The Utterly, Completely, and Totally Useless Fact-O-Pedia

by Gary Bennett Charlotte Lowe

  Blue Jeans

  Italian sailors from Genoa, whom the French called Genes, wore cotton workpants. These pants became known as “genes.” Eventually, the word morphed into “jeans.”

  Levi Strauss arrived in California during the Gold Rush, trying to sell canvas tents to miners, but he learned what the prospectors needed most were pants. Strauss spun canvas into gold by turning his tents into pants. They were a hit with the miners, but some complained the rough fabric chaffed. This caused Levi to switch to a wonderful twilled cotton imported from Nimes, France.

  The cloth from Nimes was known as “de Nimes” or “denim.” The term blue jeans finds its roots in the Nimes cloth that the Genoese dyed blue.

  In 1885, you could buy a pair of Levi’s overalls for $1.25. By 1900, the company charged $8.50 for a pair of their famous blue jeans.

  What would you pay for the perfect jeans? In 2005, an original pair of 501 Levi’s aged more than 115 years were sold to a collector for $60,000. Of course, if you don’t have $60,000, you could just visit the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. An original pair of Levi’s jeans is part of their permanent collection.

  In Spain, they are known as “vaqueros” or “cowboys;” in Danish “cowboybukser;” and in Mandarin Chinese “niuzaiku”—both of which translate literally to “cowboy pants.”

  Bones

  An adult has fewer bones than a baby. We begin life with 350 bones, but because bones fuse together during growth, we end up with only 206 as adults.

  The largest bone in the human body is the thighbone, or femur, which grows an average length of 19.88 in while the smallest is the stapes, the innermost of three tiny bones in the middle ear, sizing at 0.07 in.

  Hitting one’s funny bone is the aggravation of the ulnar nerve, which runs near the ulna bone. This name is thought to be a pun, based on the sound resemblance between the words “humerus” and “humorous.” The nerve was formerly called the crazy bone.

  The 2001 film Bones was a horror film set in 1979 and featured rapper Snoop Doggy Dog as a gangster who comes back from the dead to avenge his murder.

  A musical folk instrument called the bones was most commonly made up of a pair of animal bones—usually sections of large rib bones and lower leg bones—or a piece of wood (although wooden sticks shaped like the earlier true bones are now more often used). They have contributed to many music genres, including 19th century minstrel shows, traditional Irish music, the blues, bluegrass, and French-Canadian music.

  Bourbon

  Bourbon is the official spirit of the United States, by act of Congress.

  The name “Bourbon” comes from a county in eastern Kentucky, which in turn was named for the Bourbon kings of France who had aided the American rebels in the Revolutionary War.

  Bourbon County was in the early 19th century a center of whiskey production and transshipping (ironically, at the present time, it is a “dry” county). The local whiskey, made primarily from corn, soon gained a reputation for being particularly smooth because the local distillers aged their products in charred oak casks.

  The A. H. Hirsch is a fine whiskey, smoky and complex, but the $120 cost is mostly for its rarity. It was distilled at Michter’s Distillery in Schaefferstown, Pa., which closed in 1989.

  This is how you would spell Bourbon in sign language:

  Braille

  Louis Braille was born on January 4, 1809, at Coupvray, near Paris. At three years of age, an accident deprived him of his sight, and he was consequently sent to the Paris Blind School in 1819.

  Young Louis Braille desperately wanted to read, and he was only 12 years old when he invented the Braille system.

  On the dot! In Braille, any letter becomes a capital by putting dot 6 in front of it. For example, if “a” is dot 1, “A” is dot 6 followed by dot 1, and if “p” is dots 1, 2, 3, and 4, then “P” is dot 6 followed by dots 1, 2, 3, and 4.

  Research has shown that the fastest braille readers use two hands, and two-handed braille also seems to make it easier for beginners to stay on the line.

  The average reading speed is 125 words per minute, although it is possible to read up to 200 words per minute.

  A refreshable Braille display or Braille terminal is an electromechanical device for displaying Braille characters, usually by means of raising dots through holes in a flat surface. Blind computer users, who cannot use a normal computer monitor, use it to read text output.

  Brooklyn

  John Augustus Roebling, who designed the Brooklyn Bridge, died of a tetanus infection after having his leg crushed by a ferryboat while working on the bridge.

  In early days, a part of Brooklyn was overrun by rabbits, which were often referred to as “coneys.” In time, the area became known as Coney Island.

  Jay-Z’s name was not only an homage to his musical mentor, Jaz-O, it was a reference to the J/Z subway lines that have a stop at Marcy Avenue in Brooklyn.

  Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. Located on western Long Island and an independent distinct city until its consolidation into New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City’s most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents.

  The Dodgers baseball team originally hailed from Brooklyn. During the 19th century, because of the dangers of horse-drawn trolleys and carriages, the pedestrians of Brooklyn called themselves “trolley dodgers.” Most of the working-class attendees had to dodge traffic on their walk to the games, so the baseball team named themselves the Dodgers in their honor. When the team moved to LA, they took the name with them.

  Brothels

  In the 14th century, the term “brothel” was defined as a worthless fellow, a scoundrel, a “ne’er do well.” The brothels consorted with prostitutes at brothel-houses and by the next century, “brothel” referred to the prostitutes and the house of prostitution. The word originates from an Anglo-Saxon word breothan for “going to ruin.”

  The world’s oldest profession may not be recession-proof after all. During the 2008 recession, top brothels worldwide suffered hits. Artemis, the largest brothel in Berlin, claimed its revenue had dropped 20% in November, a prime month for the sex trade. The multimillion-dollar Mustang Ranch in Nevada laid off 30% of its staff, citing a decline in highspending clients.

  All aboard? Maybe not. In 2008, undercover detectives in Miami Beach, FL, allegedly paid a $40 entry fee to board a luxury black bus that contained women offering sex acts and lap dances for cash. The portable brothel had allegedly been cruising South Beach, a popular neighborhood among tourists and clubbers, before they were stopped by the cops.

  Japan’s sex industry has a number of innovative variations on the brothel, but none of them are as perfectly, hygienically Japanese as “soaplands.” These venues offer “assisted baths” that include the services of a prostitute. When a customer enters, he chooses his bathing companion from a selection of half-naked girls. A common service is for the girl to lather the customer up using only a little liquid soap and her naked body.

  Buddhism

  Theravada is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. Founded in India, it is relatively conservative and generally closest to early Buddhist doctrine.

  Celebrity Buddhists include Oliver Stone, Orlando Bloom, Leonard Cohen, Richard Gere, Angelina Jolie, Tina Turner, Uma Thurman, Jet Li, Kate Hudson, Philip Glass, Courtney Love, K.D. Lang, Alanis Morissette, Sting, Tiger Woods, Sharon Stone, Steve Jobs, Steven Seagal, and Adam Yauch (aka MCA of Beastie Boys).

  Buddhism is the fourth largest world religion, exceeded in numbers only by Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.

  The five precepts of Buddhism are do not kill, do not steal, do not lie, do not engage in sexual misconduct, and do not use intoxicants.

  Borobudur Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the world, can be found near Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. The structure is made up of 55,000 square meters of lava-rock and erected on a hill in the form of a lotus, the sacred flower of Buddha.

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  Calligraphy

  Pat Blair, the official White House Chief Calligrapher, is responsible for the design and execution of all social and official documents such as invitations to state dinners, official greetings from the president, proclamations, military commissions, service awards, and place cards.

  The “write” stuff! Top calligraphers come together in Washington, DC, and demonstrate their talents at the annual Calligrafest, an all-day celebration of the lettering arts.

  Character sizes around 3 × 3 in are the easiest and most common in Chinese calligraphy. Characters smaller than 0.5 × 0.5 in require high levels of precision and strength from the artist.

  With a history of four to five thousand years, Chinese calligraphy was one of the traditional four arts (together with painting, stringed musical instruments, and board games) mastered by the Chinese literati during the imperial era. According to an old Chinese saying, “the way characters are written is a portrait of the person who writes them.”

  “Nasta’liq” is the most popular contemporary style among classical Persian calligraphy scripts. Also known as the “Bride of the Calligraphy Scripts,” this lettering style has changed very little through time because of its strong structure.

  Calories

  The 2007 winner of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York consumed a total of 19,600 calories and 1,280 grams of fat, which roughly translates to about 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes.

  Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps consumed a 13,000 calorie diet during training. Breakfast: Three fried egg sandwiches; cheese; tomatoes; lettuce; fried onions; mayonnaise; three chocolate-chip pancakes; five-egg omelette; three sugar-coated slices of French toast; bowl of grits; two cups of coffee. Lunch: Half-kilogram (one pound) of enriched pasta; two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayonnaise on white bread; energy drinks. Dinner: Half-kilogram (one pound) of pasta, with carbonara sauce; large pizza; energy drinks.

  According to a Harvard University study, children and teens consume 110 to 165 more calories than they burn each day. Over a 10-year period, that adds up to 58 pounds of extra weight.

  Americans today consume 20% more calories than a generation ago: most comes from fats and oils (up 63%), grains (up 43%), sugar (up 19%).

  A large White Castle chocolate shake in Louisville has 1680 calories.

  Negative calorie food is a term used by people who believe that certain low nutrient, high cellulose foods such as celery require very slightly more energy to digest than they provide nutritionally. Other negative calorie food includes asparagus, cauliflower, papaya, strawberries, and cantaloupes, but limiting your diet to just these foods would result in malnutrition.

  Camping

  In 2006, Daniel DeLaVergne, a world-famous whitewater paddler, was struck by a train while camping in a North Carolina train tunnel. Though he was airlifted to the hospital, he died the next day. The tunnel has 9 ft of shoulder room next to the tracks.

  A “suitable pitch” is the term for a good camp site.

  A south wind in the winter usually indicates a winter storm is approaching.

  A “pudding stick” is a term for a short emergency or auxiliary paddle. It is a little one-handed paddle weighing 5-7 ozs, 20-22 in long, with a blade 3.5 in wide. Tie it to a rib with a slip-knot having the handle in easy reach, and when you come to a narrow channel, you can do anything with it!

  “Giardia” is a microorganism found in unpurified water, and it can cause diarrhea, cramps, or other health problems. How do you recognize it? If the organism is split and stained, it resembles a “smiley face.”

  “Baffling” is the inner construction of a down sleeping bag used to keep the down from shifting.

  If you ever find yourself confronted by a grizzly or polar bear who’s making a non-predatory attack, play dead by lying completely flat on the ground. Lie flat on the ground protecting your vital parts with the ground and lace your hands behind your neck to protect it. Keep your legs together and do not struggle. Once the bear leaves your immediate vicinity, wait several minutes before carefully looking to see if the bear is still around. A bear may look back to see if you’re moving. Remember: this is not applicable to all bears.

  Canada

  Canada is the word’s second largest country, with an area of 9,984,670 square kilometers. That’s slightly larger than the United States which is 9,631,420 square kilometers. Canada is over 40 times bigger than the UK and 18 times bigger than France.

  Hoop dreams…Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian, invented basketball while working in Boston as a means of keeping college students fit during the winter months.

  A fishy idea. Who else but a Canadian would have invented fish sticks? In 1929, marine scientist Archibald Huntsman invented “Ice Fillets,” the first frozen food.

  Canada is an Indian word meaning “Big Village.” The name Canada has been used since the earliest European settlement in the country and most likely originates from a First Nations word kanata for “settlement,” “village,” or “land.”

  There is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland called Dildo.

  Cannabis

  In 2009, San Francisco Assemblyman and Democrat Tom Ammiano submitted a proposal which would regulate marijuana like alcohol. People over 21 years old would be allowed to grow, buy, sell, and possess cannabis—which is currently made illegal by the federal government. He argues that the taxes and other fees associated with regulation could contribute more than a billion dollars a year to state coffers.

  Around the world…in the 8th century BC, Assyrians referred to it as “Qunubu.” The Indians used it as an aphrodisiac, and the Chinese once thought that burning it as incense could lead to immortality.

  The term “420” was coined in reference to the time of day that a small clique of kids at San Rafael High School in California used to enjoy getting high in 1971. The name stuck.

  Cannabis has been used as a treatment for nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and weight loss in cancer and AIDS victims. It can also be used to decrease glaucoma, a condition of increased pressure within the eyeball causing gradual loss of sight.

  Popular street names include pot, grass, reefer, dope, ganja, Mary Jane, weed, hemp, smoke, jay, hashish, dagga, and sinsemilla.

  Cannibalism

  Human sacrifice and cannibalism were widely practiced in Colombia before the Conquest. Two types of cannibalism existed in Latin America: exocannibalism, eating members of an enemy group, and endocannibalism, eating members of one’s own group. Exocannibalism was a celebration of victory over an enemy, and the symbolic treatment increased enthusiasm for warfare.

  In 1972, a rugby team from Stella Maris College in Montevideo and some of their family survived a crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 and eventually resorted to cannibalism. They had been stranded since October 13 and rescue operations at the crash site did not commence until December 22. In 1974, Piers Paul Read chronicled the story in the book, Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, which was followed in 1993 by a film adaptation called Alive.

  On January 13, 2007, Chilean artist Marco Evaristti hosted a dinner party for his most intimate friends. The main meal was agnolotti pasta, which was topped with a meatball made from the artist’s own fat, removed during a liposuction operation.

  Carolyn Gloria Blanton, 54, who changed her name to Jane Lynn Woodry in 1999, has been under the care of the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo for well over a decade. She had been accused of shooting, dismembering, and cannibalizing portions of her former boyfriend Peter Green, 51, of Alamosa in late 1993.

  Neanderthals are believed to have practiced cannibalism. The 100,000-120,000-year-old bones discovered at a cave site near the west bank of the Rhone river suggested a group of Neanderthals defleshed the bones of at least six other individuals and then broke the bones apart with a hammerstone and anvil to remove the marrow and brains.