Did just changing the picture on a box of cereal cause people to buy more and say it tasted better?

Before I jump into the trivia, I’d like the world to note that another milestone has been reached!

The column which you read at this moment is the 350th in the ongoing series.

Yes indeed… 350 weeks ago I started doing this silliness, and you’re still reading it. That tells me that you’re all gluttons for punishment… or you like trivia… or, most probably, both.

Thanks for sticking with me this long! Oh, I’m nowhere near finished yet. The trivia vault is still chock full of fresh stuff I haven’t shared with you yet. So settle back, enjoy number 350, and all the hundreds yet to come!

Did you know …

… the best time to spray household insects is 4 p.m.? That’s according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, anyway. They say insects are most vulnerable at that time. (How do the insects know what time it is? And do they even care?)

… a political term comes from boxing? When a politician “throws his hat into the ring” it usually means he or she is running for office. The phrase comes from boxing, back in the day. When a fighter threw his hat into the boxing ring, it meant he was challenging the fighter in the ring. (How fitting that it would be in politics, which is a worse fight than any boxing match.)

… in ancient Babylon, being the king during a solar eclipse was not a good thing? Once the Babylonians figured out how to predict solar eclipses, they would put a “substitute” king on the throne during the eclipse period. That way, they could blame the eclipse – which they saw as an evil omen – on the substitute, and kill him afterward. (Perhaps I shouldn’t give the modern political structure any ideas.)

… actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was not allowed to dub his own voice in the German release of The Terminator? Schwarzenegger (born 1947), a native of Austria for whom German is his first language, didn’t dub his own voice in the German release of the movie. Producers said his Austrian accent “was not tough enough.” (I’ll be back.)

… advertising can really manipulate people? Consider: Kraft foods sells a breakfast cereal called ShreddiesTM in the United Kingdom and Canada, which is (as you might expect) small squares of shredded wheat. Not too different from other brands, right? Trouble is, they weren’t selling all that great. Well, in 2008, marketer Henry Summerville (born 1982) hit upon an idea. Summerville held up a Shreddie in a meeting and said, “It isn’t a square, it’s a diamond,” and a marketing blast began. Rotating the picture of the Shreddie on the box 45 degrees, Kraft began selling the product as “Diamond Shreddies.” Sales jumped 18% during the first month, and people even said the cereal tasted different and better – though it was exactly the same as it was before. Only the photo on the box changed. Since it was a temporary marketing campaign, the “Diamond Shreddies” are no longer available – but thousands of people have written Kraft demanding their return. (I think it’s brilliant, myself.)

…a Puerto Rican governor served a term of only eight hours? On January 11, 1898, Andrés Gonzaléz Muñoz (1840-1898) arrived in San Juan from Spain, after having been appointed Governor of Puerto Rico. Eight hours after his arrival ceremony, Muñoz died of a massive heart attack. (All the excitement must have gotten to him.)

… Switzerland’s official name is not Switzerland? Officially, it’s the Confederation Helvetica, which explains why “CH” is seen on the country’s license plates and e-mail addresses. (Talk about an identity crisis!)

… the world’s oldest airline was founded in 1919? KLM, the Dutch national airline, has operated nonstop since 1919, more than 100 years. KLM stands for Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, or Royal Aviation Company in Dutch. (No, I don’t know how to pronounce it.)

… more people watch soap opera weddings on television in the United States than they do presidential addresses? (Soap opera weddings are more entertaining, that’s for sure.)

… both Italian and Russian salad dressings were invented in the United States? (And I’d bet they were created by people other than Italians and Russians, too. I asked for Russian dressing in a restaurant once and they brought me a picture of Stalin putting on his pants.)

… a Queen of England never set foot in the country? Berengaria (1165-1230), wife of English King Richard I (1157-1199), lived her entire life in Italy. She is traditionally known as the only English queen to have never visited the country, though some researchers say she may have visited after the death of Richard – when she was no longer queen. Additional trivia note: For what it’s worth, Richard himself spent very little time in the land he ruled. Reigning as king from 1189 to 1199, he spent all but six months of that time out of England leading soldiers during the Crusades and on other adventures.

… there really is a Sesame Street? Since 1969, the Children’s Television Workshop has produced Sesame Street, a program that teaches pre-school youngsters. In 2019, the city of New York designated a block at the corner of West 63rd Street and Broadway as “Sesame Street.” (Bet you can tell us how to get there, too.)

… a talk show host owes part of her fame to a movie critic? During the mid 1980s, talk show host Oprah Winfrey (born 1954) went on a couple of dates with movie critic Roger Ebert (1942-2013). Ebert, in fact, is the person who talked Winfrey into syndicating her talk show. (Even critics get it right once in a while.)

Now… you know!

HHJ News