Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Wise Up!

by Bathroom Readers' Institute

  The original Godzilla weighed 220 pounds. It was made of urethane and bamboo.

  Groucho Marx’s mustache was often painted on.

  The stage crew added milk to the rain in Singin’ in the Rain so it would show up better on film.

  An actual barn was built during the barn-raising scene in Witness (1985), but it was torn down shortly afterward.

  The fit-all jeans in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) were Levi’s.

  In the brain scene in Hannibal (2001), the brain is dark chicken meat.

  Dustin Hoffman’s four-pound silicone breasts in Tootsie (1982) cost $175 each.

  For the 2002 film Spider-Man, the props department created Spider-Man several costumes at about $100,000 each. Four were stolen from the set and eventually recovered—a security guard and his accomplice had taken them.

  John Wayne’s silver-and-leather hatband in True Grit was originally Gary Cooper’s.

  In Seabiscuit (2003), most of the “spectators” at the Pimlico racetrack were inflatable mannequins.

  Cost to make the alien puppet in E.T.: $1 million.

  Mailbag

  The junk mail Americans receive in one day could provide enough fuel to heat 250,000 homes.

  In 1893, Queen Isabella of Spain was the first woman to appear on a U.S. postage stamp.

  There was a post office on the Russian space station Mir.

  In most cases, if a chain letter were never broken, within 15 cycles the entire world would have read it.

  World’s oldest working post office: Sanquer, Scotland, in continuous operation since 1712.

  Booker T. Washington was the first African American to appear on a U.S. stamp, in 1956.

  London’s post office still gets letters sent to 221B Baker Street, asking for Sherlock Holmes’s help.

  Jack Nicholson once had a job answering the fan mail for cartoon characters Tom and Jerry.

  A “timbromaniac” is someone obsessed with postage stamps.

  Eddie Lowery, who caddied for golfer Francis Ouimet, is the only caddie to have appeared on a U.S. postage stamp.

  The first postage stamps were issued in Great Britain in 1840.

  A photo of Queen Elizabeth taken by singer Bryan Adams was made into a Canadian postage stamp.

  The United States Post Office handles about 46 percent of the world’s mail.

  The first nonroyal to be portrayed on a British stamp: William Shakespeare, in 1964.

  Actor Ryan O’Neal once mailed a live tarantula to gossip columnist Rona Barrett.

  What to Wear?

  Americans buy more than 73,000 miles of neckties each year.

  John “Johnny Appleseed” Chapman (1774–1845) wore a tin pot for a hat.

  Alexander the Great often led parades dressed as the goddess Artemis.

  In the 19th century, “sideburns” were named after Civil War general Ambrose Burnside because of his own thick sideburns that connected to his mustache.

  Twenty percent of tuxedo rentals take place in May.

  The winged hat worn by the Greek god Hermes is called a petasos.

  One of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s supporters, Flora MacDonald, smuggled him to safety by dressing him as her maid.

  Chuck Berry came up with his famous duck walk while trying to distract audiences from his wrinkled suit.

  Director Tim Burton wears mostly black because he “doesn’t like having to match colors.”

  In the Name of Love

  Most sought-after Cracker Jack prizes: toy rings. They’re often used as engagement rings.

  Rod Stewart has told some reporters that he wrote “You’re in My Heart” for his ex-wife. (He’s also claimed that it’s about Liverpool’s soccer team.)

  Tibetan dating ritual: A man steals a woman’s hat. If she likes him, she asks for it back.

  Over the course of his life, Mormon leader Brigham Young had 55 wives.

  One in 20 married Americans will begin an affair this year.

  Twenty-three percent of American couples sleep in separate beds.

  Worldwide, 60 percent of marriages are arranged.

  Divorce statistics are lowest among people who say they’re atheists.

  Men did not start wearing wedding rings until the early 1900s.

  Less than 5 percent of U.S. weddings take place in January.

  To the Teeth

  The hardest substance in the human body: tooth enamel.

  Half of all Americans say that a smile is the first thing they notice about a person.

  The world’s most valuable tooth: one of Sir Isaac Newton’s. After Newton’s death in 1727, a nobleman bought the tooth for $4,650 and used it as the setting for a ring.

  In ancient Rome, some people whitened their teeth with urine.

  George Washington had dentures made out of gold, lead, ivory, and hippopotamus teeth, not wood.

  Early toothbrushes were twigs with frayed ends.

  First toothpaste in a tube: Dr. Sheffield’s Creme Dentifrice, created in 1892.

  Sixty percent of people older than 65 still have all of their own teeth.

  On average, Americans buy about 14 million gallons of toothpaste every year.

  In Mexico, the tooth fairy is called the tooth mouse.

  Merry Christmas!

  In the late 1600s, it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in Massachusetts because the Puritains believed December 25 had been arbitrarily assigned as Christ’s birthday.

  Say “Merry Christmas” in Japanese: Merii Kurisumasu.

  Approximately 10 percent of Jewish households have Christmas trees.

  In 1841, Prince Albert brought the first royal family Christmas tree to Windsor Castle.

  In 1836, Alabama was the first state to declare Christmas a legal holiday.

  In 1932, King George V became the first British monarch to broadcast a Christmas message.

  President Franklin Pierce decorated the first official White House Christmas tree in 1856.

  During the Middle Ages, Christmas trees were hung upside down.

  In Russia, Santa Claus wears a blue suit.

  In Ukraine, it’s considered good luck if you find a spider-web on Christmas morning.

  The first Santa Claus School opened in September 1937 in Albion, New York.

  Jazz great Louis Armstrong was 40 before he got his first Christmas tree. He liked it so much that he took it on tour with him.

  The First Lady has trimmed the White House Christmas tree since 1929.

  At Christmas, Greeks burn all their old shoes to ward off bad luck in the coming year.

  Kanakaloka is the Hawaiian word for Santa Claus.

  Duck, Duck, Goose

  Ducks’ bones are hollow; that makes their bodies lighter, enabling them to fly.

  Geese fly in a V to reduce wind resistance and to keep track of their group.

  Ducks can dive as deep as 20 feet underwater to find food.

  Ducks waddle because their legs are short and spaced farther apart than those of many other animals. To take steps, they have to swing their bodies from side to side.

  There are 11 different kinds of Canadian geese…and they live all over North America.

  Male ducks are called drakes. Females are ducks or hens.

  Duck feathers are coated with oil and are waterproof. Ducks use their beaks to spread the oil from a special gland at the base of their tail feathers.

  Many Canadian geese mate for life.

  With one exception (Muscovy), all domesticated ducks are descended from mallards.

  It’s a Shoe-In

  Most common woman’s shoe size: 7 ½.

  Dr. William Scholl was a podiatrist who became a shoemaker.

  A woman wearing stiletto heels exerts 552 pounds of pressure per square inch at the heel.

  According to some scholars, Jesus wore a size-10 ½ sandal.

  An athletic shoe can stay afloat in the ocean for 10 years.

  Sam Snead practiced golfing barefoot.

  Shaquille O’Neal w
ears size-22 shoes.

  If your feet just smell bad, it’s foot odor. If they smell really bad, it’s called “bromidrosis.”

  Music legend Fats Domino owned over 300 pairs of shoes.

  France’s King Charles VIII had six toes. This led to the invention of a square-toed men’s shoe.

  The Battle of Gettysburg began when Confederate soldiers marched into the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, because they needed new shoes.

  First record to make the pop, country, and R&B charts at the same time: Carl Perkins’s “Blue Suede Shoes.”

  Right shoes typically wear out faster than left shoes.

  Paris Hilton’s feet are so big (size 11) that designers have to custom-make her shoes.

  Among the ancient Incas, a couple was considered married when they exchanged sandals.

  The “boots” eaten by Charlie Chaplin in The Gold Rush (1925) were made of licorice.

  U.S. Firsts

  First chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: General Omar Bradley.

  Pennsylvania had the United States’ first circulating library and the first medical college (at what’s now the University of Pennsylvania).

  Sanford Dole was the first and only president of the Republic of Hawaii (1894–98).

  The first commercial oil well in the United States was dug in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859.

  First sorority in the United States: Alpha Delta Pi at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, in 1851.

  First state to outlaw slavery: Vermont, in 1777.

  Lyndon B. Johnson was the first (and so far the only) U.S. president to be sworn in by a woman…federal judge Sarah T. Hughes, after John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

  First city to have mechanized street cleaners: Philadelphia.

  Stanford graduate Lou Hoover, wife of Herbert Hoover, was the first woman in the United States to receive a geology degree.

  Golf Hazards

  At many Australian courses, a ball that hits a kangaroo must be played where it lies.

  Hubert Green had to play the 1977 U.S. Open with an armed escort due to a death threat.

  In golf lingo, a “Captain Kirk” is a shot that goes “where no man has gone before.” “Divorce court” is slang for a couple who play together. And caddying for a player who has an awful round is called a “safari.”

  Among the hazards at the Stanley Golf Course in the Falkland Islands: minefields.

  Richard Boxall broke his leg teeing off at the 1991 British Open.

  Iowa’s Laurens Golf Course is also an airport. (Planes have the right of way.)

  At the April Foolish Open in Florida, players have to contend with hazards like clotheslines of laundry.

  Pro golfer Andy Bean once had to grab a six-foot alligator by the tail and move it to play his shot.

  The Body

  Most of your body’s motor neurons aren’t replaced when they die, so the older you are, the fewer you have.

  The mineral content and structure of human bone is nearly identical to some species of South Pacific coral.

  When frozen, red blood cells can last up to 10 years.

  The aorta, the largest artery in the human body, is about the diameter of a garden hose.

  Five largest internal organs of the body: liver, brain, lungs, heart, and kidneys.

  Fifteen percent of people have a second toe that’s longer than the others.

  Blond hair is the finest; black hair is the coarsest.

  A human head can remain conscious for about 15 to 20 seconds after it has been decapitated.

  Length of a single human DNA molecule, when extended: about 5’5”. But all the DNA in a human body could fit inside one ice cube.

  It takes 20 different muscles to kiss someone. But beware: kissing can cause wrinkles.

  Wrinkles have three main causes: the sun, gravity, and facial expression.

  An adult human head weighs 11 pounds—about as much as an average bowling ball.

  Human babies are born with 300 bones; adults have 206. The smaller bones fuse together over time to form stronger ones.

  Eyelashes are typically the darkest hairs on the body.

  Tears are 0.9 percent salt.

  Human sweat contains chemicals similar to what skunks spray.

  Happy Birthday to You

  On March 8, 1969, the Apollo IX astronauts sang “Happy Birthday” in outer space.

  Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942…the 300th anniversary of the death of Galileo.

  First singing telegram: July 28, 1933, delivered to entertainer Rudy Vallee. The song: “Happy Birthday.”

  On an average day, 7,918 Americans turn 60 years old.

  First major leaguer to choose his birthday as his uniform number: Carlos May (#17), born on May 17, 1948.

  Instead of birthday cake, Russian children get birthday pie.

  CBS anchor Dan Rather was born on Halloween: October 31, 1931.

  Most people share their birthdays with at least 9 million other people.

  * * *

  MNEMONIC DEVICES

  • Every good boy does fine: The notes on the five lines of the treble clef musical scale, from bottom to top—E, G, B, D, F.

  • Roy G. Biv: Colors of the rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.

  • Some men hate each other: The Great Lakes—Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.

  • Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally: The order in which mathematical operations should be performed—parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction.

  An Average Page

  If you’re older than 65, there’s an above-average chance you put relish on your hot dog.

  The average player’s height in the NBA: 6’ 7.4”.

  Average age of a PGA Tour pro: 35.

  Average participant in fantasy football: white male, married, age 37, with a household income of $78,000.

  Swing speed of the average male golfer: 93.75 mph. Of Tiger Woods: 125 mph.

  If you’re average, your lifetime will last about 2,475,576,000 seconds.

  If you’re average, you’ll visit the bathroom 2,500 times this year. (Happy reading!)

  The average British adult drinks 228 pints of beer per year.

  In a lifetime, most people eat around 60,000 pounds of food.

  Altogether, American kids make about $8.6 million per year in allowance.

  More World Records

  The world’s shortest escalator is at a shopping mall in Japan. It rises two feet, eight inches.

  Bertha Van der Merwe from South Africa holds the record for staying awake: 282 hours, 55 minutes.

  Record name: a Florida baby was named Truewilllaughinglifebuckyboomermanifestdestiny. (Middle name: George.)

  World’s tallest identical twins: Michael and James Lanier—they’re both 7’4” tall.

  World’s shortest stage play: Samuel Beckett’s Breath— 35 seconds of screams and heavy breathing.

  World record for the cat with the most toes: Jake, who has 28 (seven on each paw).

  In New Mexico, don’t miss the “World’s Largest Roadrunner.” He stands 20 feet tall and is made of garbage.

  In 2003, Andy Martell of Canada created the world’s largest ball of plastic wrap: 54 inches across.

  World’s longest national highway: the Trans-Canada Highway, at 10,781 kilometers (6,699 miles).

  Largest age difference for a married couple: 83 years— 22-year-old bride Ely Maryulianti Rahmat from Malaysia married 105-year-old Sudar Marto.

  Random Origins

  TELETHONS. After writer Damon Runyon died of cancer in 1946, his friends in the entertainment industry established the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. The charity held its first big fund-raiser in April 1949—an unprecedented 16-hour television broadcast to solicit donations. This “telethon” (“television” plus “marathon”) was the idea of NBC executive Sylvester Weaver, who thought big TV events would entice people to buy television sets. That first tele
thon wasn’t much different from today’s telethons: a big star (Milton Berle) hosted; an on-screen bank of phone operators accepted call-in donations; and stars of movies, TV, and Broadway performed and pleaded for money. The broadcast raised $100,000 for cancer research.

  TREE-SHAPED AIR FRESHENERS. In 1951, in his garage laboratory, a New York chemist named Julius Sämann created the world’s first air freshener made just for the car. Made of a material similar to a disposable beer coaster, Sämann’s prototype was pine-scented…so he cut the freshener into the shape of a tree. Sämann got a patent and opened the Car-Freshener Corporation. Today, Little Trees are the top selling air fresheners in the world. And all of them are tree-shaped, even the top-selling “New Car Scent.”

  READER’S DIGEST. In 1914, DeWitt Wallace suffered injuries fighting in World War I and was sent to a French hospital to recover. He was incredibly bored and wanted something to read. That gave Wallace an idea: a pocket-size anthology of short articles on many topics, written in basic, easy-to-understand English. When he got back to the United States after the war, he approached several publishers with his idea. They all rejected it. So in 1922, he printed 5,000 copies of his magazine himself. All of them sold, and the popularity of Reader’s Digest grew quickly. By 1926, the magazine had a circulation of 40,000. Today its readership is 38 million.

  Exceptional Talents

  Helen Keller could identify her friends by their odors.

  An Australian man named Simon Robinson holds the record for the loudest scream: 128 decibels—almost as loud as a jet engine.

  On his debut album, For You, Prince played 27 different instruments.

  Franz Schubert had a great memory. He wrote versions of his song “Die Forelle” from memory for his friends.

  Born in 1795, Miranda Stuart from England posed as a man to attend medical school and become a doctor. She was one of the most successful of her era, and her gender wasn’t discovered until she died in 1865.