Sacagawea

We all know the story of Sacagawea, the Native American girl who was once a slave and then lead Lewis and Clark on their expedition that opened up the West. Perhaps you didn't know that she was also responsible for the following innovations.

1. Sacagawea introduced Lewis and Clark to a game which involved drawing symbols on small pieces of parchment, which eventually led to the invention of modern playing cards.

2. During their expedition, Lewis and Clark took careful notes of the survival skills that Sacagawea taught them on their journey. This notebook became the basis for the skills still taught today by the Boy Scouts of America.

3. Sacagawea was obsessed with cleanliness. She often used the oils from plants and herbs found along their journey to cleanse herself. In fact, the phrase "leaves of three, leave them be" was first attributed to her after she inadvertently used poison ivy to wash herself.

4. Sacagawea was among the first people to successfully use salt for adjusting ones hair color.

Quick fact: Around the World in 80 Days

With the pending release of Around the World in 80 Days (the 15th movie based on this classic Jules Verne novel), I thought I would do a little research on the book itself and ran across the following facts:

1. The original book was actually to be called Around the World in 20 Days, but at the time the publisher believed it was just too unbelievable of a feat. He suggested Around the World in 120 Days. They eventually negotiated to Around the World in 80 Days. I'm sure that negotiation was a very comical scene. Verne actually discusses it briefly in his autobiography, which was written 2 years after his death.

2. The opening line of the novel is

"Mr Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row, Burlington Gardens, the house in which Sheridan died in 1814."

Number 7 Saville Row was actually the address of the summer home of Verne's rival, Victor Hugo. It is said that so many fans made the pilgrimage to this spot that Hugo attempted to sell the property, but when it wouldn't sell he donated the property to the British government, who immediately turned it into a historic landmark.

3. Phileas Fogg was the name of Verne's English teacher, who once told Jules he had no future as a writer.