Baseball is back! And my following of the Chicago Cubs begins anew!
And with the start of the season comes the inevitable rush to see what, if any, all-time records can be broken.
I found a few records that nobody wants to break: Hughie Jennings, most times hit by a pitch, 287; Duane Kuiper, one home run in 3,259 at bats; Anthony Young, most consecutive losses by a pitcher, 27.
Yeah, those are records that nobody wants to break. It reminds me of the old comic strip where one character asks another, “What’s the fastest way to get from New York City to Salt Lick, Wyoming?” And the reply is, “Bat .126.”
So much for records nobody wants to break. Let’s get into something everybody wants – trivia!
Did you know …
… the International Spy Museum is a real thing? It’s located in Washington, D.C., and opened in 2002. In its huge collection of espionage-related artifacts, the curious onlooker can find counterfeit money, incredibly intricate weapons and even code-making – and code-breaking – machines. (And oddly enough, you don’t have to know any secret codes to get in.)
… you use the largest muscle in your body every single day? You’re either walking with it, sitting on it, or getting it kicked by someone. It’s the gluteus maximus, the muscle that makes up your backside. It helps stabilize the pelvis and lower back, and plays a major role in hip movement. (In my case, it’s getting kicked by someone almost all the time.)
… only one nation on earth has a flag that is neither rectangular or square? The flag of Nepal, a nation in the Himalaya Mountains between China and India, looks instead like two triangular pennants atop one another. (Strangely enough, so does Nepal.)
… the yo-yo was originally a weapon? The yo-yo, classic toy of childhood, originated in the Philippines in the 1500s, and the weapon version weighed four pounds and had a 20-foot string. The weapon was downsized and introduced as a toy in America in 1929 by toymaker Louis Marx (1896-1982). (Yeah, you don’t want to get hit with a four-pound yo-yo right between the eyes.)
… Adelie penguins have a unique mating ritual? When the male Adelie penguin is seeking a mate, he will offer a pebble – chosen very carefully – to the female. If she accepts the pebble, the two stay together for the rest of their lives. (That sounds awfully familiar … a pebble, a diamond … you get the idea.)
… a Chinese man is believed by some to have lived more than two and a half centuries? According to the folks at the “Guinness Book of World Records,” the extreme of human longevity belongs to Jeanne Calment (1875-1997), who lived to a documented age of 122 years, 164 days. But a man in China, Li Qingyuen (?-1933), is claimed to have lived more than twice as long. When Li died, news reports listed him as having been born in 1677, which would have made him 256 years old at the time of his passing. Other sources said he was born in 1736, making him “only” 197 at his death. Li’s true date of birth was never determined, and it was accepted only that he died at “an advanced age.” A researcher in 1930 claimed to have discovered records from the imperial Chinese government congratulating Li on his 150th birthday in 1827, and his 200th in 1877. If his claim is true, then Li lived more than 230 years under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, saw the fall of the imperial government and the rise of the Kuomintang, or Nationalists, and witnessed more history than any of us can possibly imagine. (Or could possibly want to imagine.)
… a Scrabble™ game board has 255 spaces? (And some of them give whopping big bonus points, too.)
… a baby bat is called a pup? (Here, pup!)
… a science is dedicated to kissing? It’s called philematology. (And I am in serious need of doing some research in that science, too.)
… prairie dogs say “hello” to each other by kissing? (No, I’m not that desperate to do research.)
… a popular Christmas song was written under a different title? Composed in 1951 by Ray Evans (1915-2007) and Jay Livingston (1915-2001), the song, “Silver Bells,” was originally known as “Tinkle Bells.” That name lasted only as long as it took for Livingston’s wife to chime in – she let the men know of another, more crude meaning for the word “tinkle.” (Oh, the possibilities …)
… all the gold ever mined would fit on one end of a football field? If it could all be gathered together in one place and melted down into a cube, the cube would be forty-five feet long, the same high, and the same wide – which could fit between the goal line and the fifteen-yard line. But if you think that’s special, try this – all the platinum ever mined would fit in the average size living room of one house. (Not my house, of course.)
… cheese can cause weird dreams? Stilton blue cheese is known to frequently cause odd, vivid dreams in those who eat it. (A pretty cheesy way to get odd dreams, I say.)
… Americans aren’t as aware of things as they should be? Case in point: About 60% of Americans can name all of the Three Stooges – some even can name all six of them – but only 17% can name three U.S. Supreme Court Justices. (There’s a difference?)
… a squid has three hearts? Two of them are “brachial” hearts, which pump blood to the squid’s gills. The third is the “systemic” heart, which takes care of pumping the blood to the rest of the squid’s body. (Valentine’s Day must be hectic for squid.)
Now … you know!
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