The most recent dish-and-spoon scandal was in Prince Charles’ home, where a Staffordshire saucer and a piece of the royal silver were accused of illicit forking.
Edward Lear once crossed Tibet on foot with only a Christmas pud and a bottle of port for sustainance
Roy Cohn once stole a book of Edward Lear poems and read them to Joseph McCarthy one night while they were both high on laughing gas.
Rodney Dangerfield’s real name was Jacob Roy Cohen, and he performed in his youth as Jack Roy, before adopting his famous stage name.
Rodney Dangerfield was sometimes asked by the Secret Service to be a body double for Vice President Spiro Agnew in dangerous public appearances. He always refused.
Dangerfield’s first choice for a new name was Rodney Respect, but he was told he couldn’t get it for some reason or other. It was a bone of contention for him throughout his career.
Aretha Franklin’s signature song R-E-S-P-E-C-T was a re-write of an old Christian hymn J-E-H-O-V-A-H, which in turn was a rewrite of an old blues song F-U-C-K-I-N-G.
Aretha Franklin is the g-g-g-g-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin, who is credited with writing a very early version of the song “Brown Sugar”.
Ben Franklin dedicated the song “Brown Sugar” to Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson.
A-R-E-T-H-A was the first blues gospel droid made in 1949 at MIT.
It stands for Aurally Resonating Ecstatic Tuneful Harmony Android.
A-R-E-T-H-A has, since 1957, been kept on display in the basement of the International Gospel Hall of Fame in Tupelo, Miss., entertaining visiting tourists with remarkably tuneful versions of such robotic classics as “The Lord is My Shepherd, Please Change My Oil” and “O Mary Don’t You Weep, I Promise I Won’t Malfunction and Gruesomely Kill Your Family.”
The original Mary in the nursery rhyme was actually quite pleasant and agreeable, but was known for pronouncing words in amusing ways.
Mary (Queen of Scots) was considered such a good sport for appearing on “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”–and, basically, getting the stuffing beat out of her–that she was elected to three more “terms” as Queen of Scotland.
Queen of Scotland is a tribute band featuring a Freddie Mercury look-alike named Tavish McPhartuccio, who performs in the traditional pastel plaids of the McPhartuccio clan.
Freddie Mercury, realizing he couldn’t keep up the pace of the lifestyle he’d been accustomed to, faked his own death. Today he works as a greeter at Wal-Mart and plays back-up guitar in a Queen tribute band called Majesty.
Lèse-majesté is a proprietary eponym (Fun With Words: Proprietary Eponyms), like “Kleenex” or “Hoover” (for Brits), originally a brand name for a bespoke comfy recliner made for the House of Windsor.
The House of Windsor includes such lesser-known royals as the Duke of Earl, the Earl of Dook, Baron Abcdefghijklmnop and Prince Cecil of Chicago.
Baron Abcdefghijklmnop was the first royal premature baby to be born.
The selection from Chopin’s Nocturne in C# Minor, Op. posth., sampled by Alicia Keyes in her As I Am, was performed by Chopin himself, which enabled Keyes to avoid paying residuals.
After recording the piece, Chopin took a steamer back to France and died on the train to Paris at the age of 197, in flagrante delicto with two of his mistresses.