A knockout punch causes a chain reaction in the victim’s circulatory system. The supply of blood pools in the abdomen, reducing circulation to the brain, and resulting in loss of consciousness.
On September 16, 1921, a baby boy in Shoreditch, East London, England, was reported to have been born with 14 fingers and 15 toes.
It was Brooklyn-born Shirley Chisholm (1924), who was the first black woman elected to Congress from that borough in 1969. In 1972, she ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for president.
Nouvelle Vague was the French New Wave of filmmakers who changed the face of French film in the late 1950s. The group included: Claude Chabrol, Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rohmer, and Jacques Rivette. They pioneered a freer, more personal cinematic style that rebelled against standard industry practices. Truffaut’s 400 Blows (1959) and Godard’s Breathless … Read more
On “The Flip Wilson Show” (NBC, 1970-74), the name of the boyfriend of the character Geraldine was Killer.
The English-speaking American Indian Squanto famous for befriending the Pilgrims at Plymouth colony in the winter of 1620-21 was a Pawtuxet.
Jay North of “Dennis the Menace” (CBS, 1959-63) and Jon Provost of “Lassie” (CBS, 1957-64), tied at age seven were the youngest actors to play the lead in his own TV series. “Lassie” actually ran from 1954-71, but Provost was not on all those years.
There are several theories. One is that the phrase refers to greased-pig contests once held at county fairs, where the winner kept the pig and thus brought home the bacon. Another theory revolves around the town of Dunmon, England. There, in A.D. 1111, a noblewoman decreed that any person who knelt at the church door … Read more
Japan occupied the Aleutian islands Attu, Agattu, and Kiska from 1942 to 1943. The islands lie west of the Alaskan Peninsula.
Julia Ward Howe, women’s suffrage leader and author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” made the first known suggestion for Mother’s Day in 1872. She saw it as a day dedicated to peace, to be celebrated on June 2. But it was Anna Jarvis of Grafton, West Virginia, who, in 1907, began campaigning for … Read more
April Dancer, played by Stefanie Powers, in this short-lived TV spoof of NBC’s popular “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (1964-68).
Twentieth Century Fox was formed in 1935. The Fox Film Corporation which was founded in 1915 by William Fox (1879-1952) merged with Twentieth Century Productions, established in 1933 by Joseph M. Schenk (1878-1961) and Darryl F. Zanuck (19021979).
New York was the city in the movie On the Waterfront (1954).
In the 1952 novel Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, the first message Charlotte the spider writes in her web is “SOME PIG!”
The firm, Drexel Burnham Lambert, that specialized in using junk bonds to fund 1980s corporate takeovers marked the beginning of a new decade by filing for bankruptcy on February 13, 1990. The company had defaulted on more than $100 million in loans.
Jesse White, also known as the lonely Maytag Repairman appeared regularly on three series: “Private Secretary” (CBS, NBC, 1953-57), “The Danny Thomas Show” (ABC, CBS, 1953-64), and “The Ann Sothern Show” (CBS, 1958-61).
On November 2, 1920, the radio station KDKA in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, broadcast for the first time. Its initial newscast reported that Warren Harding had been elected president of the United States.
Martina Navratilova was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on October 18, 1956, as Martina Subertova. When her mother later divorced and remarried, Martina took the name of her stepfather, Miroslav Navratil, adding the traditional feminine ending ova. She moved to the United States in September 1975 during the U.S. Open.
Dick Beals, himself only four-and-a-half feet tall, did the voice of the singing animated Alka-Seltzer puppet in over 200 TV commercials from 1954 to 1964. Speedy, who had an Alka-Seltzer tablet for a hat and another for his torso, was designed by Robert Watkins for Wade Advertising of Chicago.
Yes, there is a connection between the Avon Lady and Shakespeare’s hometown Stratford-upon-Avon. In 1896 in New York City, D. H. McConnell abandoned door-to-door book selling and formed the California Perfume Company, which marketed scents the same way. His company expanded and McConnell built a factory in Suffern, New York. On the 50th anniversary of … Read more
Philip Pirrip was Pip’s real name in Great Expectations.
An authoritative variorum edition of Emily Dickinson’s complete poems was not published until Thomas H. Johnson did so in 1955, nearly 70 years after Dickinson’s death. Dickinson (1830-86) died with over 1709 poems unpublished; shortly thereafter (in 1890-91), her friends Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel L. Todd began a tradition of publishing her poetry in … Read more
The American writer Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) reached her fourth year at Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1901, but failed several courses and dropped out. After she moved to Paris, her salon served as a gathering place for artists and writers in the 1920s. The author of such novels as The Moviegoer (1961), Walker Percy received … Read more
The book describes the epidemic of bubonic plague that ravaged England in 1665. Defoe’s fictionalized account was published in 1722. Defoe himself was only five years old when the plague hit London.
John F. Kennedy was approaching his 45th birthday when Marilyn Monroe sang the song to him at a Democratic fund-raiser in Madison Square Garden on March 19, 1962.
The 60-foot-wide wood, steel, and concrete structure known as the boardwalk in Atlantic City is about 4.5 miles long. It continues on another two miles into Ventnor City, south of Atlantic City. The first boardwalk in Atlantic City was built in 1870.
Jimmy Carter was the first president whom Sam Donaldson covered as ABC’s White House correspondent, beginning in 1977. By the time Carter’s term was over, the departing president wished two bad things on his successor: Menachem Begin and Sam Donaldson.
William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) says “I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul” in “Invictus.”
Ohio and California are tied with six each for producing the most Miss America winners. Twenty-three states have produced no Miss America winners at all, even though the Miss America pageant has been crowning beauty queens for over 70 years (since 1921). As of 1993, Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Maryland, and Wyoming are among the states … Read more
Yes, hares supposedly bring bad fortune. Legend has it that witches transform themselves into hares, so crossing a hare’s path may mean meeting up with a witch. Further, hares have been believed by some to be melancholy creatures; thus, eating a hare can ruin your day.
The 13 original American colonies were: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.
The first women’s college in the U.S. was the Troy Female Seminary, in Troy, New York, founded by Emma Willard (1787-1870) in 1821. The first coeducational college was Oberlin College, which first accepted female students in 1833.
The name of the fraternal order to which Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton belonged on the movie “The Honeymooners,” was The Raccoons. The name of Ralph’s bowling team was The Hurricanes.
The Virginia dynasty were four of the first five presidents, all from Virginia: George Washington (served 1789-97) Thomas Jefferson (served 1801-09) James Madison (served 1809-17) James Monroe (served 1817-25) John Adams of Massachusetts (served 1797-1801) was the only one of the first five presidents not from Virginia. His son John Quincy Adams broke the hold … Read more
John Adams (1735-1826), the second president, was the first president defeated for reelection in 1801. Thomas Jefferson defeated him and served two terms, from 1801 to 1809.
President Franklin Roosevelt ordered U.S. banks closed March 6-9, 1933 during The Hundred Days .
Passengers used New York’s original Pennsylvania Station for 53 years, from its opening in 1910 to its demolition in 1963. Designed by McKim, Mead & White, the two-square-block structure was made of granite with a Doric colonnade. It was torn down to make way for the Madison Square Garden sports and office complex.
The show that debuted on CBS in 1973 was “The $10,000 Pyramid.” The ante has subsequently been upped to $20,000, $25,000, $50,000, and $100,000. The show has also appeared on ABC and in syndication.
Howie Mandel did the voice for the gremlin Gizmo in Gremlins (1984).
Walter Cronkite hosted the TV game show “It’s News to Me” (CBS, 1951-54).
Antigone was produced on stage first (441 B.C.), followed by Oedipus the King (c. 426 B.C.) and Oedipus at Colonus (first produced after the author’s death in 405 B.C.). However, the story recounted by the plays follows a different order: Oedipus the King first; Oedipus at Colonus second; Antigone last.
John Huston and Truman Capote wrote the screenplay for Beat the Devil (1954). Huston directed.
Joe Louis fought Max Schmeling twice. In their first encounter in 1936, before Louis became heavyweight champion, the German boxer emerged the winner. In 1938, now the world champion, Louis beat Schmeling in a one-round knockout that struck a symbolic blow to Nazi Germany’s claims of national and racial superiority. Louis’s initial loss to Schmeling … Read more
Census estimates for 1986 revealed that 6,779,000 of a total 88,458,000 households, or 7.66 percent, received food stamps during the year.
Say it whichever way you like. The pronouns those and them are both correctly used as objects in this passage.
The source of the term “hoosier” for Indiana residents is often said to be Samuel Hoosier, a contractor for the Ohio Falls Canal in Louisville, Ohio, in 1825. Hoosier’s employees, recruited from Indiana, were known as the “Hoosier men” or simply “Hoosiers.” By 1833, the term was being used in local periodicals, for example, in … Read more
Baron George Wrangell, descendant of Russian and Italian royalty was the Man in the Hathaway Shirt. He was working as an artist’s model before advertising executive David Ogilvy chose him for the Hathaway advertisements in the late 1940s. The eye-patch (cost: 50 cents) was Ogilvy’s idea.
Attila is the name for the man described by sixth-century historian Jordanes as “short of stature, with a broad chest and a large head”. It means “Little Father.” Attila was born circa 406 and died in 453.
Dena Dietrich was Mother Nature in the Parkay Margarine campaign, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature”. She also appeared in TV series such as “Adam’s Rib” (ABC, 1973) and “The Ropers” (ABC, 1979-80).
The two candidates for the U.S. Senate in Illinois in 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, held seven debates. Democrat Douglas was reelected. But Lincoln’s strong performance in the campaign led to his nomination as the Republican candidate for president in 1860.
“Make-Believe Ballroom” was a long-lived program of American popular music and ballroom music on New York radio station WNEW-AM. Begun in 1934 by announcer Martin Block, it ran until WNEW-AM went off the air on December 11, 1992. It was known for popularizing big band, swing, and jazz, and for its distinctive announcers, such as … Read more
Silent film star Francis X. Bushman (1883-1966) was known as “The Handsomest Man in the World”.
Freedonia and Sylvania were the mythical countries in Duck Soup. The mythical country in Million Dollar Legs ( 1932 ) was Klopstokia. The mythical country in The Mouse That Roared ( 1959 ) was The Duchy of Grand Fenwick.
In 1970, Lillian Gish received a special Oscar for her cumulative work, then spanning nearly sixty years. She began making films in 1912; in 1987, she appeared in The Whales of August.
The New York Stock and Exchange Board was formally organized in 1817, and the name New York Stock Exchange was adopted in 1863. Since 1953, membership in the exchange has been limited to 1,366. Since 1868, new members have purchased seats (with exchange approval) from existing members.
At 3.81 inches in length, this one could hardly check ‘ into a Roach Motel, much less check out.
The prop budget for “Captain Video” (Du-Mont, 1949-55) was twenty-five dollars per week, which covered items like Video Decoder Rings and Astra-Viewers.
Sally Hemings was the name of the slave reputed to have been Thomas Jefferson’s mistress. The charge that he had fathered children by her while he was an envoy in Paris came up during the presidential election of 1804, which he won just the same.
The first written constitution in the U.S. was the Fundamental Orders, written for the Connecticut Colony at its founding in 1639. This document is considered the first written constitution not only in the U.S. but the world.
Monty Norman and John Barry have both been credited with writing the James Bond theme song.
Never a political slogan, it was created as a typewriter exercise in 1867 by Charles E. Willer, a Milwaukee court reporter. The sentence was designed to use most of the keys on the typewriter, which had recently been invented by Willer’s friend Christopher Latham Sholes.
In 1619, a Dutch ship brought the first 20 slaves to the English colony of Virginia. How many slaves were freed after the American Civil War? About 4 million. In total, how many Africans were brought to the United States as slaves? Approximately 15 million.
Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79) was an encyclopedist of the Roman Empire whose reputation as an expert on scientific matters endured until the Middle Ages. Pliny was also known as Gaius Plinius Secundus. His adopted son, Pliny the Younger (c. A.D. 61–c. A.D. 113), was a lawyer and administrator known mainly for the large collection … Read more
John Wayne says good-bye to Kim Darby in the last line of True Grit (1969) by saying, “Well, come see a fat old man sometime!”
The Declaration of Independence cited 27 separate grievances against the king of Great Britain, George III. These grievances included refusing his assent to “wholesome” laws, making judges dependent on “his will alone,” and bringing in foreign mercenaries to wage war on the colonies in a way “totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.”
Yes, the U.S. has attacked Canada. The U.S. attempted to conquer Canada, then a British colony, in 1813, during the War of 1812. American forces got as far as burning the city of York (now Toronto) before being turned back. In retribution, the British burned much of Washington, D.C., the following year.
Ray Bolger, her costar (as the Scarecrow) in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Eight countries are currently known or suspected to have nuclear weapons. They are: China, France, India, Israel, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
No one won the Cannes Film Festival prize for Best Film in 1968. Political demonstrations led by directors like Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and Claude Lelouch forced the festival to close in mid-proceedings that year.
In Rudyard Kipling’s Kim (1901), Kim’s full name is Kimball O’Hara.
The Native American senator, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, whose term began in 1993, represents Colorado. He is a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe of Montana.
The names of the Brothers Grimm were Jacob Ludwig and Wilhelm Carl.
Sean Young was originally cast as Vicki Vale in Batman (1989). She fractured her shoulder in a riding accident two weeks before the start of principal filming. Kim Basinger took over.
African-American Sergeant William H. Carney won Congressional Medal of Honor for his courage in the charge of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers on Fort Wagner in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, in July 1863. The charge was unsuccessful, but the regiment’s bravery is commemorated by a monument at the Boston House of Commons. The black … Read more
On October 25, 1854, during the Crimean War, James Thomas Brudenell, Seventh Earl of Cardigan, led the British cavalry against the Russians in the Battle of Balaklava. The charge was disastrous, but it did inspire the admiration of the British public, particularly that of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who wrote the 1855 poem “The Charge of … Read more
Throughout history, the wolf has been known for its insatiable appetite. This came to represent hunger and need. Thus, the Wolf is a symbol of the troubles that must be kept away.
The opening line: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring … Read more
At the beginning of Henry Fielding’s novel Tom Jones (1749), it appears his mother is Jenny Jones, servant of Squire Allworthy. By the end of the novel, his true mother is revealed: Bridget, Squire Allworthy’s sister. Henry
The 71-year-old head of the Gambino crime family Paul Castellano was shot dead on December 16, 1985, on 46th Street near Third Avenue in New York City. His successor, John Gotti, reputedly masterminded the killing.
Gethsemane was the garden where Jesus was visited by an angel and betrayed by Judas. It was located on the western slope of the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem.
The name of the Italian mouse on “The Ed Sullivan Show” (CBS, 1948-71) was Topo Gigio.
In 1942, about 100,000 Japanese-Americans were moved to ten internment camps in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. The camps were closed in late 1945.
The satire of America, called The Confidence Man, was the last work of Herman Melville published in his lifetime. It was published in 1857 to little public notice. Melville died in 1891.
The duties assigned to the vice-president by the Constitution are: To be president of the Senate; to cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate when needed; and to replace the president of the U.S. in the event that the latter’s term ends prematurely.
Charles Foster Kane’s estate in Citizen Kane, Xanadu, was on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The estate of William Randolph Hearst, on whom Kane was based, is located in San Simeon, California.
The Godfather (1972) had the line, “I don’t like violence, Tom. I’m a businessman. Blood is a big expense”?. Al Lettieri as Sollozzo says it.
The comedienne made headlines for her performance at the July 25, 1990, game of the San Diego Padres-Cincinnati Reds. Arnold grabbed her crotch in response to boos at her handling of the anthem.
