15 Trivia Tidbits for Saturday, March 15, 2025
William N. McNair was the mayor of Pittsburgh in 1934. To grab people’s attention, he’d go onstage and play the fiddle, and when he refused one time to refund a fine to a criminal, police arrested him. Later, and with no charges hanging over him, McNair suddenly resigned. Then he immediately withdrew his resignation, but the government was happy to be rid of him and didn’t let him return.
While in office, his duties had also included presiding over courts. Read about one of those court adventures below, along with some entirely unfunny facts about some funny people.
Cheese Chunks
Kraft originally invented Cheez Whiz specifically for use with one food: Welsh rarebit. At first, this cheese sauce was unable to stay liquid on its own. You had to drop it on hot food to melt it or melt it yourself in a saucepan.
Jungle Fever
1931’s Trader Horn was the first narrative film shot in Africa. On the ship over there, the studio told lead actress Edwina Booth to sunbathe nude to properly tan herself for the movie. She caught malaria and was bedridden for the next five years.
Criminal Wenching
Some pirates abided by the Articles of Bartholomew Roberts, a code of conduct written early in the 18th century. It said that no pirate may seduce a woman, and anyone found guilty of violating this would be put to death.
Hold My Head Up
The song “I Will Survive” had some real-life context behind the words. Singer Gloria Gaynor had just injured her spine and was wearing a back brace when she recorded the vocals. It would be another 40 years before surgery finally fixed her back issue.
Permanent Record
Archaeologists discovered 800-year-old writings on bits of birch in Russia. They were homework, written by a seven-year-old boy. He also doodled on top of the homework, including a sketch of himself riding a horse and cutting down enemies.
Amsterdam University Press
Sadly Meth-Taken
One episode of Breaking Bad begins with a montage of a motel sex worker, played by Julia Minesci. During a break while filming the scene, someone unconnected with the shoot drove up in a van and solicited Minesci for real.
What an Ass
The author of The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper, was expelled from Yale at the age of 16. His offenses included locking a donkey in one classroom and then trying to blow up the door to another locked room using a bomb he’d built.
Cup of Brown
A British dish called Windsor Soup, made from calves’ feet, was once associated with kings and queens. It eventually earned disdain, not because people stopped liking feet but because they’d stopped using feet in the dish, instead substituting whatever random cheap ingredients were handy.
Stick to Selfies
If you run into Jonah Hill and ask for his autograph, he might instead give you a preprinted card. On it is this message: “I just met Jonah Hill. It was a total letdown.”
Stay Out of Caves
A centipede in Brazil named Scolopendra gigantea measures nearly a foot in length. When it’s not killing insects, it sustains itself by killing small birds and even bats.
A Fitting Line
On the last day of filming his movie The Misfits with Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable said, “I’m glad this picture’s finished. She damn near gave me a heart attack.” Ten days later, he did have a heart attack, which killed him.
Baby Aspirin
Doctors around 1910 were very prudent in prescribing children only moderate quantities of heroin. For adults with coughs, they recommended a teaspoon every two hours, but children received a mere half a teaspoon, while very young children got just a few drop.
Unalive
“Chop Suey” by System of a Down was originally titled “Self-Righteous Suicide,” a phrase you hear in the lyrics. Their label didn’t let them use that title. “Chop Suey” reflects how they took the word “suicide” and chopped it up to make an acceptable title.
Who Is This Clown
Emmett Kelly played a famous clown named Weary Willie for over 40 years. His son, Emmett Kelly Jr., decided to try playing the same character in a different circus. Emmett Sr. never gave permission for this, and the two spent the rest of their lives estranged.
Cruel and Unusual
In 1934, a woman in Pittsburgh took her husband to court on charges of “having annoyed her.” The two were separated, so the mayor presiding over the trial sentenced the man to five days of living with his wife.
