The band toad the wet sprocket
took their name from a Monty Python skit. Prior names included Three
Young Studs and Glen.
Clans of long ago that wished to rid
themselves of people without killing them used to burn the offending parties' houses
down. Hence the expression "to get fired".
Isaac Asimov is the only person who has
authored a book in each of the Dewey Decimal System classifications.
In 1945, a computer at Harvard
malfunctioned. Grace Hopper, who was working on the computer, found a moth in one of
the circuits and removed it. Ever since, when something goes wrong with a computer,
it is said to have a bug in it.
Executive Order No. 12333 explicitly prohibits
the CIA from engaging, either directly or indirectly, in assasinations.
The plastic bits on the end of shoelaces are
called aglets.
The term "It's all fun and
games until someone loses an eye" originated in Ancient Rome, where the
only way to get disqualified during a wrestling match was to poke someone's eye out.
Frank Baum named "Oz" after a file
cabinet in his office. One cabinet was labeled "A to N", and the second
was labeled "O to Z".
Bilbo Baggins was born on September 22, 1290.
The glue on Israeli postage stamps is
certified kosher.
The United States minted a 1787 copper coin
with the motto "Mind Your Business".
The M&M in M&M candies stands
for Mars and Merrie, who developed the candies in 1941.
In the 1700s, European women achieved a pale
complexion by eating "Arsenic Complexion Wafers" actually made with the poison.
For two years during the 1970s, Mattel
marketed a doll called "Growing Up Skipper". Her breasts grew when her arm
was turned.
Captain Sensible (The Damned)'s real name is
Ray Burns.
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