Make a list of 43 things I know very little about, & then learn at least 3 things about each of them

...a federated model of governance has created a diversity of YMCA programs and services, with YMCAs in different countries and communities offering vastly different programming in response to local community needs

...young men who came to London for work were often living in squalid and unsafe conditions, and the YMCA was dedicated to replacing life on the streets with prayer and bible study

...although local variations in mission exist and the YMCA’s collectively expressed mission has evolved since its founding, the international YMCA movement’s mission historically has been one of promoting Ecumenical Christianity.

... it was originally the symbol of Amalfi, a small Italian republic of the 11th century.

... the Geneva drive, a device that translates a continuous rotation into an intermittent rotary motion, is also sometimes called a “Maltese cross mechanism” after the shape of its main gear.

... the cross is eight-pointed and has the form of four “V”-shaped arms joined together at their tips, so that each arm has two points. Its design is based on crosses used since the First Crusade. The eight points are said to symbolise the eight points of courage:
Loyalty
Piety
Generosity
Bravery
Glory and honour
Contempt of death
Helpfulness towards the poor and the sick
Respect for the church

... Warner Bros. paid Hepburn a flat salary of $1 million for her work on MY FAIR LADY, making her only the second actress in the history of Hollywood to receive a seven-figure sum for a single film.

... in fact, the production was embroiled in controversy from the moment it was announced that English soprano Julie Andrews, who had made flower girl Eliza Doolittle famous in the New York and London stage shows, had been passed over in the film’s casting for Audrey Hepburn

... Hepburn’s singing was judged inadequate, and she was dubbed by Marni Nixon

... the names of S&B’s members weren’t kept secret, but its meetings and practices were.

... members are assigned nicknames. “Long Devil” is assigned to the tallest member; “Boaz” (Either a short for “Beelzebub,” or the name of one of the two detached columns of copper or bronze in “King Solomon’s Temple,” the other one being “Jachin”) goes to any member who is a varsity football captain. Many of the chosen names are drawn from literature (“Hamlet,” “Uncle Remus”), from religion and from myth.

... in conversation, the group is known as “Bones”, and members have been known as “Bonesmen”

... best known high-IQ society open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardized, supervised intelligence test

... Mensa welcomes children: the youngest people who have joined the organization were both aged 2 years and nine months

... Mensa’s constitution lists three purposes: to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity; to encourage research into the nature, characteristics, and uses of intelligence; and to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members

... Norwegian Formula was discovered at sea when, despite the harsh weather conditions, Norwegian fishermen reported soft, supple hands.

... when it was investigated, they discovered the oils in the fish had intensively moisturising properties. A synthetic version of the fish oil was created, and to this day remains an integral ingredient in the Norwegian Formula range

... every four seconds someone buys a Norwegian Formula hand cream in the UK :)

... is a secular organization open to all persons regardless of race, color, creed or political preference.

... Rotary’s best-known motto is “Service above Self”.

... members usually meet weekly for breakfast, lunch or dinner, which is a social event as well as an opportunity to organize work on their service goals.

... traditionally, most Methodists have identified with the libertarian-Arminian view of free will, through God’s prevenient grace, as opposed to the determinism of absolute predestination.

... early Methodists were drawn from all levels of society, including aristocracy.

... although Methodists, because of their Anglican roots, practice and allow christening of babies, many Methodists prefer to have a Dedication service and let the children choose baptism on conversion.

... the Vespa is a motorscooter that was first manufactured in Genoa, Italy in 1946.

... the generous mixture of oil in the fuel produced high amounts of smoke. This drawback to the two-stroke motor caused any two-stroke motor over 50 ccs to be outlawed in the United States, which would have caused to Vespa to completely disappear from the American scene if it weren’t for the enthusiasts who kept the vintage scooters on the road by rebuilding and restoring them.

... Vespa is Italian for wasp, and it was adopted as a name for the vehicle in reference to its habitus: thicker rear part connected to the front part by a narrow waist, and the steering rod as the antennae.

... While the tenth largest U.S. state by size, Wyoming is the least populous, with the population of 522,830.

... Wyoming was the first state in the US to offer suffrage to women. Why? They needed the women’s votes to get enough votes to become a state.

... While it’s official nickname is ‘Equality State’ Wyoming has historically been a conservative, Republican state, they entirely ban same-sex marriage from the beginning, and in the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush won his second-largest victory, with 69% of the vote.