Category: Music

“Waiting insistently in front of a tightly closed door is unfair to all of the open doors! Give a chance to the open doors!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

At more than seventy-five thousand pages long, the US tax code is so complex, it makes War and Peace seem like a beach read. And it is always changing. Between 2001 and 2012, the code was amended 4,680 times or more than once a day.

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis

Toy giant Hasbro has explored other businesses over the decades. At various points, the company, named after the founding Hassenfeld brothers, sold school supplies and cookware, and it even operated a chain of daycare centers.

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

On May 3, 2003, New Hampshire lost its most iconic landmark when the Old man of the Mountain fully collapsed. Today there’s a  memorial viewing plaza at the spot the face-shaped rock once loomed over.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who’ll decide where to go.” – Dr. Seuss

Ray-Ban sunglasses probably owe Tom Cruise a lifetime supply of shades. Sales of their wayfarer-style glasses were so-so until Cruise sported them in 1983’s Risky Business, at which point they shot up 50%. Their aviator design also exploded after Cruise sported them for 1986’s Top Gun.

“The key responsibility of leadership is to think about the future. No one else can do it for you.” – Brian Tracy

Ancient Rome’s Laws of the Twelve Tables decreed that the punishment for composing or singing a song that slandered another person was death ( though there’s no evidence the penalty was ever given out).

“Make your life a masterpiece, imagine no limitations on what you can be, have, or do.”  – Brian Tracy

Painter Norman Rockwell often used real people as models for his art, including neighbors, friends, and relatives. In The Scoutmaster(1956), he painted a young Boy Scout named Howard Lincoln, who later grew up to be chairman of Nintendo of America.

“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”— Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa

Adam Rainer knew what life was like as both a little person and a giant. Rainer was reportedly four feet, six inches at age eighteen. Thanks to a pituitary gland disorder, he grew three inches a year from twenty-one to thirty-one and beyond, eventually topping out at seven feet, eight inches.

“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.” —Thomas Carlyle

The record for the farthest distance a tornado has ever transported an object was established on April 11th, 1991, when a formidable tornado carried a personal check an impressive 223 miles from Stockton, KS, to Winneton, NE.

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar

Mark Twain wants to patent an idea for an elastic garment binder with a clasp. Though he thought it would be useful for a vest, it turned out to be an idea for securing bras.

“You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” —George Lorimer

Grapes can be used to make synthetic leather. The waste leftover from wine making can be processed into material for clothing like sneakers and handbags. This recycling helps reduce the wine industry’s emissions.

“Reading is to the mind, as exercise is to the body.” – Brian Tracy

Legendary musician Miles Davis, born on May 26th, maintained a strict protocol of pre-show rituals. He avoided shaking hands with anyone before performances, wore shoes that were a size too small, and declined all food and sexual activity prior to appearing on stage, purposefully leaving himself hungry and unsatisfied.

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive.” – Maya Angelou

Presidents are not allowed to drive cars. The provision stems from security and safety concerns on the part of the Secret Service. There is one exception. Presidents can peel rubber on private roadways

“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” Chuck Palahniuk

Around 1781, during his time as minister to France, Benjamin Franklin put pen to paper to tackle a rather unusual topic. Not liberty, diplomacy, or trade relations — but flatulence. “It is widely recognized,” the esteemed statesman and polymath noted, “that the digestion of our everyday food produces a significant amount of gas in the intestines of humans.” And it only gets more interesting from there.