Fear of attacks during WWII affected the 1942 Rose Bowl game being moved from the West Coast to Durham, North Carolina. Cost for prime tickets back then was $4.40 each. Tickets from official sources for the 2017 Rose Bowl range from $358 to $1,176. Scalpers are asking as much as $40,000 for front row 50 yard line seats. In 1942 Oregon State beat Duke 20-16.
The player in the NBA that has totaled the most pay for play is Kevin Garnett (now with the Minnesota Timberwolves) garnering $334 million.
A “metal detectorist” has found a silver coin in England that archeologists claim will necessitate rewriting of some British history. On one side of the coin is an image of Alfred the Great, also on the coin is an image of equal size depicting the king of Mercia Ceolwulf II. Historians are extremely excited as they decipher the implications of this discovery. Actually, I can truthfully say I took the news calmly and pretty much in stride.
In London there are flocks of rose-ringed parakeets that number in the thousands. It is assumed that escaped pets were the source of this colorful non-native species that has thrived in the sometimes harsh English climate.
Speaking of thousands, a company recently marketed a large batch of packaged Mint Flavored Dental Flossers. Printed on the packs is a list of beneficial claims including “removes Plague.” They possibly meant “removes Plaque.”
Even you Western History fanatics may not have heard of one of the deadliest killers of the 19th century. It is believed that Orrin Porter Rockwell dispatched more than 100 men through various means. He is thought to have been a hired assassin with an exceptional record of “success.”
‘Possums in South America long ago were not marsupials ideal for trifling or teasing. They likely would have made lousy pets. Some species weighed in excess of 200 pounds and had saber-like incisors six inches long.
In Great Britain a bat is sometimes called a “rearmouse” or a “flying mouse.” Bats are not rodents. Bats are of the Chiroptera order, totally separate from the Rodentia order.
A bit of irony: On each license plate issued by the state of New Hampshire, one finds the printed slogan “Live Free or Die.” All of those plates are made by prison inmates.
California’s economy is larger than the economies of Italy, India or Russia. Well, obtain your Rose Bowl tickets carefully and officially – while having a great week.
James White is a retired mathematics teacher who enjoys sharing fascinating trivia. He can be reached at [email protected].
