Totally Useless (or not) Fact of the Day

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Since 1950, neither winners

nor heirs may sell their Oscar statuette
without offering to sell it back

to the Academy first for $1.

"Wolf" was the name of the dog
that was with Rip Van Winkle
when he fell asleep for 20 years.
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Monkeys will not eat red meat or butter.
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At the 2010 Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift
won more Grammys (4) than Elvis did his entire career (3).

My, how standards have fallen!
That is just blasphemy!
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Clouds fly higher during the day than during the night.

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A "threnody" is a song of lamentation,
a funeral song, or a dirge.

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On August 6 each year,
the City of Hiroshima holds its annual
Peace Memorial Ceremony: to console the souls of those who were lost due to the atomic bombing as well as pray for the realization of everlasting world peace. This ceremony, which is attended by many citizens, including those who lost family members in the bombing, is held in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims (Monument for Hiroshima, City of Peace). The Peace Declaration, which is delivered by the mayor of Hiroshima during the ceremony, is sent to every country in the world, thus conveying Hiroshima's wish for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of eternal world peace. At exactly 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb was dropped, the Peace Bell is rung, sirens sound all over the city and for one minute people at the ceremony grounds, in households and in workplaces pay silent tribute to the victims of the atomic bombing and pray for the realization of everlasting world peace.

In 1943, Philip Morris ran an ad acknowledging "smokers' cough." They claimed it was caused by smoking brands other than Philip Morris.
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The oldest letter of the alphabet is the letter "O."

Roger Ebert and Oprah Winfrey went on a couple dates in the mid-1980s. It was Roger who convinced her to syndicate her talk show.
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Today in history: August 8, 1974
President Nixon announced he would resign following
new damaging revelations in the Watergate scandal.

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August 9 is observed as National Peacekeepers' Day
in Canada. Established in 2008, the date was chosen because on August 9, 1974, the greatest single loss of Canadian lives on a peacekeeping mission occurred: Nine Canadians lost their lives while serving with the United Nations Emergency Force in Egypt and Israel ...
On National Peacekeepers' Day, we remember the peacekeepers who have sacrificed so much, even their lives, so others can know peace. By remembering the service and sacrifice of Canadian Forces members and Veterans, we recognize the freedom they fought to preserve.
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[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]Uncle Sam was based on Samuel Wilson,
who worked as a meat inspector during the War of 1812.

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Zeppo Marx of Marx Brothers fame
owned a patent for a wrist watch with a heart monitor.

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Halley's comet, one of the most famous ever known,
returns to Earth every 76 years, and has been observed
and recorded for more than 3,000 years.
Halley's Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System
in 1986 and the next predicted perihelion of Halley's Comet is 28 July 2061.
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The weasel and the ermine are the same animal.
This mammal's coat changes with the season — in its white winter coat, it is known as an ermine, in its brown coat, it is a weasel.

Months that begin with a Sunday
will always have a "Friday the 13th."
THIS Friday is the 13th!
Be careful tomorrow!
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M&M's actually stands for "Mars & Murrie's,"
the last names of the candy's founders.

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Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell is also responsible for starting up the Chuck E. Cheese's franchise.

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Godiva Chocolates were launched in 1926 in Brussels, Belgium, when master chocolatier Joseph Draps founded, with his family, a chocolate company named in honor of the 1040 A.D. legend of Lady Godiva. Draps had perfected a unique formula of rich, smooth chocolate. With an eye for detail, he launched elegant, European shell-moulded designs and exquisite packaging. Through the years, his standards have been maintained as zealously as his recipes have been guarded. Since its U.S. introduction in 1966, Godiva continues to be a leader in the premium confectionery industry. Godiva’s famous Open Oyster, a shell-moulded chocolate filled with hazelnut praliné, is the company’s best-selling individual chocolate piece.

JackRabbit wrote:At the 2010 Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift
won more Grammys (4) than Elvis did his entire career (3).

My, how standards have fallen!
That is just blasphemy!
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Ya got that! right... !
Let's remember that the Grammy was awarded to Milli Vanilli (sp?)
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and not put too much stock in them.

HOWEVER... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Once upon a time they did have the excellent sense
- and good taste! - to award "Songwriter Of The Year"
to what's-his-name...
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Good judgement come and goes, apparently.

ELVIS was a pure D phenomenon!
Taylor Who? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
SHAME on them.

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In 1991, Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse,
married Russi Taylor - the voice of Minnie.

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Parrots, most famous of all talking birds, rarely acquire a vocabulary of more than twenty words. However, Tymhoney Greys and African Greys have been known to carry vocabularies in excess of 100 words.

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The 3 Musketeers bar was originally split into three pieces with three different flavors: vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. When the other flavors became harder to come by during WWII, Mars decided to go all chocolate.

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Today in History: Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton died August 16, 1888, before the drink he invented became one of the world's most ubiquitous and iconic brands. Mark Pendergrast, author of For God, Country, and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It, writes: "OK" excepted, "Coca-Cola" is the most universally recognized word on earth.

JackRabbit wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Godiva Chocolates were launched in 1926 in Brussels, Belgium, when master chocolatier Joseph Draps founded, with his family, a chocolate company named in honor of the 1040 A.D. legend of Lady Godiva. Draps had perfected a unique formula of rich, smooth chocolate. With an eye for detail, he launched elegant, European shell-moulded designs and exquisite packaging. Through the years, his standards have been maintained as zealously as his recipes have been guarded. Since its U.S. introduction in 1966, Godiva continues to be a leader in the premium confectionery industry. Godiva’s famous Open Oyster, a shell-moulded chocolate filled with hazelnut praliné, is the company’s best-selling individual chocolate piece.

I prefer HERSHEYS.
(I will never be an aristocrat, I guess... *sob*)
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Jaaj, I guess you prefer American Chocolate. Did you know that Hershey's chocolate is made right here in PA, in the town of Hershey? (Guess what the town was named after...)
Hershey is also home to an amusement park, Hershey Park, owned and operated by the company of the same aforementioned chocolate company.

Tater,
I do; I definitely do.

I did know that Hershey PA is the home of the
yummiest ! chocolate.

I didn't know they have an Amusement Park, too!
Cool! I looove amusement parks... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

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THE WORLD’S LARGEST HERSHEY’S KISSES CHOCOLATE FUN FACTS ...

HERSHEY, Pa., July 7, 2007 –
The Hershey Company today celebrated the 100th birthday of the iconic Hershey’s Kisses Brand Chocolates with the unveiling of “The World’s Largest Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate” in Hershey, Pa.
· The World’s Largest Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate stands 12-feet tall and 10.5-feet wide.
· The giant chocolate weighs 30,540 pounds – the equivalent to 3,078,432 standard-size Hershey’s
Kisses Chocolates.
· The World’s Largest Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate was built in nine days by 152 people.
· The World’s Largest Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate is covered in 16,460 feet of the classic silver foil.
· The weight and measurement of The World’s Largest Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate was certified by Guinness World Records as the official “World’s Largest Piece of Chocolate.” The previous record-holder weighed 15,026 pounds.
· The giant Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate features a signature plume that is seven-feet long. Its oversized lettering reads “100 Years of Kisses.”
· The World’s Largest Hershey’s Kiss will be on display at Hershey’s Chocolate World
Attraction in Hershey, Pa., through July 12.
· To watch the making of The World’s Largest Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate, log on to
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JackRabbit wrote:Roger Ebert and Oprah Winfrey went on a couple dates in the mid-1980s. It was Roger who convinced her to syndicate her talk show.

Aha! I never really liked that fellow... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Tater,
Thank you!
It's lovely, and it was started for the employees!
That's wonderful. Ya hardly ever see that much any more.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I love the logo! for the park. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

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After William C. Durant founded the Durant-Dort Carriage Company, the best-selling horse-drawn vehicle maker in the US, he made Buick into the nation's best-selling car and founded General Motors.

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The Tasmanian Devil looks extraordinarily fierce with its mouth wide agape, but this is usually a defensive display.
(Or so I am told, by an Aussie mate.)

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Wolf packs could be found in all the forests of Europe,
and in 1420 and 1438, wolves roamed the streets of Paris.

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The Voyager 2 spacecraft was launched August 20, 1977. Voyager 2 continues to return data about the outer planets and solar and interstellar winds. The craft has traveled billions of miles through the planets toward interstellar space and is now some 8 billion miles from the sun. "Traveling at the speed of light," NASA says, "a signal from the ground takes about 12.8 hours to reach the spacecraft."

Wow... that kinda takes care of "pre-emptive instructions" [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

You'd think wolves would have better sense.
-signed "not a fan of French cusine" [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

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The name Taser is an acronym.
It stands for "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle."

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A car's instrument panel is called a dashboard.
The term dates back to horse-and-buggy days when dashing horses kicked up mud, splashing the passengers riding behind them. The dashboard was devised to protect them.

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Gilligan of Gilligan's Island had a first name that was only used once on the show. His first name was Willy. The Skipper's real name on the show was Jonas Grumby. It was mentioned once in the first episode on their radio's newscast about the wreck!

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This Day In History: On August 24 in the year 79,
the Mt. Vesuvius volcano erupted in southern Italy, quickly burying the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash.

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On August 24, 2006, at the International Astronomical Union's General Assembly in Prague, the former planet Pluto was declared to be, rather, a "dwarf planet." The change was a consequence of the international union's efforts to more clearly define the characteristics of a "planet."

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Beef seems so American, but it was actually an import. Spaniards brought the first cattle to the United States in the sixteenth century. Originally, the settlers regarded them as beasts of burden, but the Indians found them delicious. The Indians, in fact, were the first cattle herders, and they were the ones who moved the cattle across the Mississippi River to the grasslands of the plains.

So the indians were the first cowboys?

You're a sharp one, Tater!
I guess, in a way ... they WERE!

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In 1060 a coin was minted in England shaped like a clover. The user could break off any of the four leaves and use them as separate pieces of currency.

That seems sensible...

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History Today: On August 25, 1835,
The New York Sun newspaper began publishing a series of stories about the discovery of fully developed life — including winged human-like creatures — on the moon. The discovery was attributed to a noted British astronomer who was unaware of the publication. The Great Moon Hoax created great interest, but dispute remains over whether readers were amused or truly believed the stories.

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Arnold Neustadter, inventor of the Rolodex, among other items, was born August 25, 1910, in Brooklyn, New York. "He was a very organized man," his wife told The New York Times for his 1996 obituary. "He was always one for advancing things that he thought were done in a clumsy way."

Mr. Neustadter might also be described as a meddler... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]