Was one of the most iconic scenes in film history totally improvised?

July comes to an end.

Most months do, in fact.  Right about the time day 30 or 31 comes up, it’s time for that month to go into the dustbin of history.  (Before you send in a note, yes, I realize February ends early, at day 28 or 29.  So there.)

With August in the wings, I think it’s time for some trivia, don’t you?  (If you say no, it’s going to be a very short column.)

Did you know …

… the son of an assassinated president saw the murders of two others?  Robert Todd Lincoln (1843-1926), oldest son of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), was at his father’s bedside when he died of an assassin’s bullet.  Lincoln was also accompanying President James Garfield (1831-1881) at a Washington train station as Secretary of War when Garfield was shot, and in 1901 he was at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, at the invitation of President William McKinley (1843-1901) and was near McKinley when he was shot.  Lincoln then vowed to never again appear in public with an incumbent president, and refused several invitations from successive presidents to appear with them.  (Can you blame him?)

… old remedies can be rather strange?  For instance, a book called The Red Book of Hergest, from Wales, offered an herbal remedy to ease the effects of imbibing too many spirits.  The book suggests eating bruised saffron with spring water.  Additionally, saffron can cure sadness, the book adds … in moderation.  “Beware of eating over much,” it says, “lest you should die of excessive joy.”  (Oh, joy.)

… some countries do hold on to traditions?  For instance, in Sweden, Christmas Eve sees the broadcast of a 1958 Walt Disney television special, From All of Us to All of You.  Translated into Swedish, the show is called Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul, meaning Donald Duck and his Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas.  The show has been aired without commercial interruption every December 24 at 3 p.m. since 1959.  (And our networks can’t even show A Charlie Brown Christmas any more.)

… a museum exists that is dedicated to presidential “also-rans”?  Located in Norton, Kansas, the “They Also Ran Gallery” is a small museum paying tribute to those who didn’t win their presidential elections.  The museum was created in 1965 by William Walter Rouse (1923-1981), a banker who thought it appropriate to commemorate those who ran for president and didn’t win the office.  The museum is located on an upper floor of Norton’s First State Bank, and its first enshrined runner-up was Horace Greeley (1811-1872), who lost the 1872 election to Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885).  (“They also ran” is another term for “Loveable Loser.”)

… one of the most iconic film scenes in history was totally improvised?  In the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, there is a scene in which the hero, Indiana Jones, faces a swordsman in the streets of Cairo, Egypt.  The swordsman does a dazzling display with his scimitar, at the end of which Jones simply pulls out his pistol and shoots the swordsman.  The scene was not supposed to go like that, however.  Jones, portrayed by actor Harrison Ford (born 1942), was supposed to engage in “the ultimate duel of a sword against a whip,” as one writer said.  However, Ford was ill from the effects of dysentery, and did not have the energy to even begin the duel – which, of course, would have actually been conducted by stuntmen.  So, improvising something he had already discussed with director Steven Spielberg (born 1946), Ford simply pulled the pistol and fired, and the swordsman – played by British stuntman Terry Richards (1932-2014) – dropped to the ground.  Additional trivia note:  Richards, an accomplished swordsman as well as a stuntman, had practiced the swordfight for several weeks before shooting, but understood Ford’s reluctance to do the scene, considering how ill he felt.  (Knowing how dysentery can affect a person, I think that was the right call.)

… you are made of stardust?  Partly, anyway.  According to Mental Floss, the calcium in your bones and the iron in your blood was created in the explosions of ancient giant stars.  (How it got here, I leave up to you.)

… the most-visited country in the world is France?  According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, more people visit France than any other country.  If you were wondering, Spain is second; the United States is third.  (And you would think they’d be nicer to people coming to visit!)

… automobile tires were initially white?  Tires made from natural rubber are white, but in 1912 carbon chemicals began to be mixed with the latex in an effort to make them more durable.  The carbon chemicals turned the rubber black.  (Understandable.)

… one Canadian province requires contracts to be bilingual? In Quebec, the French-speaking part of Canada, any contract drafted in English must have a bilingual clause stating that the contract is only in English … or it must be drafted in both French and English.  Without that clause, the entire agreement is invalid.  (“Mais oui!”  “I don’t know, may we?”)

… soft tortillas are a favorite food for astronauts in space?  The reason is that they don’t crumble, so no crumbs can get caught in the equipment.  (Man doth not live by bread alone, you know.)

… the old New York City Hall held a fascinating secret?  When the building was being renovated in 1903, it was discovered that there was a secret stairwell in it.  The stairwell was designed to be used by city officials to escape the building when angry constituents were waiting for them outside.  (Sneaky.  Fitting, but sneaky.)

Now … you know!