How long did it take to build Disneyland?

I had so hoped to be able to compose my own “Ode to Spring” by this time.

It’s my 64th spring, after all, and one would think that by this time I’d come up with something good, something cute, something original.

But nope. I got nothing. I love spring, but I can’t seem to put it into words.

Oh, well. You can’t say I didn’t try (Well, you can say it, but it would be wrong).

What I can do for this lovely week in spring is … spring some trivia on you. So here it is, and remember, if you feel the need to chat about an item, my e-mail address is always didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com and I always, always reply.

On to the trivia!

Did you know …

… About 30,000 Americans are injured each year by their toilets? (How, for heaven’s sake?)

… A popular music award was created to counter the influence of rock music? In 1958, a group of record executives – alarmed by the explosive success of rock and roll – created an award for music that was anything but rock or other “rebellious” music. Originally called the Gramophone award, the name was soon shortened to the familiar Grammy award. As far as being “against” rock, that didn’t work out too well, as several rock artists and bands have been Grammy winners (Funny how things like that always work out, isn’t it?).

… One of the smartest men in history got a divorce on a promise? Albert Einstein (1879-1955) desperately wanted to divorce his first wife, Mileva Maric (1875-1948), in 1919. Mileva was not going along with the plan, even though the two had been separated for years, so Dr. Einstein made a three-pronged offer to her: he would increase her annual stipend from 6,000 marks to 9,000, provided 2,000 of it went into the bank for the kids; he would grant her the widow’s pension; and most notably, he promised that if he ever won the Nobel Prize, he would give it to her. After giving the offer a week’s thought, Mileva accepted. By 1919, Dr. Einstein had been nominated for a Nobel Prize eighteen times, but had never won. When he did win the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921, Dr. Einstein kept his word, and the prize money was deposited in a Swiss bank account for Mileva.

… The face of Aladdin, in the Disney animated movie of the same name, was based on a famous actor? Disney animators based the face of the character Aladdin on that of actor Tom Cruise (born 1962) (I thought I recognized him!).

… One of the world’s most beloved theme parks was built in exactly one year? On July 16, 1954, the first shovel of dirt was turned by Walt Disney (1901-1966) in Anaheim, California, for the theme park that would become Disneyland, with construction beginning in earnest the following day. The park opened to the public for the first time one year later, on July 17, 1955. Under Disney’s close supervision, workers completed the huge 160-acre theme park in 365 days. Additional trivia note: Disneyland was Walt’s pride and joy, but it wasn’t his first attempt at a theme park. As far back as 1932, Disney had wanted to build a family park and had selected a vacant 16-acre plot of land in Burbank, California, which was across the street from his studio. His plans, however, were rejected by the city (Bet they lived to regret that decision).

… The pumpkin capital of the world is in the United States? The town of Morton, Illinois, calls itself that, as much of world’s canned pumpkin is processed at a plant in the town. It’s also the home of an annual pumpkin festival (Naturally).

… The iconic emblem of the Rolling Stones was not created by a famous artist? The depiction of an open mouth with a large tongue extending out is often said to have been devised by Andy Warhol (1928-1987), but this is not correct. The logo was created by John Pasche (born 1945) and Craig Braun (born 1939) of Sound Packaging Corporation from a request by band front man Mick Jagger, born 1943 (Well, whoever designed it was pure genius).

… The state of North Dakota produces enough beef to make 113 million hamburgers each year? There are about three times more cattle than there are people in North Dakota (Of course, since the total population of North Dakota is like 16 people).

… The advent of cooking has made human beings better? Scientists suggest that the discovery of cooking food led to healthier food. This led, in turn, to bigger brains and the development of language, art, music, and everything else we take for granted today (This does not explain sushi, of course, but then … nothing really does. It’s just good).

… A popular song had to be scrapped from the playlist of the 2000 Democratic National Convention? “Mambo No. 5” by Lou Bega (born 1975) was riding high on the Billboard charts when convention organizers were putting together the music playlist, but a review of the lyrics caused the song to be pulled. One of the lyrics is, “A little bit of Monica in my life,” and organizers thought that line might embarrass former President Bill Clinton (born 1946), whose White House tryst with intern Monica Lewinsky (born 1973) almost cost him the presidency (There are so many comments I could make here, but … no, I won’t).

… Sounds travel faster through granite than through air? Measurements show sound moves up to 10 times faster through rock than through air (Only problem is, you can’t hear it).

… Only one kind of Jell-O™ has actual fruit in it? Cranberry Jell-O has real fruit. All the others have fruit flavoring (Well, nobody’s perfect).

… Ants can survive in a microwave oven? They are small enough to dodge the rays that cook the food (Pretty neat trick, that).

Now … you know!

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