In the 1800s Charles Dickens hung out with hypnotists, most notably Dr. John Elliotson.  Dickens practiced hypnosis on family and friends, although he wouldn’t let anyone hypnotize him.

Other famous  people who have used hypnosis for greater success in their work include Tiger Woods, Kevin Costner, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Jackie Onassis.

The turkey was called a “firkee” by Native Americans.

It is said that Christopher Columbus thougth that he’d landed in India, and he believed that the bird he’d discovered was a kind of peacock.  So, he called it “tuka” which means ‘peacock’.

When a turkey is scared it makes a sound like “turk, turk, turk”.

These are the three best guesses as to why that particular bird was named a “turkey”.

Since 1981 all of our presidents have been left-handed (including the incoming president, Barak Obama), except George W. Bush.  Altogether, we’ve had six left-handed presidents.

Eight of our presidents never attended college.

Only one president never married, and including him, two were bachelors when elected.

Hypnosis is becoming more widely used by the medical community as an aide in surgery and  to promote healing.  One of the uses of hypnosis is to regulate blood flow.

A British hypnotherapist underwent hand surgery without anaesthesia after hypnotizing himself.

“I didn’t feel anything at all,” Lenkei says. “There was no pain, just very deep relaxation. I was aware of everything that was going on in the (surgical) theater. I was aware of the consultant tugging and pulling during the operation. But there was no pain. “

Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before going into space because passing gas inside a spacesuit would damage the suit. 

This month’s challenge is to produce as many strange facts as we can.  In my opinion, this may be one of the strangest, although it remains to be seen whether the judges consider it a fact:

Fact:  When photos of Jeffrey Keene are placed side-by-side with those of General John Gordon, they look almost identical. 

Fact:  Mr. Keene has written a book, Someone Else’s Yesterday, the Confederate General and Connectictut Yankee:  A Past Life Revealed

Fact:  The similarities between these two men are hard to ignore.

First song ever recorded:  Mary Had a Little Lamb, recorded in 1877 by Thomas Edison, to test his new invention, the Phonograph.

According to recent studies, 63% of age-related weight can be avoided by exercising regularly.  Up to an hour of exercise five or so days a week can actually slow your body’s aging by 12 years!

It seems odd that a substance that causes your skin to burn on contact can actually block pain transmitters, but that is what capsaicin does.

Capsaicin is the hot ingredient found in chili peppers.  It has been found to be very effective in the treatment of some forms of arthritis.