DID YOU KNOW …? Was an iconic star of a 1960s sitcom the first person in the role?

This Saturday is the Fourth of July, which in itself is a wonderful day.  But this year, it’s extra-special.

You see, this year’s Independence Day is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the symbolic thumbing of the nose to King George III of Great Britain by the American colonists.

A pretty nasty war followed that, but once the war was over, these 13 formerly British colonies became a new nation, the one in which you and I live. (Unless you live somewhere else.)

So Happy 250th Birthday, America, and let’s get on with the trivia!

Did you know …

… about 0.5% of the entire world’s male population is believed to be descended from a single man? The man was Genghis Khan (1162-1227), who is believed to have fathered between 1,000 and 3,000 children during his time leading conquests for the Mongol Empire. Those children’s male descendants make up the single largest group whose lineage could be traced to one person in the world today. (Talk about someone who got around! I’ll bet the child support payments were astronomical.)

… an airline lost one of its jets for 13 years, only to find it was under their nose all the time? In 2012, an Air India Boeing 737 jet was decommissioned and removed from the airline’s records. The plane itself, however, was left in a parking area at Kolkata airport, and airport officials dutifully sent the airline bills for parking fees. The airline disputed the bills, saying they didn’t have a plane there – until 2025, when an official of the airline arrived at the airport to discuss the situation and a worker pointed to the jet, effectively saying, “There it is.” The airline sheepishly admitted it was indeed their jet, arranged for its removal, and most importantly paid the thirteen years of back parking fees. (No wonder it costs so much to fly.)

… armadillos are practically bullet-proof? (If you choose to test that, remember, I have nothing to do with it.)

… ancient Olympic athletes competed naked? It was believed that being nude while performing athletic events brought the athlete closer to the gods. (Can you imagine the ratings if the modern Olympics were conducted that way?)

… the iconic star of a 1960s sitcom was not the first person in the role? From 1967 to 1970, Sally Field (born 1946) starred in The Flying Nun, a situation comedy on ABC. Field had initially been offered the role after the cancellation of her earlier series Gidget, but she thought the premise of the show – a novice nun who could fly due to high winds and a starched cornet – was silly. She passed on the role, and the producers began filming the pilot with their second choice, actress Ronne Troup (born 1945). But after Field had a rather serious conversation with her stepfather Jock Mahoney (1919-1989), she changed her mind, putting Troup out of a job and causing all of the scenes she had filmed to be re-shot. Additional trivia note: Field reportedly hated the role and the concept of the series, and following its cancellation she was concerned about being typecast. Fortunately, she was able to work in several serious movies in the years following The Flying Nun, and her career did not suffer for her having played the role. (I guess wanting to eat and live indoors causes a lot of actors to take roles they don’t really want to play.)

… a popular brand of tortilla chips has a different name in Sweden? Doritos™ ranch flavor chips are called “American flavor” in that Scandinavian country, because Swedish people are totally unfamiliar with ranch flavor. (So, ranch flavor is what America tastes like?)

… a president’s wife is believed (in some circles) to have killed him? When President Warren G. Harding (1865-1923) died in San Francisco, rumors circulated that he had been poisoned by his wife, Florence (1860-1924), as retaliation for his numerous extra-marital affairs. The fact that Mrs. Harding refused to allow an autopsy to be performed fed those rumors. Historians, however, believe Harding died of a heart attack, and Florence was not involved in his death. (Sure.)

… you can see stars up to 4,000 light-years away with the naked eye? With one colossal exception – the Andromeda galaxy is visible to the naked eye, and it’s 2.5 million light-years away from Earth. (Andromeda … now that’s a heavenly body.)

… identical twins are not totally identical? While they may look alike, sound alike, and even have the same basic DNA, there is one major difference – they have unique fingerprints. (If you want to get technical about it.)

… the Earth’s rotation is slowing down? Don’t worry, you don’t notice it. But due to tidal and gravitational forces from the Sun and the Moon, Earth’s rotation is slowing by about 1.8 seconds per century. In fact, about 600 million years ago, one day on Earth only lasted 21 hours.

… mirrors facing each other actually do not produce infinite reflections? As the reflections get smaller, they get darker, and eventually fade into invisibility. (But the effect is staggering for as long as it lasts.)

… you may know an ultracrepidarian? You may, in fact, actually be one. An ultracrepidarian is someone who gives opinions about something, when in fact they know absolutely nothing about it. (I have a line here, but it would close the show.)

… a taste test went very wrong for French wines? In 1976, a wine tasting in Paris was held in which various California and French wines were compared in a blind taste test. When the results were compiled, California wines won. The single reporter who covered the event was then blacklisted for reporting it. (No good deed goes unpunished.)

Now … you know!