Did you know that (insert an interesting fact)?

As the title indicates, share an interesting fact with us, hopefully something that most of us didn't know.

I'll start:

Did you know that Ansel Adams, the famous photographer, was also a classically trained pianist who very nearly chose a career as a concert pianist over being a photographer?

 

No I did not.

Did you know that Hedy Lamarr, the famous Austrian actress, also was the co-inventor of Spread Spectrum Tecnology?
Used during WW II to communicate between ships and avoid being intercepted by the Nazis it's now the backbone for cell phone tech.

 

I saw something on TV about that on TV recently.

-------------------------------


Did you know that Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the "sexologist," was a soldier who fought in the 1948 Arab-Isaeli War?

 

Did you know that the actual last world title fight in boxing (in recent history) scheduled for 15 rounds took place on August 29, 1988, and went the distance?

This historic fight between In-Kyu Hwang and Samuth Sithnaruepol is often overloooked (see next paragraph) because it took place in Thailand and was for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) World Minimumweight Title. If you're asking what is a minimumweight (no more than 105 pounds) and who gives a shit, you're not alone.

------------------------------------------


Did you know that the next-to-last world title fight in boxing scheduled for 15 rounds on July 31, 1988, actually ended in a first round knockout?
Did you know that many boxing fans, my self included, mistakeningly think that this fight was the last scheduled 15 rounder?

The IBF was the last widely "recognized" and "accepted" sanctioning body to shorten their world championship bouts from 15 rounds down to 12 rounds. On 07-31-88 Howard Davis, Jr. lost his IBF Super Lightweight title to James "Buddy" McGirt on a first round KO. This was a shocker for several reasons. Davis was a slick boxer who nearly always took a safety-first attitude. McGirt was not known as a power puncher, he tended to get his KOs in the later rounds.

 

mosquitoes love the colir blue

 

Did you know that quite a few people think that the song I'm A Believer was a hit for The Beatles?
It was a huge hit........for........The Monkees.

OK, now I'm cheating--Do you know which very successful songwriter/singer (but not so successful as a recording artist at the time) wrote I'm A Believer?

Did you know that Neil Diamond stated that I'm A Believer is the biggest earning song that he ever wrote?
I need to research it, but IIRC he further stated that IAB out-earned all of his other songs combined. If true, that's pretty amazing.

 

Did you know the role of John McClane in Die Hard was contractually obligated to be offered to Frank Sinatra?
He turned it down, along with a bunch of other big name action stars of the era.
The novel Nothing Lasts Forever is a sequel to 1966's The Detective, and Frank Sinatra played the lead in the film of the same name.
Of course, by the time it got down to Bruce Willis, the script and name of the protagonist had changed. Basic concept remained, though.

 

Did you know that the official height of the Washington Monument since 1884 of 555 feet 5 inches was downsized this year to 554 feet, 7 and 11/32 inches.

 

Did you know that the Himalayas grow height?

 

Did you know (well, almost certainly you didn't know) that Ansel Adams, at a conference, traded a print of one of his photos ("Moon Over Half Dome") for a print of one of my father's photos?

No words were spoken. My father's print was being passed around; AA took it, and handed him a copy of MOHD.

 

One that Street Pattern probably knows.

Did the rest of you know that the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island has the longest front porch in the world? I've sat and rocked and drank there on several occasions (MML meetings for Street Pattern) and need a return trip.

 

Did you know that the lawsuit over the "lost" Ansel Adams glass negatives (purchased by an individual at a garage sale for $45.00, estimated value as authentic Adams negatives $200,000,000.00 +/-) was settled out of court?

Google

Ansel Adams Trust Settles Suit Over Negatives - Law360

I don't know which party/group had the strongest legal position, but I'm very surprised that The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust didn't/wasn't able to buy the negatives outright. Perhaps that was something the defendants refused to consider, or the price was too high. Reading between the lines, with superficial research, I'm guessing that TAAPRT was in the weaker legal position (or perhaps counsel decided it was best not to continue the fight).

 

Did you know that in 1916, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress and she was the only member of Congress to vote against U.S. participation in both World War I and World War II.

More on The 'First" Women in American Politics.

 

Did you know that Masters & Johnson utilized "artificial coital equipment" in the various studies that eventually resulted in their book Human Sexual Response (1966)?

The equipment is now commonly, and crudely, referred to as a fucking machine. The book doesn't make it clear if the machine was developed specifically for the study (suggested), or already existed. My quick & superficial research (for now) indicates that it was developed for some of M&J's studies, and they didn't discuss its development in detail.

 

To be fair, Republicans then were different from today.

So were Democrats.

So was Montana.

 

Did you know that a factoid is not factual? A factoid is an invented "fact" believed to be true because is appears in print.
I just learned this from my kid, then looked it up. , but wiser!

 

Did you know how a naval engineer turned a torsion spring into the Slinky?

 

Robert Anton Wilson wrote the Illuminatus! Trilogy. The techno group KLF wrote a concept album based on this. KLF stands for Kallista Liberation Front. They even got Tammy Wynette to sing the song Justified and Ancient, which is about the Justified Ancients of Mummu. In the Illuminatus! Trilogy, it was claimed that the song kick out the jams was a reference by the Bavarian illuminati against the JAMs.