National Trivia Day 2012

1.  Oscar the Grouch used to be orange. Jim Henson decided  to make him green before the second season of Sesame Street. How did  Oscar explain the color change? He said he went on vacation to the very damp  Swamp Mushy Muddy and turned green overnight.

2. On Good Friday in 1930, the BBC reported, “There is no  news.” Instead, they played piano music.

3. The 3 Musketeers bar was originally split into three  pieces with three different flavors: vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. When the  other flavors became harder to come by during World War II, Mars decided to go  all chocolate.

4. Fredric Baur invented the Pringles can. When he passed  away in 2008, his ashes were buried in one.

5. In the 1980s, Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel was  spending $2,500 a month on rubber bands just to hold all their cash.

6. When he appeared on Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!,  Bill Clinton correctly answered three questions about My Little Pony:  Friendship Is Magic.

7. Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue” was penned by beloved  children’s author Shel Silverstein.

8. Ben & Jerry learned how to make ice cream by taking a  $5 correspondence course offered by Penn State. (They decided to split one  course.)

9. M&M’s actually stands for “Mars & Murrie’s,” the  last names of the candy’s founders.

10. Carly Simon’s dad is the Simon of Simon and Schuster. He  co-founded the company.

11. When the mummy of Ramses II was sent to France in the  mid-1970s, it was issued a passport. Ramses’ occupation? “King (deceased).”

12. In 1939, Hitler’s nephew  wrote an article called “Why I Hate My Uncle.” He came to the U.S., served in  the Navy, and settled on Long Island.

13. In the 1970s, Mattel sold a doll called “Growing Up  Skipper.” Her breasts grew when her arm was turned.

14. Reno is farther west than Los Angeles.

15. A 1913 New York Times article on portmanteaus  includes the word “alcoholiday,” which describes leisure time spent drinking.

16. At Fatburger, you can order a “Hypocrite”—a veggie  burger topped with crispy strips of bacon.

17. While many believe Hydrox cookies are an Oreo knock-off,  Hydrox actually came first—in 1908, four years before the Oreo.

18. In 1999, Furbies were banned from the National Security  Agency’s Maryland headquarters because it was feared the toys might repeat  national security secrets.

19. Bear Bryant was once asked to contribute $10 to help pay  for a sportswriter’s funeral. According to legend, he said, “Here’s a twenty,  bury two.”

20. James Avery (“Uncle Phil” on The Fresh Prince of Bel  Air) was the voice of Shredder on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  cartoon.

21. Kool-Aid was originally marketed as “Fruit Smack.”

22. Only female mosquitoes will bite you.

23. The archerfish knocks its insect prey out of  over-hanging branches with a stream of spit.

24. There really was a Captain Morgan. He was a Welsh pirate  who later became the lieutenant governor of Jamaica.

25. In 1961, Martha Stewart was  selected as one of Glamour magazine;s “Ten Best-Dressed College  Girls.”
25. It’s estimated that 95% of the world’s lab  mice are descended from mice born in the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor,  Maine.
26. As part of David Hasselhoff’s divorce  settlement, he kept possession of the nickname “Hoff” and the catchphrase “Don’t  Hassle the Hoff.”
27. “Jay” used to be slang for “foolish person.” So when a pedestrian ignored street signs, he was referred to  as a “jaywalker.”
28. Duncan Hines was a real person. He  was a popular restaurant critic who also wrote a book of hotel  recommendations.
29. The string on boxes of animal  crackers was originally placed there so the container could be hung from a  Christmas tree.

30. Alaska is the only state that can be typed on one row of  keys. (Go ahead and try typing the other 49 states. We’ll wait.)

31. At the 1905 wedding of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt,  President Teddy Roosevelt gave away the bride.

32. William Faulkner refused a dinner invitation from JFK’s  White House. “Why that’s a hundred miles away,” he said. “That’s a long way to  go just to eat.”

33. In 1907, an ad campaign for Kellogg’s Corn Flakes  offered a free box of cereal to any woman who would wink at her grocer.

34. Why did the FBI call Ted Kaczynski “The Unabomber”? Because his early mail bombs were sent to universities (UN) & airlines  (A).

35. That thing you use to dot your lowercase “i” is called a  tittle.

36. The only number whose letters are in alphabetical order  is 40 (f-o-r-t-y).

37. The little BIC pen logo guy has a name. It’s BIC Boy.  Sorry if that’s a letdown.

38. Bono was born Paul David Hewson.

39. The Edge’s name is David Howell Evans.

40. Male students at Brigham Young University need a  doctor’s note to grow a beard.

41. In 1991, Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse,  married Russi Taylor—the voice of Minnie.

42. The Arkansas School for the Deaf’s nickname is the  Leopards.

43. Editor Bennett Cerf challenged Dr. Seuss to write a book  using no more than 50 different words. The result? Green Eggs and  Ham.

44. Norwegian skier Odd-Bjoern Hjelmeset on why he didn’t  win gold at the 2010 Olympics: “I think I have seen too much porn in the last 14  days.”

45. When asked why he chose the name Piggly Wiggly, founder  Clarence Saunders said, “So people will ask that very question.”

46. Obsessive nose picking is called Rhinotillexomania.

47. Jason Schwartzman’s mom is Talia Shire.

48. The same person who sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” was also the voice of Tony the Tiger (Thurl Ravenscroft).

49. Sorry, parents. According to NASA’s FAQ page, “There are  no plans at this time to send children into space.””