What They Did After They Ran For President (And Lost)
Of the two major party presidential candidates, one gets to be president and the runner-up…has to find something else to do.
General Trivia
12 Interesting Facts About American Coins
(1) The U.S. Mint’s first production in 1793 consisted of 11,178 copper cents. Today the Mint produces an average of 14.7 million coins per day. (2) How many paper bills does the Mint print every year? Not a single note. (That’s the job of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.) (3) The first real woman […]
You're Never Too Old…
Because age is just a number. At age 76: Min Bahadur Sherchan successfully climbed Mount Everest in 2008. He’s the oldest person ever to do it. At age 83: Thomas Edison applied for his 1,093rd—and final—patent (1931). The invention: a holder for items being electroplated. At age 84: Eamon de Valera won a second term […]
Where Does it Come From?
Once again the BRI asks—and answers—the question: Where does all this stuff come from? Telethons After writer Damon Runyon died of cancer in 1946, his friends in the entertainment industry established the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. The charity held its first big fund-raiser in April 1949—an unprecedented 16-hour television broadcast to solicit donations. This […]
Lost Attractions
As a kid growing up in New Jersey, Uncle John often went to Palisades Amusement Park. Then one day they announced they were tearing it down to build an apartment complex. Many areas have an attraction like that—it’s an important part of the cultural landscape for decades…and then it’s gone. ATTRACTION: The Hippodrome LOCATION: New […]
21 Grand Irish Slang Terms For You to Dekko
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with these words and phrases straight out of the Emerald Isle. Cat: Something terrible or annoying. Not that the Irish hate cats; it’s short for cat malojan, a Gaelic corruption of an old English phrase, “cat on a melodeon,” which is a type of organ. (Indeed, cat walking across an organ’s keyboard […]
A Short History of Brokered Conventions
What happens if the primary presidential elections don’t end with a candidate who has enough delegates to secure their party’s nomination? A fight at the party convention this summer.
Mothers of Invention
There have always been women inventors…even if they’ve been overlooked by the history books. Here are a few you may not have heard of. Mary Anderson Invention: Windshield wipers Background: In 1903 Anderson, an Alabaman, took a trip to New York City. One snowy afternoon she decided to tour the city by streetcar, but instead […]
Obscure-o-nyms
Caution: Reading the definitions of these obscure words may lead to sophomania. Castrophenia: The belief that one’s thoughts are being stolen by enemies. Eugonic: Rapid and luxuriant growth, such as bacteria bred in labs (and teenagers). Rhytiscopia: A neurotic preoccupation with wrinkles. Nyctalopia: An inability to see at night. Gyrovagues: Medieval Christian monks who wandered […]
You're My Inspiration
More examples of the unusual places pop-culture architects get their ideas. The One Ring. An ancient Roman gold ring was discovered on a farm in rural England in 1785. A stone tablet found at another site 140 years later curses a thief named Senicianus for stealing the ring from its owner, Silvianus. “Among those who […]
Le Change en Francaise
Some dramatic changes to the French language were announced in 1990 and they’re scheduled to take effect this fall. Not happy about it: a lot of people who speak French.
The All-Time Most Scandalous and Famous Celebrity Rumors, Finally Debunked
Despite what you may have heard, Uncle John was not the original Ty-D-Bowl Man. (How do these rumors get started, anyway?) Was 1970s shock-rocker Alice Cooper actually Ken Osmond, the teen actor who had played Eddie Haskell on wholesome 1950s sitcom Leave It to Beaver? No. Alice Cooper’s real name is Vincent Furnier. The rumor spread […]
Happy Seuss Day!
In schools and libraries across the country, today is Read Across America Day, part of an effort to encourage kids to read. Why today? It’s the birthday of perhaps the greatest children’s book author of all time, Dr. Seuss. “Dr. Seuss” isn’t his real name, of course. The good doctor’s real name is Theodor Geisel—Seuss […]
Fitness Fads
Every few years, a new exercise craze sweeps the country. Here’s how a few of them got up and moving. Jazzercise Jazz choreographer Judi Sheppard Missett came up with the dance-meets-aerobics fitness program—fun routines set to pop music—in 1969 and opened a studio in Los Angeles. By 1977 she no longer taught classes. Instead, she […]
VCR Board Games
Some forgotten fads are forgotten for a reason. DO YOU WANT TO PLAY A GAME? In the late 1980s and early ’90s, board game publishers feared that the popularity of video games spelled doom for their industry. Solution: VCR Board Games, which included a board game, and, to compete with electronic games, a videotape. The […]
The Talented Miss America
The Miss America Pageant added the talent portion to the contest in 1935. Most contestants sing or dance, but some display more unusual skills. 1957: Amanda Whitman (Miss Tennessee) did a gymnastic tumbling and trampoline routine to the theme from The Third Man. 1959: Elizabeth Holmes (Miss New York) did an impression of French singer […]
That Other Superhero
At the top of the superhero list, you’ve got your Superman, your Batman…and then way, way down the list, you’ve got these. Shamrock In 1982 artists at Marvel Comics—tasked with creating an Irish superhero—came up the most stereotypically Irish lass possible. Shamrock (Molly Fitzgerald) is the daughter of a militant IRA member and has long […]
Rock ’n’ Roll Diary
Gossip and trivia from pop music. RADIOHEAD Bucking the tradition of rock groups trashing hotel rooms, Radiohead actually does the opposite. Not only do they clean up their own rooms, but they once snuck back into a hotel after checking out to clean up a room that their opening band had trashed. THE WHITE STRIPES […]
