Mr. Write's Page

More useless facts for inquiring minds.

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— The automatic dishwasher was invented by Josephine Cochrane, a widow and socialite from Shelbyville, Illinois, who was angry because her servants were chipping her fine china. Her very successful company was later bought out by Hobart; which became KitchenAid; and is now Whirlpool. Cochrane is venerated as the founder.

— The physical feature that distinguishes birds from all other animals is the presence of feathers.  Feathers are unique to birds, and every bird has them.

— At ATMs in Vatican City, you can opt to conduct your transaction in Latin.

— The band Aerosmith has sold over 150 million albums, and they’re still touring after 46 years. Each band member is worth well over $100 million. However, most of their money didn’t come from album sales. It came from (and continues to come from) sales of the video game Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. The game has generated far more revenue than any of Aerosmith’s albums.

— In 1838, while leading his troops against a French invasion force, Mexican General Santa Anna was struck by a cannon ball and lost his left leg. He was fitted with a prosthetic cork leg.

Ten years later, during the Mexican-American War, an infantry unit from Illinois captured Santa Ana and confiscated the cork leg. He replaced it with a peg leg. Later in the war, the Illinois unit captured him again. Today, both legs are on display in Illinois museums, despite continuing demands by Mexico for their return.

— “Baby carrots” come in two varieties: genuine baby carrots and “baby-cut carrots.” The latter came first. In truth, they are merely ugly or misshapen carrots, destined to be thrown out, that are shaved down and passed off as a new “baby” variety. Sheer marketing baloney. However, they became so popular that farmers went on to create a line of real baby carrots with a small core, bright color, and a more sugary flavor.

— The most widely-consumed mushroom in the world is Agaricus bisporus. Young specimens with a closed cap are known as crimini or button mushrooms. When they grow to maturity, they’re known as portobellos. In the intermediate stage, when the cap is slightly open, they are baby portobellos.

— Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of having peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth.

— Sixteen U.S. presidents have been elected to two terms in office. Then there was Franklin Roosevelt, who died during his 4th term, after which the country wisely made two terms the legal limit.

Those 17 presidents all served their terms consecutively except one: Grover Cleveland. He was President 1885-1889, then lost the 1889 election to William McKinley. He came back to defeat McKinley and serve again 1893-1897.

— Emil Krebs (1867-1930), a German interpreter and diplomat, was fully literate in 68 languages and had some knowledge of 120 more.

— In 1919, late in the 9th inning of a baseball game between Cleveland and Philadelphia, Cleveland pitcher Ray Caldwell was struck by lightning and knocked unconscious. After five minutes, Caldwell got to his feet and insisted on finishing the game. With his next pitch, the batter grounded out, and the game was over.

— In the 2006 film Cars, Paul Newman was the voice of Doc Hudson. Newman died in 2008. Cars was his last film and the highest-grossing of his career.