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Fin Facts
February Fin Facts
By
Jan 31, 2008, 22:16

Groundhog Day is February 2nd. It is said that if the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of bad weather, and if he doesn't, that spring will be here soon.

The biggest snowman on record is "Angus the King of the Mountain" created in February 1999. The snowman was 113 feet and 7 inches tall and weighed 9,000,000 pounds! He had 4 foot wreathes as eyes, 6 feet of chicken wire & muslin for the carrot nose, 6 automobile tires for a mouth, a 20 foot fleece hat, a 120 foot fleece scarf, 3 truck tires for the buttons and two 10 foot trees for arms!

In the Antarctic, summer lasts from November until February. During  mid-summer, there is no night. The Sun never sets and it is daylight almost 24 hours.

The largest desert on Earth is on the Antarctic continent. This is because the average amount of snow or rain is only about two inches per year over most of the frozen land.

The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 128.6 degrees Fahrenheit below zero in Antarctica.

Our first President, General George Washington's birthday was first celebrated in 1782 while the Revolution was still being fought. 

In 1789, a large crowd gathered to witness the inauguration of General George Washington, the First President of the United States at Federal Hall at the corner of Nassau and Wall Streets in New York City. Today, the building is known as the Federal Hall Memorial.

President Abraham Lincoln took the oath of the Presidency in February, 1861.  On April 12, 1861, less than six weeks after his inauguration, the Civil War began.

President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863 freed five million slaves.  The last sentence stated, "And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God."

In 1971Congress designated the third Monday in February a day for honoring both President's Washington and Lincoln, as well as all the other men who have served as president.

"President's Day." Although, it is still officially known as Washington's Birthday by the Office of Personnel Management.
More of our Country's Presidents came from Ohio than from any other state.
Eight American Presidents were elected from the Buckeye State, giving Ohio the nickname "The Mother of Presidents."

The first telephone was installed in the White House in 1879 during the Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes who was born in Delaware Ohio and lived in Fremont Ohio.
 
Our second President John Adams son was John Quincy Adams the sixth President of the United States. The only other father-son Presidents are our 41st President George H. W. Bush and our 43rd President George W. Bush.

Our 9th President was William Henry Harrison in 1841 and died shortly after taking office. His Grandson Benjamin Harrison was the 29th President and served from 1889 to 1893.