DID YOU KNOW …? How many different television shows named “College Bowl” have aired in the U.S.?

By JACK BAGLEY
didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com
The New Year is more than a week old at this point, so the time has come to ask – how are your resolutions holding up?
Are you still keeping them? Or did you (as I do) just say “the heck with it” and give up on them?
Whichever you do, I am certain it’s the right thing for you, and you’re going to be fantastic at keeping them – or not keeping them, as the case may be.
I did keep one resolution – to bring you the finest in trivial stuff every week, and I’m going to keep doing it. So here’s this week’s selection of trivial stuff! Enjoy.
Did you know …
… the nastiest place in your office may not be where you think it is? The average office keyboard harbors 3,295 germs per square inch. By comparison, the average office toilet seat has just 48 germs per square inch. (I have a line here, but it would close the show.)
… the Great Fire of 1666 in London began in a bakery? Thomas Farriner (1620-1670) was a baker to the household of King Charles II (1630-1685) and supplied the bread for the Royal Navy during the Anglo-Dutch War. The blaze, which ended up destroying most of London, started in Farriner’s bakery on Pudding Lane on September 2, 1666, and was not extinguished until September 6. Almost 70,000 of the city’s 80,000 homes were destroyed. Surprisingly, Farriner was not blamed for the fire, though it started in his bakery shop. A French watchman named Robert Hubert (1640-1666) gave a false confession to throwing a fire grenade into Farriner’s bakery starting the blaze, which Farriner agreed to. Hubert was executed in October of that year, almost certainly an innocent man, as he was not even in London when the fire broke out. Historians now believe that the Great Fire was started accidentally. (That’s a pretty hot story there.)
… you may have heard a scroop? If you’re wondering, a scroop is the sound that silk makes when it moves. Most likely, you’ve heard one if you were at a dance where formal ball gowns were being worn. That’s the sound the ball gown makes. (Silky, isn’t it?)
… a Major League pitcher had the same number of career wins as he had career hits? Warren Spahn (1921-2003) played 21 seasons in the Majors, for the Boston/Milwaukee Braves, New York Mets, and San Francisco Giants. During his career, Spahn chalked up 363 career wins – and 363 career hits. It gets even more precise: Spahn won 356 games for the Braves, four for the Mets, and three for the Giants. He had 356 hits for the Braves, four for the Mets, and three for the Giants. (You have to admire the synchronicity of all that.)
… actor Michael J. Fox’s middle name doesn’t begin with a J? Fox (born 1981), who starred in the Back to the Future movies as well as some classic television, was born Michael Andrew Fox. He chose “J” as his professional middle initial as an homage to character actor Michael J. Pollard (1939-2019).
… more than one program called College Bowl existed on American television? Most readers would be somewhat familiar with the G.E. College Bowl, a weekly game show pitting teams of students from colleges and universities against each other in some rather difficult quizzes. The show ran intermittently from 1953 to 1970 on CBS and NBC, hosted by Allen Ludden (1917-1981) and later by Robert Earle (1926-2019). But before that, College Bowl was a one-season musical program from 1950 to 1951, starring Chico Marx (1887-1961), one of the Marx Brothers. This show was set in a soda fountain, supposedly owned by Marx, next to a college campus and featured singers who came in, sat around, told jokes, and belted out tunes. The breakout star from the show was Andy Williams (1927-2012). (I get the musical aspects and all, but … Chico Marx? Sure, he was great at the piano, but I just don’t see it.)
… the symbol for the planet Pluto has a double meaning? Made up of the interlocking letters “P” and “L,” the symbol is not only the first two letters of the planet, but also the initials of astronomer Percival Lowell (1855-1916). Lowell initiated the search for a planet beyond the orbit of Neptune and created an observatory in Arizona that is named for him. While working at the Lowell Observatory in 1930, Dr. Clyde Tombaugh (1906-1997) took the photographs that confirmed the existence – and official discovery – of Pluto. (And I still think Pluto should be re-classified as a planet.)
… minnows have teeth in their throats? (Well, they have to have them somewhere, don’t they?)
… the first movie ever created solely with computer-generated imagery (CGI) was released in 1995? Toy Story had more than 800,000 hours of mathematical equations used in the creation of the computer film. That equates to more than a week of computer time for every second of the film on screen. (And you thought it was easy.)
… the umpire at a baseball game has the power to eject anyone from the game? Not just players or managers, but anyone. On June 26, 1985, at a minor league baseball game in Clearwater, Florida, the stadium organist played “Three Blind Mice” following a call by umpire Kevin O’Connor (born 1964). O’Connor was not amused, and ejected the organist, Wilbur Snapp (1920-2003), from the press box. Snapp spent the rest of the game in the stands making balloon mice for kids. Additional trivia note: O’Connor would go on to have a ten-year career as a Major League umpire and then became umpire evaluator for MLB. Snapp’s was the only ejection in O’Connor’s entire career. (Yer outta here!)
Now … you know!
Copyright © 2026 Jack Bagley