July 2005

The Nevada state tax on gambling revenues is 6.25% (this is what the casinos pay). The Flamingo Hilton was originally the Flamingo — built by infamous mobster Bugsy Siegel, and the first official “carpet joint” on the strip. MGM Mirage, after the recent acquisition of Mandalay Resort Group, now owns The Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, [...]

Americans buy 2.7 billion packages of breakfast cereal each year. If laid end to end, the empty cereal boxes from one year’s consumption would stretch to the moon and back. The cereal industry uses 816 million pounds of sugar per year, enough to coat each and every American with more than three pounds of sugar. [...]

Coca-Cola was invented and first marketed in 1886, followed by Pepsi in 1898. Coca-Cola was named after the coca leaves and kola nuts John Pemberton used to make it, and Pepsi after the beneficial effects its creator, Caleb Bradham, claimed it had on dyspepsia. For many years, Coca-Cola had the cola market cornered. Pepsi was [...]