DID YOU KNOW …? Is a popular Australian phrase misremembered by most people?

Did you ever have the feeling you were being watched?

I have.  I get it every week, right around the time you are reading this silly column.

You’re watching me, trying to figure out if what I’m saying is accurate and true … and knowing that it is, since this isn’t the first of April. I’ve gotten used to all the eyes of the world (or whatever portion thereof is reading this) upon me.

And if you like to write, you can contact me at didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com and I always answer, usually quickly!

Now, on to the stuff you came to stare at!

Did you know …

… raw kidney beans can poison you? Raw kidney beans contain a chemical called phytohaemagglutinin (no, I do not know how to pronounce it). This chemical can cause vomiting and headaches after just a small handful of raw beans have been ingested. Cooking the beans removes the chemical from them. (You won’t even have time to learn how to pronounce it.)

… a popular breed of dog was bred to protect tax collectors? The Doberman pinscher was a breed developed in Germany in the 19th Century. They were bred to be guard dogs to protect tax collectors, who carried large sums of cash as they traveled through the countryside. They’re very good with children and even with cats, as their fierce reputation is more public relations than actual fact. (They don’t have to be scary if they look scary.)

… you are literally not the same person you were seven years ago? During a period of seven years, human beings replace every cell in their bodies. The cells you were made of seven years ago have been totally replaced. (And you never even noticed.)

… there are many more millionaires (and billionaires) now than there were 100 years ago? In 1900, there were only 5,000 millionaires in the United States. By 2000, the number had shot up exponentially to more than five million. As far as billionaires go, there were only two in the world in 1900 – John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) and Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). By 2000, there were 322 billionaires. Rockefeller was once quoted as saying, “If you can count your millions, you are not a billionaire.” (There may be many more, but I’m not one of them.  Darn it.)

… a popular Australian phrase is misremembered by most people? You may have heard the phrase, “I’ll throw another shrimp on the barbie,” spoken by Australian actor Paul Hogan (born 1939) in a series of tourism television commercials. Countless people working on an Australian accent quote the phrase … but the thing is, Hogan never said it. What he did say was, “I’ll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you.” This is another example of the Mandela effect – remembering things as fact that didn’t actually happen. (Never mind all that, I’d like my shrimp, please, Paul.)

… a park exists which is dedicated to snack treats? In the town of Collegedale, Tennessee, one can find the Little Debbie™ Park. This facility has play structures that are shaped like the snacks put out by the Little Debbie snack company – Nutty Buddy Bars, Oatmeal Creme Pies, etc. The land on which the park sits was donated by McKee Foods, owners of the Little Debbie snack brand. (Great place for dessert after the shrimp from the barbie!)

… an American general shut down a German general who complained about protocol at the end of World War II? On May 7, 1945, German Generaloberst Alfred Jodl (1890-1946), who had been sent by the German High Command to sign the surrender that would end the war in Europe, sneered because the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces, General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), was not there. According to reports, Jodl growled, “Eisenhower didn’t even bother to show up.” That brought a reply from the Allied officer there to accept the surrender, General Walter Bedell Smith (1895-1961). Smith, known as “Beetle” to the Allied command, replied to Jodl, “General Eisenhower outranks you.” Smith was correct: Eisenhower’s rank as a five-star general was equivalent to the German grade of field marshal, one rank higher than Jodl at the end of the war. (Rank hath its privileges.)

… the first browser for the World Wide Web (what we now call the Internet) was created in 1990? Developed by Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955), the invention of the browser has led to his being credited as the man who invented the Internet. He didn’t; he just invented a way for people like you and me to access it. (And I, for one, am very glad he did!)

… Dorothy was originally blonde in The Wizard of Oz? The character of Dorothy Gale had been written as a blonde in the original books by L. Frank Baum (1856-1919), and when costumes were being designed for the classic 1939 movie based on the books, actress Judy Garland (1922-1969) was fitted with a blonde wig in order to keep with the book. However, the director of the movie, George Cukor (1899-1983), nixed the idea because he didn’t like the way Garland looked with a blonde wig. He felt the wig made Garland look too “sophisticated” to be a Kansas farm girl. (Toto, on the other hand, liked it.)

… white is not a color? To be pedantic, white is the total absence of all color. Black, on the other hand, is the presence of all colors together.

… earlobes have no biological purpose? Scientists who study such things say that the earlobe, which has millions of nerve endings and may play a role in social bonding, actually have no biological purpose for existing. (They do, of course, make a convenient place to hang a pair of eyeglasses.)

Now … you know!