Daily Dispatch

The World’s Most Expensive Movie Props

Movies cost a lot of money—
it’s expensive to build sets, pay actors, and occasionally, a single prop.

The purse

expensive movie propsThe films of Woody Allen earn critical acclaim, but they are usually modest commercial hits, with subsequently small production budgets. Allen’s latest, Blue Jasmine, is about a wealthy woman forced to live modestly after her husband is imprisoned for financial crimes. The one vestige of Jasmine’s (Cate Blanchett) formerly glamorous life is a tan purse.

The Original Dungeon Masters

As Dungeon & Dragons turns 40 years old, here is a look back at
the history of how this game came to be.

History of Dungeons and DragonsROLLING THE DICE

Gary Gygax (pronounced GHEE-Gax) was an insurance underwriter living in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in the late 1960s. He made his living calculating the probabilities that an individual seeking to buy insurance would become sick or disabled or die, and he used these estimates to set the premiums and payouts on the policies he reviewed. Every policy was like a roll of the dice: If Gygax calculated correctly, the individual received sufficient coverage at a fair price, and the insurance company had a good shot at earning a fair profit. If he was incorrect, either the individual or the insurance company would lose.

2016 Summer Olympics Wrapup

4 Tales of Winter Olympics Almost-Glory

Olympic Duds

The 2014 Winter Olympics are just around the corner. They’re sure to offer plenty of triumphs, but for every Brian Boitano, there’s a Tonya Harding. Here are some other spectacular Olympic duds.

When Did “The Present” Begin?

It’s a harder question than it sounds. Does the present refer to right this second?
Today? This year? The past few years? Fortunately, science has the answer.

The PresentDifferent scientific disciplines, cultures, and religions base their calendars on different “zero” moments. In geology, as well as other scientific disciplines, the epoch of time referred to as “the present” began on January 1, 1950. It’s a somewhat arbitrary, compromise of a date, but a fixed moment in the study of things that takes a really, really long time to change or move.

Trivia Quizzes

The Return of the Bride of Fact-or-Fake Friday!

FactOrFake Logo 1If you’re new around here, here’s the deal: Below are three weird news items from the past few weeks. Two of them are true, and one of them…we made up. Take a guess, and check the answers to see if you’re right.

Alternate Uses For Cremated Remains

When you or a loved one dies, you can either opt for a burial, or cremation. Those ashes can then be kept in an urn, spread in a favorite spot…or made into something really cool.

3d render of urn for ashesRecords. A company called And Vinyly presses cremated ashes into a vinyl record. Along with an album sleeve and label listing the deceased’s name, birth date, and death date, And Vinyly puts the ashes right into the shellac. Customers can choose whether they want music (indie rock is available), soundscapes, a message they record themselves, or just the “pops and crackles” that come with a record. Prices start at about $4,900 for a box of 30 records.

impossible to answer questions

Impossible Questions: Tough TV Trivia Edition – The Answers

Impossible QuestionsGot your answers ready? Let’s see how you did.

 

What do “Golden Age of Television” series The Arthur Murray Party, The Ernie Kovacs Show, Pantomime Quiz, Space Cadet, and Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour have in common?

They’re all TV classics, but the weird distinction these five series share is that each were broadcast, at one time or another, on all four major TV networks of the era: ABC, CBS, NBC, and DuMont. The Arthur Murray Party had a run on each of the four networks twice.

Spit Takes

Some amazing things you probably didn’t know about
all that gross water that lives in your mouth.

Spit FactsThe phrase “licking your wounds” comes from the practice of animals nursing themselves back to health by literally licking their wounds. And it works. The saliva of many animals contains antibacterial enzymes, such as peroxidase, cystatins, and lysozyme, as well as the antiviral compound thrombospondin. Saliva also contains various nitrates that turn into nitric oxide upon skin contact, which stops bacteria from growing. Further, opiorphin is present in saliva—it’s an analgesic, or painkiller.

Dog Islands

These far-flung locales are going to the dogs…that is if they haven’t already.

Snoopy Island

Snoopy IslandNishinoshima lies off Japan’s Pacific coastline and is best known for its active volcano, which last erupted in November. The ensuing lava flow created an entirely new island called Niijima. But the volcano wasn’t quite done. In the weeks that followed, it spewed out enough lava to connect the two islands as one. This strange event caused many a volcanologist to cry “good grief!” when they first saw aerial photos of the new, improved Nishinoshima: because the island now strongly resembles Snoopy. However, Japanese scientists aren’t ready to rename it “Snoopy Island” just yet. They say that the volcano is still active and that Nishinoshima’s current shape may only be temporary.

Those Darn Demonyms

DemonymsA demonym is a word used to describe the residents or natives of a place: New Yorkers, Oregonians, or Japanese, for example. Most demonyms are logical and straightforward, as in those examples. Here are some “irregular demonyms,” that, due to grammar, language, or local preference, are a little bit strange.

impossible to answer questions

Impossible Questions: NFL Postseason Edition (Answers)

Got your answers ready from last week’s Impossible Questions? Let’s see how you did.

 

Last weekend’s AFC title game marked the first time in history that what has happened?

On Sunday, the New England Patriots played the Denver Broncos for a spot in the Super Bowl. Both teams will be led by star quarterbacks who have hosted Saturday Night Live. The Patriots’ Tom Brady hosted SNL in April 2005, while Manning did his stint in March 2007. Only eight NFL players have ever guest-hosted NBC’s long-running sketch comedy show while they were still active players. In addition to Brady and Manning, they were: Deion Sanders, Fran Tarkenton, Eli Manning, Joe Montana, Walter Payton…and O.J. Simpson.

Everyone Is Entitled To Their Opinion

Armond WhiteThe New York Film Critics Circle recently ousted member Armond White, a critic for the New York Press, an alternative weekly newspaper. Reason: at the guild’s awards ceremony, he heckled 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen, calling him an “embarrassing doorman and garbageman.” It’s just the latest, although loudest, moment in White’s career, which is dotted with inexplicably contrarian reviews. Here’s a look at the the times White hated movies everyone else loved, and loved movies everyone else hated.

And the Razzie Goes To…

The Academy Awards will be handed out to the year’s best films on March 2. Who cares? The night before, the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation gives out the Razzies—as in they “razz” the year’s worst films and film performances.

The Razzies• In the 1970s and early 1980s, Los Angeles publicist John Wilson hosted a potluck dinner for his friends every year on Oscar Night. At his 1981 party, after the Oscars were over, Wilson asked his friends to vote on the worst movie of the previous year—it had some standouts. Wilson was inspired to crown the worst movie after watching a double feature of two stinkers: the Village People musical Can’t Stop the Music, and the roller-disco-based, Olivia Newton-John musical Xanadu. The winner: Can’t Stop the Music. As Wilson was a publicist, he put out a press release to announce it. The news was picked up around Hollywood, and it soon became an annual tradition, except they’re now awarded in an L.A. theater, not Wilson’s living room.

impossible to answer questions

Impossible Questions: NFL Postseason Edition

Impossible QuestionsOkay, you know the drill. See if you can answer these brain-benders about the NFL playoffs…and then come back tomorrow to see if you’re right.

 

This weekend’s AFC title game marks the first time in history that what has happened?

 

What dubious record is held by the Green Bay Packers?

 

The Seattle Seahawks are the only team to ever do what in the NFC West?

 

Want more impossible questions? Check out Uncle John’s Impossible Questions.

Real Life Lightsabers?

Yes, it’s really happening.

Real life lightsabersIf you thought the lines were bad at your local Apple Store every time they roll out a new iPhone, just wait until they start selling lightsabers. Scientists recently declared that they have developed technology that could one day lead to the construction of the iconic weapon from the Stars Wars films.

California, There They Go!

CaliforniaEarlier this year, we told you about some communities around the country aiming to separate from their states to create brand new U.S. states. Add another candidate to the mix—this one’s in northern California.

In September 2013, citizens and officials in Siskiyou County, the northernmost county in California, met to discuss their dissatisfaction with, and alienation from, the state government in Sacramento. Siskiyou, along with a lot of northern California, is primarily rural, and the economy is driven by farming and logging. Much of the rest of California is highly populated, urban, and leans to the left politically. Feeling that they shouldn’t be government by a government that doesn’t have its needs at heart, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of a declaration to secede from California.

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