Nome to fight an outbreak.

• In the inaugural race in 1973, 22 mushers completed the race, which was won by Dick Wilmarth, who finished in 20 days, 49 minutes, 41 seconds.

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Today is the 84th anniversary of the legalization of gambling in the state of Nevada.

Here are three things you may not know about gambling in Nevada.

• In part, you have civil engineering to thank for the casinos of Las Vegas.

The legalization of gambling coincided with the construction of the Hoover Dam, 30 miles away.

• It’s not legal everywhere in the state.

Gambling is not legal in the cities of Panaca and Boulder City.

• A lot of people never go to Las Vegas on their trip to Vegas.

The Strip and McCarran Airport are in the unincorporated community of Paradise, Nevada.

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March 18, marks the 25th anniversary of the largest art heist in history.

Posing as police officers, two thieves stole 13 works of art, worth about $500 million, from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

During the heist, the robbers made off with three paintings by Rembrandt, one by Vermeer, Manet and Flinck; five drawings by Degas, an ancient Chinese urn and a finial from a Napoleonic flag.

The art remains missing and the museum has offered a $5 million reward for its return.

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Today is St. Patricks Day, commemorating the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.

The day is both a religious and secular celebration, marked by festivals, parades and wearing green.

In the United States, additional traditions include eating corned beef and cabbage and the month-long sale of Shamrock Shakes at McDonalds.

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On March 16, 1966, an Oldsmobile Toronado, the 100 millionth vehicle manufactured worldwide by General Motors rolled off the assembly line in Lansing, Michigan.

The 1966 Toronado was the first American car to feature front-wheel drive since 1938, when the Cord automobile company went out of business.

In addition to front-wheel drive, the Toronado originally featured the 425 cubic-inch Rocket V8 engine, which produced 385 horsepower. It was also the first car to have more than 50 percent of cars equipped with factory air conditioning.

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March 15 marks the 59th anniversary of the Broadway debut of the musical “My Fair Lady.”

Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews originated the roles of Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle in the retelling of George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion.”

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Today is a very special day for those of you who are mathematically inclined.

March 14th, or numerically 3/14, is Pi Day, a celebration of the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, which is approximately 3.14 to 1.

What makes today special is that there will be a second during the day when the month, date and year combined with the time will be in the same sequence as Pi to 10 digits. 3/14/15 9:26:53

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March 13 marks the 376th anniversary of the naming of Harvard College.

Originally founded as “New College” in 1636 by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the college was renamed to honor clergyman John Harvard, who left the college £779 and a library of about 400 books.

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