Parties and Pigskins
Number of times the “AFL-NFL World Championship Game” was played before the name was officially changed to the “Super Bowl,” after the toy Super Ball: 2
Value of Super Bowl “champions” clothing, preprinted with the losing team’s name, which the NFL donates to children in developing countries: $2 million
Amount Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes allegedly spent in July 2011 on daughter Suri’s second birthday party: $100,000
Age most children want to scale back on birthday parties: 8 or 9
Percent of parents who would spend no more than $100 on a child’s birthday party: 29
Percent who would spend more than $250: 29
Feats and Fetes
Date of National Freedom Day, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th amendment, outlawing slavery, in 1865: Feb. 1
Year President Harry Truman made it an official holiday: 1948
Percent of membership drop in the last decade in the Boy Scouts of America, which celebrates its 101st anniversary on Feb. 8: 11
Estimated number of hours Boy Scouts volunteer every year in the U.S.: 2 million
Percent chance of success for a marriage between one-time teenage lovers who rekindle their romance at least five years later: 76
Percent chance of success for the average marriage: 45
Hours Australian mother Kate Ogg in 2010 embraced the son doctors told her was stillborn before he opened his eyes and proved them wrong: 2
Sources: Yahoo.com, Worldvision.org, Babble.com, Moneycentral.msn.com, About.com, Holidaysmart.com, Wired.com, Independent.co.uk, msnbc.com.
