Spring is nearly a month old and it seems all it ever does is rain. We can probably count the number of "nice days" we've had on one hand. But we don't have it so bad. No city in Connecticut is even in the top 10 in terms of rainfall amount. According to a study performed in 2007, here are the top 10 rainiest cities in America.

The 10 rainiest cities in the U.S. by amount of annual rainfall include:

1. Mobil Ala.: 67 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days
2. Pensacola, Fla.: 65 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
3. New Orleans, La.: 64 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days
4. West Palm Beach, Fla.: 63 inches average annual rainfall; 58 average annual rainy days
5. Lafayette, La.: 62 inches average annual rainfall; 55 average annual rainy days
6. Baton Rouge, La.: 62 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
7. Miami, Fla.: 62 inches average annual rainfall; 57 average annual rainy days
8. Port Arthur, Texas: 61 inches average annual rainfall; 51 average annual rainy days
9. Tallahassee, Fla.: 61 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
10. Lake Charles, Louisiana: 58 inches of rainfall; 52 average rainy days.

By comparison cities across CT gets a little more than 44 inches of rain each year, according to the study.

Middletown Press Editor Viktoria Sundqvist recently attended the first of 10 classes of a Citizens Academy at the Connecticut State Police Training Academy in Meriden. Below are the top 10 most interesting facts from the history of the Connecticut State Police:

1. Connecticut State Police officially started on May 29, 1903, and is considered the oldest state police agency in the nation. The first department had five troopers, whose main purpose were to enforce liquor and gaming laws

2. The very first state police budget was $13,737 (when police officers did raids and collected fines in the early years, they got to keep the money to offset the budget)

3. A state police museum is in the works next to the forensic lab in Meriden. It’s expected to open by September and feature thousands of artifacts

4. Connecticut State Police officers had no uniforms for the first 17 years (until 1921). Officers simply pinned their badge on the inside of their suit jackets.

5. One of the first active female state police officers was Zola Bennett, officially on the books as a stenographer, but really working as an investigator and solving cases (“lady assistants” were hired in 1921 to help interrogate and arrest female suspects). The first “official” state policewomen were Evelyn Briggs and Catherine Haggerty, who were hired in 1942

6. The first African-American trooper was hired in 1961. His name was Albert Washington, and he was the second highest scorer on the entry exam (The first black state trooper in the nation was William B. Lindsay, who was hired in 1941 by Illinois State Police)

7. The Connecticut State Police K-9 unit was formed in 1934. Officers went to Canada to train with the mountain police. The first two K-9 officers were a German shepherd and a Doberman (the Doberman was a gift from the mountain police). Now, the CSP K-9 department is considered one of the best in the world

8. In 1923, Connecticut State Police officers lived in the police barracks and got two days off per month. In 1930, their salary was $91/month. In 1951 the workweek changed to 60 hours per week, and the pay was at $1.12 an hour.

9. In 1986, “Mattie” the Labrador comes to the department to help sniff arson scenes. Mattie was the first fire accelerant detection dog to be used in the United States

10. The first two-way radio in a vehicle was used in a Connecticut State Police cruiser in 1941, created by Dr. Daniel E. Noble. It worked so well that the Secret Service came to Connecticut to use the ideas for the design to better protect the president (prior to the two-way radio in vehicles, messages would be called in to the radio station and read over the air, hence the start of the expression “calling all cars” to alert officers on the road that the message was for them)

For more than a century the recipe to Coca Cola has been a guarded secret. Allegedly the recipe was even kept private from Coke employees and only known by a handful of top level executives. From the diary of a man who claims to be a former employee and from good old fashioned guess work from soda buffs, here are the alleged directions to make Coca-Cola. (it was more than 10 steps so this is a special Top 13 List )

1. Mix 2,400 grams of sugar with just enough water to dissolve (high-fructose corn syrup may be substituted for half the sugar).

2. Add 37 grams of caramel, 3.1 grams of caffeine, and 11 grams of phosphoric acid.

3. Extract the cocaine from 1.1 grams of coca leaf (Truxillo growth of coca preferred) with toluol; dry the cocaine extract.

4. Soak the coca leaves and kola nuts (both finely powdered; 0.37 gram of kola nuts) in 22 grams of 20 percent alcohol.

5. California white wine fortified to 20 percent strength was used as the soaking solution circa 1909, but Coca-Cola may have switched to a simple water/alcohol mixture.

6. After soaking, discard the coca and kola and add the liquid to the syrup.

7. Add 30 grams of lime juice (a former ingredient, evidently, that Coca-Cola now denies) or a substitute such as a water solution of citric acid and sodium citrate at lime-juice strength.

8. Mix together 0.88 gram of lemon oil, 0.47 gram of orange oil, 0.20 gram of cassia (Chinese cinnamon) oil. 0.07 gram of nutmeg oil, and, if desired, traces of coriander, lavender, and neroli oils, and add to 4.9 grams of 95 percent alcohol.

9. Shake.

10. Add 2.7 grams of water to the alcohol/oil mixture and let stand for twenty-four hours at about 60 °F (15.5 °C). A cloudy layer will separate.

11. Take off the clear part of the liquid only and add the syrup.

12. Add 19 grams of glycerine (from vegetable source, not hog fat, so the drink can be sold to Jews and Muslims who observe their respective religion’s dietary restrictions) and 1.5 grams of vanilla extract.

13. Add water (treated with chlorine) to make 1 gallon of syrup.

After Osama Bin Laden went into hiding a decade ago many assumed he was in the mountains, holed up in a cave somewhere. Not so. Turns out he was hiding in broad daylight, living in luxury inside a mansion that was much more like a palace than a grimy old cave. Turns out the world's most wanted man didn't want a hole, he wanted a palace. I guess maybe the government should have been searching palaces all along instead of caves. Listed below are 10 Palaces who were too smart to allow Public Enemy #1 to seek sanctuary.

1. CAESARS PALACE - You'd be amazed how often criminals are apprehended at casinos. Turns out though, with all those cameras you're not as safe as you may think
2. PALACE THEATER -Could America's most wanted man have hid out in the historic Waterbury theater? With all the patriotic Americans who most likely attended last months John Mellencamp concert I'm thinking he would have been spotted.
3. THE PALACE OF AUBURN HILLS -I can't imagine what NBA's bad boys, the Detroit Pistons would have done had they found the fugitive hiding out in their arena.
4. BUCKINGHAM PALACE - With 2 billion people focused on the Royal Wedding last weekend, I'm thinking he would have been spotted.
5. PALACE OF VERSAILES - The second most popular palace in Europe.
6. PIZZA PALACE - My favorite pizza joint, located right down the street from my home in Torrington. I sure could have used that $25 million reward had the criminal actually been there.
7. PALISADES CENTER - The popular mall located off the NY Thruway in Rockland County. Why not hide out in a mall. Teenagers do it every afternoon.
8. GUGON PALACE (The Forbidden City) - Founded during the Ming Dynasty, one of China's most famous attractions is now a museum.
9. THE WHITE HOUSE - Many people outside of America refer to the president's home as a palace so why not. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer they say.
10. PATTIE'S PALACE - Serving a mix of Caribbean/Jamaican soul food, this little restaurant is located right here in Middletown. Could a criminal really have been hiding right on Main Street for all these years. Nah.
    

Now that Osama Bin Laden has been killed, who is replacing him as the FBI's most wanted terrorist?
All information from the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists List.

#1 - ADAM YAHIYE GADAHN
Wanted for: Adam Yahiye Gadahn is wanted for treason and supplying Al Qaeda with material support. He was allegedly involved in many terrorist activities through that organization.
Age: 32
Height: 5'11"
Also known as: Abu Suhayb Al-Amriki, Abu Suhail Al-Amriki, Abu Suhayb, Yihya Majadin Adams, Adam Pearlman, Yayah, Azzam the American, Azzam Al-Amriki
Reward: Up to $1 million for information leading to his arrest

#2 - DANIEL ANDREAS SAN DIEGO
Wanted for: Daniel Andreas San Diego is wanted in connection with two bombings in California in 2003. The first was in August 2003 at the Chiron Corporation in Emeryvill, and the second was the next month at the Shaklee Corporation in Pleasanton. He was indicted in California in 2004.
Age: 33
Height: 6'0"
Also known as: Andreas San Diego, D. Andreas San Diego, "Andreas"
Reward: Up to $250,000 for information leading to his arrest

#3 - AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI
Wanted for: Murder and conspiracy to commit murder of US nationals outside the US and launching a fatal attack on a US federal building in connection with the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya.
Age: 60
Height: unknown
Also known as: Abu Muhammad, Abu Fatima, Muhammad Ibrahim, Abu Abdallah, Abu al-Mu'iz, The Doctor, The Teacher, Nur, Ustaz, Abu Mohammed, Abu Mohammed Nur al-Deen, Abdel Muaz, Dr. Ayman al Zawahiri
Reward: Up to $25 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction

#4 - FAHD MOHAMMED AHMED AL-QUSO
Wanted for: Fahd Mohammed Ahmed Al-Quso is wanted for murder and conspiracy to commit murder of Americans and US military, along with several other charges, in relation to the bombing of the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen in October 2000, which killed 17 US sailors. He was indicted in the Southern District of New York, and is believed to be residing in Yemen.
Age: 36
Height: 5'6"
Also known as: Fahd Al-Quso, Abu Huthaifah, Abu Huthaifah Al-Yemeni, Abu Al-Bara', Abu Hathayfah Al-Adani, Abu Huthaifah Al-Adani, Fahd Mohammed Ahmed Al-Awlaqi, Huthaifah Al-Yemeni, Abu Huthaifah Al-Abu Al-Bara'
Reward: Up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction in any country

#5 - JAMEL AHMED MOHAMMED ALI AL-BADAWI
Wanted for: Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi is wanted for murder and conspiracy to commit murder of Americans and US military, along with several other charges, in relation to the bombing of the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen in October 2000, which killed 17 US sailors. He escaped arrest in 2003, was recaptured in Yemen in 2004, and escaped again in 2006.
Age: 49-51
Height: 5'5"
Also known as: Jamal Muhsin Al-Tali, Abu Abdul Rahman Al-Badawi, Abu Abdul Rahman Al-Adani, Jamal Mohammad Ahmad Ali Al-Badawi, Jamal Mohammad Ahma
Reward: Up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction in any country

#6 - MOHAMMED ALI HAMADEI
Wanted for: Mohammed Ali Hamadei was indicted for his role and participation in the June 14, 1985, hijacking of a commercial airliner which resulted in the assault on various passengers and crew members, and the murder of one United States citizen.
Hamadei is an alleged member of the terrorist organization, Lebanese Hizballah. He is thought to be in Lebanon.
Age: 46
Height: 5'8"
Also known as: Ali Hamadi, Castro
Reward: Up to $5 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Hamade

#7 - ALI ATWA
Wanted for: Ali Atwa was indicted for his role and participation in the June 14, 1985, hijacking of a commercial airliner which resulted in the assault on various passengers and crew members, and the murder of one United States citizen. Atwa is an alleged member of the terrorist organization, Lebanese Hizballah. He is thought to be in Lebanon.
Age: About 50
Height: 5'8"
Also known as: Ammar Mansour Bouslim, Hassan Rostom Salim
Reward: Up to $5 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Ali Atwa

#8 - HASAN IZZ-AL-DIN
Wanted for: Hasan Izz-Al-Din was indicted for his role in planning and participating in the June 14, 1985, hijacking of a commercial airliner which resulted in the assault on various passengers and crew members, and the murder of one United States citizen. Izz-Al-Din is an alleged member of the terrorist organization, Lebanese Hizballah. He is thought to be in Lebanon.
Age: 46
Height: 5'9" to 5'11"
Also known as: Ahmed Garbaya, Samir Salwwan, Sa-id
Reward: Up to $5 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Hasan Izz-Al-Din

#9 - ABDULLAH AHMED ABDULLAH
Wanted for: Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah has been indicted for his alleged involvement in the Aug. 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. Abdullah fled Nairobi, Kenya, on Aug. 6, 1998, and went to Karachi, Pakistan. He may wear a mustache.
Age: Around 47
Height: 5'8"
Also known as: Abu Mohamed Al-Masri, Saleh, Abu Mariam, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah Ali, Abu Mohammed
Reward: Up to $5 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah.

#10 - ANAS AL-LIBY
Wanted for: Anas Al-Liby was indicted in the Southern District of New York, for his alleged involvement in the bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, on Aug. 7, 1998.
Age: About 46
Height: 5'10" to 6'2"
Also known as: Anas Al-Sabai, Anas Al-Libi, Nazih Al-Raghie, Nazih Abdul Hamed Al-Raghie
Reward: Up to $5 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Anas Al-Liby.