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

by Gary Bennett Charlotte Lowe

  Casino

  All of the kings in a standard deck of playing cards represent real people. When the first deck was created in France during the 15th century, the designer used historical figures to represent each king. Charlemagne is depicted as the King of Hearts; Julius Caesar is represented by the King of Diamonds; Alexander the Great is represented by the King of Clubs; and King David of the Bible is represented by the King of Spades.

  The same designer also used the suits to represent the different cultures that had influenced the world up through the 15th century. Spades, clubs, diamonds, and hearts represent the Middle East, Greece, the Roman Empire, and the Holy Roman Empire respectively.

  It is still illegal to use slot machines in certain states of America which prohibit all forms of gambling. An individual can legally possess a slot machine if it meets certain criteria established by state law. For example, it must be considered an antique (at least 25 years old) and can be used for display purposes only.

  The 10,500,000 sq ft Venetian Macao in China is the largest casino in the world. The resort has 3000 suites, 3400 slot machines, 800 gambling tables, and a 15,000 seat arena for entertainment and sporting events.

  In Chinese culture, the number four is considered bad luck. Since the high-rolling whales from China are very important to the gambling industry in Vegas, the Wynn Las Vegas and Rio have no tower floors that start with four. The elevators count 38, 39, 50, 51, etc.

  Castro, Fidel

  After the Queen of Britain and the King of Thailand, Fidel Castro is the world’s third longest-serving head of state.

  Snooze-worthy? Castro holds the record for the longest speech ever delivered at the United Nations. On September 29, 1960, he spoke for 4 hours and 29 minutes. That’s nothing compared to his 1986 speech in Cuba that lasted 7 hours and 10 minutes at the III Communist Party Congress in Havana.

  Castro claims to have survived 634 attempts on his life, mainly masterminded by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The alleged assassination attempts have included the use of poison pills, a toxic cigar, exploding mollusks, a chemically tainted diving suit, and even a powder to make his beard fall out.

  Castro gave up cigars in 1985. Years later, he said “The best thing you can do with this box of cigars is to give them to your enemy.”

  Though he was raised Roman Catholic, Castro never practiced the religion. In Oliver Stone‘s documentary Comandante, Castro states “I have never been a believer.” He has total conviction that there is only one life.

  Cats

  Cats can make over 100 vocal sounds, while dogs can only make 10.

  In 1879, thirty-seven cats were used to deliver mail to villages in Belgium. It wasn’t long before they discovered that cats were not disciplined enough to do this.

  A normal cat has four toes and one dewclaw (thumb) on each front paw and four toes on each hind paw. Polydactyl cats may have as many as seven digits on front and/or hind paws, though it is most commonly found on the front paws only.

  As a revered animal in Egyptian society and religion, the cat was treated to the same mummification process after death as humans were. Mummified cats were given in offering to Bast, the cat goddess. In 1888, an Egyptian farmer discovered a large tomb containing eighty thousand mummified cats and kittens outside the town of Beni Hasan.

  A cat has about 19 million nerve endings in its nose, as opposed to around five million for humans. Every cat’s nosepad, like human fingerprints, is distinct and unique to that cat. No two feline noseprints are ever alike.

  Caviar

  Italy and many other countries have banned beluga caviar, often the most expensive variety of caviar, in hopes of saving the dwindling population of sturgeon who produce the salty eggs. In December 2008, officials seized 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of Russian beluga stashed in the refrigerator at a home in Milan. The contraband delicacy was given to Italian charities to be served alongside the traditional foods they fed the poor on Christmas.

  The word “Almas” means diamond, a fitting name for the world’s most expensive and rarest form of caviar. It comes from 60- to 80-year old sturgeons and is a pale amber color. The only known retail outlet which sells Almas is the Caviar House & Prunier in London’s Picadilly. A kilo of the rare caviar in a 24-karat gold tin sells for £16,000, or about $25,000. The Caviar House also sells an £800 tin for those on a smaller budget.

  Several cosmetic companies have introduced caviar-based anti-aging creams into their skincare range. Since caviar contains a combination of proteins, low glycemic carbohydrates, and essential fatty acids, it allegedly stimulates the skin and improves the muscle tone.

  Caviar is made by first removing the eggs from the fish and pressing them through a sieve to remove the membrane, fibers, and fatty tissue. The finest eggs are then mixed with a little salt and put into cans or jars as fresh caviar known as malossol (lightly salted). A coarser product known as pausnaya, which consists mostly of fish eggs that are premature or damaged in the sieving process, is more heavily salted and pressed in bulk. It is a staple food in Russia and Eastern Europe.

  Cellulite

  Synonyms and slang terms for cellulite include “orange peel syndrome,” “cottage cheese skin,” “the mattress phenomenon,” and “hail damage.”

  Within the last 40-50 years, women went from loose underwear around the thighs to tight underwear going across the middle of the buttock. Underwear with a tight elastic across the buttock limits blood flow and thus encourages cellulite to form.

  According to its makers, the MBT, or the “anti-shoe,” has a specially designed sole which simulates walking barefoot. This results in improved posture, a reduction of varicose veins, and diminished cellulite.

  Cellubike, a machine that looks like the lovechild of a bicycle and spaceship, integrates cardio-vascular exercise with modern infrared technology to assist in weight loss and the reduction of cellulite. Infrared lighting helps penetrate the skin’s surface to increase circulation, thereby helping the body remove fat on its own. The company also claims that calories are burned 10 times faster than regular exercise.

  Champagne

  “I drink champagne when I win, to celebrate, and drink champagne when I lose, to console myself.” Napoleon Bonaparte, French military and political leader.

  There are roughly 44 million tiny bubbles in a bottle of sparkling wine.

  A cork will escape a bottle of sparkling wine at 38-40 mph.

  Mon dieu! It may come as a shock, but champagne is an English invention. Fermentation naturally produces bubbles, but the problem has always been controlling them. The English developed a taste for the fizzy beverage in the 16th century, when importing barrels of green flat wine from Champagne and adding sugar and molasses to ferment it. However, it was the French who added the finesse and marketing flair to make champage. It wasn’t until 1876 that they perfected the modern dry style, which, ironically, was for export to England.

  An age-old tradition is now becoming a common party trick at weddings, parties, and formal dinners. The “beheading” of a champagne bottle involves the use of a sabre to uncork the bottle. It originally began with the Hussards under Napoleon’s command who celebrated their victories by “sabring” off the top of a bottle of champagne while on horseback. As legend has it, these skilled horsemen would ride on at a full gallop while ladies would hold up the bottles. In today’s “beheadings,” the horse is optional.

  Cheese

  “How can you govern a country that has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?” Charles de Gaulle, French General

  The first cheese is thought to have been developed around 4000 BC as a result of the Sumerian herdsmen storing their daily ration of milk in the stomachs of dried calf. The milk combined with the natural enzyme of rennin left in the stomach and then curdled, becoming cheese.

  By 2000 BC, cheese had become a luxury item in Egypt, with recipes heavily guarded by priests. Kings were even buried with murals depicting cheese manufacturing scenes.
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br />   The average American ate 30 lbs (14 kg) of cheese in the year 2000, up from 11 lbs (5 kg) in 1970.

  “Macaroni and Cheese” is the #1 cheese recipe in America. In any given twelve-week period, approximately one-third of the population of the United States will eat macaroni and cheese at least once. About half of all children in the United States will eat macaroni and cheese during this time period.

  “Chasing the cheese” is one of the biggest social events in Gloucestershire’s social calendar. The event takes place on Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth, England, where dozens of people run down a very steep hill in pursuit of a massive seven to eight-pound Double Gloucester circle of cheese.

  Chess

  The term “zugzwang” is frequently used in chess. A player whose turn it is to move, but whose move would serve to worsen their position is said to be in zugzwang.

  Chess originated in India during the Gupta empire, where its early form in the 6th century was known as “caturanga,” which translates to “four divisions of the military” (infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry). In time, these pieces evolved into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively.

  Diana Lanni, one of America’s top ten female chess players, used chess to beat a drug addiction problem and suicidal tendencies.

  Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), the renowned French artist, was also a chessplayer who competed in the 1924 world amateur championship, four French championships from 1924 to 1928, and four Olympiads from 1928 to 1933. Of his marriage in 1927, friend and colleague Man Ray wrote: “Duchamp spends most of the one week they lived together studying chess problems, and his bride, in desperate retaliation, got up one night when he was asleep and glued the chess pieces to the board. They were divorced three months later.”

  Russian serial killer Alexander Pichushkin was nicknamed the “Chessboard Killer” for murdering at least 61 people. He had hoped to reach 64 to complete the number of squares on a chessboard. After his arrest in 2006, the judge sentenced him to life in prison with the first 15 years to be spent in solitary confinement.

  Chicken

  On September 10, 1945, a chicken in Fruta, CO, had its head chopped off…and lived for two more years. The axe missed the jugular vein and left enough of the brain stem attached for him to live and even thrive. Mike the Headless Chicken was featured in both Time and Life magazines and at the height of his fame, he was pulling in $4500/month and valued at $10,000. Chicken cha-ching?

  The chicken is the most common bird in the world. There are about 52 billion chickens worldwide, which is about nine for every human. 75% of them will be eaten.

  For 3,000 years, chickens were farmed primarily for their eggs. Only when the Romans came to Britain did it dawn on them to eat the bird.

  The “oysters” are two small, round pieces of dark meat on the back of a bird near the thigh, regarded by some to be the most flavorful and tender part of the bird. The piece is shaped like a small oyster, and has the flavor of dark meat with the tenderness of white meat.

  Alektorophobia is a fear of chickens. The victims are afraid of every physical part of the chicken, like its feathers, eggs, or any other contaminated body part.

  Some breeds of chickens can lay colored eggs—the Ameraucana and Araucana can lay green or blue eggs.

  Chihuahuas

  Chihuahuas have moleras, or a soft spot in their skulls. They are the only breed of dog to be born with an incomplete skull.

  Chihuahua is a state in northern Mexico with a mainland area of 244,938 square kilometers (94,571.1 sq mi), slightly bigger than the United Kingdom. Although Chihuahua is primarily identified with its namesake, the Chihuahuan Desert, it has more forests than any other state.

  Famous Chihuahas include Boo Boo, a 4 in-tall, long-haired female chihuahua who weighs only 1½ lbs and was crowned the World’s Smallest Living Dog by the Guinness Book of World Records in May 2007. Another famous Chihuahua includes Dinky, the first Taco Bell Chihuahua, who was succeeded by Gidget. Paris Hilton’s frequently photographed Chihuahua is named Tinkerbell.

  Top marks for a top dog! In 2007, Maddy Yee earned the title as the fastest Chihuahua at the Petco-sponsored race in San Diego.

  Chili

  Arguably, the most famous bowl of restaurant chili was served at Chasen’s restaurant in Los Angeles. It achieved worldwide notoriety when Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton dispatched a cable to Chasen’s and ordered 10 quarts (frozen) to be sent to their address on Via Appia Pignatelli…in Rome, Italy.

  Cincinnati-style chili is quite different from its more recognizable Texas cousin. It was created in 1922 by a Macedonian immigrant, Tom Kiradjieff, who settled in Cincinnati. His brother opened a hot dog stand that served Greek food. Since no one in the area knew anything about Greek food, Tom created a chili made with Middle Eastern spices. This “five-way” chili was a concoction of spaghetti topped with chili, chopped onion, red kidney beans, and shredded cheese. It’s served with oyster crackers and a side order of hot dogs topped with shredded cheese.

  The Chili Appreciation Society International has approximately 50 “pods” or clubs in the United States and Canada and supports over 400 sanctioned chili cook-offs involving thousands of participants each year.

  Jesse James, the Wild West outlaw and desperado, refused to rob a bank in McKinney, TX, because that was where his favorite chili parlor was located.

  By 1977, the chili manufacturers in Texas successfully lobbied the Texas legislature to have chili proclaimed the official state food “in recognition of the fact that the only real ‘bowl of red’ is that prepared by Texans.”

  China

  Traditionally, the Chinese have tested the effectiveness of herbal remedies on themselves rather than using animals. Emperor Shen Nung, who lived around 2800 BC, was the earliest known practitioner of herbal medicine and the godfather of Chinese medicine. He was reputed to have tasted hundred of different herbs in his quest for medical cures.

  Serbia‘s biggest Chinatown is located in the newer part of Belgrade though there are several Chinese-operated stores all over the country. A large number of Chinese migrated to Serbia after Slobodan Milosevic paid an official visit to China and relaxed immigration restrictions soon after.

  The story of Mulan had been told in China for almost 1,500 years before Disney decided to make it into an animated movie.

  Rice flour was used in combination with lime and clay to create a mortar used in holding the bricks together on the Great Wall of China. In some places of the wall, the bricks have eroded faster than the mortar between them.

  Lost in translation…Kentucky Fried Chicken’s famous advertising slogan “finger lickin’ good” was translated in Chinese as “eat your fingers off.”

  Christianity

  Common symbols associated with Christianity include the cross, dove, anchor, fish, alpha and omega, and chi rho.

  No one ever called him Jesus in his lifetime: it was a romanization of the Hebrew Y’shua, and the Romans used I’s, not J’s.

  Pope Urban II (1088-1099) was responsible for assisting Emperor Alexus I (1081-1118) of Constantinople in launching the first crusade. He made one of the most influential speeches during the Middle Ages, calling on Christian princes in Europe to go on a crusade to rescue the Holy Land from the Turks. Any crusader could claim to be going on a pilgrimage for God and as an incentive, they did not have to pay tax and they were also protected by the Church.

  The St. Mark’s House in Jerusalem is thought to be the first Christian church. The Holy Spirit is said to have descended into St. Mark’s house on the Day of Pentacost. St. Mark was martyred in 68 AD, tied to a horse’s tail and dragged through the streets of Bokalia in Alexandria for two days. As a tradition of the time, parts of his body were preserved with his head now in a church in Alexandria and other parts of him in Cairo. The remainder is in St. Mark’s cathedral in Venice.

  The first Christmas cards originated in 1840. The letter “X” in the word “X-mas” is not used just to save writ
ing out the whole of the word Christmas. X is chi, the first letter of the Greek word christos, meaning anointed.