LY = Loretta Young, actress and star of the Emmy-award-winning The Loretta Young Show, an anthology dramatic series. At one point in her life she was pregnant with Clark Gable’s child, which she later claimed was due to him raping her. She went on vacation in Europe to hide her pregnancy and birth. She named the girl Judith, after St. Jude, patron saint of difficult situations, and “adopted” Judith at the age of 19 months.
LZ = Longest Zucchini
The longest zucchini, according to The Guinness Book of World Records, was grown in 2014 near Niagara Falls, Canada by Giovanni Batista Scozzafava. It measured 8 feet, 3 inches. Mr. Scozzafava used no fertilizer or manure, but says he gave the plant a lot of water.
MA- Muhammad Ali won the light heavyweight boxing title at the 1960 Olympics, and told reporters he threw it in the Ohio River after experiencing racism in the USA. Relatives told reporters, off the record, that Ali had just lost the medal.
MB = Milton Bradley, board game makers, now taken over by Hasbro. The company’s first hit was The Checkered Game of Life (later just The Game of Life). They also produced Aggravation, Axis & Allies, Battleship, Candyland, Connect Four, Cootie, Game of the States, Go To The Head Of The Class, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Jenga, and many, many more.
MC = Milk Chocolate
Solid milk chocolate bars were first created in Switzerland in 1875. Before that, milk chocolate had only been a drink.
MD = Maryland
The state is named after Henrietta Maria of France, the wife of Charles I of England.
ME - Maine
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a hero of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg for his command of the 20th Maine infantry, was later elected Governor of Maine and long headed and taught at Bowdoin College.
MF = Millard Fillmore, 13th POTUS. After Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865, black ink was thrown on Fillmore’s house as it was not draped in mourning like others, though he was apparently out of town at the time and put black drapes in the windows once he returned.
MG = Martha Gonzalez
The Martha Gonzalez rose was discovered by Texan “rose rustlers” in front of an abandoned house. They named the rose after the last known resident of the house. It propagates easily from cuttings, and grows well under dry conditions. (Comment from a co-worker: “It’s a weed!”)
MH - Martin Heidegger. A German philosopher who, according to Monty Python, was a “boozy beggar”.
MI = Mission: Impossible. The TV Series. Somehow, out of all those people to choose from, Jim kept choosing the exact same team every time. “As always, should you or any of your I.M. Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.”
MJ - Mungo Jerry, the British rock group whose name was inspired by T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, and whose biggest hit was 1970’s “In The Summertime.”
MK = Mount Katahdin
Mount Katahdin (5,267 feet) is the tallest mountain in Maine and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. It is located in Baxter State Park, which is evidently somewhat of a dangerous place.
ML - Martin Luther. Martin Luther King was given the legal name at birth of Michael King after his father, who was also born Michael King. The elder King changed his and his son’s names following a 1934 trip to Germany to attend the Fifth Baptist World Alliance Congress in Berlin. It was during this time he chose to be called Martin Luther King in honor of the German reformer Martin Luther.
MM = Marilyn Monroe. Before she turned to acting, she was a model, and was named California’s first ever Artichoke Queen.
MN - Minnesota, home of Lake Itasca, the headwaters of the Mississippi River…
MO - Missouri
Harry Truman, Democrat of Missouri, said that after he left the Presidency in 1953 he was glad to reclaim the simple but dignified title of a private American citizen again, as “Mr. Truman.”
MP - Moon Pie
The Moon Pie is a traditional celebratory food for remembering the Apollo 11 moon walk that took place on July 20, 1969. Moon Pies are used in the commemorative celebration by aerospace workers and enthusiasts across the globe.
MQ = Museum Quality. While this term would seem to indicate an item held to the highest standards, museums don’t use this term. A cracked teapot could be of “museum quality” if it had an intriguing background history.
MR - Mister
This masculine title is derived from earlier forms of master, as the equivalent female titles Mrs and Miss derived from earlier forms of mistress.