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.

Wonder why we didn't end up eating Montagus?

Tater Salad wrote:Wonder why we didn't end up eating Montagus?

Good point Tater.
Somehow, a nice ham & cheese Montagu
just doesn't sound quite right, does it?

The medical term stroke comes from the 16th century, when a person suffering a cerebral hemorrhage was thought to have been hit by "the stroke of God's hand."

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The final section of the Gateway Arch was put into place on October 28, 1965, in St. Louis, Missouri. At 630 feet, it is the tallest national monument in the United States. About a million visitors each year ride trams to the top of the Midwest's best known landmarks.

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Mark Twain was born in 1835, a year in which Halley's comet was visible from earth.
In 1909, he wrote, "I came in with Halley's comet ...
and I expect to go out with it."
Indeed, he did.
When he died on April 21, 1910,
the comet was again visible in the night sky.

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Crayola means "oily chalk."
The name is derived from the French words "craie", or "chalk," and "ola," an abbreviation for "oleaginous," or "oily."

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'Lincoln Logs', the popular toy, was invented by John Lloyd Wright, son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

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Raymond Loewy, described in a Life magazine feature as "The Man Who Designed America" was born November 5, 1893, in Paris. The designs of Loewy and his companies were wide-ranging and ubiquitous: the streamlined "Coke" bottle, Studebaker Avanti and Starliner automobiles, Greyhound Scenicruiser, corporate logos for BP and Exxon, packaging for Ritz Crackers and Lucky Strike cigarettes, railroad engines, the John F. Kennedy memorial postage stamp and household objects. He also designed the interior of the Skylab space station, and his company created store designs for Saks Fifth Avenue, J. L. Hudson, Macy's, J.C. Penney, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor.

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The first issue of Rolling Stone, the influential periodical focusing on music, politics, and popular culture, was published November 1, 1967, featuring a photo of John Lennon on the front page.

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On November 10, 1983, a computer graduate student demonstrated a self-replicating computer code — a computer virus — at a security seminar. Fred Cohen's virus was not the first, but "Wired" observes, "his proof-of-concept program put computer scientists on notice about the potential scourge of an intentionally malicious attack."

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M&M's actually stands for "Mars & Murrie's,"
the candy's founders --
Forrest Mars Sr. & William F. R. Murrie.

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Today is celebrated in many countries under different names to commemorate the signing of the cease-fire that brought World War I to a close: Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, and in the United States, Veterans Day. "After World War II, the holiday was recognized as a day of tribute to veterans of both world wars," the Library of Congress notes. "Beginning in 1954, the United States designated November 11 as Veterans Day to honor veterans of all U.S. wars."

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Iron Eyes Cody, the crying Indian
in the famous anti-pollution TV commercial,
was actually an Italian-American named Oscar DeCorti.

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Kryptonite, Superman's great weakness,
was first introduced in the radio serials starring Bud Collyer. The plot device was developed to give Collyer a chance to have a vacation while the other actors carried the stories.

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William Marston, creator of the lie detector,
was also the brains behind
comic superhero Wonder Woman.
(Hmmm ... !)

The first lotions and moisturizers
date back to 3000 BC, when people in
the Near East used whipped ostrich eggs
and crocodile dung to keep their skin looking fresh.

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On November 18, 1883, four standard time zones for the continental U.S.A. were introduced at the instigation of the railroads. The Library of Congress explains: Until the invention of the railway, it took such a long time to get from one place to another that local "sun time" could be used. When traveling to the east or to the west, a person would have to change his or her watch by one minute every twelve miles. When people began traveling by train, sometimes hundreds of miles in a day, the calculation of time became a serious problem. Operators of the new railroad lines realized that a new time plan was needed in order to offer a uniform train schedule for departures and arrivals. Since every city was using a different time standard, there were more than 300 local sun times to choose from.

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U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, shocking and grieving the nation. Film images from Dallas and subsequent events, including Kennedy's funeral, became part of the visual memory of a generation. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is located in Boston, and a new website is scheduled for launch in January 2011 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of his presidency: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

This one isn't really a fact. It's just very cool!
13837 x your age x 73 = interesting result.
Try it.

The legendary series Dr. Who premiered on the BBC on November 23, 1963, and would become one of the longest-running science fiction shows on television.

"Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house..." Almost everyone recognizes the beginning Clement Moore's "A Visit From St. Nicholas," which was published for the first time in 1823 in the Troy (NY) Sentinel. Moore had written it on Christmas Eve the previous year and, so the story goes, had read it to his children. They loved it so much they kept it and showed it to a family friend, Harriet Butler. Butler sent it to the Troy newspaper a year later. Moore himself did not take credit for the poem until 1837, thinking it was out of character for a teacher of the classics.

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"Wear your heart on your sleeve"
This phrase comes from medieval times when it was customary for a knight to wear the name of his lady on his sleeve during a tournament!

JackRabbit wrote:The legendary series Dr. Who premiered on the BBC on November 23, 1963, and would become one of the longest-running science fiction shows on television.

saw the very first episode of Dr Who and have loved it ever since ,even the new version is great, they modernised it ,
without loosing it's charater.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

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The Golden Hamster is native to Syria.
In fact, all hamsters in captivity today can trace their roots back to the original litter discovered in 1930 by archaeologist
Aaron Abrahams.
(Who knew?)

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A trip around the bases on a baseball diamond is 20 yards longer than a goal-line-to-goal line run on a football field.

In early 1900s America, "jay" was a slang term used to describe a naïve or foolish person. Thus, when such a pedestrian decided to ignore traffic signals and street signs, he was referred to as a "jaywalker."
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Calvin Coolidge's Vice President, Charles Gates Dawes,
was also a songwriter. In 1951, a tune he'd composed called "Melody in A Major" became a number one pop hit.

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Swearing to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" dates back to English Common Law. Interestingly enough, there were no penalties for perjury until the 1600s; prior to that time, it was believed that the fear of God's wrath was enough to keep witnesses honest.

The disease known as "chicken pox" has nothing to do with poultry. It earned the name because it was originally thought to be a weak strain of smallpox.
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Duct tape was invented in 1942 for use by the U.S. Army as a waterproof sealing tape for ammunition boxes.

The space between your pointer finger and thumb
is called the purlicue.
Who knew there was a name for that?!

did you know bunny, massaging your purlicue is supposed to stop headache ?

In February 1992, Israeli air force reserve major Ishmael Yitzhaki was convicted of stealing a WWII Mustang fighter plane and flying it to Sweden, where he sold it for $331,000. How did he manage it? He removed the plane from the air force museum by saying it needed painting.

The word "toast" is a wish of good health. It started in ancient Rome, where a piece of bread was dropped into wine.

Only one U.S. state's name ends with the letter "K." It's New York. Likewise, only one U.S. state's name ends with the letter "G," Wyoming.

JackRabbit wrote:Only one U.S. state's name ends with the letter "K." It's New York. Likewise, only one U.S. state's name ends with the letter "G," Wyoming.

But there are 21 states that end in A!

The first 12-ounce aluminum soda can was introduced in 1964 by Royal Crown Cola. Coke didn't start using aluminum until 3 years later, and that same year Pepsi came out with a seamless can.

When Elvis bought Graceland for he and his parents to live in, he said he wanted to create "the most beautiful bedroom in Memphis" for his mother. Gladys, however had other priorities. She wanted to add a chicken coop and a hog pen.
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Chad and Barbie Soper of Rockford, Michigan, have three kids. They were born on
08/08/08, 09/09/09, and 10/10/10.
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Most people know that
"Video Killed the Radio Star"
was MTV's first video, but do you know
the second video to air? It was Pat Benetar's
"You Better Run."

Ice Cream was served to new arrivals
at Ellis Island. But because most people hadn't encountered it before, they simply figured it was butter and spread it on their toast.

Actors Walter Matthau, Rock Hudson, Slyvester Stallone, Joe Pesci, Burt Reynolds and Jerry Mathers have all recorded albums.
... Every one was a flop.

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In the 1940s, the Wurlitzer Jukebox company slogan was "The Magic That Changes Moods."

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It is estimated that the average person living in North America opens the fridge 22 times daily.

The longest place name
in the United States is Lake
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Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg,
located near Webster, MA.

In 44 BC, the Roman month of Quintilis was renamed Julius (July) in honour of Julius Caesar following his reform of the Roman calendar. In 8 BC, the month of Sextilis was renamed Augustus (August) in honour of Augustus Caesar. They each borrowed a day from February...
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Built in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was lambasted by Parisians for its industrial ugliness.
The only thing that saved it from being demolished in 1909 was its potential use as a radio tower during World War I. Luckily, by the end of the War, it had won over enough hearts to stay.

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The Bee Gees' first UK number one hit was "Massachusetts", in October, 1967. Although the opening lines are "Feel I'm going back to Massachusetts, Something's telling me I must go home", the song was written before Robin, Maurice and Barry Gibb had ever been to Massachusetts. They wrote it on a boat near the Statue of Liberty. They later said that they just liked the sound of word. The record topped the charts in twelve countries world-wide, but only reached number eleven in the United States.

Two of America's greatest national symbols were made overseas: The Liberty
Bell was cast in England, and the Statue of Liberty was crafted in France.
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The eight juices in V8 are
tomato, spinach, celery, carrot,
beet, lettuce, watercress and parsley.
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'80s rocker Billy Squier allegedly had a rider in his contract
that said if the venue he was performing at misspelled his name
as "Squire" on the marquee, he was entitled to 100 percent of the door receipts!
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