U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from China totaled $470.3 million between January and August this year. China also shipped $28.6 million worth of artificial Christmas trees during that period.
Source: Census Bureau
Stories by FactCheck.org
December 4, 2009
Between Dec. 1 and Christmas day, the U.S. Postal Service will deliver 16.6 billion cards, letters and packages.
Source: USPS
December 3, 2009
Afghanistan is 652,230 square kilometers, slightly smaller than the state of Texas.
Source: CIA World Factbook
December 2, 2009
The Atomic Age began on this day in 1942 in a tent on a squash court at the University of Chicago. At 3:25 p.m., Enrico Fermi and scientists engineered the first controlled nuclear fission chain reaction.
Source: Library of Congress
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Nov. 24 – Nov. 30
This week, readers sent us comments on (what else?) health care legislation, cap and trade, and FactCheck.org as spam blocker.
In the FactCheck Mailbag we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
December 1, 2009
On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Ala., for disobeying state law by refusing to surrender her seat on the bus to white passengers.
Source: Library of Congress
November 30, 2009
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) was born on Nov. 30, 1835, in Florida, Mo.
Source: Library of Congress
November 29, 2009
President Truman’s "The Buck Stops Here" sign, which sat on his desk, was made in the federal reformatory in El Reno, Okla., and mailed to Truman on Oct. 2, 1945.
Source: Harry S. Truman Library & Museum
November 28, 2009
In its pure form, tryptophan can induce sleep, but turkey’s tryptophan doesn’t cause drowsiness. Other foods, including beef and soybeans, have higher concentrations of the substance.
Source: National Geographic
November 27, 2009
The Truman Library cannot confirm the rumor that President Truman pardoned a Thanksgiving turkey in 1947, starting the White House tradition. According to the library, its staff has found "no documents, speeches, newspaper clippings, photographs, or other contemporary records" to back up the story.
Source: Harry S. Truman Library & Museum