Page 54 - The 'X' Zone Book of Triviology

o Bill Haley’s “Crazy Man, Crazy” was the first R&R record single to make the Billboard Top 20. o Jimmy Stewart was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Croix de Guerre in WWII. o The Carpenters’ “We’ve Only Just Begun” was originally a radio spot for a California bank. o Elton John is Sean Lennon’s godfather. o In 1891, Samuel O’Reilly used Edison’s electric pen as a model for the first electric tattoo machine. o Mickey Rooney was married in Las Vegas 8 times. o TV Guide once awarded J. Fred Muggs Awards to people who made monkeys of themselves. o Twilight Zone’s well known theme was from Marius Constant’s compositions and did not know his music was used until after the show aired. o Elvis Presley made only one TV commercial - for Southern Maid Doughnuts in 1954. o Nearly 50 percent of the newspapers in the world are published in the U.S. and Canada. o A Virginia man fashioned an eight-mile long chain of chewing gum wrappers over 38 years. o Actress Kathleen Turner’s father was a POW of the Japanese during WWII. o Poet Robert Frost’s name was Robert Lee Frost. He was named after Robert E. Lee. o Helena Bonham-Carter’s great-grandfather was U.K. Prime Minister Herbert Asquith. o Actor George Clooney is the late singer Rosemary Clooney’s nephew. o Elvis Presley manager Colonel Tom Parker’s other gigs were the Great Parker Pony Circus and Tom Parker & His Dancing Turkeys. o Mark Twain first learned to ride a bicycle when he was nearly 50 years old. o “Tokyo Rose” was sentenced 10 years for treason, but ultimately pardoned by President Ford. o John Lennon’s middle name was Winston. o Emperor Caligula issued invitations in his horse’s name and considered making it a consul. o Anton Chekhov, John Keats, Frederic Chopin, and Franz Kafka all died from tuberculosis. o Zeppo Marx was instrumental in establishing the Afghan hound as a breed in the U.S. o The state of Georgia was named for England’s King George II. o Hoping to improve worldwide communication, Ludwig Zamenhof created Esperanto in 1887. th th o Queen of England for 10 days? Lady Jane Gray, from the 10 to the 19 of July 1553. o Six kings of England have been named George. o The first man to translate the entire Bible into English was Miles Cloverdale. o Flora MacDonald smuggled Bonnie Prince Charlie to safety by dressing him as her maid. o Eighty-seven-year old Rebecca Felton was the first woman senator. Time in office: two days. o Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell are pseudonyms for Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte. o First African American to win a Wimbledon title: Althea Gibson, women’s champ, 1958 and 1958. o Most Grand Slam women titles: Margaret Court Smith with 24. o Most male Grand Slam titles: Pete Sampras with 14. o Baron Von Steuben, a Prussian, drilled Washington’s troops at Valley Forge. o Edison’s deafness may stem from an accident when he was 12 and lifted onto a train by his ears. o Robert A Taft was lucky; use of the initials for president wasn’t popular until FDR’s time. o Composer and pianist Jan Paderewski was Prime Minister of Poland in 1919. o King James I’s mother and son were both beheaded. o Rembrandt painted more than 50 portraits of himself. o Wilson Bentley was the first person to photograph a single snow crystal in 1885. o Canadian Andrew Law was the only British Prime Minister born outside the U.K. o Eugene O’Neill was expelled from Princeton for breaking a window in the president’s office. o Bette Nesmith, mother of Monkee Mike Nesmith, invented Liquid Paper in the 1950s.