Did two men fight a duel from balloons in France?

Regular readers of this silliness know that I have an affinity for “old-time” radio programs. One of my favorites is The Life of Riley, but not because of the story line or the star, William Bendix. No, I like The Life of Riley because of one character – Digby “Digger” O’Dell, “The Friendly Undertaker.”

Radio actor John Brown played that character so classically funny that you almost wish you could meet a real Digger O’Dell. His ability to take a normally unfunny but much needed profession – that of a mortician – and make it a source for amusement was great. His drawn-out deadpan (you’ll pardon the pun) delivery on lines such as “You look natural,” or “I have just the space you could fill,” or “We’re the last to let you down” sometimes causes me to laugh so hard I have to pull over and get it out of my system.

Otherwise, I might need his services for real, as I listen to The Life of Riley in the car. Well, enough of this, let’s get to the trivia. Or, as Digger would say, “I must be shoveling off.”

Did you know …

…a particular berry has more iron than steak? The Himalayan gogi berry has, ounce for ounce, more iron than steak, more beta carotene than carrots, and more vitamin C than oranges. (Maybe so, but how does a gogi berry taste fresh from the grill, huh?)

…The Andy Griffith Show was actually a spin-off of another show? Actor Andy Griffith (1926-2012) was starring on Broadway in a play called Destry and interested in doing a television series when he was approached about playing a rural sheriff, justice of the peace, mayor, and newspaper editor of a small town in North Carolina. Griffith did not like the premise for the show, but he did like the man who pitched it, producer Sheldon Leonard (1907-1997). He agreed to shoot a pilot as an episode of The Danny Thomas Show, which would be the final episode of the 1959-60 season. The episode was so well received that Griffith was signed up by the sponsor immediately and his own show, featuring all the wonderful people of Mayberry, was on the air six months later. The show was produced through the company owned by Danny Thomas (1912-1991).

…between 5,000 and 7,000 tigers are kept as pets in the United States? (Or is it the other way around – the tigers keep humans as potential snacks?)

…Japan is having a problem with ninjas? There are not enough of them. There is a high demand in Japan for “ninja shows,” but companies are having trouble finding enough properly trained ninjas. The tradition is, sadly, dying out.

… in 1907, an ad campaign for Kellogg’s Corn FlakesTM cereal offered a free box of the stuff to any woman who would wink at her grocer? The promotion was cooked up by Will Keith Kellogg (1860-1951), who said in his advertising, “Wink at your grocer and see what you get.” (I can’t find any information on how successful the promotion was to sell corn flakes, but it might have led to a romance or two. Who knows? In my old Chicago neighborhood, if you winked at your grocer, you might just get a punch in the nose.)

…two men once dueled from separate balloons? In 1808, two Frenchmen – a certain Monsieur de Grandpré and Monsieur de Pique – were competing over the love of a beautiful young lady, a dancer named Mademoiselle Tirevit. The two agreed that the only way to decide the question with honor would be to fight a duel. The then-new fad of ballooning was sweeping France, and the men decided to fight from separate balloons. Both men constructed identical balloons and decided to use identical blunderbuss rifles, and – to keep things fair, I suppose – agreed not to shoot at each other, but at each other’s balloon. On the day of the duel, both men ascended to the agreed-upon height of half a mile. The balloons were about eighty yards apart when the signal to fire was given. Monsieur de Pique missed completely; de Grandpré, however, did not. De Pique’s balloon folded like an accordion, sending the duelist falling to his death, and leaving the survivor to claim the love of the fair Mlle. Tirevit. In an ironic twist, however, history records that she was not at all impressed, and the poor fellow ended up all alone when everything was said and done. (It just shows to go you…)

…it takes ten minutes longer to drown in salt water than it does in fresh water? (Somebody actually measures that stuff?)

…a queen bee can lay as many as 3,000 eggs in a day? (And at the end of the day, Her Majesty says, “Whew!”)

…the term “junk food” did not become popular until the 1970s? Initially created during the 1960s to refer to non-nutritious (but good-tasting) food, the phrase caught on with the release of the song, “Junk Food Junkie,” by Larry Groce (born 1948) in 1976. (And we’re grateful he made that song, too!)

…the only continent on Earth without a McDonald’s restaurant is Antarctica? In fact, no commercial restaurants operate in Antarctica. Home base primarily to scientists, the only two civilian settlements on the continent have populations of around 100 people.

…many animal shelters refuse to allow the adoption of black cats near Halloween? They fear that the animals will be tortured or sacrificed on the holiday. (My house panther Boris agrees with this decision.)

…in 2000, Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) was named an honorary Harlem Globetrotter? (You should’ve seen His Holiness’ hook shot!)

Now… you know!

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