Welcome to the inaugural edition of Campus Safety’s Friday Facts!
As I search the internet every day for breaking news and other need-to-know updates on school, university, and healthcare security, public safety, emergency management, facilities management, and technology, I come across a lot of research. Much of it we cover in our online news posts and newsletters, but some of it doesn’t directly apply to our core mission. It’s just really random information or factoids that I find fascinating, heartbreaking, meaningful, or funny in some way.
The intention of Friday Facts, which will run the last Friday of every month, is to review what Campus Safety has recently covered, as well as highlight the quirky, interesting stuff I come across on practically a daily basis.
Since we’re all about to take off for the long Memorial Day weekend, I figured I’d keep our first edition light. Here are some interesting factoids for you to ponder. Enjoy the long weekend!
Friday Fact No. 1: The first German chocolate cake was actually created in Texas, not Germany.
The first recipe for the delicious baked good can be traced to a recipe that ran in the Dallas Morning News in June 1957. It was named after Samuel German.
Friday Fact No. 2: 2,500 Polish residents were evacuated after an unexploded WWII bomb was found.
Despite the fact that World War II ended nearly 80 years ago, Europeans are still finding unexploded bombs from the conflict. On Friday, a 550-pound bomb was discovered near a railway overpass in Wroclaw, Poland by construction workers. It was a German SC-250 aerial bomb.
The city responded by evacuating residents from the area and halting train service until the bomb could be removed.
Friday Fact No. 3: Nearly 2 in 3 Americans take their shoes off at home.
About two thirds of Americans (63%) don’t wear their shoes when they are relaxing at home, while 37% keep their shoes on.
However, despite most Americans removing their shoes in their own homes, most don’t require their guests to do so. More than three in four (76%) let visitors keep their shoes on, while 24% ask their guests to take off their shoes. Younger Americans are more likely to ask their guests to remove their shoes: 44% age 18-29; 35% age 30-44; 13% age 45-64; and 7% over age 64.
Friday Fact No. 4: The hospital security technology market is expected to more than quadruple by 2032.
By 2032, the global hospital security systems market is expected to grow from $12.5 billion to $51 billion. The rise in hospital security technology investment (access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection, emergency notification, etc.) is being prompted by the increased rate of workplace violence in hospitals.
Friday Fact No. 5: Africa is the only continent that has land in all four of the earth’s hemispheres.
Africa is a huge continent and lies in the northern, southern, eastern, and western hemispheres. The equator and prime meridian both pass through the continent, although they actually intersect in the Atlantic Ocean.