DID YOU KNOW…? It’s Column 400! And it’s Independence Day! Time for a double celebration!
DID YOU KNOW…?
It’s Column 400! And it’s Independence Day! Time for a double celebration!
By Jack Bagley
Four. Hundred. Columns.
This week, “Did You Know…?” celebrates a milestone I never thought would happen.
You are reading the 400th column in the series.
I can’t begin to thank all of you for reading these silly things all these years. You all are the most fantastic, loyal readers any columnist could ever hope for, and this column itself is proof of that. It remains here because of you, and only because of you.
Four. Hundred. Columns.
Thank you so much! Now, on to the next 400! Oh – and Happy Independence Day, too!
Did you know …
… a disease can cause you to stop sleeping? Fatal familial insomnia is a rare, degenerative brain disorder that causes people to slowly stop sleeping over time. Lack of sleep caused by the disease leads to significant physical and mental deterioration, and eventually death. There is no cure. (Well, there is, but you don’t want it.)
… the oldest recorded customer complaint is more than 3,000 years old? Found in ancient Babylon, a clay tablet inscribed in cuneiform from about 1750 BC bears a complaint about the delivery of the wrong grade of copper to a customer. (One wonders if there were any kind of guarantees on the copper.)
… it is practically impossible to pull the pin of a grenade with your teeth? Sure, we’ve seen it done in dozens of war movies, and it looks cool as all get out. But it can’t be done. If you try to pull the pin of a grenade with your teeth, you’ll break your teeth – and the pin will still be in the grenade. (Not to mention the “attention” you’ll get from your drill sergeant for even trying that silly trick!)
… cow tipping doesn’t really happen? I mean, it sounds hilarious to sneak up on a sleeping cow, poke it with your finger, and have it fall over, but it’s really just a myth. For one thing, cows do not sleep standing up. They lie down. Also, the average cow weighs about 1,500 pounds, and they are balanced on all four legs. So no, you’re not going to be able to poke one with a gentle push and make it fall over. (You’ll probably make it really angry, first.)
… there is no difference between a reindeer and a caribou? They’re the same animal. In the areas where they are found, they’re called “reindeer” if domesticated, and “caribou” if wild. (So Santa had caribou before he had reindeer? Is that how it works?)
… what the first animated television special created specifically for Christmas was? In 1962, United Productions of America placed their popular Mr. Magoo cartoon character in an hour-long adaptation of A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens (1812-1870). Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol aired on NBC on December 18, 1962, featuring the voice of Jim Backus (1913-1989) as Magoo. The character – a wealthy, elderly, very near-sighted man who won’t admit his condition and thus gets into mischief – was created in 1949 by Millard Kaufman (1917-2009) and John Hubley (1914-1977). When created, Magoo was supposed to be a mean-spirited reactionary, but audiences delighted in his near-sighted antics, and the meanness was replaced by a doddering confusion. Backus gave the character small aside mutterings, not unlike those done by Popeye in his cartoons, and the actor became linked to the character of Mr. Magoo for the rest of his life. Backus was said to have always been delighted to do the Magoo voice when requested, especially by children. Additional trivia note: Mr. Magoo won two Academy Awards™ for his theatrical cartoons, taking the Oscar in 1954 with When Magoo Flew and in 1956 with Magoo’s Puddle Jumper. (Oh, Magoo, you’ve done it again!)
… the world’s first coffee house opened in 1475? Located in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), Kiva Han was the first public place serving coffee. The brew served at Kiva Han was Turkish and was served strong, black and unfiltered. (In other words, the way I like it on a Monday morning.)
… sharks do not get cavities? Not because they see their dentists; rather, they don’t get cavities because they are constantly shedding their teeth. A shark has 40-45 teeth, with up to seven rows of teeth behind them. Some sharks go through more than 30,000 teeth in their lifetime. (Good thing humans don’t do that. It would put dentists out of work.)
… whales make navigational mistakes? It doesn’t happen very often, but when they do, it happens during migrations, and the whales don’t realize their error until they’ve become stranded. (All that ocean water looks the same, doesn’t it?)
… a pickle company’s unlikely advertising icon began due to declining birth rates? In 1974, the Vlasic pickle company began running unusual ads for its product using an animated stork. In the beginning of the campaign, the stork said he was delivering pickles because birth rates were declining, and the stork had to find a new way of making a living. The stork has been used to advertise the pickles ever since. Additional trivia note: The stork’s voice in the animated ads was an imitation of the voice of comedian Groucho Marx (1890-1977). (Say the secret word or you’re in a pickle.)
… a British monarch received a giant wheel of cheese as a wedding gift? When Queen Victoria (1819-1901) married her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819-1861) in 1840, one of the gifts given to her was a massive wheel of cheddar cheese. The 1,000-pound cheese was given by farmers in England, and was made from the milk of 750 cows. The farmers asked Her Majesty to exhibit the wheel, and Victoria was most pleased to do so. Following the exhibit, however, the Queen refused to take it back. (Kind of a cheesy gift all around, wouldn’t you say?)
Now … you know!
Copyright © 2024 Jack Bagley
