Here are some fun facts to help get you through the day and look like the most informed person at the water cooler…
Fun (or not-so-fun) Facts:
- There are many Irish Americans in Massachusetts, but the most Irish state is actually New Hampshire, at least as far as percentages go. 20.2% of the people in New Hampshire have Irish ancestry. Massachusetts is second at 20%. Perhaps not surprisingly, Hawaii is dead last . . . at just 4.3%.
- Among large cities, Boston has the highest percentage of people with Irish ancestry, at 22.8%. Pittsburgh is second, followed by Philadelphia. One of the highest concentrations overall is in the town of Scituate, Massachusetts. There are only 19,000 people there, but 61.5% are Irish.
- There are 10 U.S. cities named Dublin. Most are in the Eastern U.S. – but there’s also a Dublin, California, and a Dublin, Texas. The California city is by far the largest Dublin in the U.S. . . . with more than 70,000 people. It’s in the Bay Area, between Oakland and San Jose.
- There’s a reason for the shamrocks. According to Irish legend, St. Patrick used the three-leafed plant . . . not to be confused with the four-leaf clover . . . as a metaphor for the holy trinity when he was first introducing Christianity to Ireland.
- Patrick’s Day could have been Saint Maewyn’s Day. Legend has it that St. Patrick wasn’t originally called Patrick. His birth name was Maewyn Succat, but he changed it to Patricius after becoming a priest. (And there’s no indication that he was EVER called “Paddy,” even by his drinking buddies. Maybe they nicknamed him “Pat” . . . “P-Dawg” . . . “P-Trick” . . . “The Patman” . . . “Patterina” . . . or “St. Dreamy”.) (???)
(Zippia / Wikipedia / Wikipedia / Irish Indeed /Mental Floss)
Strange and trending news:
- In a new poll, 13% of Americans claim “society would function better” if there weren’t any laws. (Full Story)
- A man tried to break into four helicopters at an airport in Sacramento. He eventually got into one . . . and somehow got it to start . . . but crashed it before it got far. The thief got away, but the police have a “person of interest.” There’s no word on a motive. No one was injured. (Full Story)
- Pennsylvania State Police are investigating an incident where a security guard was dragged by a truck while chasing after a suspect who allegedly stole a giant foam carrot from an Easter display. (Full Story)
- Frank’s RedHot has a new dill pickle hot sauce. (Full Story)
- AI is now smart enough to pay an online human worker to solve captchas . . . because the AI robot itself couldn’t solve it. (Full Story)
- More than 40,000 heated blankets are being recalled for OVERHEATING and burning people. The blankets were sold on Amazon and in small independent stores over the past six months. (Full Story)
- Officials in a Colorado city noticed that some creek water was PINK . . . and they’ve figured out that it was accidental dumping of PINK DYE into the local wastewater. It wasn’t in the drinking water . . . and it’s supposedly non-toxic. (Full Story)
