The Oldsmobile Omega sold from the mid- to late 1970s until the early 1980s. It shared GM’s X-platform with the 1970s RWD Chevy Nova and the 1980s FWD Chevy Citation.
The number of stars going nova in the Milky Way averages out to about ten a year.
Milkshake was a competitor to the Milky Way candy bar that was inferior in every way except when frozen, where its softer consistency made it a popular summer treat, sold with ice cream novelties. Milkshake was eventually discontinued; the brand name seems to be owned by Mars, Inc.
As a joke, the Burma-Shave shaving cream company once offered a free trip to Mars in exchange for one hundred empty Burma-Shave jars. Someone took them up on the offer. They sent him to Moers, Germany, which they said was pronounced Mars.
The popular candies known as M & Ms were named after confectioners Forrest
Mars and Bruce Murrie.
The ampersand ("&") is a ligature of the Roman word “et”, meaning “and”.
The editing mark "¶ " used to show the start of a paragraph is called a pilcrow.
In the Gospel of Mark, after Jesus’ arrest, a man follows the soldiers who took him prisoner, is nearly captured himself, and is forced to run away naked.
An old Church tradition holds that this naked man was St. Mark himself.
A group of newspapermen in the 60s wrote a parody of trashy novels of the day called “Naked Came the Stranger” by the fictitious “Penelope Ashe.” The book sold well, and even better once the hoax was revealed.
On April 1, 1985 Sports Illustrated published the article *The Curious Case of Sidd Finch *about a pitcher and yoga practitioner could could reportedly throw a pitch at over 160 mph.
The April Fools Day hoax was quite elaborate and the New York Mets were in on the joke. The story was believed by many despite the date and the clue spelled out by the first letter of each word in the article’s sub heading.
Happy April Fools Day - ah fib
Until someone goes whining to Brussels…?
The Sidd Finch spoof was written by George Plimpton, who later provided the voice of George Templeton Strong, a diarist and stalwart of New York high society, in Ken Burns’s documentary The Civil War.
In exchange for slop from Wilbur the pig’s trough, Templeton the rat searched the garbage dump for words that Charlotte the spider could write in her web.
Paul Lynde provided the voice of Templeton in the 1973 animated film adaptation of Charlotte’s Web.
Singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke of Free joined King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell and Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs to form the supergroup Bad Company.
Company is a musical comedy based on a book by George Furth with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It opened on Broadway on April 26, 1970 at the Alvin Theatre, where it ran for 705 performances and seven previews. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six.
Sergeant Alvin York was the highest decorated soldier of World War I. He single-handedly killed 20 German soldiers and captured 132 others during an infantry attack on a German position near the Argonne Forest in France in October 1918. When informed that Hollywood wanted to make a film about his exploits in World War I, York insisted that only Gary Cooper could play him. At almost 40 years of age, Cooper was actually too old to play York, who was not quite 30 at the time of that battle, and York was informed of this, but he insisted that if Cooper couldn’t play him, then he would not allow the film to be made. The film was made with Cooper in the role of Alvin York.
Among other things, actor Gary Cole has played a callous boss (Office Space), an evil sheriff (American Gothic), a top political advisor (Veep), the bad dad of a NASCAR hero (Talladega Nights) and a none-too-smart Vice President of the United States (The West Wing).
Gary Cole studied theater at Illinois State University with John Malkovich.
L’Université Laval (a/k/a Laval University) in Québec is Canada oldest university. Vive le rouge et or!
Former French Prime Minister Pierre Laval, the head of government under the Vichy regime, was convicted of treason and executed by firing squad by the restored Third Republic under De Gaulle.