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Today I learned who Lawrence E. Hughes is. Every single day on my way to work (or numerous other places) I pass a sign indicating that I am driving on the Lawrence E. Hughes Memorial Highway. But the sign does not tell me who this man might be. So I looked him up (after concocting many dramatic stories in my head about why he might have a highway dedicated in his memory) and found out that he served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1969-1982. It looks like the highway was named in 2004 or thereabouts. Thanks for your service, Larry. I enjoy driving on your roadways.

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Today I learned about the history of condoms. From as early as 1000 B.C. until, um, very recently, people were using things like linen sheaths to protect themselves from diseases and pregnancy during sex. A linen sheath? Yikes. The word "rugburn" comes to mind, but whatever. Other old-fashioned condom materials included tortoise-shell, animal guts, leather, and oiled paper. The first rubber condoms were made in the mid 1800s, and latex condoms were made in the '30s. Latex is pretty much the standard now, except in the few places where condoms are banned. Boo, banning condoms. Boo AIDS and accidental babies. Boooo.

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This is stupid, but I could never really picture celery growing out of the ground, and I had never seen it. I have seen tons of different vegetables growing in people's gardens, but not celery. So I looked up a picture of it, and yeah...it looks pretty much how you would expect. I hate celery so much.

Coincidentally, at the same time, I learned that Brussels sprouts grown on these crazy tree things that are like 3 or 4 feet tall. What?! I did not know that. I thought they just popped out of the ground like tiny, tiny cabbages. You can go here to see pictures of a bunch of different vegetables, including celery and Brussels sprouts, growing in this dude's garden.

I learned some of the features of the geotagged photos on Flickr, just by playing with them. It's fun to see what pictures other people have taken of stuff right around where you live that you see every day. I spend way too much time on Flickr.

Finally, I learned that the big thrift store down at Cleveland and 161 sells suits and even tuxedo jackets. I don't know why that is surprising to me; I know that most thrift stores sell women's stuff like prom dresses, but I guess I had never seen full suits or thought that anyone would buy a tuxedo and then just donate it to the thrift store.

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Today, in true Wikipedia fashion, I started out looking up Korean funeral rituals and ended up learning about the term "going Dutch." I'll not try and recreate that line of thinking lest we all go a little crazy. The term originates from the Dutch custom of paying your own way on a date or outing, but it also came about due to some negative stereotypes about Dutch people being stingy or selfish.

Some other countries refer to going Dutch as "paying Roman style" or "American style." I guess Romans and Americans are also cheap bastards.

There is some interesting info on the Wikipedia page re: the etiquette of going Dutch vs the man paying for a date. Apparently there are some restaurants that have a "ladies' menu" that doesn't have prices on it, so not only does the lady not pay, she doesn't even see how much the meal cost. That is crazy! I wonder if the menu also has pictures instead of words so as not to strain the lady's brain with reading. I mean, I'm all for a free meal, don't get me wrong, but I do think the fairer sex can handle seeing how much our salad (dressing on the side) and cosmo is supposed to cost.

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Today I learned about eyeglasses. The first use of corrective lenses dates (possibly) back to the first century, when Nero used an emerald to watch games that were far away. "Reading stones" were made in the 9th century out of glass. The first proper eyeglasses were invented in the thirteenth or fourteenth century. There are some awesome paintings on Wikipedia of dudes from the olden times wearing some jacked up early glasses. Early nerds!

You know, I feel like, what the hell were people doing before they had glasses? At least two out of the like, five people I talk to on a regular basis (the boyfriend and the roommate) are practically nonfunctional without their glasses. People just had to go about their daily lives not being able to see across a room or read something they were holding in their hands. That seems like a real bitch. So thanks, Salvino D'Armate. Way to be an inventor.

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Today I learned about the weather in Fort Myers, Florida. The average high temperature is 80 in March and 85 in April. That is even warmer than Ft Lauderdale. Hmmm...I may has spring break after all! I also learned that Fort Myers is near Sanibel, where my parents went on vacation recently. Maybe I can ask them for tips.

I am so obsessed with vacation lately, that's probably not a good thing.

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Saturday I learned what a "ruby slipper" is: it's a shot of whiskey topped off with grenadine and dropped into a glass of 7-Up. It is not a glass of water and a shot of grenadine, which is what they gave me at Larry's. That was hilarious.

Sunday I learned that you can do a Priceline-esque hotel room purchase through Skybus. They have some rooms that you can book like normal, but they also have some that they can't tell you what they are until you've booked. You'll know the cost, hotel amenities and location, but that's it. I am too big of a wuss to book a hotel that way. If I was just going to stay there for one, maybe two nights, I might go for it, but for a longer vacation I don't see it happening.

I had something I wanted to do for today but I could not find anything useful on the topic...bad librarian! Instead I learned about "meat pies." I read this book that takes place in Australia, and characters kept eating "pies" all through the book, though I got the impression that they were not the delicious cherry or pecan pies that you or I might expect. Instead they were these, a sort of Hot Pocket meets pot pie convenience food. I uh...kind of want one. Except for that part in the Wikipedia article that talks about tongue roots and blood vessels.