DID YOU KNOW …? Did a classic Christmas television special have its ending changed after its first airing?

Now that I have your attention, may I let you know that the second book from these columns is now available?

Now … You Know! is the follow-up volume to my first trivia book, released in 2022. It’s avilable from Amazon.com and I hope you’ll go on line and check it out.

I’d be honored if you would add my silly book to your collection. It was a lot of fun to compile, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Let’s get on to this week’s trivia!

Did you know …

… the tongue of a blue whale weighs as much as an elephant? The tongue of the largest mammal on Earth can weigh up to 8,000 pounds – and so can the largest elephant. (Put that in your trunk and smoke it.)

… the second-oldest restaurant in the world is in Spain? Restaurante Sobrino de Botín opened in Madrid in 1725. It was founded by a Frenchman, Jean Botín (1680-1740), in a building which was constructed in 1590. The name of the restaurant means “Botín’s Nephew,” so called after a nephew of Botín took over the business in 1740. Legend says that the fire in the restaurant’s oven has never been extinguished. Additional trivia note: While the Guinness Book of World Records lists Sobrino de Botín as the world’s oldest restaurant, other sources say that title is held by the Historische Wurstküche of Regensburg, Germany, which has been selling sausages without interruption since 1135. (To be in business that long, the food has to be good!)

… the inventor of the Frisbee™ was turned into one after his death? Ed Headrick (1924-2002) invented the toy flying disc, which he called the Frisbee, for the Wham-O company in 1948 at the start of the flying saucer craze. Following his death, Headrick’s ashes were incorporated into a limited number of Frisbees, at his request. Most of the discs were given to family and friends, with a few put up for sale to benefit the “Steady Ed” Memorial Disc Golf Museum. (So many good lines here …)

… an opera house straddles the U.S.-Canada border? The Haskell Free Library and Opera House, built in 1904, is located in Derby Line, Vermont – at least, part of it is. The stage portion is located in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada, while most of the audience sits in Vermont. There’s no entrance or exit on the Canadian side except for one emergency exit, and Canadian patrons are allowed to enter the building on the U.S. side without going through Customs provided they go back to Canada immediately after the program in the theatre is over. The border is marked by a thick black line under the seats in the audience and into a nearby reading room. (Wonder if the operas are performed in French?)

… a classic Christmas television special had its ending changed after its first airing? In 1964, the now-iconic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer premiered on NBC. The story, about the reindeer and the Misfit Toys, became one of the best-loved parts of the holiday season, but in its first airing it ended on a rather dismal note – the end credits rolled over the delivery of packages (with the show’s credits on them) from the sleigh, but the Misfit Toys were just left behind, despite Rudolph’s promise to tell Santa about them. Hundreds of viewers (mostly children) wrote the network in protest, and before the special was shown again in 1965, the production company Rankin-Bass filmed and added a scene where Santa visits the Island of Misfit Toys and rescues them. Additional trivia note: The revised ending meant the credits had to be redone, and in the process the voice actor for Rudolph, Billie Richards (1921-2010), had her name misspelled. She was credited as “Billy” in the revised credits, which to this day have not been fixed. (She didn’t get top billie-ing, either.)

… several classic horror movies have their basis in a real-life crime? Movies like Psycho in 1960, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974, and The Silence of the Lambs in 1991 are based in part on the real-life crimes of a man named Ed Gein (1906-1984). Gein was a serial killer and body snatcher known as the Butcher of Plainfield, Wisconsin. Ironically, the movie made about him, Monster: The Ed Gein Story, was a flop, while the fictional horror movies made millions. (Sometimes fiction is stranger than truth.)

… a despised dictator was also a decorated war veteran? Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) served in the German Army during World War I. He received the Iron Cross Second Class in 1914 and in 1918 received the country’s then-second-highest military decoration, the Iron Cross First Class. Additionally, he received the Black Wound Badge in 1918. As was the custom in Germany at the time, Hitler continued to wear his Iron Cross and Wound Badge on his civilian clothing and, later, on his Nazi uniforms.

… Carnegie Hall was built out of a sense of guilt? The famous performing venue in New York was constructed by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) because he felt responsible for the 1889 Johnstown Flood in Pennsylvania. Carnegie had been one of a select group of industrialists to purchase Lake Conemaugh on the South Fork River and convert it into a fishing and hunting club. The lake had been formed by an earthen dam on the river, which had been built between 1838 and 1853. The dam gave way after heavy rains on May 31, 1889, and the resulting flooding killed more than 2,200 people. Guilt caused Carnegie to build the musical hall in New York as a tribute.

… your nostrils register smells differently? In most people, the right nostril catches odors and aromas which are more pleasant. However, accurate smells are made more by the left nostril. (That’s why it’s important to blow your nose.)

Now … you know!