How many Chinese actors have played detective Charlie Chan?

Can you believe that 2022 is almost over? I mean, here we are in October, man!

Were you aware that a long time ago, October was actually the eighth month of the year? That’s kind of why it’s called “Oct”ober – the oct means eight. So why is it the tenth month now?

Because the calendar changed in the 16th Century.

See, the first day of Spring used to be the start of the year, under the old Julian calendar. But when the Gregorian calendar came into use, Pope Gregory XIII arbitrarily changed New Year’s Day to January 1st, making what was once the eleventh month of the year the first month.

That had the additional benefit of making February, the shortest – and formerly 12th – month become the second, though the days weren’t realigned to go with that.

Enough history. Let’s get to the trivia!

Did you know…

…The Muppet Show is banned from television in Saudi Arabia? The popular program was banned because one of the stars of the show, Miss Piggy, is a pig. Pigs are considered unclean animals in Islam. Oddly, however, Israel – where the Jewish faith also doesn’t look kindly on swine – has no such ban, and Muppet characters are wildly popular, even Miss Piggy.

…one of the most important things for an astronaut in space is airflow? Yes, I know they need oxygen, but they also need that oxygen to flow constantly. Otherwise, they can wake up oxygen-deprived. A bubble of carbon dioxide from their own breathing can form around their heads if air isn’t constantly moving in zero gravity. (So the biggest power consumer on the Space Station is the air conditioner?)

…J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972), first director of the FBI, actually wanted to be president? Hoover felt he could unseat the popular Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) in the election of 1936. Hoover had FBI agents conduct a “poll” in the South and Southwest to gauge support, and the agents were told to say that the Director was a “great man” and “we’d be better off if Hoover was president.” Hoover was mortified when he learned that local law enforcement leaders didn’t even like him as head of the FBI. (Now, if they’d interviewed Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. or David Duchovny, they might’ve gotten a different response. Look it up.)

…Yellowstone National Park may one day wipe out much of the life on Earth? Got your attention, I see. Well, while Yellowstone is home to great beauty, natural geysers and abundant wildlife, it is also sitting on top of one of the largest supervolcanoes on Earth. A few years ago, I mentioned that a supervolcano in what is now Indonesia once almost caused humans to become extinct. The Yellowstone supervolcano erupts once every 700,000 or so years, scientists say. The last one was 640,000 years ago. You do the math. (But if that happens, where do Yogi Bear and Boo Boo go?)

…the role of Chinese detective Charlie Chan has never been played by a Chinese actor on film? During the period from 1926 to 1981, a total of fifty motion pictures were produced with the famous detective as a primary or main supporting character. In those films, the Honolulu-based Chan was played by (in order of appearance) George Kuwa (1885-1931), Sojin Kamiyama (1884-1954), E. L. Park (1876-1948), Warner Oland (1879-1938), Manuel Arbo (1898-1973), Sidney Toler (1874-1947), Roland Winters (1904-1989), Ross Martin (1920-1981), and Peter Ustinov (1921-2004). Of these, only Kuwa and Kamiyama were not Caucasian; they were Japanese, though the character of Charlie Chan is Chinese. Additional trivia note: Though Charlie Chan was never portrayed by a Chinese actor, his “Number One Son” Lee Chan was played by Chinese actor Keye Luke (1904-1991). Charlie Chan was created in a series of novels by Earl Derr Biggers (1884-1933).

…starfish have a bizarre way of eating? A starfish eats by regurgitating its stomach on top of whatever it wants to eat. If the starfish isn’t happy with its meal, it can detach the stomach and grow a new one. (I don’t know… that saves a few steps…)

…there are no penguins at the North Pole? There are also no polar bears at the South Pole. (So that explains why penguins are not on a polar bear’s menu!)

…hippopotamuses can sleep underwater? They have a natural reflex that allows them to bob up to the surface, take a breath, and sink back down … without waking up. (I wonder if they dream about drowning?)

…you could be a pluviophile? If you are, it means you like the rain. (Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. What does that make me? Besides a lousy poet, I mean.)

…humans and Tasmanian devils have something in common? According to scientists, they are each the last surviving species of their genus. (Rightly so!)

…the first song ever played on Mars was “Happy Birthday to You”? The Mars Rover Curiosity played the song to itself on August 5, 2013, the first anniversary of its landing on the Red Planet. (And Curiosity held its own little birthday party for itself!)

…the humble turkey wasn’t always so humble? Historians say that in about the year 300 BC, the Mayans of Central and South America worshipped turkeys. They considered the birds to be vessels of their gods. (And they still can’t fly.)

…67% of dog owners buy holiday gifts for their pets? (So, what’s your point?)

Now… you know!

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