Random Facts

I haven't blogged in a while, and I'm really busy with some projects, so it'll be a while longer. Here's a list of fun fandom facts, as reported in The Washington Post Express.

• The U.S. had a 49-year lease for its ambassador's residence in Moscow. Due to the devaluation of the ruble, by the time the U.S. and Russia renegotiated a new lease in late 2004 the yearly rent was just three dollars.

• A pet parrot turned in three thieves in Memphis after they broke into a home and stole electronic equipment. The parrot heard one of the thieves say the name of one of his accomplices and started repeating the name. The burglars left, but after hearing the parrot repeating the name they went back in to get the parrot too. Unfortunately for them, the police arrived while they were loading the parrot into the car.

• Walmart has more than 460 terabytes of data stored about their company and sales-related information. That is more than twice the total amount of information on the entire Internet.

• The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has banned all sale of tobacco and its use in public. I suddenly want to visit this little nation.

• A man named Walter Cavanagh holds the Guinness Record for credit cards: he has 1,497 valid credit cards, totaling about $1.7 million in available credit.