I confess. I loved school as a kid, but I wasn’t one of those suck up, teacher’s pet, brown nose types. No way. I was just insatiably curious and still am. I love to learn new things.
Unfortunately, the knowledge I retain leans heavily toward the offbeat and trivial. For example:
The computers used to send Apollo astronauts to the moon were no more powerful than a cell phone. I wonder if we could send astronauts to Mars with a smart phone?
Contrary to legend that has Albert Einstein not speaking before he was four years old, a family history records him already speaking in full sentences at age two and a half. I think the first words he spoke as a child were e=mc2. Or maybe it just sounded like that. 🙂
For the movie version of her novel Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell wanted to cast Groucho Marx as Rhett Butler. Yeppers. It’s true. Seriously. I couldn’t believe it either, or that the name she originally gave to Scarlett O’Hara was Pansy. What was she thinking?
Legend says Hershey’s Kisses got their name from the smooch sound or motion of the chocolate being deposited during manufacturing. Even machines love chocolate.
Mano a mano doesn’t mean man to man. The word hombre is Spanish for man. The word mano is Spanish for hand. Mano a mano is Spanish for hand in hand. More chummy than macho, that mental picture,
Bob Keeshan, TV’s Captain Kangaroo, was the original Clarabell the Clown on the iconic Howdy Doody Show. Well, you had to be a kid back then to appreciate that tidbit.
Birds eat half their weight in food every day. So, someone who eats like a bird is not someone you may want as a dinner guest.
Elvis Presley referred to his restroom as The Library. Read into that what you will.
Iconic sex symbol Marilyn Monroe’s weight fluctuated between 118 and 140 pounds. Hmmm. I think I need to find a way to go back in time—to when men appreciated a woman with some meat on her bones. 🙂
What’s your favorite bit of trivial knowledge? 🙂
8 Responses to “A Little Knowledge Can Be a Trivial Thing”
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I loved your trivia. Captain Kangaroo was one of my favorite shows and I do remember Clarabell the Clown. One of my useless knowledge is about the Amazon or Boto dolphin which is a freshwater dolphin and is actually pink in color. 🙂
A pink dolphin? That’s a new tidbit for me. Thanks, Melissa. 🙂
You always entertain, Jolana. Bet you didn’t know the working title for Gone With The Wind was Ba Ba Black Sheep.
You’d win that bet. I toured Margaret Mitchell’s apartment/museum when at an RWA National Conference in Atlanta GA. The docent told us about Groucho and Pansy. I don’t recall her saying anything about the working title. Cool! I’ll add it to the list. Thanks, Margo. 🙂
Great trivia. Love useless bits of knowledge. Why do they stick when important stuff like a doctor appointment or my son-in-law’s birth date always elude me?
I’d say because it’s not vitally important to remember trivia so there is no pressure on us to do so–unlike remembering facts for a test. =:-0
Enjoyed your trivia! I remember reading that about GWTW and I can’t imagine Groucho as Rhett. It would have been a comedy, and a silly one at that. I guess I was never a fan of the Marx brothers. Thank goodness someone had enough sense to cast Clark Gable. He will always be Rhett Butler in my mind.
I agree, absolutely. I can’t imagine anyone else in that role either. I remember reading that movie fans back then wrote to the studio and demanded Clark Gable be cast as Rhett Butler. Gone With the Wind is one of those classic movies that enjoyed perfect casting in all the lead roles–supporting roles too.