Curiosity Corner: Give ’em something to talk about

Give ’em something to talk about!  

                                                                                              

CURIOSITY CORNER

By

Dr. Jerry D. Wilson

Emeritus Professor of Physics

Lander University

 

Trivia time. You gotta keep your trivia knowledge sharp.

* Four states do not allow billboards: Maine, Vermont, Alaska and Hawaii.

*Denmark has the highest income tax rates. Tax rates based on income run from 42 percent to 68 percent.

* Babe Ruth hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium in 1923.

* The steeplechase, a form of horse racing involving jumping fences and ditches, is so called because originally the race went from church steeple to church steeple, hence a steeplechase.

* The Canary Islands is not named after the canary (the bird), but after a breed of large dogs. The Latin name is “Canariae Insulae,” meaning “Islands of the Dogs.”

* The Tootsie Roll, introduced in 1896 by Leo Hirshfield of New York, was named after his daughter, nicknamed “Tootsie.”

* Aluminum foil began replacing tin foil in 1910. Some people still refer to aluminum foil as tin foil and use it to make tin foil hats. (Tin foil hats are supposed to shield the brain from electromagnetic fields and mind control. I know a couple of people who wear them.)

* Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.

* Cow’s milk contains 3-4 percent fat and butter 80 percent fat. Therefore, it takes about 21 pounds of milk to make a pound of butter. (Milk, like water, has a weight of about 8 pounds per gallon, so 21 pounds is 2.5 gallon.)

* The vice president’s residence in Washington, D.C., is located on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory. Historically, the VPs and their families lived in their own residences. But with the increasing cost of these Washington, D.C., residences, in 1974 Congress agreed to refurbish the house at the Naval Observatory as a home for the VP. Vice President Gerald Ford acceded to the presidency before he could use it, and his VP, Nelson Rockefeller, used it only for entertaining. Walter Mondale was the first VP to move in, followed by George Bush, Dan Quayle, Al Gore, Dick Chaney and currently, Joe Biden.

 

C.P.S. (Curious Postscript):  On quiz shows, some female contestants say “I have the best husband in the whole world.” How do they know? Have they tried them all?   ~Anon.