The phrase “quicker than you can say Jack Robinson” originated much earlier, possibly as a reference to a 17th-century Constable of the Tower of London.
Sir Isaac Newton was appointed warden of the Royal Mint (then located in the Tower of London) in 1696. There he worked on methods to reduce counterfeiting and the ability to “clip” a bit of gold from a coin and sell it separately.
Mason Locke Weems, best known for his mythologizing of George Washington, also exaggerated the importance of two sergeants who served under Francis “The Swamp Fox” Marion. Indiana’s adjacent Newton and Jasper counties are named, respectively, after John Newton and William Jasper. Similar county pairs exist in Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. Other states feature a Jasper County with a town called Newton as its seat, or vice versa.
The hymn “Amazing Grace” was written by John Newton, a clergyman who had long been a sailor on ships transporting slaves to the Americas.
Fig Newtons are not named for Sir Isaac Newton, but rather for Newton, MA, where they were first made.
Isaac Asimov lived in the Manhattan neighborhood adjoining Central Park where Ghostbusterswas filmed, and complained publicly when production snarled traffic in the area.
The Manhattan Transfer released the album, Vocalese which received twelve Grammy nominations—at the time making it second only to Michael Jackson’s Thriller as the most nominated single album ever.
SFC Schwartz
Justin Bieber is the only artist to have five Number One albums by the age of 19.
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I’m not really seeing a connection here. It would be quite a stretch to base “diamond” on “emerald.” But no matter.
In play: Sheena Easton is the only artist to be seen singing the theme song to a James Bond movie – For Your Eyes Only (1981) – during its opening titles
You can learn more than you ever wanted to know about crayons if you visit The Crayola Experience museum in Easton, Pennsylvania, the town where Binney and Smith manufactured their crayons for many years (the main manufacturing plant is currently in nearby Forks Township).
Connection: carats.
Long Island has two forks – the North Fork and the South Fork. The South Fork contains the Hamptons and is a playground for the rich. The North Fork is best known these days as a wine growing region, with over 30 of wineries now in operation.
During the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, his former subordinate Anita Hill testified that Thomas often talked about black British porn star Daniel Mead, who appeared in X-rated films under the name Long Dong Silver.
The Duke brothers in Trading Places were loosely based on the Hunt brothers, who in the late 70s attempted to corner the market in silver before being wiped out when they were unable to meet a margin call.
Nelson Hunt is the brother of Lamar Hunt, founder of the American Football League and Kansas City Chiefs
There have been two pro football teams called the Dallas Texans- the first went bankrupt in the late Forties, moved to Baltimore and became the Colts. The second moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs.
Kansas City, Missouri, sprawls across four counties – Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte.
Maine was a part of the state of Massachusetts, before it was admitted to the Union as a separate, slave-free state under the Missouri Compromise.
After Anna Benson showed up at the New York Mets’ children’s Christmas Party in a sexy Mrs. Santa costume, the Mets traded her husband Kris to Baltimore for Jorge Julio and John Maine.