If 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.
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.
Records. 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.
Got 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.
Some amazing things you probably didn’t know about
all that gross water that lives in your mouth.
The 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.
Know the answers to these questions? Then tune in tomorrow—same Uncle John’s time, same Uncle John’s channel.
These far-flung locales are going to the dogs…that is if they haven’t already.
Snoopy Island
Nishinoshima 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.
A 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.
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.
The 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.
What some popular American products are called overseas…and why.
• In many countries, Diet Coke is sold under the name Coca-Cola Light. It’s essentially the same product, although the calorie-free sweetening agent varies. Diet Coke in the U.S. contains NutraSweet or Splenda. In other countries, cyclamates may be used, which is an artificial sweetener banned in the U.S. in 1969 due to its link to cancer in lab rats.
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.
• 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.
Okay, 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.
Yes, it’s really happening.
If 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.
Earlier 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.
The 2014 Golden Globes have finally been awarded. Usually, they are a precursor to what films and performers will receive Oscar nominations. Other times, they’re completely out of left field. (Bonus: Take a look back at our list of headscratching Golden Globe TV nominations.)
• While the Oscars may nominate up to 10 movies for Best Picture, the Golden Globes nominate five films for Best Picture, Drama, and Best Picture, Comedy or Musical. That categorization is sometimes confusing, because musicals aren’t always comedies. For example, in 2012, the tragic, incredibly serious Les Miserables won the Globe for Best Picture, Comedy or Musical. Also, Hollywood releases so few musicals these days that they’re almost assured a nomination in that category. In 2010, the critical and commercial bomb Burlesque, starring Cher and Christina Aguilera as singing strippers, earned a nomination. (It lost to the comedy-drama The Kids are All Right.)
It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for your weekly faux-news news roundup. As usual, two of these bizarre news items are legitimately true. The other one we legitimately made up off the top of our heads. Answers are below; good luck!
Got your answers all figured out? Let’s see how you did.
1. What distinction is shared by Suzette Charles, Alberto Contador, and President Gerald Ford?
All attained a noteworthy title when the previous titleholder resigned or had the honor taken away due to scandal. Suzette Charles was named Miss America 1984, when the crowned winner, Vanessa Williams, resigned due to a nude photo scandal. (Charles reigned for only seven weeks.) Alberto Contador was declared the winner of the 2006 Tour De France…in 2007, after “winner” Floyd Landis was found to have taken performance-enhancing drugs. Ford was appointed Vice President when previous office holder Spiro Agnew resigned, and when President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 due to the Watergate scandal, Ford stepped into that position.
Breaking Bad ended its critically-acclaimed run in September, but it keeps making the news…in some very unlikely ways.
In September, Breaking Bad costar Aaron Paul (he portrayed Jesse Pinkman) held an online raffle to raise money for his wife’s anti-bullying charity The Kind Campaign. The prize: the chance to watch the highly anticipated series finale of Breaking Bad with Paul and cast member Bryan Cranston (Walter White) at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The lucky winner: 28-year-old Breaking Bad superfan Ryan Carroll of Fort Myers, Florida, who was informed personally by Paul. Carroll and his friend flew to Los Angeles, and were picked up at the airport by Paul in an RV just like the one used by drug kingpin Walter White on the show. End of the story? Nope. Carroll was apparently a bigger Breaking Bad enthusiast than anyone imagined. On New Year’s Eve, Fort Myers police raided three homes they believed were linked to a massive synthetic marijuana distribution ring. One of those homes belonged to Carroll—he was in possession of over $1 million worth of drugs, and is believed to be the operation’s “kingpin.”
