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Virginia,
being 200 feet high to the bottom of the arch.

The largest empire in the world is that of Great Britain, being
8,557,658 square miles, and more than a sixth part of the globe.

The first electrical signal ever transmitted between Europe and America
passed over the Field submarine cable on Aug. 5, 1858.

Paris was known as Lutetia until 1184, when the name of the great French
capital was changed to that which it has borne ever since.

The longest tunnel in the world is St. Gothard, on the line of the
railroad between Lucerne and Milan, being 9-1/2 miles in length.

Burnt brick were known to have been used in building the Tower of Babel.
They were introduced into England by the Romans.

The loftiest active volcano is Popocatapetl. It is 17,784 feet high, and
has a crater three miles in circumference and 1,000 feet deep.

The largest insurance company in the world is the Mutual Life of New
York City, having cash and real estate assets of over $350,000,000.

The Latin tongue became obsolete about 580.

The value of a ton of pure gold is $602,799.21.

First authentic use of organs, 755; in England, 951.

Ether was first used for surgical purposes in 1844.

Ignatius Loyola founded the order of Jesuits, 1541.

The first newspaper advertisement appeared in 1652.

Benjamin Franklin used the first lightning rods, 1752.

Glass windows (colored) were used in the 8th century.

The largest desert is Sahara, in Northern Africa. Its length is 3,000
miles and breadth 900 miles, having an area of 2,000,000 square miles.

The most remarkable echo known is that in the castle of Simonetta, two
miles from Milan. It repeats the echo of a pistol shot sixty times.

The first deaf and dumb asylum was founded in England, by Thomas
Braidwood, 1760; and the first in the United States was at Hartford,
1817.

The largest diamond in the world is the Braganza, being a part of the
Portugese jewels. It weighs 1,880 carats. It was found in Brazil in
1741.

The "Valley of Death," in the island of Java, is simply the crater of an
extinct volcano, filled with carbonic acid gas. It is half a mile in
circumference.

The grade of titles in Great Britain stands in the following order from
the highest: A Prince, Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron, Baronet,
Knight.

The city of Amsterdam, Holland, is built upon piles driven into the
ground. It is intersected by numerous canals, crossed by nearly three
hundred bridges.

Coal was used as fuel in England as early as 852, and in 1234 the first
charter to dig it was granted by Henry III. to the inhabitants of
Newcastle-on-Tyne.

The present national colors of the United States were not adopted by
Congress until 1777. The flag was first used by Washington at Cambridge,
January 1, 1776.

Tobacco was discovered in San Domingo in 1496; afterwards by the
Spaniards in Yucatan in 1520. It was Introduced into France in 1560, and
into England in 1583.

Kerosene was first used for illuminating in 1826.

Cork is the bark taken from a species of the oak tree.

National banks first established in the United States, 1816.

Introduction of homoeopathy into the United States, 1825.

Egyptian pottery is the oldest known; dates from 2,000 B. C.

Authentic history of China commenced 3.000 years B. C.

The largest free territorial government is the United States.

The Chaldeans were the first people who worked in metals.

Spectacles were invented by an Italian in the 13th century.

Soap was first manufactured in England in the 16th century.

Julius Caesar invaded Britain, 55 B. C.; assassinated, 44 B. C.

Medicine was introduced into Rome from Greece, 200 B. C.

First electric telegraph, Paddington to Brayton, England, 1835.

First photographs produced in England, 1802; perfected, 1841.

First life insurance, in London, 1772; in America, Philadelphia. 1812.

Slavery in the United States was begun at Jamestown, Va. in 1619.

The highest denomination of legal-tender notes in the United States is
$10,000.

Postage stamps first came into use in England in the year 1840; in the
United States, in 1847.

The highest range of mountains are the Himalayas, the mean elevation
being from 16,000 to 18,000 feet.

The term "Almighty Dollar" originated with Washington Irving, as a
satire on the American love for gain.

The largest inland sea is the Caspian, between Europe and Asia, being
700 miles long and 270 miles

The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing / A Manual of Ready Reference