What classic ‘Batman’ comic villain was never used in the 1960s television series?

Back in May, the first volume of collected silliness from these columns was foisted off onto the world as a book.

Since then, I am so very pleased to say that Did You Know…? Yet Another Compendium of Useless Trivia has really caught on with readers. I hear from people every week who are just discovering the book or the column for the very first time, and they overwhelmingly like what they’re reading.

Or so they say. I’ll take the compliment even if they’re just being sarcastic.

If you haven’t checked the compendium out just yet, you can visit my author page at: www.amazon.com/author/jackbagley

The e-book version is also available for those who don’t want the old-fashioned feel of a paper book in their hands.

Now, to the new stuff for this week!

Did you know …

…if you could drive straight up, you’d reach outer space in about an hour? (Why you would want to drive straight up is beyond me, though. What if the brakes fail?)

…a Barbie™ doll was once sold with a decidedly non-PC message? During the 1960s, Mattel toys sold a “Slumber Party Barbie” doll that came with a small book entitled, How to Lose Weight. The back cover of the book had the words, “Don’t eat,” printed on it. The doll came with a pink plastic scale accessory, which was set to 110 pounds. Additional trivia note: If Barbie were a human of the same dimensions, she’d be 5 feet 9 inches tall – and, at 110 pounds, she’d be 35 pounds underweight. (So she wouldn’t really need the book with its silly advice, would she?)

…the average millionaire goes bankrupt at least three and a half times? (Wouldn’t you just love to see the paperwork on that half bankruptcy?)

…the original Mounted Police in Canada had only nine members? The Mounted Police was formed in 1873. In 1920, that division merged with the Dominion Police and became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. With the slogan, “We Always Get Our Man,” the organization now has more than 28,000 members. And yes, they still ride horses, though they also use modern transportation as well. (I couldn’t find any verification, however, that the founder of the Mounties was a chap named Dudley DoRight.)

…cats manipulate our behavior toward them? They use a meow that sounds like a crying baby to get you to give them food and/or attention. Only cats who live in single-person households use this special combination of a meow and a purr to get their human to do their bidding. It’s acquired in cats who have a one-on-one relationship with their human. (You know, that explains a lot about my cat Boris.)

… a species of mouse communicates with song notes? The Scotinomys teguina, or Alston’s singing mouse, lives in Central America. They communicate with each other using about 100 different musical notes, and they are studied by scientists looking for ways to help solve communication difficulties among humans. (And they have a record on the Billboard charts, too!)

…a classic Batman villain almost appeared on the 1960s TV show? The character of Two-Face, who is former Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent scarred by exposure to acid, was to have been in the campy ‘60s series, and an outline for the two-part episode was written by science fiction legend Harlan Ellison (1934-2018). According to some reports, the role was going to be offered to actor Clint Eastwood (born 1930). However, the show’s producers felt that even if played for camp, like the other villains of the Batman television universe, Two-Face’s scarred appearance would frighten the children who made up their primary audience, so the character – and the possible script by Ellison – went unused. (Sigh. Clint Eastwood in a Harlan Ellison script on Batman. What might have been …)

…you may be guilty of committing a mencolek? Don’t hurry off to the Sheriff to turn yourself in, though, because a mencolek is not a crime. Mencolek is the term for tapping someone on the shoulder from behind them, and being on the other side of them, in order to trick that person. The word comes from Indonesia. (The gag, however, is timeless.)

…the juice of unripened grapes has a name? Also coming from crabapples and other sour fruit, the juice is called verjuice.

…Americans eat more than 22 pounds of tomatoes each year? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than half of that figure comes from ketchup and tomato sauce. (Not by me! I’m not a fan of tomatoes.)

… a photo of a presidential inauguration has a sinister side? At the second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) on March 4, 1865, the first photograph taken during a presidential inauguration was snapped. In the photo is a man identified by historians as John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865), who would assassinate Lincoln a little over a month after the photo was taken.

…during the Civil War, generals were 50% more likely to die in battle than privates were? That’s because at that time, generals normally led their soldiers into battle, rather than commanding from the rear, as became the practice in later wars. (Make of that what you will.)

…a Chinese “elixir of immortality” was found in a 2,000-year-old tomb? Archaeologists discovered a bronze pot inside a tomb in China’s Henan province in March of 2019. Inside the pot was 3.5 liters of a liquid referred to in an ancient Taoist manuscript as an “elixir of immortality.” It turns out to be just a mixture of potassium nitrate and alunite. (Elixir of immortality found in a tomb, you say? Well, here’s a heads-up: It doesn’t work.)

Now… you know!

HHJ News