What I’ve learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0009

401.  Rustico Restaurant is the Alexandria version of the Brickskeller Dining House and Down Home Saloon;

402.  Taking a ghost tour in Alexandria will help get you in the mood for Halloween;

403.  Every day, Thomas Jefferson rose at dawn to wash his feet with cold water;

404.  Haydee’s Restaurant in Washington, D.C. has the best tortilla chips I’ve ever tasted (at least when I was drunk);

405.  There have only been a few people in my life that as long as they lived in the same place as I did (city-wise), that place felt like home, but when they moved away I lost that sense of home . . . that sense of attachment . . . and that city felt like any other city . . . like there wasn’t anything special about it anymore;

406.  Virtues are lost in self-interest as rivers are lost in the sea;

407.  Elisha Gray filed papers with the patent office on February 14, 1876, for his telephone device – just a couple of hours after Alexander Graham Bell filed his;

408.  Capitonyms are words that change meaning according to whether they start with a capital letter.  Some examples are Herb and herb and Polish and polish;

409.  It’s not every day when you see a woman in a miniskirt with only one leg;

410.  There are a lot of fun hiking trails in Great Falls, Maryland;

411.  The Georgia spinach salad (i.e., candied walnuts, dried cranberries, sliced chicken tenders and spinach with a mango chutney vinaigrette) at the Tombs (Tombs.com) is tasty;

412.  Abraham Lincoln is the only president to be granted a patent.  It was for a device to lift boats over levees;

413.  Elephant copulation lasts twenty seconds;

414.  The opposite of déjà vu is jamais vu.  It’s a false unfamiliarity with a situation, such as when you walk into your apartment and feel like you’ve never been there before;

415.  Charles Lindbergh was the first pilot on what would become American Airlines;

416.  Aluminum in Britain is called “aluminium;”

417.  Chef “Spike” Mendelsohn from season four of “Top Chef” doesn’t always wear a hat;

418.  The mango mayonnaise at Good Stuff Eatery (GoodStuffEatery.com) is great;

419.  After the age of twenty, humans lose 50,000 brain cells a day to atrophy;

420.  Back when coins were made of metals like gold and silver, petty thieves would shave off the edges and melt down the valuable slivers.  To stop this, mints began putting serrated edges on coins;

421.  The ancient Egyptians used olive oil as a lubricant for moving heavy building materials;

422.  Oysters can change sex according to the temperature of the water;

423.  Swedish centers (specifically Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals) can chug beer;

424.  The curry chicken salad sandwich (i.e., coconut curry sauce, diced chicken breast, fresh baby spinach and raisins) at Zuppa’s (Zuppa.org) is tasty;

425.  A raccoon washes its food before eating;

426.  Botanically speaking, a fruit is anything with seeds and a berry has a single ovary with lots of seeds.  Blackberries, raspberries and strawberries are actually aggregate fruits;

427.  Kokura was the original target for the second atomic bomb, but when the B-29 bomber couldn’t sight its target it proceeded to its secondary target of Nagasaki;

428.  The White House was originally called the President’s Palace, but the name was changed to Executive Mansion because “palace” was considered too royal.  The building didn’t officially become known as the White House until 1902, under Teddy Roosevelt;

429.  You should always say yes to adventures or you’ll lead a very dull life;

430.  The Mitsitam Native Foods Café in the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI.SI.edu) has some interesting and eclectic foods;

431.  Brussels sprouts are like miniature cabbages;

432.  There’s so much hype and build up to Christmas that once the day actually comes, it’s rather anticlimactic;

433.  It’s amazing how well your vehicle accelerates and brakes when your tires are properly inflated;

434.  McCormick and Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant (McCormickAndSchmicks.com) has a great Happy Hour food menu with items starting at $1.95;

435.  New Year’s Eve in Times Square is absolutely insane.  It‘s a million people herded into “human” cattle pens in subfreezing temperatures with at least five policemen on every corner;

436.  An hour into the New Year, there’s no one left in Times Square;

437.  It’s important to read bus schedules very carefully (especially when waiting in twenty degree weather);

438.  New England clam chowder is cream based, while Manhattan clam chowder is tomato based;

439.  If you don’t want to deal with the hordes of people during a presidential inauguration, but you’re interested in witnessing what goes on, you can watch the dress rehearsal the weekend before;

440.  The sound of a cannon can set off a car alarm;

441.  Kirk Hammett’s hair is graying, James Hetfield has acne scars and Lars Ulrich’s hair is receding;

442.  You know it’s freezing outside when you don’t wear gloves and your hands hurt (and tingle) from the cold in less than five minutes;

443.  Jamie Foxx does a good impersonation of Barack Obama;

444.  Garth Brooks brings a lot of energy to his performances;

445.  The Reflecting Pool on the National Mall does freeze;

446.  The exterior of a building can be deceiving;

447.  “The Gibson” is a distinctive place to have drinks in D.C. . . . just make reservations in advance;

448.  When splitting a bar tab with credit cards, make sure the receipt you sign is yours;

449.  What do you get when a U.S. senator collapses, during a post-inaugural luncheon, from a seizure caused by fatigue from brain cancer?  The correct answer is: An hour in subfreezing temperatures;

450.  I have been 50 feet from the leader of the free world (I just didn’t know it at the time).  I have also been 50 feet from the President of the Senate;