DID YOU KNOW…? When were the first airbags installed in U.S. automobiles?

August! The hottest month of the year (in most places, anyway). And yet, it’s also the month in which most kids go back to school.

That, in itself, isn’t much of a problem.  The problem comes up when the systems get the electric bills for all the air conditioning they have to use.

If schools didn’t start in the hottest month of the year, the bills wouldn’t be so high.  Duh.

That’s your public service thought for the week.  Now, on to the trivia!

Did you know …

… Leonardo da Vinci needed ten years to paint the Mona Lisa? Da Vinci (1452-1519) completed the work in 1503, having spent ten years working on the portrait of Lisa del Giocondo (1479-1542). It was one of the first paintings to depict its subject in front of an imaginary background landscape. Additional trivia note: The Mona Lisa is not painted on canvas, but rather on a plank of poplar wood. The painting also receives fan mail each year, and under French heritage law it cannot be bought or sold, despite being literally priceless. (That smile … that smile.)

… a professional wrestling organization had to change its name because of an animal-rights group? The World-Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) was founded in 1952 by two promoters, Roderick “Jess” McMahon (1882-1954) and Joseph “Toots” Mondt (1894-1976). For marketing purposes, the name was shortened to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979 – almost immediately catching the ire of a group that was already using those initials, the World Wildlife Fund. The animal-rights organization sued over the use of the WWF trademark, and in 2002 the wrestling organization lost. Forced to rebrand itself, the company became World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, and removed any trace of the old branding. (That’s called laying the smack down.)

… your brain makes decisions seven seconds before you are aware of it? In an article in Wired magazine in 2008, it was reported that scientists using scanning devices on the brains of volunteers noted brain activity seven seconds before the subject announced what the decision to be made was. Those results were common across all of the test subjects. (They didn’t scan my brain.  It makes decisions I’m not ever aware of.)

… a popular game show host was once on three different shows at the same time? On February 4, 1991, Alex Trebek (1940-2020) took over as the host of the NBC revival of To Tell the Truth. At the same time, Trebek was hosting Classic Concentration on the same network and Jeopardy! in syndication. It was the first time in television history that one host had three different game shows on the air at the same time. (Alex always was something of an over-achiever.)

… airbags are not a new thing in the automotive industry? Autos in the U.S. began being equipped with the air cushion restraint system, or airbags, beginning in the mid- to late 1980s. But the technology wasn’t new – it was at least a decade old by then. The first vehicle equipped with airbags was a limited production 1973 Chevrolet Impala. General Motors produced 1,000 of the cars with the more primitive airbag system that protected front seat occupants and only worked in front-end collisions. The option began to be introduced in 1974 on Buicks, Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles. It wasn’t until 1998 that airbags were made mandatory in all U.S. automobiles. (Thanks to Mason for the tip!)

… a ride at Coney Island was able to be operated on Sundays during New York’s strict law period requiring Sunday closing? In the first part of the 20th Century, the Dreamland amusement park at Coney Island had a water ride called Hell Gate, which took riders on an imaginary ride through … well, through the opposite of Heaven. Because it was a ride with a religious nature of sorts, the park was allowed to operate it during a period when the laws of the state would otherwise require it to be closed.

… the parade scene in 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was not staged? Director John Hughes (1950-2009) had a scene in the film where Bueller, played by Matthew Broderick (born 1962), jumps on a parade float in Chicago and sings to the crowd. But rather than go to the expense of staging a movie parade and closing off streets in the Windy City, Hughes just found a parade that was taking place during filming and eased a float into it, with Broderick lip-synching to a Beatles song. Additional trivia note: The actual parade provided long shots of the float and the real people of Chicago. Close-ups of Broderick and the others on the float were filmed over the course of additional days. (Everybody loves a parade.)

… today’s dirty politics is nothing compared to the early years of the United States? Consider, for instance, the presidential campaign of 1796. Incumbent Vice President John Adams (1735-1826) was taking on Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) to succeed George Washington (1732-1799), who was stepping down after serving two terms. The two men held nothing back in attacking each other. Adams’ campaign actually put out a statement saying if Jefferson was elected, “murder, robbery, rape, adultery and incest will be openly taught and practiced.” Jefferson’s side didn’t hold anything back either, accusing Adams of wanting to be a king, not a president. Jefferson also made fun of Adams’ weight, referring to him as “His Rotundity.” The two men eventually resolved their differences, became great friends, and actually died just hours apart on the same day – July 4, 1826. (Those two make today’s politicians seem pretty tame, don’t they?)

Now … you know!