MULLET OVER BY JAMES K. WHITE | AUGUST 13, 2014
Brad Pitt once worked for El Pollo Loco dressed as a chicken
To debunk an old myth – Albert Einstein never failed a math class. He was always an exceptional math student, even in grade school. Albert mastered advanced calculus at age 15.
The preamble to the U.S. Constitution contains a grammatical error as it states “in order to form a more perfect union.” One cannot form anything “more perfect.” Perfect cannot be improved. Ask anyone with a huge ego.
One of the pseudonyms used by famous Irish musician Bono when registering at hotels is J.C. Penney.
In the movie Casablanca, lead actor Humphrey Bogart totally adlibbed the classic line “Here’s looking at you, kid” because he had forgotten the script.
For all you would-be actors with grand aspirations: Humble beginnings need be no handicap. Brad Pitt once worked for El Pollo Loco dressed up as a chicken.
Until 1751, much of England celebrated New Year’s Day on March 25. The strange date was a lingering effect after centuries of being under Roman rule and inherent problems with the imposed Julian calendar.
The 1936 Olympics is largely remembered because of how impressively Jesse Owens performed while defeating Germany’s vaunted sprinters. A detail often lost in the telling is that Germany easily won the Olympic medal count as that nation won 101 medals (41 gold) while second place U.S.A. won 66 medals (25 gold).
It was not until 1939 that a British Monarch (George VI) visited either the United States or Canada.
Not long ago, in New Braunfels (Texas), a 34 year old man was sentenced to 50 years in prison for selling drugs to an undercover law officer. I mention this case because it was the third time the 34 year old had been arrested and convicted for peddling narcotics to an undercover officer – and it was the same officer all three times.
According to the Crayola Company, the most popular color crayon (by far) is black.
Within a thirty-one day period in 1841, three different men were president of the U.S. (Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison and John Tyler).
For such a small and historic state, Rhode Island seems to have difficulty selecting a capital city. “The Ocean State” has had 5 different capitals and from 1853-1900, it had two capitals simultaneously. At press time, it has only one capital (Providence). Lagniappe: Juneau, Alaska encompasses more than twice the land area of the state of Rhode Island. Have nice week.
James White is a retired mathematics teacher who enjoys sharing fascinating trivia. He can be reached at [email protected].
