What is the longest official time ever posted in an Olympic marathon event?

Springtime continues!

We got the April showers, and now we’re getting the May flowers.  Following that we’ll be getting the June bugs.

I don’t have anything for July, but if you can come up with something amusing, let me know, okay?  I have one for August but it’s not exactly “family-friendly,” if you catch my drift.

On to the trivia, which is what you’re really here to read!  I hope you enjoy it.

Did you know …

… the most accurate clock in the world is located at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C.?  Based on the vibration of cesium atoms, the clock will gain – or lose – only one second every 300 million years.  (Batteries not included.)

… one of the most popular movies of 1999 almost lost several scenes?  Toy Story 2, produced by Pixar, was a computer-animated feature and a major part of the four-movie series.  But before the film was released, someone entered a deletion command on the drive where the movie files were stored, and scenes began to be deleted.  Fortunately, another employee had a backup of the entire movie on her laptop at home, as it would have taken more than a year to recreate the deleted scenes.  (And thus do we get official recognition of the importance of backups!)

… a president had a pet hyena?  Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), 26th President of the United States, was given a hyena by the Ethiopian emperor Menelik II (1844-1913).  The hyena was just one of Roosevelt’s unusual pets – the feisty outdoorsman also had a one-legged rooster, a badger, and a small bear.  (TR was known for his … eclectic … tastes in wildlife.)

… a lawyer once made the ultimate sacrifice in defending his client?  In 1871, lawyer Clement Vallandigham (1820-1871) was defending a client in Ohio against a charge of murder, claiming the victim had actually shot himself while drawing his pistol from a pocket at the same time he was rising to a standing position.  Vallandingham selected a pistol he thought was unloaded, put it in his pocket, and enacted the event as he believed it had happened.  As he drew the gun from his pocket, it went off, the bullet striking Vallandingham in the stomach.  Vallandingham died of his wound the next day, but the re-enactment was enough for the jury, and Vallandingham’s client was found not guilty of murder.  (Perry Mason couldn’t have done a better job.)

… the longest official time in an Olympic marathon was over 50 years?  At the 1912 Olympics, runner Shizo Kanakuri (1891-1983) competed in the marathon event.  It had taken Kanakuri 18 days to get from Japan to Stockholm, Sweden, site of the Games, and the marathon was held in temperatures that were uncommonly warm for Sweden.  To add to this, Kanakuri had some serious issues with the local food and, during the race, he passed out.  When he awakened he was fearful of being embarrassed by his failure to complete the race, and quietly went home to Japan without telling the Olympic officials.  In 1967, Swedish television officials contacted Kanakuri and asked him if he wanted the chance to finish his run, which he did.  His official time:  54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes and 20.3 seconds.  Additional trivia note:  Despite his leaving the 1912 Games, Kanakuri was invited to compete in the 1916 Games (which were cancelled due to World War I) and the 1920 Games, where he ran the marathon in a more respectable 2 hours, 48 minutes, and 45.4 seconds.  (There ought to be a medal just for that.  I’m just saying.)

… an executed monarch’s last words were an apology?  On October 16, 1793, Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), overthrown Queen of France, ascended the guillotine to be executed by the French Revolution.  As she stepped onto the platform, she trod on the foot of the man who would operate the device.  Glancing at him, the ex-Queen said, “Monsieur, je vous demande pardon.  Je ne l’ai pais fait exprès.”  That’s French for, “Sir, I beg your pardon.  I did not do it on purpose.”  The executioner replied with the word, “Courage.”  (Well, that’s nothing to lose your head about.)

… the greatest attendance at a college football game took place in 2016?  On September 10, 2016, a total of 156,990 people attended the game between the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech.  The Volunteers beat the Hokies in the “Battle of Bristol,” 45-24.  (I would’ve loved to have had the concessions income that day!)

… the original title for Maurice Sendak’s 1963 children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, was supposed to be something else?  Sendak (1928-2012) was going to call it Where the Wild Horses Are, but realized early on that he couldn’t draw a horse.  At the suggestion of his editor, he changed the drawings to “things” that would be used to represent boisterous children, and a classic was born.  (He wasn’t just horsing around, was he?)

… an American first lady was also a newspaper columnist?  Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), wife of the 32nd President, Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), wrote a syndicated newspaper column titled “My Day,” in which she shared her thoughts on political and social issues.  The column – which she wrote six days a week – ran from 1935, during her husband’s first term, until September 26, 1962, just six weeks before her death.  By the 1960s, though, the column had become so filled with political commentary that one syndicate dropped it due to its content.  (Not unlike the political columnists of today, I think.)

… the word “witch” comes from an Old English word that means “wise woman”?  The original word was wicce, and at one point wiccans were highly respected people.  (You respected them or they’d turn you into a newt.)

Now … you know!