Archive for the ‘trivia’ Tag
I decided to step away from a journal entry today and offer up some unusual tidbits of presidential trivia. Since the political winds are once again beginning to blow I thought it might interest some of you. This information has been chosen at random and I’m not picking on any one party. To be sure, there’s enough useless information coming out of both parties to make everyone happy. Here we go. . .
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Edith Wilson, the wife of Woodrow Wilson, often rode a bicycle in the corridors of the White House.
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Richard M. Nixon once worked as a carnival barker.
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Thomas Jefferson had a pet mockingbird that followed him upstairs to bed every night.
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First Lady Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, used to hang laundry in the White House East Room to dry.
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David Rice Atchison, a state senator from Missouri (1843-1855), was President of the United States for one day.
Who knew we had a president for just one day? I can think of quite a few others I would have loved to have for only one day.
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Calvin Coolidge, President from 1923 to 929, was the last President to write his own speeches.
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President Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital.
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Ronald Reagan received over seventy-five thousand gifts, including three hundred seventy-two belt buckles, a dog house, a six foot long pencil, and a four-square-foot portrait made out of ten thousand jelly beans.
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When Zachary Taylor became President in 1849, he kept his horse “Old Whitey” on the front lawn of the White House.
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Ulysses S. Grant was once arrested near the White House and fined twenty dollars for driving a team of horses too fast.
I don’t doubt for a minute that Grant was probably under the influence of some unknown alcoholic beverage. That’s the same guy who once upon a time allegedly threw up on one of his officers .
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The middle initial “S” in President Harry S. Truman’s name didn’t stand for anything.
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John Tyler (1790-1862), 10th president, was unable to get a decent job after leaving office and worked at a village pound tending cows and horses.
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Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), once delivered a one-hour speech in spite of being shot moments before by a would-be assassin.
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President George H.W. Bush banned broccoli from the White House in March 1990, the California broccoli growers delivered nine tons of the vegetable to Washington.
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President Millard Fillmore, in 1851, became the first chief executive to use a bathtub in the White House.
Here’s a special bonus entry for JFK. He was known for a lot of questionable shenanigans but I’ll be nice and take the high road today. He was also the first President born in the twentieth century.
That should do it for today. More to come. . .
But first a quick announcement:
Another year has come and gone and it’s again time to give the big one-fingered salute to our old friend “Phil” sitting comfortably atop Gobbler’s Knob in Punxatawney, PA. A second salute also goes out to each and every one of the political hacks, suck-ups, and talking heads trying to make a splash on the local media. For me it doesn’t take a stupid groundhog to tell me there’ll be six more weeks of winter. I have a dumb-ass cat that can figure that one out.
Now back to the trivia answers:
Some of you and I won’t mention any names (Sylvia) made a valiant attempt to coerce some trivia answers out of me yesterday. I may be cheap but I’m not easy but nice try anyway. Here they are.
Answers
1. 123 1/2 Sesame Street.
2. Four.
3. The Church of What’s Happening Now.
4. A policeman, a minor role.
5. John Wayne, who then recommended his little known actor friend James Arness for the role.
6. Happy Days.
7. From it’s star, Redd Foxx, who was born John Elroy Sanford.
8. The USS Yorktown.
9. Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, Betty Jo, and uncle Joe.
10. Perry Masonry.
BONUS ANSWER – At age 30, after 12 years as a platinum blonde and 18 as a natural brunette.
I hope you had fun trying to figure these out. The next list will be posted in a week or so and I’ll make sure they’re as just as difficult.
HAPPY EFFING GROUNDHOG DAY
Most of us are considered members of TV generations. We were all raised in front of a TV, ate supper while watching TV, and knew nothing about current events that wasn’t told to us by all of the famous talking heads like Walter Cronkite.
Since I love all things trivia and also old TV shows I thought for a change of pace I’d give you all an opportunity to flex your trivia muscles. I’ll give you ten questions and then in my next posting on Ground Hog Day I’ll supply the answers. Most of these questions are tough and they’ll certainly test your trivia knowledge. Here we go:
Questions
1. What was the address of Big Bird’s nest on TV’s Sesame Street?
2. How many fingers does Mickey Mouse have on each hand?
3. What was the name of the church to which comedian Flip Wilson’s character Reverend Leroy belonged?
4. What role did Art Carney play in the Jackie Gleason’s first Honeymooner’s sketch?
5. What famous Hollywood star turned down the part of Marshall Mat Dillon on TV’s Gunsmoke before James Arness was offered the part?
6. On what TV show did comic Robin Williams first appear as the alien Mork?
7. How did the TV sitcom Sanford and Son get it’s name?
8. What was the name of the USS Enterprise in the original draft for the Star Trek series?
9. On TV’s sitcom Petticoat Junction, what were the names of the three Bradley girls and their uncle?
10. What was the name of the attorney on the Flintstones who never lost a case?
BONUS QUESTUION - At what age did Lucille Ball become a redhead?
For all of the answers check my posting for 2-2-2016. If anyone gets more than five answers correct, they are true trivia champs.
I spent some time yesterday rereading some of my recent postings and I was a little disappointed. Anytime I find myself writing about boredom and depression the warning flags go up.
As a result of those feeling I sat down yesterday and wrote a rather long and harsh assessment of American politics and American politicians. After reading it for the third time I deleted the entire thing and went back to the drawing board. My problem with politics is that even though I try to remain calm these stupid politicians continually do everything they can to take money out of my pocket and also to erode as many of my basic civil rights as possible. Not one party is guilty, they all are. Sometimes I must rant or I’ll just explode and make a mess.
If I’m going to be bored and blue I might as well attempt to ridicule a portion of the population I dislike . . . celebrities and so-called famous people. They try so hard to be the cultural or pop icons for the masses but almost always do or say something utterly stupid or inane. I thought I’d give you an interesting review of some no-so-well spoken fools.
“Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.” –Irving Fisher, Economics Professor at Yale, in 1929, just before the Wall Street Crash.
“His ears are too big. He looks like an ape.” – American film producer Darryl F. Zanuck, refusing to sign Cary Grant to Warner Brothers.
“Who in the hell wants to hear actors talk?” – Harry Warner of Warner Brothers in 1927.
“We don’t like their sound. Groups with guitars are on their way out.” – Dick Rowe, A&R man at Decca, turning down the Beatles in 1962.
“Everything that can be invented has been invented.” – Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899.
This is a perfect example of people who are know-it-all’s that don’t know it all. Let’s move onto a new subject, last utterances before death. There are too many to list but this one just made my day.
Meher Baba, Indian guru who spoke his last words in 1925, 44 years before his death. The last thing he said before taking a vow of silence was:
“Don’t worry, be happy.”
A guru with a bizarre sense of humor or just a dumb ass with nothing more to say. We will never know.
Let’s move on to famous people who became famous for committing the ultimate crime . . . murder. You always hear that they get a last meal request just prior to the end. Let’s see what they ask for:
Gary Gilmore executed by firing squad in Utah 1/17/77 – A last meal of hamburger, eggs, and potatoes. His last words were “Let’s do it.”
Timothy McVeigh, the “Oklahoma Bomber”, executed on 6/11/2001 – His last meal consisted of two pints of mint chocolate ice cream.
Larry White was executed on 5/22/97 for the murder of a 72 year old woman. – His last meal was liver and fried onions, tomatoes, cottage cheese, and a glass of water. The state refused his request for a last cigarette on health grounds (How moronic is the state?).
John William Rook was executed by lethal injection on 9/19/86 for the rape and murder of a nurse. – His last meal was a dozen hotdogs with mustard and a can of cola.
‘Ted Bundy’
Here’s one last quote from a former famous guitar player Terry Kath of the group Chicago. On 1/23/78 he was putting away some guns at a roadie’s house after a party. He stated emphatically, “Don’t worry, it’s not loaded.”, put the barrel to his head, pulled the trigger, and died instantly.
BEING FAMOUS DEFINITELY DOESN’T MAKE YOU SMARTER
It’s easy to get on a lengthy sentimental journey of sorts during the Christmas season but with this posting I hope to avoid that. Christmas and all of it’s incarnations worldwide are interesting and strange to say the least. Here are a host of weird and strange Christmas factoids you may not be aware of but are true nonetheless.
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Japanese people traditionally eat at KFC for Christmas dinner, thanks to a successful marketing campaign 40 years ago. KFC is so popular that customers must place their Christmas orders 2 months in advance.
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Paul McCartney earns $400,000 a year off his Christmas song, which is widely regarded as the worst song he ever recorded.
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Mistletoe kissing originated with fertility rites. The hanging sprig is a very ancient symbol of virility and therefore anybody standing beneath it is signaling that he or she is sexually available.
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About half of Sweden’s population watches Donald Duck cartoons every Christmas Eve since 1960 .
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Mormon missionaries can only call home twice a year: once on Mother’s Day and again on Christmas.
Don’t you feel bad for poor old Paul McCartney. He reaped only $400,000.00 a year for a crappy song. Keep the lucky bastard in your Christmas prayers. And KFC for Christmas in Japan? That’s as weird as it gets.
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Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen is the only record to get the UK Christmas Singles Chart Number One twice, once in 1975 and again in 1991.
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Engineers designing the Voyager Space mission planned it to avoid planetary encounters over Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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The US playing card company ‘Bicycle’ had manufactured a playing card in WW2. That, when the card was soaked, it would reveal an escape route for POWs. These cards were Christmas presents for all POWs in Germany. The Nazis were none the wiser.
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The people of Oslo, Norway donate the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree every year in gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during WWII.
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The Christmas Tree is a manufactured tradition. Victorian intellectuals invented the tradition as part of a social movement to consciously reform Christmas away from its tradition of raucous drinking.
Hooray for Freddy Mercury and Queen. Their Christmas song just has to be better than McCartney’s. The Victorians did us no favors so bring back all that raucous drinking, please.
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Christmas as a "day off" is a recent innovation. As late as 1850, December 25 was not a legal holiday in New England.
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The Beatles hold the record for most Xmas number 1 singles, topping the charts in 1963, 65 and 67.
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The highest-grossing holiday movie is 2000’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas, which has raked in $175m so far.
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Hanging stockings comes from the Dutch custom of leaving shoes packed with food for St Nicholas’s donkeys. He would leave small gifts in return.
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There is no reference to angels singing anywhere in the Bible.
No angels singing in the Bible. Isn’t that just a giant kick in the ass? Personally I don’t think there was much singing at all in the Bible. People were too busy begatting and killing to have time for singing.
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Jesus was probably born in a cave and not a wooden stable, say Biblical scholars.
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In 1999, residents of the state of Maine in America built the world’s biggest ever snowman. He stood at 113ft tall.
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The holly in a wreath symbolizes Christ’s crown of thorns while the red berries are drops of his blood.
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Jingle Bells was the first song broadcast from space when Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra sang it on December 16, 1965.
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Astronomers believe the Star Of Bethlehem, which guided the wise men to Jesus, may have been a comet or the planet Uranus.
I’m glad to see the state of Maine making the list. Although how proud can you be about a giant snowman. Snow is about all we have to offer except for a few billion pine trees.
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Santa Claus has different names around the world – Kriss Kringle in Germany, Le Befana in Italy, Pere Noel in France and Deushka Moroz (Grandfather Frost) in Russia.
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In Britain, the best-selling holiday song is Band Aid’s 1984 track, Do They Know It’s Christmas?, which sold 3.5 million copies. Wham! is next in the same year with Last Christmas, selling 1.4 million.
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US scientists calculated that Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second to deliver all the world’s presents on Christmas Eve, travelling at 650 miles a second.
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Despite the tale of three wise men paying homage to baby Jesus, the Bible never gives a number. Matthew’s Gospel refers to merely "wise men".
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There are 13 Santa’s in Iceland, each leaving a gift for children. They come down from the mountain one by one, starting on December 12 and have names like Spoon Licker, Door Sniffer and Meat Hook.
Another misquote from the Bible. Are you shocked? Not me. And thanks to all of those scientists for taking the time out of their busy work day to compute those figures. Get a life guys.
TWELVE SHOPPING DAYS LEFT
Today feels exceptionally uninteresting. It’s a little blah, a little gray, and a little cold which means I’m suffering from a total lack of interest. I was just advised by my better-half that I’d be spending the better part of this day being dragged along on her shopping safari. Thank God I recharged my Kindle last night so I’m now good to go. That means I get to sit in the car and read while she shops.
If I use my head and offer up a little charm I might just convince her to buy me some sort of breakfast. I have a serious need for bacon and I need it right now. I swear it’s a worse addiction than cigarettes or coffee. It’s maybe the only thing that keeps these shopping forays bearable for me.
This blog needs a bit of a breather from stories about my life and times. Today I’ll supply the world with a few really useless but possibly interesting tidbits of information. It’s been a while since I’ve dished out a dose of these factoids and today’s the day. Here we go . . .
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The average American two-car garage is 25 percent bigger than the average Tokyo home.
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The European Union exports more to Switzerland than to China.
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During the first year of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, the Red Army issued 800,000 death sentences to it’s own soldiers.
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The first year in which there was no recorded lynching of a black American was 1952.
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There were 658 suicide bombings around the world in 2007 – more than double the number in any of the previous twenty-five years. Afghanistan and Iraq were responsible for 542 of them.
I didn’t say that all of the factoids would be funny or uplifting because life on this planet leaves a lot to be desired at times.
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In 1976, the United States had 30 percent of the world’s college students. By 2006, that had dropped to 14 percent.
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Intel employees collectively send or read 3 million emails a day.
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The Mafia accounts for 7 percent of the Italian GDP, more than any single business.
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There are as many fake doctors practicing in India as real ones.
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The average male orgasm lasts eight seconds, the average female orgasm twenty seconds.
I guess that last one explains a lot of things. Women not only orgasm longer but get to have multiples as well. That’s just unfair.
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In the United States, adult bookshops outnumber McDonald’s restaurants three to one.
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Napoleon often masturbated before going into battle.
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Red Bull is illegal in Norway, Denmark, and Ireland.
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In 2007, twenty-four people killed themselves jumping under Paris Metro trains. On the New York City Subway the figure was twenty-six, and on the London Underground fifty.
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Men produce twice as much saliva as women.
I think that’s enough for today. I wouldn’t want you to overdose on all this useless stuff. It’s Sunday, watch some football, drink a beer or two, eat some nacho’s and belch like you have a pair. That’s what I call “a day of rest”.
HAPPY SUNDAY
I’m not feeling too domestic today so gardens, food, and computers are off the menu. I’ve been paging though my library of interesting but useless facts and factoids. At first I couldn’t decide whether to supply all of you with unusual information about sex but I think I’ll save that for another day. Since I consider myself a patriotic citizen it was only logical (Thanks Mr. Spock) that I find as many odd and unusual facts about some of our great and no so great presidents.
With Obama on his way out (Yeah!)(Finally!) and the presidential election looming I felt we needed to reconnect with our American roots. Lets start if off with ten quick questions about some of our past presidents. I’ll list the questions first and the answers will be found at the end of this post.
Questions
1. How many bathrooms are in the White House?
2. What was the Secret Service’s code name for Barbara Bush?
3. What did Woodrow Wilson, Americas 28th president, denounce as a symbol of “the arrogance of wealth”?
4. President Gerald Ford pardoned Iva D’Aquino in 1977. Who was she?
5. President Lydon Johnson called his pet beagles Him and Her; what did President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor, name His and Hers?
6. What president was ticketed for speeding in Washington, D.C., while he was in office?
7. What did President John F. Kennedy commission Pierre Salinger to do on the eve of signing the Cuban Trade Embargo?
8. How many tons of jelly beans were purchased by the White House during the presidency of Ronald Reagan?
9. What did President Franklin D. Roosevelt have printed on the White House matchbooks?
10. Which American president was the first to have a telephone on his desk in the White House? 
I found a few of the question interesting but the answers were even better. I’m sending this bonus trivia story along because it’s just do damn strange.
"On his way home from Harvard one day, Robert Todd Lincoln, the son of President Abraham Lincoln, fell off the platform while waiting for his train. He was saved from possible death by Edwin Booth, the actor, and brother of John Wilkes Booth – the man who, only a few weeks later, assassinated President Lincoln.”
Answers
1. 34
2. Tranquility
3. The Automobile
4. Tokyo Rose, the seductive-voiced Japanese radio propagandist during World War II.
5. The pistols they kept under their pillows.
6. Ulysses S. Grant, in his horse and buggy. He was fined $5.00.
7. Buy and stockpile 1,500 Havana cigars.
8. 12 Tons
9. “Stolen from the White House”
10. Herbert Hoover, in 1929. Previous presidents used an enclosed phone booth in the hallway outside the Oval Office.
MORE SEX TRIVIA TO COME
I think it’s time for another installment of what this blog is all about, everyuselessthing. It’s a few of those less than important facts you’ve never known you wanted to know. I have a lot more free time this week since my better-half left Maine for vacation in Delaware. Why Delaware? Who knows, maybe she’s attracted to the second-rate beaches and the throngs of uninteresting people. Things are beautifully quiet here and my time is my own at least for the next four days. The cat and I have settled in rather easily as two lone bachelors.
So lets kick this off right now with a load of these odd, weird, and true facts.
Enjoy.
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Dean Martin, born Dino Crocetti, boxed under the name Kid Crochet as a teenager.
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A fully mature oak tree sheds around seven hundred thousand leaves every year.
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Banging your head against the wall burns 150 calories an hour.
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The storage capacity of the human brain exceeds four terrabytes.
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The average talker sprays about three hundred microscopic saliva drops per minute – about two and a half droplets per word.
Not bored yet? Keep reading, I’m not nearly finished.
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Societies in ancient Rome, Germany, and China used urine as a mouthwash.
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It takes only seven pounds of pressure to rip off your ear.
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The world’s termites outweigh the world’s humans by ten to one.
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An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.
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The par for the world’s largest golf hole – the 909 yard seventh hole on Japan’s Sano golf course – is seven.
Now lets look into the wonderful and delicious world of food.
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Miss Piggy once said, “Never eat more than you can lift.”
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Almonds are members of the peach family.
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Pepper is the top selling spice in the world. The second is mustard.
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Bombay Duck is actually dry, salted fish.
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Tic Tac’s contain carnauba wax. The same ingredient found in car polishes.
And last but not least a few sexual tidbits.
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Humans spend two years of their lives making love.
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Four pope’s died while participating in sexual acts.
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Every year more than eleven thousand Americans hurt themselves trying out bizarre sexual positions.
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A real orgasm is said to burn 112 calories. A fake orgasm is said to burn off 315 calories.
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On average it takes two tablespoons of blood to make a man’s penis erect.
Do you feel any smarter than you did a few minutes ago? If you do then I suspect you’re delusional or just kidding yourself. It’s called useless information for a reason and it will have no redeeming social value whatsoever.
I’m almost sorry about that but not quite.
I just finished allowing the federal government and the IRS to peek into my business as they so love to do. The only people worse than them is Google. I figure in just a few years Google will take over the entire earth and make information slaves of us all. But that’s a topic for another day.
Each and every time I file a tax return I become moody, disrespectful, and rebellious and today is no different. I’m not motivated to do do much else so you will be inundated with a truckload of useless crap. I haven’t done this for some time so all complaints will be trash-canned.
Here goes nothing . . . .
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The first name of of TV detective Lieutenant Columbo was Phillip.
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The Flintstones lawyer who never lost a case was called Perry Masonry.
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Rita Hayworth’s real name was Margarita Cansino.
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Spencer Tracy said he would only take the part of the Penquin in the Batman TV series if he were allowed to kill Batman.
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Sylvester Stallone used to sweep the lion cages in New York’s Central Park Zoo to pay his way while trying to break into acting.
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Sean Connery once worked as a coffin polisher.
Are you captivated yet with this stream of meaningless nonsense. Don’t get up and walk away because I have a few more tidbits.
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After Harrison Ford’s brief 1966 appearance as a bell-boy in Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round he was told, “Kid, you aint got it.”
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Johnny Mathis dubbed Miss Piggy’s singing voice in The Muppet Movie.
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Liquid Paper was invented by the mother of Mike Nesmith of Monkee fame.
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Don McLean’s song “American Pie” is not named after the plane in which Buddy Holly died – the plane had no name, only a registration number: N3794N.
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Popeye’s girlfriend, Olive Oyl, wore a size 14A shoe.
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The Muppet Show was banned from TV in Saudi Arabia because one of it’s stars was Miss Piggy. Pigs are forbidden to Muslims.
And in keeping with the upcoming tax day . . .
Americans Use Sixteen Thousand Tons of Aspirin Each Year.
I’m really tired of talking about Maine’s winter weather and I’m just as sure your tired of hearing about it. I’ll take a few steps back into the past and try to entertain you with some unusual trivia. It’s been a while since I delved into my bag of useless crap but I feel like sharing today. I’ll try to keep things interesting and not weather related. Let’s go . . . .
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Murphy’s Oil Soap is the chemical most commonly used to clean elephants.
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For over forty years, Herbert Hoover gave all of his political earnings to charity, including his wages and pension as president.
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America’s last professional bare-knuckle boxing bout, in 1889, went to seventy-five rounds. The fight was between John I. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain – Kilrain lost. The famous lawman Bat Masterson was the timekeeper.
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Butter was the first food product allowed by law to have artificial coloring. It is totally white in it’s natural state.
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The average person laughs thirteen times a day.
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Forty-five percent of cat owners buy a holiday gift for their pet.
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Honeybees maintain a temperature of 94 degrees in their hives year round.
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Your thumb is the same length as your nose.
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If you were locked in a completely sealed room you would die of carbon dioxide poisoning before oxygen deprivation.
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In 1976 the swine flu vaccine caused more deaths than the illness it was intended to prevent.
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It would take seven billion particles of fog to fill a teaspoon.
And one quote: “God gave men a penis and a brain, but unfortunately not enough blood supply to run both at the same time.” ROBIN WILLIAMS
That’s enough for today. I do love trivia but a steady diet of it seems to be a sad commentary on my life as it currently exists. If you take these weird facts and use them properly you can amaze and surprise your friends with your vast knowledge of totally useless information. I have to say my friends were never all that impressed but the hell with them too. I can tell you one fact that you might not have figured out just yet. The last place you ever want to be is in a bar on trivia night with me sitting next to you. You’ll be so tempted to just walk over and give me a smack and truthfully I wouldn’t blame you.
I’m done for today but more of this stuff is in your future if you continue to read this blog.
everyuselessthing.com 