Five random facts for Friday, published on Saturday this time:

The first United States Open Tennis Championships (U.S. Open) was played in 1881. From 1881-1974 the playing surface was grass; from 1975-1977 it was clay; since 1978 it has been hard-court. – Britannica

President Trump was born on June 14, 1946. Just about five months earlier, on January 10, the United Nations General Assembly met for the first time in London. And about six months after he was born, on December 12, the UN accepted six Manhattan blocks as a gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr., heir to the Standard Oil fortune and one of the largest real estate holders in New York who was known for his philanthropic work that was successfully done without breaking the law. On This Day

On August 28, 1830 the first American built locomotive, “Tom Thumb” raced a horse-drawn carriage from Baltimore to Ellicott Mills. Due to mechanical problems the horse won. – On This Day

Besides the Bible and Mao’s Little Red Book, the best selling book of all time is Don Quixote, followed by A Tale of Two Cities and then The Lord of the Rings. – WorldAtlas

The world’s longest road bridge is the 34-mile long Bang Na expressway in Thailand. It’s a six-lane elevated highway that only crosses a little water – the Bang Pakong River, and required 1,800,000 cubic meters of concrete to construct. – LiveScience