December 2010
19 posts
Who Was Dom Perignon?
Contrary to popular misconception, the namesake of the famous brand didn’t invent champagne. But Perignon, a Benedictine monk who worked as cellar master at an abbey near Epernay during the 17th and 18th centuries, did have quite an impact on the champagne industry.
In Perignon’s day, sparkling wine wasn’t really a sought-after beverage. In fact, the bubbles were considered...
More Stuff
The United States contains 2.35 billion square-feet of self-storage space. This equates to roughly 7.4 square feet of space for every person in the country.
Or, as Ira Glass puts it: “All of us could stand inside self-storage at the same time.”
The Movie for When You're Lost at Sea
Here’s another excerpt from “The 25 Most Powerful Movies of the Past 25 Years,” which was the cover story of a recent issue of mental_floss magazine:
Toy Story (1995) The Movie for When You’re Lost at Sea
No movie has been written and rewritten with quite the intensity of Toy Story. Back in 1988, Steve Jobs was thinking about closing down his software animation company, Pixar, because he...
Photos of President Reagan With Various...
President and Nancy Reagan posing with Sylvester Stallone and Brigitte Nielsen during a state dinner for Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. 10/8/85.
[Source: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. See Also: Volume 1 & Volume 2.]
Girl Scout Camps and Copyright Infringement
When you own the copyright for a song or other original work, you don’t just have the exclusive right to record it and create other tangible reproductions. You also own the sole rights to broadcast or perform the song in public. Technically, then, any band or group performing a cover version of one of your songs owes you royalties, as does any hold music an office might play over its...
Oscar the Grouch Used to be Orange
Did you know Oscar the Grouch used to be orange? Jim Henson decided to make him green before the second season of Sesame Street. How did Oscar explain the color change? He said he went on vacation to the very damp Swamp Mushy Muddy and turned green overnight.
See Also: 9 Muppets Kicked Off Sesame Street
Who's the Murphy of Murphy's Law?
Murphy’s Law is less of a law and more of an old saying: “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” It is named after Edward Murphy, who was an American aerospace engineer who worked primarily on safety-critical systems. Most of his efforts went into developing escape systems for experimental aircrafts, such as the F-4 Phantom II and the SR-71 Blackbird. Murphy thought that people in his...
A Festivus (Quiz) for the Rest of Us
Tomorrow — December 23rd — is Festivus! Bone up on the holiday’s origin and rituals with our Festivus quiz.
The Movie That Gave Birth to a Mental Condition
Here’s an excerpt from “The 25 Most Powerful Movies of the Past 25 Years,” which just happens to be the cover story of the current issue of mental_floss magazine:
The Truman Show (1998) The Movie That Gave Birth to a Mental Condition
The Truman Show follows the life of unwitting TV star Truman Burbank. From birth, Truman has lived a fishbowl existence, with cameras trained on...
Photos of President Reagan With Various...
After lending his hit song “Beat It” to a campaign against drunk driving, Michael Jackson was rewarded with a Presidential Special Achievement Award by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. 5/14/84.
[Source: Bettmann/CORBIS]
Carrier of Freedom
During World War II, the British Armed Forces enlisted the help of pigeons, creating the National Pigeon Service. It was an elite task force that flew military-intelligence messages between England and France. The most famous bird in the service was Commando, who survived more than 90 missions. It was an astonishing number, considering that fewer than one in eight pigeons returned from the field...
Photos of President Reagan With Various...
President Reagan attending the Bob Hope Salute to the United States Air Force 40th Anniversary celebration with Kirk Cameron, Phyllis Diller, Lucille Ball and Emmanuel Lewis at Pope Air Force base in Fayetteville, North Carolina. 5/10/87.
[Source: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.]
Good News for New York Mets Fans
Hey, New York Mets fans, help is on the way! Next year former outfielder Bobby Bonilla goes back on the payroll at the ripe old age of 48. In 1999, Bonilla returned to the Mets for a second stint at Shea following his borderline disastrous free-agent signing in 1992. Bonilla wasn’t any better the second time around, so the Mets waived him in 2000. The problem was that the team still owed Bonilla...
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(The First) Peanut Butter Jelly Time
During its early years, peanut butter was a delicacy, only to be served in upscale tearooms. Chefs combined it with beef, pimientos, Worcestershire sauce, and other ingredients, with limited success. But around 1900, peanut butter met jelly, and the sweet-salty combination was an instant hit with kids.
As the commercial peanut butter industry took off, the cost of the spread dropped dramatically....
The Book That Forced Us to Acknowledge AIDS
Here’s an excerpt from “The 25 Most Powerful Books of the Past 25 Years,” which was our cover story back in March-April of 2009:
And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts (1987) The Book That Forced Us to Acknowledge AIDS
Randy Shilts is almost single-handedly responsible for getting the world to pay attention to AIDS. The first openly gay reporter for a major American newspaper, Shilts wrote And...
