kato
my hips don't lie / paid poster
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- Jan 27, 2010
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http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/62490
We recently published our 50th issue. In honor of our little milestone, here are 50 fun facts weve picked up over the years.
1. In 1943, Philip Morris ran an ad acknowledging smokers cough. They claimed it was caused by smoking brands other than Philip Morris.
2. In the 1970s, Mattel sold a doll called Growing Up Skipper. Her breasts grew when her arm was turned.
3. Michael Jacksons 1988 autobiography Moonwalk was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
4. On the 2001 New Zealand census, 53,715 people listed their religion as Jedi.
5. Only female mosquitoes will bite you.
6. At the 2010 Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift won more Grammys (4) than Elvis did his entire career (3).
7. At Fatburger, you can order a Hypocritea veggie burger topped with crispy strips of bacon.
8. Dr. Ruth was trained as a sniper by the Israeli military.
9. In 1999, Furbies were banned from the National Security Agencys Maryland headquarters because it was feared the toys might repeat national security secrets.
10. 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.
11. There was a long-lost fourth member of the Snap/Crackle/Pop gang. Pow represented Rice Krispies explosive nutritional value.
12. Kool-Aid was originally marketed as Fruit Smack.
13. In 2008, The Little Tikes Company sold 457,000 Cozy Coupes, making it the best-selling car in America.
14. Uncle Sam was based on Samuel Wilson, who worked as a meat inspector during the War of 1812.
15. The archerfish knocks its insect prey out of over-hanging branches with a stream of spit.
16. When Woodrow Wilson married Edith Galt, the real Chef Boyardee (Hector Boiardi) catered the event.
17. There really was a Captain Morgan. He was a Welsh pirate who later became the lieutenant governor of Jamaica.
18. 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.
19. Bear Bryant was once asked to contribute $10 to help pay for a sportswriters funeral. According to legend, he said, Heres a twenty, bury two.
20. In 1980, C-3PO and R2-D2 visited Sesame Street. They played games, sang songs, and R2-D2 fell in love with a fire hydrant.
21. Dr. Thomas Harvey removed Einsteins brain during his autopsy. For 30 years, Harvey kept it in two mason jars in his Wichita home.
22. In 1961, Martha Stewart was selected as one of Glamour magazines Ten Best-Dressed College Girls.
23. Its estimated that 95% of the worlds lab mice are descended from mice born in the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine.
24. As part of David Hasselhoffs divorce settlement, he kept possession of the nickname Hoff and the catchphrase Dont Hassle the Hoff.
25. Jay used to be slang for foolish person. So when a pedestrian ignored street signs, he was referred to as a jaywalker.
26. Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell is also responsible for starting up the Chuck E. Cheeses franchise.
27. The string on boxes of animal crackers was originally placed there so the container could be hung from a Christmas tree.
28. Duncan Hines was a real person. He was a popular restaurant critic who also wrote a book of hotel recommendations.
29. Green bean casserole dates back to 1955, when a chef named Dorcas Reilly created it for a cookbook designed to promote Campbells products.
30. Carly Simons dad is the Simon of Simon and Schuster. He co-founded the company.
31. In 2009, U.S. airlines collected $2.7 billion in baggage fees. Another $2.4 billion came from reservation change fees.
32. Alaska is the only state that can be typed on one row of keys. (Go ahead and try typing the other 49 states. Well wait.)
33. While they were in the White House, John & Abigail Adams had dogs named Satan & Juno.
34. Johnny Cashs A Boy Named Sue was penned by Shel Silverstein, the beloved childrens book author who wrote Where the Sidewalk Ends.
35. M&Ms actually stands for Mars & Murries, the last names of the candys founders.
36. Perhaps our favorite school nickname is The Arkansas School for the Deaf Leopards.
37. In 1907, an ad campaign for Kelloggs Corn Flakes offered a free box of cereal to any woman who would wink at her grocer.
38. Why did the FBI call Ted Kaczynski The Unabomber? Because his early mail bombs were sent to universities (UN) & airlines (A).
39. That thing you use to dot your lowercase i is called a tittle.
40. The only number whose letters are in alphabetical order is 40 (f-o-r-t-y).
41. The prolific Alan Thicke wrote the theme songs to The Facts of Life and Diffrent Strokes.
42. Bono was born Paul David Hewson, and The Edges name is David Howell Evans.
43. Male students at Brigham Young University need a doctors note to grow a beard.
44. In 1991, Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, married Russi Taylorthe voice of Minnie.
45. The sum of all the numbers on a roulette wheel is 666.
46. The Vatican Bank is the worlds only bank that allows ATM users to perform transactions in Latin.
47. Utahs State Bird is the California Seagull.
48. At the Wife Carrying World Championships in Sonkajrvi, Finland, first prize is the wifes weight in beer.
49. After leaving office, Ronald Reagan was offered a role in Back to the Future III. (He declined.)
50. Oscar the Grouch used to be orange. Jim Henson decided to make him green before the second season of Sesame Street. How did Oscar explain the color change? He said he went on vacation to the very damp Swamp Mushy Muddy and turned green overnight.
We recently published our 50th issue. In honor of our little milestone, here are 50 fun facts weve picked up over the years.
1. In 1943, Philip Morris ran an ad acknowledging smokers cough. They claimed it was caused by smoking brands other than Philip Morris.
2. In the 1970s, Mattel sold a doll called Growing Up Skipper. Her breasts grew when her arm was turned.
3. Michael Jacksons 1988 autobiography Moonwalk was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
4. On the 2001 New Zealand census, 53,715 people listed their religion as Jedi.
5. Only female mosquitoes will bite you.
6. At the 2010 Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift won more Grammys (4) than Elvis did his entire career (3).
7. At Fatburger, you can order a Hypocritea veggie burger topped with crispy strips of bacon.
8. Dr. Ruth was trained as a sniper by the Israeli military.
9. In 1999, Furbies were banned from the National Security Agencys Maryland headquarters because it was feared the toys might repeat national security secrets.
10. 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.
11. There was a long-lost fourth member of the Snap/Crackle/Pop gang. Pow represented Rice Krispies explosive nutritional value.
12. Kool-Aid was originally marketed as Fruit Smack.
13. In 2008, The Little Tikes Company sold 457,000 Cozy Coupes, making it the best-selling car in America.
14. Uncle Sam was based on Samuel Wilson, who worked as a meat inspector during the War of 1812.
15. The archerfish knocks its insect prey out of over-hanging branches with a stream of spit.
16. When Woodrow Wilson married Edith Galt, the real Chef Boyardee (Hector Boiardi) catered the event.
17. There really was a Captain Morgan. He was a Welsh pirate who later became the lieutenant governor of Jamaica.
18. 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.
19. Bear Bryant was once asked to contribute $10 to help pay for a sportswriters funeral. According to legend, he said, Heres a twenty, bury two.
20. In 1980, C-3PO and R2-D2 visited Sesame Street. They played games, sang songs, and R2-D2 fell in love with a fire hydrant.
21. Dr. Thomas Harvey removed Einsteins brain during his autopsy. For 30 years, Harvey kept it in two mason jars in his Wichita home.
22. In 1961, Martha Stewart was selected as one of Glamour magazines Ten Best-Dressed College Girls.
23. Its estimated that 95% of the worlds lab mice are descended from mice born in the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine.
24. As part of David Hasselhoffs divorce settlement, he kept possession of the nickname Hoff and the catchphrase Dont Hassle the Hoff.
25. Jay used to be slang for foolish person. So when a pedestrian ignored street signs, he was referred to as a jaywalker.
26. Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell is also responsible for starting up the Chuck E. Cheeses franchise.
27. The string on boxes of animal crackers was originally placed there so the container could be hung from a Christmas tree.
28. Duncan Hines was a real person. He was a popular restaurant critic who also wrote a book of hotel recommendations.
29. Green bean casserole dates back to 1955, when a chef named Dorcas Reilly created it for a cookbook designed to promote Campbells products.
30. Carly Simons dad is the Simon of Simon and Schuster. He co-founded the company.
31. In 2009, U.S. airlines collected $2.7 billion in baggage fees. Another $2.4 billion came from reservation change fees.
32. Alaska is the only state that can be typed on one row of keys. (Go ahead and try typing the other 49 states. Well wait.)
33. While they were in the White House, John & Abigail Adams had dogs named Satan & Juno.
34. Johnny Cashs A Boy Named Sue was penned by Shel Silverstein, the beloved childrens book author who wrote Where the Sidewalk Ends.
35. M&Ms actually stands for Mars & Murries, the last names of the candys founders.
36. Perhaps our favorite school nickname is The Arkansas School for the Deaf Leopards.
37. In 1907, an ad campaign for Kelloggs Corn Flakes offered a free box of cereal to any woman who would wink at her grocer.
38. Why did the FBI call Ted Kaczynski The Unabomber? Because his early mail bombs were sent to universities (UN) & airlines (A).
39. That thing you use to dot your lowercase i is called a tittle.
40. The only number whose letters are in alphabetical order is 40 (f-o-r-t-y).
41. The prolific Alan Thicke wrote the theme songs to The Facts of Life and Diffrent Strokes.
42. Bono was born Paul David Hewson, and The Edges name is David Howell Evans.
43. Male students at Brigham Young University need a doctors note to grow a beard.
44. In 1991, Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, married Russi Taylorthe voice of Minnie.
45. The sum of all the numbers on a roulette wheel is 666.
46. The Vatican Bank is the worlds only bank that allows ATM users to perform transactions in Latin.
47. Utahs State Bird is the California Seagull.
48. At the Wife Carrying World Championships in Sonkajrvi, Finland, first prize is the wifes weight in beer.
49. After leaving office, Ronald Reagan was offered a role in Back to the Future III. (He declined.)
50. Oscar the Grouch used to be orange. Jim Henson decided to make him green before the second season of Sesame Street. How did Oscar explain the color change? He said he went on vacation to the very damp Swamp Mushy Muddy and turned green overnight.
