Clumsy Clouseau of Collectors

Did you know the day before he was to sell the Picasso painting Le Rêve (The Dream) for $139 million, Las Vegas casino magnate Steve Wynn accidentally poked a hole in it with his elbow?




Wynn refers to himself now as the "Clouseau of Collectors", a reference to the clumsy detective in the The Pink Panther movies.

Mammal Munches Much in Milliseconds

Did you know the Star-nosed mole is the fastest eating mammal? According to Nature Journal, the animal can identify and eat a piece of prey in 120 milliseconds.

That's almost as fast as one of my sisters used to eat.

Looks a bit like her, too.

Stamp Out Fakes!

Did you know the Statue of Liberty depicted on the "forever" stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2010 wasn't the real statue, but the replica outside the New York, New York Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada?

The one on the left is the one on the stamp, the face of the replica in Vegas; the one on the right is the face on the real statue.

When Second Was Best

Did you know The Beatles lost out to Brian Poole and The Tremeloes when the two groups auditioned in 1962 for a contract at the London studios of Decca Records? Reportedly, Decca's decision was based upon location; The Tremeloes were from the London area, making them more accessible than the Liverpool-based Beatles.

Do You Love Me



Here Comes My Baby

I'm a Fun Guy!

Did you know mushrooms are more closely related to animals than to plants?

Mushrooms are fungi, which are actually genetically closer to animals than they are to plants. Scientists use a genealogical path known as the Tree of Life to trace the evolution of living organisms, and they have determined that fungi share a common ancestor with animals and are completely branched off from plants.

Fungi and animals have to turn to external sources for their food sources, but plants can produce their own nutrients. Chitin, a complex carbohydrate responsible for cell wall structure, is a molecule that is shared by fungi and animals but is not found in plants.

wiseGEEK: Learn Something New Every Day

Tongue Out-of-Cheek

Did you know the Okapi is the only mammal capable of cleaning its ears and eyelids with its tongue? Their tongue can be up to a foot long.

Okapi at the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Congo



Although Gene Simmons comes close.

Calling All Ships

Did you know if you want to make a phone call to someone aboard a ship at sea, you'll need to use the global maritime area code "870" ?

Fun Phone Fact

Did you know the first phone in the White House was installed  in 1879 during the Rutherford B. Hayes administration? (even before electricity in 1891) Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, gave Hayes personal instructions on how to use it. The number was "1" because at first it was only connected to the Treasury Dept.

I wonder how long it was until the President was interrupted during dinner by a telemarketer?

The Gourde

Did you know that the official currency of Haiti is known as gourde, named after the gourd? (botanically classified as a fruit) In the early 1800's the ruler of northern Haiti declared all gourds to be state property and had them rounded up and brought to the state treasury where they were then reissued as currency. Eventually banknotes and coins replaced the gourds, but gourde has remained the name of Haiti's official currency.

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I first discovered this fact when I read The Black Sun as a young man. My folks were big fans of the Mandingo series of books, as well as others written by Kyle Onstott and his partners. The books were really too adult for my age but I guess my parents thought it better for me to find out about sex that way instead of them having to uncomfortably explain it to me.

There were gourds growing in the pastures surrounding the house where I grew up; not sure what specific type of gourd they were, but they usually didn't grow much larger than a baseball and, in fact, throwing them was the most fun I had with them.  The vines and fruit smelled to high heaven when crushed, with an odor like day-old B.O.  After working hard all day during a hot summer, I often heard my dad say "I smell just like an ol' gourd vine." 

Amazing Trivial Coincidence

Note: links go to YouTube videos of the songs. Four embedded videos in one post is a bit too much.

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Did you know "I Think We’re Alone Now", a #1 hit in the U.S. for Tiffany in 1987, was written by Ritchie Cordell and first released by Tommy James & The Shondells in 1967? You did?

Well, I bet you didn't know that the #2 hit on the U.S. charts that year was Billy Idol's "Mony Mony"...which was also written by Ritchie Cordell and first recorded by Tommy James & The Shondells.

Good Sports

Did you know there have been three sports movies to win Best Picture Oscars?

They are: Rocky (1976), Chariots of Fire (1981) and Million Dollar Baby (2004).

Let's hope the people associated with the movies that lost were good sports about it.

Not Fat, Just Brainy

Did you know 60% of the human brain is composed of fat?


So, the next time you call someone a fathead, you might be complimenting them.

Won By a Nose

Did you know there have been three Oscar-winning actors who wore fake noses in the parts for which they won?

They were Nicole Kidman as writer Virginia Woolf in The Hours (2002), Lee Marvin as Kid Shellen's twin brother (aka Silvernose) in Cat Ballou (1965) and José Ferrer as the title character in Cyrano de Bergerac (1950).

Cold is Cold

Did you know it's colder at the South Pole than it is at the North Pole?

The South Pole is surrounded by a large land mass covered by a thick ice sheet. The North Pole rests in the middle of the Arctic Ocean which acts as an effective heat reservoir, warming the cold atmosphere in the winter and drawing heat in the summer.

Even though it's warmer, I don't think I'm taking a vacation to the North Pole.

Do Dolphins Dream?

Did you know dolphins sleep with one eye open?  Dolphins are always partly conscious when they sleep to keep from drowning.  They keep one eye open at all times to watch for predators. 

If they ever do fall sleep with both eyes shut, it's not on porpoise.

Clipart courtesy of Free-Clipart-Pictures.net

Marx Man Missed Mark

Did you know the FBI once listed Groucho Marx as a potential threat to the life of Richard Nixon? Marx was listed as a threat when he joked in 1971 "I think the only hope for this country is Nixon's assassination."
	Not many found it funny, least of all Nixon and the FBI.

Images courtesy of

Not Fit to Print

Did you know Yellow journalism is named for a comic strip character called The Yellow Kid?

From Wiki: Yellow journalism, or the yellow press, is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism. By extension, the term yellow journalism is used today as a pejorative to decry any journalism that treats news in an unprofessional or unethical fashion.

Just my not-so-humble opinion, but that would describe most of the main stream media.  They've gone from being the canary in the coal mine to citing "a little birdie told me" for their sources.

Berry Interesting!

Did you know pineapples belong to the berry family? The pineapple is a multiple fruit made up of coalesced berries. The name comes from its pine cone-like appearance.

A Few Feline Facts

Did you know cats can get any disease a human can and more, including rabies, mental disease and skin conditions? In fact, dandruff is common in cats and it can be especially stressful for cats with dark fur and may lead to depression.

I'm not sure giving one a Head and Shoulders ^TM shampoo would be a good idea, though.

Now What?

Did you know Wile E. Coyote once caught the Roadrunner?  It was in the episode titled "Soup or Sonic".