Did a television crime show have to get all of its actors and scripts approved by the FBI?

In the motion picture Gigi, the great and wonderful Maurice Chevalier sings a duet with Hermione Gingold called, “I Remember It Well.” If you’re not familiar with the song, two former flames meet and reminisce about their past, and he gets it entirely wrong—and yet, comes across as totally charming.

I especially love the lyrics near the end, when he sings, “Am I getting old?” and she replies, “Oh no, not you.” She accepts his forgetfulness and forgives the errors in his mind. We should all be that way, don’t you think?

Folks, we’re all getting older. (It beats the alternative, if you ask me.)

The only thing that doesn’t get old, in my world, is trivia. It just gets better.

Ah, yes, I remember it well.

Did you know …

… you just might have the collywobbles right now? What are collywobbles? It’s another term for a stomachache. (Just try to get out of going to school because of collywobbles, though.)

… a President of the United States is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame? Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) spent a good part of his youth as a wrestler. He was only defeated once in 300 matches, and was named to the Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1992. (“And in the other corner, the challenger, from Parts Unknown, Illinois … the Masked President!”)

… the last movie ever rented at a Blockbuster Video was “This Is The End?” It was rented at a store in Hawaii. (Fitting, if you ask me.)

… for a while, it was pretty unlucky to be in the town of Codell, Kansas, on May 20th? On that date, for three consecutive years – 1916, 1917 and 1918 – the town was hit by deadly tornadoes. The storms all hit at around the same time in the evening each year. (I’ll let you figure out why that happened.)

… there is a belief that says you should experience an “incredible moment” every 35 days? It’s called Littlewood’s Law of Miracles, named after math professor, John Littlewood (1885-1977). Using math, Littlewood figured out that if the average person is awake for at least eight hours a day, and experiences one event per second, and extraordinary events are “one in a million,” that person should experience an incredible moment once every 35 days. (Then I am way overdue—my last incredible moment was in the 1990s, if I can recall.)

… one of the 1960s top crime drama television shows had to get federal approval for its stars and scripts? From 1965 to 1974, “The F.B.I.” was one of the top-rated crime dramas on the air. Produced by Quinn Martin (1922-1987), the episodes were based on real case files from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Each detail of each script was carefully vetted by the actual FBI, through the office of Deputy Director Clyde Tolson (1900-1975). All actors who portrayed FBI agents and other cast members received thorough background checks from the Bureau “to ensure that no criminals, subversives, or Communists” were associated with the show. Additional trivia note: On at least eight different occasions, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972) tried to have the series canceled when he did not like episodes. The show’s 1965 premiere episode, “The Monster,” so shocked Hoover and Tolson that they wanted to withdraw all support and get the show taken off the air. (I remember the announcer for all those Quinn Martin shows … I wanted him to narrate the story of my life, but it’d be too boring.)

… there is a “law” that tells you how to get the right answer to a question on the internet? Cunningham’s Law, named for Ward Cunningham (born 1949), father of the hypertext publication known as a wiki, states: “The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question. It is to post the wrong answer.” (Well, it always works for me, anyway.)

… a toy company is the world’s largest manufacturer of women’s apparel? The Mattel company makes clothing for the wildly popular series of Barbie dolls, and that means they make more women’s apparel than anyone else.

… Tyrannosaurus rex probably did not roar? Despite what we’ve seen in the “Jurassic Park” series of movies, the “king of the dinosaurs” most likely made hissing or rattling sounds, like modern-day snakes or crocodiles, instead of roaring. Most theropod dinosaurs probably did the same thing. (But the movies would have been so dull without the sound of a T. rex roaring!)

… Vikings probably did not wear helmets with horns? Despite the popular conception— and the helmets of the Minnesota pro football team—there is no actual evidence to support the idea that Viking helmets had horns. Artists in the 19th Century were fond of painting Vikings with horned helmets for some reason, and the image stuck. (The idea does make for some cool pictures, though.)

… statistically, being a trash collector is more dangerous than being a police officer? (I know, it’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it.)

… goats do not eat tin cans? When you see the goat nibbling at a can, they’re actually after the glue on the labels, not the can itself. (It’s just baaa-a-a-ad press.)

… an astonishing 68% of a Hostess Twinkie™ is air? (But brother, does that air taste good!)

… butterflies can remember things they learned as caterpillars? (I can’t even remember breakfast.)

Now … you know!

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