How did one of Hollywood’s oldest traditions get started?

Well, it looks like one of you has caught me in another big mea culpa.

Two weeks ago, I gave you an item about the yo-yo and how it was originally a weapon in the Philippines. It turns out that I may have been mistaken.

The weapon story was, it seems, crafted by the toymakers who first distributed the yo-yo to make it seem like something it was not. As I have learned, yo-yos have always been toys, not weapons.

Made a good story, though, didn’t it? My thanks to my friend thebesig at valorguardians.com for pointing it out to me!

Now, on to this week’s trivia!

Did you know …

… a serial killer was once a contestant on a game show while his murder spree was going on? Rodney Alcala (born 1943), currently awaiting execution on California’s Death Row for five murders committed in that state between 1977 and 1979, appeared on “The Dating Game” in 1978. Alcala was the winning “bachelor” chosen by the contestant, but she later refused to go out on the date they won, saying Alcala was “creepy.” (That had to qualify as the understatement of the year!)

… drivers in Russia use dash cameras more than anywhere else? The reason is that most Russian insurance companies will not pay accident claims without rock-solid proof, such as that provided by a dash cam. The cameras catch a lot of other stuff, too … such as the 2013 fireball over the city of Chelyabinsk that exploded, damaging windows and buildings and injuring almost 1,500 people; or the road rage incident where the driver of a minivan was cut off by another vehicle. The second vehicle’s driver got out and tried to fight the minivan driver, but the minivan was loaded with costumed cartoon characters heading toward a party – and the other driver was caught on video being beaten up by the cartoon characters. (If you get beaten up by Mickey Mouse and it’s caught on video, you find out what true ridicule is.)

… you may be a sufferer of phobatrivaphobia? Chances are that you aren’t, though – not if you’re reading this column. That is the fear of trivia about phobias.

… an actual protocol exists regarding how soon to call on someone after meeting them? The typically ideal time to wait to call on a man or woman after meeting them is two to four days, though that is now being hotly debated. Dating experts say there’s no hard-and-fast rule, but if you call earlier than two days, you appear as desperate, and nothing else. (And it suddenly all becomes clear to me why I never get a second date. Wow.)

… one of Hollywood’s best-known traditions started by accident? Just about everyone has heard of the famous handprints, footprints and autographs in the cement outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. But how did that tradition begin? It happened in 1927, when actress Norma Talmadge (1894-1957) accidentally stepped in wet cement on the sidewalk outside the theatre. The first intentional prints were made the same year by actors Douglas Fairbanks (1883-1939) and Mary Pickford (1892-1979), who were business partners of the theatre owner, Sid Grauman (1879-1950).

… a war once took place between humans and birds? In 1932, the Great Emu War took place in Australia. It was actually a wildlife management operation to deal with the number of emus, huge flightless birds that were running wild in the state of Western Australia. Because the Australian Army used modern weapons against the birds, it was dubbed the “Emu War” by the press – and in the end, it was unsuccessful, as emus continued devastating crops in the state despite the number of birds that were killed. In essence, the emus won the war. (Not one of the Army’s more stellar moments, if you ask me.)

… a group of foxes is called a skulk? (Not to their faces, I’d bet.)

… anteaters prefer termites to ants? (Wouldn’t you?)

… the human body has about 45 miles of nerves? (And kids manage to get on every last one of them, don’t they?)

… pineapples are berries? Technically, a single pineapple is a mass of individual berries fused to a single stalk. (Ah, but do we put berries on pizza?)

… the most shoplifted item of food is cheese? (That’s not a gouda thing to do.)

… 65% of people tilt their heads to the right when they are kissing? Only 35% tilt left. (Something I can never seem to be able to research.)

… astronomers have observed strange colored lights at times on the surface of the Moon? It is thought that the lights are made by gases leaking from deep inside the Moon. (Must. Not. Succumb. To. Bad. Joke. Urge.)

… one ragweed plant can release up to one billion grains of pollen? (In case you ever wondered about that.)

… only one movie has ever had three Academy Award™ acting nominees in the same category? The 1963 film Tom Jones earned nominations for Best Supporting Actress for Diane Cilento (1932-2011), Dame Edith Evans (1888-1976), and Joyce Redman (1915-2012). Sadly, none of the three won. The award went to Dame Margaret Rutherford (1892-1972) for The VIPs.

… a nation once issued a stamp that played sound? In 1973, the Himalayan nation of Bhutan issued a postage stamp that looked like a record. Placed on a record player, the stamp actually played the Bhutanese national anthem. (Made #1 on the charts, too!)

… in the state of Queensland, Australia, it is illegal to keep a rabbit as a pet … unless you are magician? (Abracadabra!)

Now … you know!

HHJ News