WEEK OF JUNE 9, 2008
Word of the week: "oniomania," which is the medical term for compulsive shopping, coined by German psychologist Emil Kraepelin about 100 years ago. The "onio" part is derived from the Greek for "for sale." You're likely to be more familiar with the more contemporary synonym of "oniomaniac," which is, of course, "shopaholic." (Thanks to Amy Reynaldo of Chicago.)
Exclave update: Two additional U.S. exclaves have been reported: a region in western Kentucky completely surrounded by Missouri and Tennessee, and several areas of Tennessee separated from the rest of the state by the west bank of the Mississippi. These anomalies were created by course changes in the Mississippi since their respective statehoods. (Thanks to Californians Ray Schnibben of Antioch and Clint Collier of Walnut Creek.)
This is the last year for Shea Stadium, which will be torn down after 45 seasons as the home of the New York Mets. Coincidentally, Ebbets Field was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers for 45 seasons also -- 1913 through 1957. Brooklyn Dodgers fans may be surprised to learn that the L.A. Dodgers are now in their 47th season in Dodger Stadium, longer than they were in Ebbets Field.
Who was Richard Warren, and why should you care about him? A passenger on the Mayflower and one of only 19 signers of the Mayflower Compact who survived the first winter, Warren's descendants number a cool 14 million, the most of any Mayflower Pilgrim. His famous progeny include Johnny Carson, Julia Child, Alan Shepard, Henry David Thoreau, the Wright brothers, and presidents Ulysses Grant and Franklin Roosevelt.
In Mickey Rooney's cleverly titled autobiography "Life Is Too Short," he claims to have met Walt Disney by chance at a Hollywood studio in the 1920s, where Disney told him that he was going to name his newly created cartoon mouse for him. Rooney enters the Guinness Book this year as the person with the longest stage/screen career -- 86 years. He first appeared on a vaudeville stage at the age of 15 months in 1922.
Happy 100th birthday to the Milk-Bone brand of dog biscuits, first manufactured by the F.H. Bennett Biscuit Company on the Lower East Side of New York City. Originally called Maltoids, it was renamed Milk-Bone because of the cow's milk it once contained. Bennett merged with Nabisco in 1931, which is today part of Kraft Foods; the brand was sold to Del Monte in 2006.
Eponym of the week: Ned Ludd, the person from who the Luddites took their name. Long before its current computer-averse meaning, the Luddites were a 19th-century British group that resisted the new production methods of the Industrial Revolution. There's no solid proof that Ludd ever existed, but he was supposed to have been an English factory worker who broke knitting machines in a fit of rage.
High on the hog: The Hamptons region of Long Island, New York, is well-known as a summer playground for the upper crust. When you're in the neighborhood, stop by The Laundry, a tony East Hampton restaurant, and order the foot-long Wagyu beef frankfurter. It'll set you back a mere 25 bucks. But don't worry, it comes with a bun and your choice of pickles, ketchup and mustard -- all free!
The book "The Meaning of Tingo" by Adam Jacot de Boinod explores the colorful words to be found in foreign languages. A few examples: German has a word for a man with suspiciously good manners, there's a Czech word for "partial to dumplings," and the Welsh language has a word for the sound that a grandfather clock makes before striking the hour.
Rock 'n' roll pioneer Bill Haley and composer Burt Bacharach have something unexpected in common: They both got their start on the country side of the music biz. Haley performed with several country groups in the late '40s and early '50s before forming his Comets. And Bacharach's first No. 1 song was a country hit, "The Story of My Life," recorded by Marty Robbins in 1957.
TRIVIA
1) At the recent commodity-exchange price of $120 per barrel of crude oil, what does that work out to, approximately, per gallon?
A) $1.85
B) $2.35
C) $2.85
D) $3.35
2) The 9-volt battery was introduced by Eveready in 1956, specifically to provide the power for:
A) Television remotes
B) Transistor radios
C) Dolls
D) Industrial flashlights
3) Israeli statesman Abba Eban served as Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and Ambassador to the U.S. Mr. Eban was born in the same country as actor Basil Rathbone, which was:
A) Australia
B) Canada
C) South Africa
D) Belgium
4) What famous American is credited with these words: "My father taught me to work; he did not teach me to love it"?
A) Paris Hilton
B) Bill Cosby
C) Abraham Lincoln
D) William Randolph Hearst
5) Which of these firsts in women's sports happened first?
A) The first woman to play in a PGA tournament
B) The first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby
C) The first woman to drive in the Indianapolis 500
D) The first woman to referee an NBA game
ANSWERS
1) With 42 gallons per barrel of crude oil, $120 per barrel works out to about $2.85 per gallon.
2) The 9-volt battery was introduced by Eveready in 1956, specifically to provide the power for transistor radios, which required more power than the 1.5-volt batteries of the time.
3) Israeli statesman Abba Eban and actor Basil Rathbone were both born in South Africa.
4) The quote "My father taught me to work; he did not teach me to love it" is credited to Abraham Lincoln.
5) Babe Zaharias played in the men's Los Angeles Open in 1938. The other female firsts were all later -- 1970 (Kentucky Derby), 1977 (Indianapolis 500) and 1997 (NBA referee).
STAN'S WEEKLY TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 89
In what must surely be the highest sales-to-vocabulary ratio in publishing history, what famous book has sold over 8 million copies in the U.S. since it was first published in the 1960s, and uses only 50 different words?
HOW TO WIN: Send your answer, with your full name and address, either by e-mail to TriviaBits@gmail.com, or on a postcard to Stan Newman's Trivia Challenge No. 89, P.O. Box 69, Massapequa Park, NY 11762. Only one submission per person, please. Answers must be received within seven days of publication. One winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries, who will receive a copy of Stan's new book "15,003 Answers: The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia," courtesy of Random House. Answer and winner will be announced in a future issue.
ANSWER TO TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 82
New York Yankee Derek Jeter came within two games of breaking Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak record over the 2006 and 2007 seasons, by getting a hit in 59 of 61 consecutive games. Winner: Gerald Washington of Kent, Wash.
