Did the James Bond villain “Goldfinger” really exist?

School has taken back in, at least in most places where this column is read. And that leads me to a question … why so early?

When I was a kid, we went back to school after Labor Day and the year ended in early June. But now it’s all shifted a month earlier, and August is the hottest month of the year, so there are higher utility bills in the schools.

Nobody ever explained that to me in a way that made sense.

Oh, well.  I don’t teach any more, I share trivia … and here’s this week’s bundle for you right now!

Did you know …

… in 1870, it took eight days to cross the United States by train? (It still does, unless trains have gotten a lot faster and there are a lot more tracks out there.)

… a “moment” is an actual unit of time? Under an old English law, a moment is equal to one and a half minutes, or 90 seconds. (I’ll be back in just a moment.)

… caffeine does not really give you energy? What it does is stop the body from breaking down energy, resulting in a surplus. (Tomato, to-mah-to.)

… the apples you buy in the grocery store are not as fresh as you might think they are? Apples sold in grocery stores today were picked between six and twelve months ago. Once picked, the apples are kept in a special refrigerator with very low oxygen levels so they do not lose their appearance. (At least that’s what my Granny Smith told me.)

… the popular treat Nutella™ was invented in 1964? It came about when Italian pastry maker Michele Ferrero (1925-2015) mixed a batch of his company’s hazelnut spread, called Supercrema, with cocoa. The resultant sweet treat, named Nutella, spread like wildfire throughout Europe and quickly made its way overseas to America. The formula was based on earlier work with hazelnuts and cocoa going back to the 1800s. Additional trivia note: it takes 97 hazelnuts to make one 26.5-ounce jar of Nutella. (And it’s delicious, too!)

… two different editions of an immensely popular book exist? The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) has been published in two different editions. The main difference between the two is that in one edition, the character of Gollum willingly bets on his ring in the riddle game. (Of course, if you haven’t read it, you have no idea what I’m talking about. Here’s a hint … I haven’t read it either.)

… a hummingbird flaps its wings up to 90 times each second? (And boy, are its arms tired!)

… you may know someone who is lucifugous? If you do, you probably meet them in dark places. Being lucifugous means one avoids light. (Thought I’d shine a little light on that.)

… Goldfinger really existed? Best known as the villain of the 1958 James Bond novel Goldfinger by Ian Fleming (1908-1964), many readers of the books thought Fleming had made up the name Auric Goldfinger out of thin air. He hadn’t. Fleming used the name of a Hungarian-British architect, Ernö Goldfinger (1902-1987), who was less than thrilled with finding his name attached to a literary villain. The real Goldfinger threatened to sue Fleming over the use of his name, but Fleming secured an agreement with him by paying his legal fees and giving him six copies of the book. When the book was made into a film in 1964, the rights to the name went with it. In the film, the villainous Goldfinger was played by German actor Gert Fröbe (1913-1988). Additional trivia note: All of Fröbe’s lines in the film were overdubbed with the voice of another actor. Fröbe spoke very little English and he delivered his lines phonetically, but they were too slow. So his lines were dubbed over by actor Michael Collins (1922-1979), who was uncredited for the work. (It could’ve been worse. Check out some of the other names used in the Bond series and you’ll see what I mean.)

… timing really is everything? Consider this: in the early 1960s, one of the most popular cartoon programs on television was The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, created and produced by Jay Ward (1920-1989). One of the story lines centered around the fictional place where the characters lived, Moosylvania. (For the uninitiated, Bullwinkle was a moose.) Ward figured out a great way to gain publicity for the show when he began a “Statehood for Moosylvania” plan. Petitions were sent out in major cities, and a small island on the border of Canada and the United States was selected to be the fictional state. Ward went all out, creating a decked-out van with a steam calliope to go across the United States to Washington. At the White House, Ward rolled out his petitions, asking to see the president. Instead of laughs and publicity, however, he was detained by the Secret Service. During the time Ward was at the gates, President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) was addressing the nation concerning the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Ward’s timing was pretty much awful for his campaign, and he never did get to present his petitions to the president. (Hokey smokes, Bullwinkle!)

… sixteen percent of all Americans will receive one speeding ticket this year? On average, that ticket will cost the miscreant driver $150. (There’s a way to avoid that, you know.  Drive under the limit.  Duh.)

… an antiquated law in Kansas requires people crossing highways at night to wear tail lights? (I have a line here, but it would close the show.)

… diets can be good – and bad? The American Heart Association says that a person on a low-saturated-fat diet has a 20% lower chance of developing heart disease. However, they have a 30% higher chance of developing cancer. (You win some, you lose some.)

Now … you know!