Did a baseball star and the actor who played him have a connection?

So, how did you do?

Last week was the annual April Fool edition of this silly column, wherein I set three items that were totally false, and you had to figure out which ones they were.  You probably said, “He’ll just tell me next week,” and went on with your day.  

You were right; I will tell you.  The incorrect ones were:

1. The liter was not named after a person.  The story about Claude Èmile Jean-Baptist Litre was created in 1978 by a student at the University of Waterloo – to justify using a capital “L” to denote the unit of measurement.
2. Bagpipes are not a Scottish invention.  Instruments similar to the pipes have been recorded in Middle Eastern nations during the earliest part of the modern era, long before they arrived in Scotland.
3. The Morse code for “SOS” does not mean anything specific.  It’s simply three dots, three dashes, and three dots, and very quick and easy to send repeatedly.

And yes, as silly as it sounds, the one about Pistols ‘n Petticoats is a real item, not a gag.

I hope you got them all!  Now get this …

Did you know …

… why fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico were upset with McDonald’s™?  Up until 1984, the popular restaurant chain offered straws for beverages in yellow and red.  That year, they changed the color scheme to yellow and brown, and that’s what upset the fishermen.  The older colors made great bait for Spanish mackerel.  According to Mental Floss, fishermen noted that a single straw could last for three lures, and could catch five times as many fish as any other tool.  (It helps if they use a Filet-O-Fish™ as bait.)

… you might have created a paraph?  At least once, anyway.  A paraph is a flourish at the end of your signature.  It is said that they originated as a check against forgery.  (And they looked really keen, too!)

… many performers insure parts of their bodies?  For example, actress Julia Roberts (born 1967) has insured her smile for $30 million.  Singer Mariah Carey (born 1970) has her legs insured for $35 million.  Dolly Parton (born 1946) has had her bosom insured for $600,000.  And it’s not a new practice, either.  Bette Davis (1908-1989) had her waist insured for $28,000;  Jimmy Durante (1893-1980) had his famous nose insured for $50,000; and Jennifer Lopez (born 1969) has had her backside insured for $300 million.  (I’d love to know what the premiums on such policies are, wouldn’t you?)

… a baseball star and the actor who played him in a movie had a previous connection in their lives?  In 1925, New York Yankees baseball star Babe Ruth (1895-1948) became ill with a stomach condition that many believed at the time was caused by an excessive consumption of hot dogs and soda, provided mainly by the team’s batboy, William Bendix (1906-1964).  Rumor had it that Bendix brought Ruth 30 hot dogs and 12 bottles of soda, rendering him unable to play that day – or any day for several weeks.  The Yankees fired Bendix as a batboy after Ruth took ill, but today it is known that Ruth had an intestinal abscess, and that was what kept him out of the lineup.    Twenty-three years later, Bendix – who went on to become an award-winning actor – would portray Ruth in the movie The Babe Ruth Story.  Additional trivia note:  At the time the movie premiered, Ruth – who had wanted to star in it himself – was dying of cancer.  He reportedly saw the movie but became uncomfortable and left before it was over.  Bendix’ portrayal of Ruth was variously called “dreadful,” “amateurish” and “wrong from start to finish.”

… the composer of the Confederacy’s “song” was from the North?  Daniel Decatur Emmett (1815-1904) composed the song “Dixie” – or to use its full title, “Dixie’s Land” – in 1859.  Emmett was born and raised in Mount Vernon, Ohio, which remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War.  It was said that the songwriter was disgusted by the popularity of the song in the Confederacy.  (You would think he’d have been happy about the royalties, though.)

… none of the members of the Beatles could read music?  All four – John Lennon (1940-1980), Paul McCartney (born 1942), George Harrison (1943-2001) and Ringo Starr (born 1940) – were able to play guitar, piano and drums very well, but never learned to read music.  (But they loved you, yeah yeah yeah.)

… timing really is everything?  Actor and rapper Will Smith (born 1968) was in debt to the Internal Revenue Service for some $2.8 million and was on the verge of declaring bankruptcy when he was signed to star in a new comedy series, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, for NBC.  Smith had already had many of his possessions taken by the IRS and what income he was making from his rap music was being garnished when the 1990 deal to star in the series was reached.

… the person who would be Emperor of Korea had a very menial job?  Yi Won (born 1962) is the great-grandson of Gojong (1852-1919), the first Emperor of Korea, and is head of the Imperial House of Yi.  Until 2005, Yi was general manager of Hyundai Home Shopping in Seoul.  Active in the drive to restore at least a constitutional monarchy in Korea, Yi would be Emperor of both North and South Korea if the effort is successful, though the North Koreans would not recognize his position.  The actual Korean Empire was abolished in 1910 when Korea was basically annexed by Japan.  (Good luck, Your Majesty!)

… croissants are not from France?  True, the name “croissant” means crescent in French, and the rolls are shaped like crescents, but the flaky roll actually was invented in Vienna, Austria.  (How nice!)

Now … you know!