MOUNT THOR

Mount Thor, officially gazetted as Thor Peak, is a mountain with an elevation of 5,495 feet located in Auyuittug National Park, on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada.

Mount Thor features Earth’s greatest vertical drop of 4,101 feet with the cliff overhanging at an average angle of 15 degrees from vertical.

THE 49TH PARALLEL

The 49th parallel north roughly constitutes the U.S. - Canada border from Washington to Minnesota. The U.S. states east of Minnesota that border Canada are south of the 49th parallel

The only territory in the contiguous U.S. that is north of the 49th parallel is Angle Inlet, MN. (See my blog post dated November 12, 2018 The Northwest Angle)

The northernmost point in the state of Maine is Escourt Station, located at 47 degrees and 28 minutes north. Seattle, Washington is located at 47 degrees and 36 minutes north.

The city of Seattle, Washington is farther north than the entire state of Maine.

USPS - PARCEL POST

One of the oddest parcel post packages ever sent was "mailed" from Grangeville to Lewiston, Idaho on February 19, 1914. The 48 1/2 pound package was just short of the 50 pound limit. The name of the package was May Pierstorff, three months short of six years old.

May's parents decided to send their daughter for a visit with her grandparents, but were reluctant to pay the train fare. Noticing that there were no provisions in the parcel post regulations specifically concerning sending a person through the mails, they decided to "mail" their daughter. The postage, 53-cents in parcel post stamps, was attached to May's coat. This little girl traveled the entire distance to Lewiston in the train's mail compartment and was delivered to her grandmother's home by the mail clerk on duty, Leonard Mochel.

MAY PIERSTORFF

ARCHIE ROOSEVELT

Archibald Bulloch “Archie” Roosevelt (April 10, 1894 – October 13, 1979) was the fifth child of President Theodore Roosevelt. He was a distinguished U.S. Army officer and commander of U.S. forces in both World War 1 and II.

Archie volunteered for the U.S. Army during 1917, shipped over to France, and was wounded while serving with the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. His wounds were so severe he was discharged from the Army with full disability.

During 1943, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Archie Roosevelt petitioned Franklin D. Roosevelt to put his battlefield-honed leadership skills to worthwhile use supporting the ear effort. The president approved his request and he rejoined the Army with a commission as a lieutenant colonel.

On August 12, 1943, Roosevelt was wounded by an enemy grenade which shattered the same knee which had been injured in World War I and for which he had been earlier medically retired, earning him the distinction of being the only American to ever be classified as 100% disabled twice for the same wound incurred in two different wars.

LARGEST HOTELS IN THE WORLD - BY NUMBER OF ROOMS

HOTEL NAME	LOCATION	ROOMS
First World Hotel	Malaysia	7,351
The Palazzo + The Venetian Las Vegas	Las Vegas	7,117
MGM Grand Las Vegas + The Signature	Las Vegas	6,852
City Center	Las Vegas	6,790
Sands Cotai Central	Macau	6,000
Tital Al Naseem	Saudi Arabia	5,383
Makkah Abraj Al Tayseer	Saudi Arabia	5,154
Izmailovo Hotel	Moscow	5,000
Wynn Las Vegas + Encore Las Vegas	Las Vegas	4,750
Mandalay Bay + Delano + Four Seasons	Las Vegas	4,407

USPS - RATES FOR DOMESTIC LETTERS SINCE 1863

Effective Date	Postage in cents per ½ ounce
July 1, 1863	3
October 1, 1883	2
	Postage in cents  per ounce*
July 1, 1885	2
November 2, 1917	3
July 1, 1919	2
July 6, 1932	3
August 1, 1958	4
January 7, 1963	5
January 7, 1968	6
May 16, 1971	8
March 2, 1974	10
December 31, 1975	13
May 29, 1978	15
March 22, 1981	18
November 1, 1981	20
February 17, 1985	22
April 3, 1988	25
February 3, 1991	29
January 1, 1995	32
January 10, 1999	33
January 7, 2001	34
June 30, 2002	37
January 8, 2006	39
May 14, 2007	41
May 12, 2008	42
May 11, 2009	44
January 22, 2012	45
January 27, 2013	46
January 26, 2014	49
April 10, 2016	47
January 22, 2017	49
January 21, 2018	50

*Beginning September 14, 1975, additional ounces were charged at a lower rate; the prices listed in this table are for the first ounce. Since July 15, 1979 a surcharge has been added for non-standard envelope sizes.

DUBAI - WORLD RECORDS

World’s Tallest Building	Burj Khalifa
World’s Tallest Hotel	JW Marriott Marquis Hotel
World’s Largest Shopping Center	Dubai Mall
World’s Largest Indoor Theme Park	IMG Worlds of Adventure
World’s Busiest Airport (International Travelers)	Dubai International Airport
World’s Longest Fully Automated Metro Network	Dubai Metro

DUBAI SKYSCRAPER CONSTRUCTION

Dubai trails on New York and Shanghai for the number of buildings taller than 150 meters (492 feet).

NUMBER OF BUILDINGS COMPLETED EACH YEAR SINCE 2000 OVER 150 METERS TALL

Click on image to view in full screen

BANGOR, BANGOR, BANGOR, BANGOR AND BANGOR

Bangor, Maine lies at north latitude 44 degrees, 10 minutes (44:10).

Bangor, Maine (44:10) is about as far north of the equator as is Bangor, New York (44:48); Bangor, Wisconsin (43:53); Bangor, Iowa (42:10); and, a bit further north, Bangor, Washington (47:43).

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY (FHFA) - HOUSE PRICE APPRECIATION BY STATE

HOUSE APPRECIATION BY STATE

PERCENT CHANGE IN HOUSE PRICES

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED, PURCHASE-ONLY HPI

PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2018

STATE	ONE YEAR
Idaho	15.09%
Nevada	15.00%
Washington	10.57%
Utah	9.97%
Colorado	9.16%
Florida	8.92%
Rhode Island	8.63%
Georgia	8.41%
Indiana	7.90%
North Carolina	7.71%
Michigan	7.64%
Tennessee	7.51%
Nebraska	7.38%
Oregon	7.29%
South Carolina	7.27%
Arizona	7.13%
South Dakota	6.95%
Missouri	6.90%
Wisconsin	6.89%
Minnesota	6.85%
Ohio	6.55%
California	6.49%
Alabama	6.40%
USA	6.34%
New Hampshire	6.20%
Delaware	6.17%
New York	5.87%
Texas	5.74%
Montana	5.55%
Kansas	5.50%
Vermont	5.47%
Massachusetts	5.28%
Maine	5.19%
Iowa	5.03%
Arkansas	4.48%
Kentucky	4.48%
Virginia	4.41%
Pennsylvania	4.39%
Wyoming	4.37%
New Jersey	3.85%
Oklahoma	3.65%
Illinois	3.52%
West Virginia	3.40%
New Mexico	3.37%
Hawaii	3.02%
Maryland	2.77%
Mississippi	2.71%
Connecticut	2.20%
District of Columbia	1.55%
Louisiana	1.53%
North Dakota	1.00%
Alaska	0.15%

https://www.fhfa.gov/AboutUs/Reports/ReportDocuments/2018Q3_HPI.pdf