Does Bismarck, North Dakota, have anything to do with Otto von Bismarck, first chancellor of the German Empire?
Yes. The city in south central North Dakota—now the state capital—was founded in 1872 as Camp Hancock. A military post, it protected the crews working on the Northern Pacific Railway. In 1873, it was renamed in honor of then-chancellor Otto von Bismarck in hopes of attracting German railroad investors. Why is the famous clock called Big Ben? More about Big Ben! Big Ben is not a clock. It is a 13.5-ton bell in the clock tower of England’s Houses of Parliament. Cast in 1858, the bell’s installation was directed by the rotund Sir Benjamin Hall, commissioner of works. The bell was originally to be called Saint Stephen’s, but the British newspapers renamed it Big Ben. What part of a cat does catgut come from? This basic element of tennis rackets and violins comes not from cats but from the intestines of sheep. The cat in the word may have derived from kit, an old word for a small violin. Valued for its toughness, catgut is also used for artificial limbs and in small machines like typewriter
