People's District

Since 2001, A Wider Circle has furnished over 11,250 area homes.

5-25% of women suffer from postpartum depression.

The Bahraini embassy in Washington, DC, opened in 1977.

Bobby Fischer was a charter inductee into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. in 1985.

Eggplant should not be watered late in the day.

PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

According to DC's "Title 16", if a juvenile is 16 or 17 and being charged with murder, 1st degree sexual abuse, burglary in 1st degree, armed robbery, or assault with intent to commit one of those offenses, the U.S. Attorney has the right to charge the youth as an adult.

In the financial year 2007, D.C. residents and businesses paid $20.4 billion in federal taxes; more than the taxes collected from 19 states.

In zip code 20009, 136 countries are represented.

As of 9/5/11, MPD recovered 1,312 guns in a buyback/amnesty program in 2011.

The D.C. Fire/EMS Department consists of 33 Engine companies, 16 truck companies, and three heavy duty rescue squads.

Adopting a child can cost in excess of $40,000.

In 1999, hand dancing was formally recognized as the official dance of D.C. by the city council.

George Clooney used to cut tobacco.

In 2009, there were 26,749 federal drug arrests and 4,805,081 lbs of drugs seized.

There are 20,132 books for sale in Capitol Hill Books.

Howard University is named after American Civil War General Oliver O. Howard.

President Lincoln and family resided seasonally on the grounds of the Soldiers' Home in Petworth to escape the heat and political pressure of downtown Washington.

Walt Whitman lived and worked in Washington, DC from 1863 to 1873.

The performance of pantomime originates at its earliest in Ancient Greece; the name is taken from a single masked dancer called Pantomimus, although performances were not necessarily silent.

The Nacotchtank Native Americans were the first settlers to inhabit the area now known as Fairlawn.

Ebenezer's Coffeehouse in Capitol Hill is owned and operated by the National Community Church.

Bill Clinton now follows a near-vegan eating regimen.

Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats in D.C. 11 - 1.

The Greater Washington Urban League was founded in 1938 and is one of more than 100 affiliates of the National Urban League.

Benning Terrace is also known as "Simple City"

The first Ms. Senior America Pageant was held in 1972, as a means of creating public awareness of the continuing social contributions of "Senior Americans."

Live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically act out their characters' actions.

In 1931, the IRS’s Intelligence Unit completed an investigation of Alphonse Capone which led to his conviction for tax evasion for which he served 11 years in prison.

Martha Stewart was found guilty in March 2004 of conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding, and making false statements to federal investigators, and was sentenced in July 2004 to serve a five month term in a federal correctional facility in West Virginia.

The National Rehabilitation Hospital specializes in treating persons with physical disabilities, including spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, amputation, multiple sclerosis, post-polio syndrome, orthopedic, and other neurological conditions.

According to the D.C. State Department of Health Statistics, the 2008 teen pregnancy rate is 61.4 pregnancies per 1,000 girls, 15 to 19.

Art Enables works with artists with disabilities to express themselves with images.

Marvin Gaye faked mental illness to get out of the Air Force. He was given an honourable discharge, with the comment: 'Marvin Gaye cannot adjust to regimentation and authority'.

The Marjorie Webster School of Expression and Physical Education, which later became Marjorie Webster Junior College, a two-year, private junior college for women operated in D.C. from 1928-1971.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated there were roughly 453,600 school bus drivers in the U.S. in 2008.

The American Wesleyan Church came into being in 1843 and became an active and vocal opponent to slavery.

Beat Yo' Feet is a dance style out of the DMV that came from go-go.

The Washington Blade was founded in 1969 as a black and white, one-sheet community newsletter distributed in D.C.-area bars

The earliest identifiable recipient of Male to Female Sex Reassignment Surgery was in 1921

In Spring 2011, Congress made drastic cut to the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs, which provides grants all of the District's largest private non-profit arts organizations.

The 2010 Census did not ask about sexual orientation or gender identity.

D.C. has over 50 pagan groups.

The Maine Ave Fish Market is built on a cluster of floating barges moored to a concrete pier on Maine Avenue in SW.

According the U.S. Census, there are 1.3 million "self-described" Muslims in American.

The Black Cat opened in 1993.

DC has experienced at least seven tornadoes since the 1950's.

An individual can apply for a green card after completing 5 years of residency in the U.S.

On February 19, 2007, Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio announced a merger that would combine the two radio services.

Two Rivers was founded by more than three dozen parents from the Capitol Hill neighborhood seven years ago.

Father Horace McKenna was one of the leaders in establishing the Sursum Corda Cooperative, a housing development for the poor.

The occupation of Washington during the 1968 riots was the largest of any American city since the Civil War. Mayor Washington imposed a curfew and banned the sale of alcohol and guns in the city.

The neighborhood of Park View was organized in 1908 from the subdivisions of Whitney Close, Schuetzen Park, and Bellevue.

The Uline Arena was built in 1941 by Miguel L. "Uncle Mike" Uline for his hockey team, the Washington Lions of the now defunct Eastern Amateur Hockey League.

As of January 27, 2010, 11,774 people throughout the metropolitan Washington region indicated that they were homeless.

In 1971, Italian Ambassador Ortona was mugged in Meridian Park, initiating the move of the Italian Embassy from 16th and Fuller to Massachusetts Avenue and Whitehaven.

The City Bikes in Adams Morgan opened 1987. It used to be a gas station.

The Catania Bakery, opened in 1932, used to sell bread door-to-door.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Byron Leftwich is an HD Woodson graduate.

On November 20, 2004, the New York Avenue Metro station opened as the 84th station, and first infill station, on the D.C. Metro system.

Little League Baseball is included in Title 36 of the United States Code, which outlines the role of Patriotic Societies and Observances in the United States.

Eight of the ten current or planned D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation dog parks are in NW.

An Eritrean coffee ceremony incudes three cups of coffee and can last two hours. The first round of serving in called Awel; the second is called Kaleti; and the third, which is for blessing, is called Bereka.

The jheri curl was named after hairdresser Jheri Redding.

Some historians believe that the first recorded appearance of a handlebar mustache dates back to around 300 B.C.E.

As of January 2010, the D.C. high school graduation rate was 72%.

There are over 70 theater organizations in the D.C. area.

On July 5, 1801, four months after the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson and eight months after the first meeting of Congress in the District, Baptists held their first worship service in the newly built Treasury Building, adjacent to the White House.

D.C. native Marvin Gaye's spent two years in self-imposed exile in the small Belgian town of Ostend.

The Wonderland Ballroom used to be Nob Hill, a gay bar that catered to middle-age, middle-class African American men.

In April 2010, DDOT drafted new pedicab rules, including making it illegal for pedicab drivers to bike while intoxicated.

Zethiopia, a newspaper that covers America's local and national Ethiopian community, is produced in the D.C. metropolitan area.

As of 2010, the U.S. Postal Service employed 596,000 personnel, divided into offices, processing centers, and actual post offices.

The Florida Avenue Market has over 30 food vendors.

Moving from AM to FM, WAMU 88.5 FM signs on from the campus of American University at 4 pm on October 23, 1961.

Over 90% of participants in the Life Pieces to Masterpieces program have not become involved in the juvenile justice system or fathered children.

As of Dec 2010, D.C. had an unemployment rate of 9.7%.

In 1933, all D.C. streetcars were brought under one company, Capital Transit.

Myong Namkung Mayes was the first woman to earn her ninth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do in December 2007 at the age of 53.

The redevelopment of the 26 acre SW waterfront property will cost an estimated $1.6 billion.

A police dog killed in the line of duty is often given a full police funeral.

As of 2007, 14.5% of D.C. residents spoke a language other than English at home.

The cost per ride to WMATA for buses in D.C. is $3.96 per person. Bus fare is $1.50 or $1.70.

Ward One is the smallest, most densely populated ward in DC. It’s also the only ward where you’ll find no population group with a majority.

In separate incidents, Eastern Market and the Georgetown Public Library both caught fire within 12 hours of each other on April 30, 2007.

Al Jolson, "The World's Greatest Entertainer," was the son of D.C. rabbi and cantor Moshe Yoelson of Congregation Talmud Tora in SW.

As railroads became one of the few industries to consistently give jobs to African Americans, Ivy City became an increasingly black section of D.C.

James Swann, Jr., a.k.a. "The Shotgun Stalker", is an American serial killer who targeted pedestrians in Columbia Heights and Mt. Pleasant in 1993. He killed four and injured five in 14 drive-by shooting attacks.

Nation of Islam Temple #4, established in the early 1940s by Elijah Muhammad, was the first place of worship for Black Muslims in Washington, DC.

In 2009, there were 3,295 cases of aggravated assault in the District.

The Goodman League, started in 1975, was first titled the Barry Farms Community Basketball League, but the name was changed in honor of the late George Goodman, a life-long Barry Farms resident and community leader.

According to the National Retail Federation’s 2009 Halloween Consumer Survey, witches were the most popular costume followed by vampires.

FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover ate lunch at the Mayflower Hotel every day for 20 years.

A unicycle with 36" inch wheels can reach a top speed of 29 mph.

The occupation of Washington after the 1968 riots by federal troops and the National Guard was the largest of any American city since the Civil War.

Once every 37 seconds someone gets arrested for marijuana use.

The Target in Columbia Heights opened on March 5, 2008 at 8am.

According to D.C. Children's Trust Fund, in 2007, 80% of all African-American births in the District were to single mothers.

Shortly after Afghanistan regained her independence from Britain in 1919, King Amanullah of Afghanistan, dispatched General Wali Khan as the first Afghan envoy to Washington.

The Mt. Pleasant riots in May 1991 erupted after an El Salvadoran man was shot in the chest by a police officer at a Cinquo de Mayo street festival while she attempted to arrest him. Witnesses dispute whether he attacked the cop with a knife beforehand.

The All Souls Church bell was used for public purposes such as announcing fires until 1861. When the church tolled the bell to mourn the execution of John Brown, it was denounced as the “Abolition Bell” and the city discontinued using it for public purposes.

In 2008, the Marbury Plaza building in SE had over 825 housing code violations.

The Architect of the Capitol is the federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex.

Cleveland Park acquired its name after 1886 when President Grover Cleveland purchased a summer estate there.

Construction on the WWII Memorial began in September 2001. The memorial opened to the public on April 29, 2004, and was dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004.

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THEARC is the only theater of any kind east of the Anacostia River.

"The Capitol Steps" was named after the sex scandal in which Congressman John Jenrette had sex with his wife, Rita, on the steps of the Capitol building.

In 2010, a 19-year-old D.C. native won the sign spinning world championship.

Hains Point is an artificial island, built up from Potomac dredging material between 1880 to 1892.

In FY 2010, there were 189 adoptions in D.C., 130 of which arose out of neglect or foster care.

St. Albans was founded in 1909 by Harriet Lane Johnston, niece of President Buchanan, as a school for boy choristers at the Washington National Cathedral.

The 2009-2010 tuition rate for non-District of Columbia residents at Duke Ellington School is $10,373.

Under Title 16 of the D.C. Code, juveniles may be tried as adults for certain crimes.

While only slightly more than half (54 percent) of the District’s population is African American, 90 percent of the people under the supervision of D.C.’s Department of Correction are African American.

In D.C., 150,000 – 200,000 people live at or near the poverty line.

Bread for the City and Zacchaeus Free Clinic were founded in the mid-1970s out of faith-based concerns for the homeless, the hungry and the poor of Washington, DC.

16.9% of DC's population lives below the poverty line according to 2008 Census information.

The D.C. Eagle hosts the oldest leather competition in America. 2010 marks 38 years.

While living in the White House, Abraham Lincoln and his wife held several séances in the Green Room in an attempt to contact the spirit of their son, Willie, who died there.

Ward 6 has nine community gardens, the most of any ward in D.C.

Mayor Adrian Fenty and Lena Lett were Grand Marshalls for the 2010 High Heel race.

Public Reservation 13 lies on the eastern fringe of the Hill East neighborhood on the west bank of the Anacostia River.

During the bicycle boom of the 1890's in U.S., Western Union employed a number of bicycle messengers in large population centers.

The U.S. downgraded its level of representation in Burma from Ambassador to Chargé d'Affaires after the government's crackdown on the democratic opposition in 1988 and its failure to honor the results of the 1990 parliamentary election.

The District of Columbia had no formal representation in Congress before 1970. That year, President Nixon signed a bill giving the District one non-voting delegate to Congress.

D.C. high school graduation rates were at 72 percent in 2009, an increase of three percentage points from 2008.

The constitutional basis for the Appropriations Committee comes from Article one, Section nine, Clause seven of the U.S. Constitution.

Originally LeDroit Park was a Whites only neighborhood. By the 1940's, LeDroit Park became a major focal point for the African-American elite.

George Gustav Heye started the Museum of the American Indian and his Heye Foundation in 1916. His collection became part of the Smithsonian in June 1990.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar only lost one game in high school and two in college. Each of those games involved someone from Dematha High School.

Franklin said, "Among the numerous luxuries of the table coffee may be considered as one of the most valuable. It excites cheerfulness without intoxication; and the pleasing flow of spirits which it occasions is never followed by sadness, languor or debility."

The former Brooks family estate became a housing tract named Brookland.

The earliest identifiable case of Sex Reassignment Surgery goes back to 1921. Currently, Thailand performs the most sex reassignment surgeries, followed by Iran.

Metrorail and Metrobus serve a population of 3.4 million within a 1,500-square mile jurisdiction.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average college student spends roughly three hours a day working. The average 25-54 year old spends nine hours.

The Kalorama Recreation Center and Park used to the be residence and farm of cattle rancher and slave owner John Little from 1836-1876.

Frank D. Reeves was a lawyer and civil rights activist who was part of the team that shaped the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case.

In 2009, 99.63% of trash collection routes were completed on the scheduled day by the Department of Public Works.

A 2007 Harris Poll reported that 8.5% of 8 - 18 year olds in the US could be classified as video game addicts.

On May 1, 1960, CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory.

The National Museum of Natural History houses more than 126 million natural science specimens and cultural artifacts.

Since its establishment in 2001, Casey Trees has planted over 7,860 trees across D.C.

Between 2001 - 2009, major crimes in D.C., with the exception of robbery, have been on the decline.

The Real Housewives of Washington, D.C. is the fifth installation of Bravo's The Real Housewives of... series, following The Real Housewives of Orange County, New York City, Atlanta, and New Jersey.

Congress established the National Archives Establishment in 1934 to centralize federal record keeping, with the Archivist of the United States as its chief administrator.

Hurricane Katrina was the most expensive natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the U.S.

Under the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997, D.C. prisoners were put under custody of the Bureau of Prisons, and the Lorton, Virginia prison was required to close by December 31, 2001.

There are about 1.7 million Masons in the United States and about 550,000 of those are Scottish Rite Masons.

In August 2009, U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-Virginia) became the first member of Congress to visit Burma in 10 years.

Reagan was the first serving United States president to survive being shot in an assassination attempt.

Chuck Brown traded five cartons of cigarettes for his first guitar while serving a sentence in Lorton Penitentiary.

President George Washington appointed Pierre Charles L'Enfant in 1791 to design the new capital city.

St. Elizabeths Hospital in SE, founded in 1852, was the first large-scale, federally-run psychiatric hospital in the United States.

25 of the 56 DC Housing Authority owned and managed public housing properties are in SE.

There are over 58,000 names listed on the Vietnam Memorial.

Councilmember Bowser grew up in North Michigan Park in NE DC.

In 1984, the H Street Community Development Corporation was founded to revitalize the H Street N.E. corridor.

Montgomery County authorities ordered a stop to kinky sex parties frequently held in a Bethesda home at 6304 Tone Drive, saying they were not criminal but violated zoning regulations.

Legend has it that President Ulysses S. Grant received a speeding while driving a horse and buggy in Washington, DC. He had to pay a fine of $20.00.

Union Station is visited by approximately 32 million people each year.

From its outset in 1867, Howard University was nonsectarian and open to people of both sexes and all races, although it is considered a historically black college.

A 2009 D.C. government report found the capital city's HIV prevalence was 3%, including figures as high as 7.2% for 40-49 year olds, and 6.5% for black males.

The Howard Theater opened 14 years before the Apollo Theater in New York.

More than 19,000 American citizens live and work full-time in El Salvador.

The D.C. government spent nearly $800,000 removing graffiti in 2007.

The National Zoo was created by an Act of Congress in 1889 for “the advancement of science and the instruction and recreation of the people.”

The United States and China announced on December 15, 1978, that the two governments would establish diplomatic relations on January 1, 1979.

Northern Virginia has the largest Vietnamese population on the East Coast, with about 48,000 Vietnamese statewide as of 2007.

Barnes v. Train (1974) is commonly viewed as the first sexual harassment case in America, even though the term "sexual harassment" was not used.

After a few years of getting used to their new situations, lottery winners and paraplegics are surprisingly close to being equally happy.

Washington D.C.'s tattoo parlors are unregulated.

Columbia is the dominant producer of U.S. cut flowers, with roses, carnations, spray chrysanthemums and Alstroemeria among its top crops.

The P St. Whole Foods is the largest Whole Foods Market in the D.C. metro area.

In the middle of the 20th century, 14th Street NW near the intersection of P Street was home to many car dealerships and was known as "auto row".

The House approved the creation of a cash for clunkers program with the 298 to 119 passage of the CARS Act ("Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act", H.R. 2751).

In June 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed into law the Food and Drug Act, also known as the "Wiley Act" after its chief advocate.

US Pole Dance Federation was founded in 2008, and is the first organization in the US to host professional pole dancing competitions.

The Capital Auto Auction holds live car auctions every Saturday at 10 a.m.

Batala in Washington, D.C. is part of a larger Batala family created in 1997 by Giba Gonçalves of Bahia, Brazil. The band has over 300 percussionists around the world.

In 1997, D.C. decriminalized underage drinking, making consumption of alcohol by those under age 21 a civil rather than criminal offense.

On December 21, 1970, Elvis Presley met President Richard M. Nixon at the White House. Presley suggested that he be made a "Federal Agent-at-Large" in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

On December 7, 1967, the United States recognized the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.

Warren Buffett graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Tenleytown.

In 1789, George Washington's inauguration was accompanied by a fireworks display.

U.S.-Ethiopian relations were established in 1903.

To get a cosmetology license from the D.C. Board of Barber and Cosmetology, a stylist has to do 1,500 hours of training in addition to passing an exam.

By 1956, half of the D.C. areas's 81,000 Jews lived outside of the city limits. Synagogues and many businesses followed.

Variations of dodgeball include: army dodgeball, bombardment, medic, ga-ga, völkerball, protect the pin, prisonball, trampoline dodgeball and elimination.

In 1989, World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov came to Washington, D.C., to introduce the idea of using chess to battle drug use among children. The concept developed into the U.S. Chess Center at 1501 M Street NW.

The modern-day football huddle was invented by Gallaudet University quarterback Paul Hubbard in 1892.

The Washington Star was a daily afternoon paper published in DC from 1852-1981. For most of that time, it was the city's paper of record.

The Black Panther Party’s official Washington D.C. chapter formed on July 19,1970.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson is one of the owners of the Hinckley Hilton.

Friendship Public Charter Schools, founded in 1997, has elementary, middle and high school campuses throughout D.C., serving nearly 6,000 children and youth in pre-school through grade 12.

According to D.C.’s State Education Office, 30% of D.C. residents age 16 and older have no high school diploma.

In 1819, John Porter erected a mansion and called it "Meridian Hill" because it was located on the White House meridian along 16th Street.

As of June 6, 2010 there were 1,079 fatalities in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Many believe that tarot cards provide a snapshot of where a person is right now in their life, and where they are going if they keep doing what they are doing.

Capital Pool Checkers Club member John Williams won the 2006 National Master Division Championship.

DC Achievers Scholarship supports students from six high schools in DC with high percentages of low-income students while in high school and through their college career.

The first mass production of campaign buttons dates to the 1896 William McKinley campaign for president.

There are over 4,400 U.S. military fatalities and 31,000 wounded in the Iraq War.

D.C. had one of the first and most influential hardcore punk scenes in the United States during the 1980's.

Thirteen presidents have attended a White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner, beginning with Calvin Coolidge in 1924.

Job Corps was initiated as the central program of the Johnson Administration's War on Poverty, part of the Great Society.

From 2005 to 2007, Warren Brown was the host of TV show "Sugar Rush" on the Food Network.

Thirty-six percent of D.C. residents ages 16 and over are currently functioning at the lowest level of literacy, according to a report by the State Education Agency.

William Bauchop Wilson, an American labor leader and politician, was the the first Secretary of Labor between 1913-1921.

Emily Newell Blair, the most prominent Democratic woman in the country in the 1920's, was the Woman's National Club’s principal founder.

As of May 2010, D.C. had 35 recorded homicides for the year.

On May 1st, 2010, Dezmoine Perkins, 16, was killed from multiple gunshot wounds. His shrine is at 535 Edgewood Street NE.

The Summer Youth Employment Program provides thousands of District youth, ages 14 to 21, with an opportunity to gain practical work experience and get paid.

Adrian Fenty is the youngest person to hold the office of D.C. Mayor. He won the election at 35 and entered office at 36.

At one point, the Brickskeller had over 1,300 beers.

Washington's first known Jewish resident, Isaac Polock, arrived from Savannah in 1795.

Treasury building served as the temporary White House in 1865 when Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency following Lincoln's assassination.

In 2007-08, DC Public Schools had a 68% high school graduation rate.

Montgomery County's school system is the 16th largest in the U.S.

Barack Obama won 92.46% of the D.C. vote in the 2008 election.

High school dropouts on average earn $9,200 less per year than high school graduates and about $1 million less over a lifetime than college graduates.

In 1913, there were 47 bars on or off Pennsylvania Avenue between the Capitol and the White House.

The Guardian Angels was founded on February 13, 1979 in NYC by Curtis Sliwa and has chapters in 140 cities in 13 countries.

The Jackson Five first performed in D.C. at Constitutional Hall in August 1972.

Engel v Vitale was the 1962 Supreme Court case that determined that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and require its recitation in public schools.

Georgetown Hoyas great Patrick Ewing was born in Jamaica and lived there until he was 11.

Catholicism was brought to the area in 1634 when Jesuit Father Andrew White celebrated the first Mass in St. Clement's Island, Maryland.

DC Youth Orchestra Program provides music classes and ensemble training to all students who wish to participate.

The maximum noise level in D.C. residential areas is 60 decibels during the day and 55 decibels at night.

15 million people visit Washington, D.C. annually, generating roughly $5.24 billion dollar in revenues.

The Potomac Boat Club, the rowing boathouse in Georgetown, dates back to 1882.

According to DC Public Schools, in 2008-09, 79% of DC students were black, 12% Hispanic, 7% white, and 2% Asian/Pacific Islander.

21% of D.C. residents do not speak English as a first language at home.

DCist was founded in August 2004.

The first local hip-hop record to really hit in D.C. was called 'Stone Cold Hustler' by DC Scorpio.

D.C., for its size, has produced more elite college basketball players than any other city.

Estimates suggest that there are 80,000 lawyers in Washington.

In 2009, 18.9% of D.C. residents lived below the poverty line.

In April 1999, Restaurant Nora became America's first certified organic restaurant.

On April 7, 1980, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Iran.

Estimates suggest that rates of obesity for D.C. high school-age youth is 17.7%.

The unemployment rate in Ward 8 is 28.5%.

According to DC Cancer Consortium, D.C. has the highest cancer mortality rate in the nation.

Bill Clinton, influenced by memorizing a long passage in high school, once said that “Mr. Shakespeare made me a better president.”

BDSM is short for bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism.

D.C. native Jair Lynch was the first African-American gymnast to captain a U.S. Olympic gymnastics team.

The big chair on MLK Ave. in Anacostia was erected in 1959 to advertise the Curtis Brothers furniture store.

D.C. produced two Miss Americas: Margaret Gorman in 1921 and Venus Ramey in 1944

On September 9, 2009, the Department of Homeland Security broke ground on its new headquarters on the Saint Elizabeths Hospital campus in SE.

The District has an estimated 2,500 active gang members and 5,000 others who are “loosely affiliated” in over 130 gangs.

Ethiopians were the most heavily represented African group admitted to the U.S. between 1982-1994.

The Office of Personnel Management estimates that shutting the federal government for one day costs $100 million.

According to the 2009 Community Partnership homeless census, there were 12,035 homeless in the D.C. metro area.

Established in 1801, the 8th and I St SE Marine Barracks is the oldest post in the United States Marine Corps.

The D.C. area quad rugby team, The Capitol Punishers, is sponsored by National Rehabilitation Hospital.

Leon Howard Sullivan was a Baptist minister, a civil rights leader and social activist focusing on the creation of job training opportunities for African-Americans.

D.C. Youth Orchestra was founded at the request of D.C. Public Schools in 1960.

The first public bout of the D.C. Rollergirls was held in March 2007 at the Dulles SportsPlex.

Street Sense was founded in August 2003.

D.C. does not have a J, X, Y or Z street.

The Maine Avenue Fish Market, in operation since 1805, is the oldest continuously operating fish market in the U.S.

Councilmember Graham served as the Executive Director of Whitman-Walker Clinic from 1984 - 1998.

Kokayi and soul singer Wayna were nominated in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category of the 51st Annual Grammy Awards for “Lovin’ You,” a remake of the Minnie Ripperton classic.

ARCH was established in 1986 as Action to Rehabilitate Community Housing, a training oriented development organization located in Anacostia.

Wale's full name is Olubowale Victor Akintimehin.

President Obama does not speak a foreign language.

When the Florida Avenue Grill opened in 1944, it only had two stools.

Dr. King delivered his 'I have a dream' speech on August 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Trinity was the first test of an atomic weapon on July 16, 1945 in Socorro, New Mexico.

The 9:30 Club was originally located at 930 F Street NW and called the Atlantis Club in the 1970's.

The Redskins played and won their first game in Washington D.C. on September 16, 1937, a victory against the Giants, 13–3.

Frederick Douglass was called "The Sage of Anacostia" and "The Lion of Anacostia."

An estimated 3% of D.C. residents have HIV or AIDS.

President Thomas Jefferson established the first Eastern Market in 1805 by Presidential Proclamation.

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was born on April 29, 1899. He lived with his maternal grandparents at 2129 Ida Place (now Ward Place), NW D.C.

The Duke Ellington School fo the Arts is currently operated as a joint partnership between D.C. Public Schools, the Kennedy Center, and George Washington University.

The Marine Corps Marathon has been run every year since 1976, and as of 2010, was the United States' 4th-largest race by finishers.

Councilmember At-Large Mendelson was first elected to the City Council in November 1998.

After the Boland Amendment was enacted in 1982, it became illegal under U.S. law to fund the Contras.

In 2010, the U.S. Treasury’s budget was nearly $13.4 billion.

The Old Post Office and Clock Tower is the largest commercial building in D.C.

Obama played on the Punahou High School basketball team in Honolulu in the 1970's, helping the team win the state championship.

The Environmental Protection Agency was proposed by President Richard Nixon and began operation on December 2, 1970.

The black to white racial disparity in the D.C. jail population is 4.8:1.

In the Washington region, 43 percent of the foreign-born population is limited English proficient, compared to less than 2 percent of the U.S.-born population.

Christylez Bacon is a Grammy nominated Progressive Hip-Hop artist from SE.

Since 1974, the Ski Touring Section has been organizing activities to bring together D.C. metro area cross-country skiers.

There were 0.37 violent crimes per 1,000 residents in Chevy Chase. The national median is 4.7.

The Gonzaga University men’s rowing Varsity 8+ finished 17th in the nation in 2009.

Rep. Eric J. Massa, a Democrat from upstate New York who was under investigation for harassing a male aide, resigned from the House in March 2010.

Draper's, the seventh oldest tobacconist in the U.S., was founded in 1887 by William Curtis Draper.

Petworth was created from the family estates of Col. John Tayloe and Marshall Brown.

The Church of the Saviour in D.C. is a network of nine independent, ecumenical Christian faith communities and over 40 ministries.

In 2004, D.C. created a downtown demonstration zone where street vending rules were relaxed. Soon after, the city lifted its moratorium on new vending licenses.

On January 20, 1949, President Harry S. Truman made history as the first American president to give a live, televised inaugural address.

The new Georgetown Safeway sells $999.99 a pound truffles.

Washington is located in the humid subtropical climate zone.

Gonzaga is the oldest boys high school in the District of Columbia.

When D.C, created its first substance abuse strategy in 2003, approximately 60,000 residents--nearly one in 10--were addicted to illegal drugs or alcohol.

The total number of Foreign Service members from all Foreign Service agencies is about 13,000 people.

Members of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council.

La Clínica del Pueblo was founded in 1983 in response to the growing medical and mental health care needs of Salvadoran and other Central American refugees escaping their warn-torn countries during the 1980s.

In the early 1990s, Washington, D.C. was known as the "murder capital," experiencing 474 homicides in 1990.

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies was founded in 1943.

Established in January 2007, Subcontinental Drift was founded to foster a supportive and collaborative South Asian American community for creative expression in D.C.

On March 9, 2010, the District issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The Mt. Pleasant farmers market has vendors from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

In 1914, the Interior Department hired landscape architect George Burnap to design a Meridian Hill Park, modeled on parks found in European capitals.

Nation of Islam Temple #4, established in the 1940's by Elijah Muhammad, was the first place of worship for Black Muslims in Washington, DC.

Around 0.2%. of high school seniors who play football every year will ever make an NFL roster.

During school year 2008-09, there were 134 different languages spoken by Linguistically and Culturally Diverse students in D.C. Public Schools.

In 1962, the Heurich Brewery was torn down to make room for entrance ramps for the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge and for what became the Kennedy Center.

Political relations between Persia and the U.S. began when the Shah of Persia, Nassereddin Shah Qajar, officially dispatched Persia's first ambassador, Mirza Abolhasan Shirazi, to D.C. in 1856.

A D.C. birth certificate costs $23.

Voice Of Eritrea (VOE) is a radio station that serves the Eritrean community in D.C. every Saturday from 1 - 2 p.m. on AM 1120.

In 2008, the median resident's age in D.C. was 34.6 years old.

Ben Franklin invented the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, a carriage odometer, and the glass 'armonica'.

The Anacostia River flows for about 8.4 miles, in Prince George's County and emptying into the Potomac River at Buzzard Point.

William Stuart Symington was a Democratic United States Senator from Missouri from 1953 to 1976.

In 2009, the D.C. area was rated the 4th worst in the country in terms of traffic and congestion.

Mt. Pleasant is a Historic District and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on October 5, 1987.

The word Vespa is both Latin and Italian for wasp.

The annual Dupont Circle High Heel Race, first held in 1985, takes place on the Tuesday before Halloween.

George Washington University's Medical School is the eleventh oldest medical school in the country and the first medical school established in the nation's capital.

D.C. currently has four dog parks and is in the process of building an additional six.

Capitol Hill Day School was founded in 1968-69 as a merger between a preschool program at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation and an elementary school at Christ Church, Washington Parish.

In 2009, the Smithsonian museums and National Zoo had over 30 million visitors.

Since 1985, Unity Health Care has been dedicated to serving Washington, DC residents in need of a range of critical health care services.

On June 26, 2008, in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court determined that D.C.'s gun ban and trigger lock provision violated the Second Amendment.

Many of Mi Tierra's 18 vendors once sold food illegally on the sidewalk in front of the Sacred Heart Church by 16th Street and Park Road NW and were occasionally fined by the police.

Charles Manuel "Sweet Daddy" Grace was the founder and first bishop of the United House of Prayer For All People.

James Creek, constructed in 1942, is a family property made up of 239 town homes in SW, operated by the D.C. Housing Authority.

Georges De Paris is the unofficial tailor to the presidents. He's clothed every chief executive for the past 40 years, starting with Lyndon Johnson.

In 2004, City Paper held the first Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair at the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace.

The plan of the city of Washington was designed in 1791 by Pierre L'Enfant, and mapped the following year; a design which remains largely in place.

Crafty Bastards will take place on October 2, 2010.

The bronze Statue of Freedom by Thomas Crawford is the crowning feature of the dome of the United States Capitol.

The Speed Divas is a group of lady motorcycle riders in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area formed in the Fall of 2000.

The technology for the fax machine dates back to 1846 and Scottish inventor Alexander Bain.

D.C. has a resident population of 599,657, its population rises to over one million during the workweek.

Congress passed the D.C. Organic Act of 1801 and incorporated the new federal District under its sole authority as permitted by the District Clause. Since D.C. was no longer part of any state, the District's residents lost voting representation.

The United States Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps came into being with the passage of the National Defense Act of 1916.

Sasha Bruce Youthwork is one of the largest providers of services to youth in Washington, D.C.

In 1727, Charles Calvert, 5th Lord Baltimore (then governor of the Maryland Colony) awarded a land grant for present day Mount Pleasant to James Holmead.

Shaw was named after Civil War Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the commander of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

Go-go is a musical movement that can largely be traced back to just one person, Chuck Brown.

The Greater U Street Historic District is a Victorian-era neighborhood, developed largely between 1862 and 1900.

D.C. Fashion week is September 20-26, 2010.

Howard University was named after General Oliver Otis Howard, a Civil War hero.

The Howard was billed as the "Theater of the People", and played host to two theatrical organizations, the Lafayette Players and the Howard University Players.

There are 8 Boys and Girls Clubs in Washington, D.C.

"Straight Edge", a song on Minor Threat's first EP, helped to inspire the straight edge movement.

A D.C. Marriage License Application costs $10.00.

Street Sense published its first issue in November 2003 with a print run of 5,000 copies.

Mike Gartner was drafted in the 1st round, 4th overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft.