1 According to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, homeless people spent an average of four days longer per hospital visit than comparable non-homeless people. 2  This extra cost, approximately $2,414 per hospitalization, is attributable to homelessness.1.
On March 2, 1699, French-Canadian explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville arrived at a plot of ground 60 miles directly south of New Orleans, and named it Pointe du Mardi Gras when his men realized it was the eve of the festive holiday.
In the United States, many cities celebrate the day with a Mardi Gras parade. The largest celebration takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana. People dress up in bright and crazy looking costumes. The parades have all sorts of colorful floats and marching bands.