Readers of this column are, no doubt, aware of this writer’s
weakness for trivia. Hopefully, after the chaff was weeded from the wheat,
so to speak, a snippet or two were of interest and contained at least a
modicum of history.
Fortunately, the editor allows me a certain carte blanche, and so in this
last column of the year 1999, I’m going to avail myself of the opportunity
to expand my penchant for trivia. To those who have read this far, my best
wishes for a Merry Christmas and a prosperous and, even more importantly,
a healthful New Year as we enter a new century. I also hope you are trivia
fans.
Did you know . . .
- The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime-time television
were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
- Coca-Cola was originally green.
- Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.
- The Hawaiian alphabet has twelve letters.
- Men can read smaller print than women; women can hear better.
- The city with the most Rolls Royce’s per capita: Hong Kong.
- The state with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska.
- The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400.
- Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
- The world’s youngest parents were eight and nine and lived in China in
1910.
- The youngest Pope was eleven years old.
- The first novel ever written on a typewriter: “Tom Sawyer.”
- Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history.
Spades — King David, Clubs — Alexander the Great, Hearts — Charlemagne,
and Diamonds — Julius Caesar.
- Hershey’s Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them
looks like it’s kissing the conveyor belt.
- The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one mile every five must
be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of
war or other emergencies.
- The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the “General
Purpose” vehicle, or GP.
- No NFL team that plays its home games in a domed stadium has ever won
a Superbowl.
How About This . . .
The nursery rhyme “Ring Around the Rosey” is a rhyme about the plague.
Infected people with the plague would get red circular sores (“ring around
the rosey”). These sores would smell very badly, so common folks would
put flowers on their bodies somewhere (inconspicuously) to cover the smell
of sores (“a pocket full of posies”). People who died from the plague would
be burned so as to reduce the possible spread of the disease (ashes, ashes,
we all fall down”).
Facts . .
- What occurs more often in December than any other month? Conception.
- What separates “60 Minutes” on CBS from every other TV show? No theme
song.
- Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what? Their birthplace.
- What do bullet-proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser
printers all have in common? All were invented by women.
- What is the only food that doesn’t spoil? Honey.
- What day has more collect calls than any other day of the year? Father’s
Day.
- What trivia fact about Mel Blanc (voice of Bugs Bunny) is the most ironic?
He was allergic to carrots.
The Teddy Bear is Born
On November 10, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt is on a hunting excursion in Mississippi while trying to settle a boundary dispute between that state and Louisiana. Well aware of the president’s love of exotic game, his staff captures a Louisiana black bear for Roosevelt to shoot. Instead of killing the bear, the president sets it free. Editorial cartoonist Clifford Berryman learns of the incident and draws a cartoon for The Washington Post of November 18 called “Drawing the Line in Mississippi.” It shows Roosevelt refusing to shoot the bear. Morris Michtom, a candy store proprietor in Brooklyn, N.Y., sees the cartoon and figures there’s money to be made. He and his wife make a stuffed plush toy with movable arms, legs, and head, and — with the president’s permission — christen it the “teddy bear.” The toy bear becomes an icon of the times and a perennial favorite of children throughout the century.