DID YOU KNOW …? Did the set of a 1982 horror movie feature a poster for something that would not happen for another six years?

Trying to come up with an introduction to the column this week is akin to trying to pan for gold in that lake in Yellowstone Park that dissolves you … I’m having no success at all.

So, for the rare moment, I’ll just say the heck with it, wish you a wonderful week, and send you on to the trivia.  Enjoy!

Did you know …

… a composer once tried to create a mechanical ballet? George Anthiel (1900-1959) became well known for composing musical soundtracks to films such as The Pride and the Passion, Tokyo Joe, We Were Strangers, and many more. But in 1924 he tried his hand at avant-garde composing, creating the Ballet Mecanique. The work was written for a fire siren, automobile horns, and an airplane propeller to be used as musical instruments. The work was performed at Carnegie Hall, and according to reports, an elderly gentleman in the orchestra seats allegedly tied a handkerchief to his cane and waved it as a white flag of surrender. (The work did inspire one Spike Jones, I understand.  Look it up.)

… carrots were not always orange in color? Back when they grew wild and uncultivated, carrots were actually purple. During the 17th Century, farmers began cultivating mutant strains into their carrots, resulting eventually in the current orange-ish color the vegetable has today. (Who wants a purple carrot?)

… an animal produces a scent that smells like buttered popcorn? The binturong, which is found in Southeast Asian rain forests, looks kind of like a cross between a bear and cat, and the scent produced is used to mark territory and attract mates. (To take to the movies for popcorn, I bet.)

… the set of a horror movie featured a poster for something that wouldn’t happen for six more years? In the 1982 film Poltergeist, the characters of Robbie – portrayed by Oliver Robins (born 1971) – and Carol Anne, played by Heather O’Rourke (1975-1988), share a room. On Robbie’s side of the room is a poster for Super Bowl XXII, which would not be played until 1988. The year 1988 even figures prominently on the poster. No one on the production team could ever explain why the poster was used in the movie, but if you think that’s odd, hang on – it gets far stranger. On January 31, 1988 – the day that Super Bowl XXII was played – Heather O’Rourke began exhibiting flu-like symptoms, and the next day was rushed to the hospital after collapsing in her home. On the way to the hospital she suffered cardiac arrest, but was resuscitated. It was discovered that the young girl had a severe bowel blockage that required immediate surgery, but O’Rourke died on the operating table.

… the insignia of rank of a U.S. Army captain was once proposed to be three gold bars? Prior to World War I, officers in the Army wore their rank on cloth and bullion shoulder straps. A second lieutenant had a plain strap, a first lieutenant had one gold bar at each end, and a captain had two gold bars. During World War I, however, officers wore more basic field uniforms without the shoulder straps, and second lieutenants were being mistaken for regular privates due to a lack of specific insignia. The decision was made in 1917 to make a second lieutenant’s insignia the gold bar, with two gold bars for first lieutenants, and three gold bars for captains. However, that change was going to cost a lot of money to implement in designing new production machinery for the metal bars, so they kept the gold bar for second lieutenants, and the first lieutenant’s bar became silver. Captains then got two silver bars. (And the respect that those bars earn, I suppose.)

… you may suffer from gelotophobia? If you do, you have a fear of being laughed at. By the way, there’s no name for the fear of being laughed with – probably because nobody is afraid of being laughed with. (If you’ve ever met me, you know I definitely don’t suffer from it.)

… years before he became President, Lyndon Johnson had a business deal with another Chief Executive? While still a senator from Texas, Johnson (1908-1973) also owned a Muzak™ franchise in Austin. Johnson sold easy listening background music to President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) to be played in the White House. (That Lyndon, always lookin’ for a buck.)

… cashews are not nuts? They are actually drupe seeds. What’s the difference, you ask? Well, a nut is actually a dry fruit with a hard shell surrounding a single seed. But cashews are the seeds of cashew apples, fleshy fruits which are classified as drupes. (So don’t be druped by the advertising.)

… emotions can run rather strangely during battle? Take, for example, the case of Henry Paget (1768-1854), First Marquess of Anglesey, who was leading a charge of heavy cavalry against French forces during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. During the battle, Paget had a portion of his leg blown off by a cannonball. When it happened, he shouted to his commanding officer, the Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley, 1769-1852), “By God, sir, I’ve lost my leg!” Wellington’s reply was a calm, “By God, sir, so you have!” (That British stiff upper lip, you know.)

… the Victorian era had some pretty interesting terms for people who cheated on their significant others? Those who were caught doing so were said to have been “carrying tackle” or “being on a left-handed honeymoon.” (Left-handed honeymoon?)

… a group of British women wanted to do away with coffee? In 1674, the Women’s Petition Against Coffee claimed that the brew was turning British men into “useless corpses.” Mental Floss tell us that the group proposed a ban on coffee for anyone under the age of sixty. (Heck, ladies, we’re all “useless corpses” on Monday mornings, at least until we have our coffee.)

Now … you know!