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Honors Theses Student Research
1989
Fundamental American studies cocktail trivia
Joanne Tuffy Kriegel Colby College
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UNDAMENTAL
MERICAN STUDIES
...... OCKTAIL
RIVIA
Joanne Tuffy Kriegel TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1
INTRODUcnON 11
PRESIDENTS 1 STATES 9 B(X)KS 1 6 MUSIC 21 SPORTS 23 MOVIES 25
1ST APPEARANCES 36
COCKTAll... TRIVIA 39
SOURCES 45 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Charlie Bassett for sticking with my and this project even after it was suppose to have officially ended. Thanks to Kate Roosevelt for her ability to make the computer save this document when I could not. And, special thanks to Jonathan Kriegel for his advice and ideas.
1 INTRODUCTION
As a college senior. and an American Studies major, there seemed to be certain basic facts that I expected to know before leaving the protected environment of college. Throughout the Fall 1988 semester. it became apparent that I did not know several of the basics. For example. I was unable to name all 40 (at the time) Presidents. And, when given an outline of the United States and asked to draw in and lable the states. I was largely unsuccessful. My Ignorance was compounded with the similar ignorance of my classmates. In an American Studies senior seminar. when asked to pick an image of the 1970s. one student replied, "the Korean War." The general lack of knowledge of the most elementary facts about our country by students who have spent four years studying America, coupled with my love of trivia lead me to this project. F.A.C.T. is a combination of basic facts and trivia. The basics include the names of presidents, vice-presidents, states, and capitals. The blurbs of information following these basics consist of trivia. F.A.C.T. is also concerned with one's ability to be a successful, well-rounded cocktail party-goer. What this requires is some general knowledge of trivia in the following areas: books, music, sports. and movies. These facts will not improve your G.R.E. scores, but they will be useful both at cocktail parties. and when playing Jeopardy! And. most important of all, they will teach you several, little known facts about America and the people who make up America. ---TUFFY
II PRESIDENTS
George WASHINGTON The only President who did John Adams not live in the White House. (1789-1797) The only President inaugurated in two cities: New York and Philadelphia. The first and only President unanimously elected: he received 69 of the 69 electoral votes cast.
John ADAMS The only President who was Thomas Jefferson inaugurated in Philadelphia (1797-1801) both as Vice-President and President. The last Federalist candidate to gam the Presidency.
Thomas JEFFERSON The first President Aaron Burr inaugurated in Washington, George Clinton D.C. First American to be (1801-1809) innoculated against smallpox. He replaced bowing with a Presidential handshake. The first President who had been governer of a state. The first President whose parents had twins.
James MADISON He planned the system of George Clinton checks and balances which Elbridge Gerry regulate the three branches (1817-1825) of government. The last surviving signer of the Constitution. First President to have been a congressman.
1 James MONROE The first President to have Daniel Tompkins been a senator. The first (1817-1825) President inaugurated outdoors. During his presidency, the first public school opened in the U.S .• 1821. The third President to die on July 4: Adams and Jefferson also died on that date.
John Quincy ADAMS Elected by the House of John Calhoun Representatives because (1825-1829) none of the 4 candidates won a majority in the national election. The first President to wear long trousers at his inauguration. The first President elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. The first President whose father signed the Declaration of Independence.
Andrew JACKSON First President born in a log John Calhoun cabin. First President to ride Martin Van Buren a train. Vetoed more bills (1829-1837) than all the Presidents before him combined. The first President to marry a woman who had been divorced.
Martin VAN BUREN The first President born in Richard Johnson New York state. Lived to see (1837-1841) 8 Presidents from 8 different states succeed him.
William Henry HARRISON Served the shortest time in John Tyler office. He caught pneumonia (1841 ) at his inauguration, and died 30 days later. The first President to die in office.
2 First and only President who studied to become a doctor. The last President born before the American Revolution.
John TYLER The first Vice-President to become President because of (1841-1845) the death of the President in office. First President to marry during his tenn of office. First President whose father was a governor of a state (Virginia).
James Knox POLK The first "Dark HorseII George Dallas elected: his name was not (1845-1849) mentioned during the first 7 ballots. On the 9th ballot his nomination was declared unanimous. The first President born in North Carolina.
Zachary TAYLOR The fust time he voted he Millard Fillmore was 62 years old. The first (1849-1850) President who did not serve in the U.S. Congress or the Continental Congress.
Millard FILMORE Helped delay the Civil War for 10 years by approving (1850-1853) the Compromise of 1850. The first President to have a stepmother.
Franklin PIERCE The youngest President thus William De Vane King far. The fust President born (185.3 -1857) in the 19th Century. The first President born in New Hampshire.
James BUCHANAN The only bachelor
3 John Breckinridge President. (1857-1861)
Abraham LINCOLN The fIrst President to wear a Hannibal Hamlin beard. He proclaimed Andrew Johnson Thanksgiving Day a national (1861-1865) holiday. The rust President to be assassinated.
Andrew JOHNSON ~anned at a younger age than any other President. (1865-1869) Impeached for violating the Tenure-of-Office Act, but the Senate acquitted bim.
Ulysses S. GRANT The fust West Point Schuyler Colfax graduate to become Henry Wilson President. The first (1869-1877) President whose parents were both alive when he was inaugurated.
Rutherford B. HAYES His opponent won the William Wheeler majority of the popular vote, (1877-1881) but he won most of the electoral votes. The first President sworn in on March 3. in a private ceremony at the White House.
J. A. GARFIELD The first left-handed Chester Arthur President. He campaigned In (1881) German as well as English. Assassinated by a man who was not given a government job.
Chester ARTHUR The 2nd time there were 3 Presidents in one year: the (1881-1885) first time was in 1841. He attended the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, 1883,
4 which was the world's longest bridge at the time.
Grover CLEVELAND The only President to ever Thomas Hendricks serve nonconsecutive terms. Adlai Stevenson During his 2nd term in (1885-1889) office, the 53rd Congress had (1893-1897) 8 Congressmen with George Washington as their given names.
Benjamin HARRISON More states were admitted Levi Morton into the U.S. during his (1889-1893) administration than in any other (6). His 2nd wife bore him a daughter (Feb. 1897) who was younger than his 4 grandchildren.
William McKINLEY The first President to use Theodore Roosevelt the telephone for campaign (1897-1901) purposes. The 5th Ohio born President elected within 28 years.
Theodore ROOSEVELT He lost his sight in his left Charles Fairbanks eye during a sparring match (1901-1909) in the White House. The fI.{st American to win a Noble Prize. He won the Noble Prize for his role in mediating an end to the Russo-Japanese War.
William H. TAFT Largest man ever to serve as James Sherman President: he was 6' tall and (1909-1913) weighed over 300lbs. The first President who was a member of a Cabinet after the Civil War. The flISt President to become Chief 1ustice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
5 Woodrow WILSON He won the Noble Peace Thomas Marshall Prize in 1919. The [lIst (1913-1921) President who majored in history and government in college.
Warren HARDING The [lIst man elected to the Calvin Coolidge Presidency while serving in (1921-1923) the Senate. The flIst President to ride to his inauguration in an automobile. The first President to be heard over the radio.
Calvin COOLIDGE He was sworn into office by Charles Dawes his father, who was a public ( 1923 - 1929) official. The first President whose inaugural ceremonies were broadcast.
Herbert HOOVER Beat his opponent by the Charles Curtis largest majority of electoral (1929-1933) votes ever received by a candidate up to this time. The last President whose term of office ended on March 3.
Franklin D. ROOSEVELT He was President longer John Garner than anyone else: served 4 Henry Wallace terms. The fIrst Predident Harry Truman whose mother could have (1933-1945) voted for him. The first and only President inaugurated twice on a Saturday: March 4,1933, and Jan. 20, 1945.
Harry S. TRUMAN The first President born in Alben Barkley Missouri. The only (1945-1953) President ever to drop an atomic bomb.
6 Dwight D. EISENHOWER Both the Democrats and Richard Nixon Republicans wanted him as (1953-1961) their candidate: he chose the Republicans. The frrst President born in Texas. The frrst President to serve a constitutionally limited term.
John F. KENNEDY The first President born in Lyndon Johnson the 20th Century. The frrst (1961-1963) President whose inauguration was shown on color television. The youngest elected President.
Lyndon B. JOHNSON He received more than 61 % Hurbert Humphrey of the votes cast: the largest (1963-1969) % in the history of elections. The frrst Democratic President to carry Vermont. The first President inaugurated in a business suit. The frrst President sworn in by a woman. The frrst President to take the oath of office in an airplane.
Richard M. NIXON The frrst President to visit Spiro Agnew China while in office. The Gerald Ford first President to resign (1969-1974) from office.
Gerald FORD The .only person to serve as Nelson Rockefeller both Vice-President and (1974-1977) President who was not elected to either office. The first President whose parents were divorced.
James E. CARTER The frrst President born in a Walter MondaIe hospital. The first President
7 (1977-1981) from Georgia. The frrst U.S. Naval Academy graduate to become President. The first President to be sworn into office using his nickname: Jimmy.
Ronald REAGAN The oldest President ever George Bush elected. The frrst President (1981-1989) to have been divorced. The frrst President to have been head of a union: he was President of the Screen Actors Guild.
George BUSH Dan Quayle (1989- )
John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, and Chester Anhur were all Vice-Presidents who succeeded to the presidency and did not appoint a Vice-President to take their place. And, none of these men were ever elected to the presidency in their own right.
8
STATES
ALABAMA (1819) The first monument to an Montgomery insect was dedicated on Dec. 11,1919, in Enterprise.
ALASKA (1959) The largest state; it makes Juneau up 16% of America. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state in America.
ARIZONA (1912) Home of the Grand Canyon, Phoenix one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Also, home of the London Bridge since 1971.
ARKANSAS (1836) Site of only major diamond Little Rock field in North America. The fust diamonds in actual rock were found in 1906: there were 2, and each one weighed about 3 carats.
CALIFORNIA (1850) Death Valley is the lowest Sacramento point in North America: 280' below sea level. It is also the largest national monument.
COLORADO (1876) More than 1/3 of the state's Denver land is owned by the U.S. governmen t.
·CONNECTICUT (1788) The first state to make Hartford bicycles in America.
9 *DELAWARE (1787) The first state to approve Dover the U.S. Constitution. The frnt U.S. divorce took place in this state.
DISTRICT of COLUMBIA (1790-1) Site selected by George Washington Washington. The capital of the U.S. occupies the entire district.
FLORIDA (1845) St. Augustine is the oldest Tallahassee city in the U.S. Florida's state motto became the national motto in 1956: "In God We Trust".
*GEORGIA (1788) The first state to allow 18 Atlanta year-oIds to vote. Produces more peanuts than any other state.
HAWAII (1959) The only state that was once Honolulu an independent monarchy. The southernmost state in America.
IDAHO (1890) Areo was the first town to Boise be entirely illuminated with electric power generated from atomic energy..
ILLINOIS (1818) The first skyscrapper 10 Springfield America was built in Chicago, 1885. It was 10 floors and occupied by the Home Insurance Co.
INDIAN A (1816) The first balloon flight Indianapolis carrying mail dispatched from a post office, and using stamps, was made in 1859, from the town of Lafayette.
10 IOWA (1846) Highest % of citizens who can Des Moines read and write of all the states. Home of the flIst woman lawyer in the U.S.: Arabella Mansfield, 1869.
KANSAS (1861) The frrs t federal Topeka penitentiary fingerprinting was undertaken at the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth.
KENTUCKY (1792) The only state which Frankfort observes F. D. Roosevelt's birthday as a holiday: Jan. 30. The two leaders of the Civil War, Abe Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, were both born in this state.
LOUISIANA (1812) The steps of the state capitol Baton Rouge bear the names of all the states in order of their admission to the union.
MAINE (1820) Leads the states in toothpick Augusta production. The easternmost state. The only one syllable state.
*MARYLAND (1788) The first Duckpins were Annapolis introduced in the Spring of 1900, at the Diamond Bowling Alleys.
*MASSACHUSETTS (1788) The first steam-heated Boston building in America was the Eastern Hotel, in Boston, 1845.
MICHIGAN (1837) The first state to abolish Lansing capitol punishment, 1847.
1 1 MINNESOTA (1858) The first electric toaster, of St. Paul the household automatic pop-up type, was marketed in Minneapolis, 1926, under the trademark of Toastmaster.
MISSISSIPPI (1817) The flIst cotton crop 1ackson commercially produced entirely by machine, from planting to bailing, was grown on 28 acres in Clarksdale.
MISSOURI (1821) The first parachute jump Jefferson City from an airplane was made at 1efferson Barracks, St. Louis, in 1912. The jump was made from an altitude of 1,500', while the plane was going 50 mph.
MONTANA (1889) The first Bibles in hotel Helena rooms appeared in the Superior Hotel in Iron Mountain.
NEVADA (1864) The first slot machine Carson City payoff of $275,000 was at the Flamingo Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, 1978.
*NEW HAMPSHIRE (1788) The first of the original 13 Concord colonies to adopt its own constitution. .
*NEW JERSEY (1787) The street names in Atlantic Trenton City were used in the game Monopoly.
NEW MEXICO (1912) The oldest road in the U.S. is Santa Fe the £1 Camino Real. The first
12 atomic bomb was built and exploded in this state.
*NEW YORK (1788) New York City was the first Albany capital of the U.S. under the Constitution.
*NORTH CAROLINA (1789) Makes more wooden Raleigh furniture than any other state.
NORTH DAKOTA (1889) Has the largest % of people Bismarck who work in agriculture than any other state. Tallest structure in America is this state's TV Tower.
OHIO (1803) Akron is the heart of the Columbus nation's rubber industry.
OKLAHOMA (1907) The only state that observes Oklahoma City the following holidays: 1) Bird Day, May 1; 2) Senior Citizens Day, June 9; 3) Will Rogers Day, Nov. 4.
OREGON (1859) Has about 1/10 of the Salem nation's timber.
"'PENNSYLVANIA (1787) In 1859, in Titusville, the Harrisburg frrst oil well commercial appeared in a local paper. The fIrst public school in America was founded in Philadelphia.
*RHODE ISLAND (1790) Smallest state in area. The Providence trrst Bridge hand in which each of the 4 players was dealt a perfect hand of 13 cards of the same suit was 10 Cranston, 1954.
1 3 *SOUTH CAROLINA (1788) The first building of Columbia fireproof construction was the Fireproof Building in Charleston. 1823. It was built for the preservation of the county records.
SOUTH DAKOTA (1889) The Black Hills is the home Pierre of Mount Rushmore: Washington's. Jefferson's, Lincoln's, and T. Roosevelt's faces carved on it. Also, it is the illustrious birth place of Charles Bassett.
TENNESSEE (1796) The first state readmitted to Nashville the Union after the Civil War.
TEXAS (1845) Has more fanns than any Austin other state.
UTAH (1896) The state was founded by Salt Lake City the Mormon Church. Great Salt Lake is the largest body of salt water in the U.S.
VERMONT (1791) Lowest % of city dwellers of Montpelier any state.
*VIRGINIA (1788) The first beer was brewed at Richmond Roanoke Colony, 1587. Known as the mother of Presidents: this state bore 8 of them.
WASHINGTON (1889) The only state named for a Olympia President.
WEST VIRGINIA (1863) The first soda fountain Charleston patent was granted to George Dulty of Wheeling, 1833.
14 WISCONSIN (1848) Brews more beer than any Madison other state.
WYOMING (1890) The first National Park in Cheyenne the U.S. : Yellowstone National Park. This state has over 1,000.000 cows. and only 500.000 people; that is fewer people than any other state.
VIRGIN ISLANDS (1917) Purchased from Denmark for Charlotte Amalie $25,000,000.
An +: before a state's name indicates one of the thirteen original colonies.
1 5 BOOKS
Books have to be read. It is the only way of discovering what they contain. A few savage tribes eat them, but reading is the only method of assimilation revealed to the West. --E.M.Foster
Hezekiah Usher 1639. The frrst American bookseller and publisher.
Bay Psalm Book 1640. The fIrst book printed in America. In 1947, a copy of the Bay Psalm Book was sold at an auction for $151,000; the highest price paid for a book to date.
A Key Into the Lan2ua~e of 1643. The first American America word book; written by Roger Williams.
The Power of Sympathy; or The 1789. The first American Triumph of Nature Foynded in novel; written by William Truth Hill Brown. The author's nom de plume was Philenia.
Charlotte. a Tale of Truth 1794. The first best selling American novel. The author was Mrs. Rowson.
Beadlels Dime Novels 1794. The first dime novel series sold in America. The frrst dime novel in the series was Malaeska. the Indian Wife of the White Hunter.
American Cookery 1796. With more than 170 recipes, this was the first cookbook written by an American, Amelia Simmons.
1 6 Poems for Our Young 1830. Sarah Josepha Hale's volume of poems which included "Mary Had a Little Lamb."
The Deers)ayer 1841. By James Fenimore Cooper, this is the last of the frontier novels known as the Leather-Stocking Tales.
"The Murders in the Rue 1841. Considered to be the Morque lt first modern detective story_ Written by Edgar Allen Poe, it appeared in Graham's Maeazine.
Sketches from the Life of a 1859. Believed to be the Free Black frrst hovel by an Afro American to appear in the U.S. The author was Harriet E. Wilson.
The Virginian 1902. By Owen Wister, this was the first Western to win literary fame.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle 1974. Wins the record for Maintenance the most rejections before publication, and best sellerdom. Written by Robert M. Pirsig, it was rejected by 121 publishers before William Morrow & Co. accepted it.
Absalom. Absalom! This novel by William Faulkner contains the longest sentence: there are 1,300 words in the sentence.
THE PEOPLE WHO WRITE THEM
1 7 Horatio Alger Estimated that more than 20,000,000 copies of his novels were published.
James Baldwin A few days prior to his 19th birthday, bis mother gave birth to her 8th child. It was a baby girl who lames named Paula Maria.
Saul Bellow In Russia. his father was a daring businessman who imported Egyptian onions.
Anne Bradstreet 1650. She became New England's first published poet with her volume of verse: The Tenth Muse of Lately Sprung Up m America.
T. S. Eliot While living in Europe, he was a bank clerk. In 1927, he became a British subject.
Ralph Waldo Emerson He resigned from his pastorate of the Second Church of Boston because he could not conscientiously administer the Lord's Supper.
F. Scott Fitzgerald He wrote the initial draft of his flISt novel, This Side of Paradise, 1920, while being trained at a U.S. army camp.
Lorraine Hansberry 1959. The first Afro American woman to have a play produced on Broadway, A Raisin in the Sun.
1 8 Nathaniel Hawthorne 1850. 4.000 copies of The Scarlet Letter were sold in its frrst 10 days.
Ernest Hemingway "The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in shockproof shit-detector." Both he and his father committed suicide: they both shot themselves. After his father's death. he wrote to his mother requesting that she send him the gun his father used to kill himself with.
William Dean Howells In 1860 he was appointed as consul in Venice. Italy.
Washington Irving He is credited as the creator of the American short story: "The Legend at Sleepy Hollow."
Herman Melville In 1841. he sailed on a whaler, Acushnet. on an 18 month voyage. This journey provided a factual basis for his later novel. Moby-Dick.
Arthur Miller After he read Dostoevskii's The Brothers Karamazov. he decided to become a writer.
John O'Hara He is said to have published more words than any other major writer of the 20th cen tury.
Thomas Paine 1776. Common Sense sold 100,000 copies in 10 weeks. 1 copy was sold for every 25 people who Iived in the
1 9 Colonies. No other book has gained such quick and widespread distribution.
John Steinbeck 1927.His rust novel, Cup of Gold. was rejected by 7 publishers before it was accepted by Robert M. McBride & Co.
Harriet Beecher Stowe 1852. Uncle Tom's Cabin was the first American novel to sell over 1,000,000 copies.
Henry David Thoreau He spent a day in jail for refusing to pay a poll tax to a government that supported the Mexican War: a war he considered a land grabbing scheme by the Southern slaveholders.
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. He was captured by the Germans in w.w.n. and forced to work in an underground meat locker of a slaughterhouse. The slaughterhouse was located in Dresden, and he was their when the U.S. and England bombed that city.
20 MUSIC liMy Days Have Been So 1759. The first secular song Wonderous Free" by a native American, Francis Hopkins.
U.S. Marine Band Formed in 1798, this is the oldest musical group in the U.S.
"Home Sweet Home" 1823. By John Howard Payne, it was the most popular song yet written by an American. liThe MinistreI's Return From 1825. The first hit secular the War" song with both words and music by an American, John Hill Hewitt.
"Happy Birthday to You" 1893. 2 sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill, wrote "Good Morning to Yau". When the song had no popularity, the sisters changed the titIe. The song is in copyright until the year 2010.
"White Christmas" 1942. Written by Irving Berlin, Bing Crosby's recording is the best selling record of all time. On Chistmas Eve 1987, North American sales alone reached 170,884,207 copies in all versions made by June 30, 1987.
"Annie's Song" The only Top 10 John Denver song with a name 10
21 the title, though it never appears in the lyrics.
1986 Harris Poll More Americans (59%) like Country Music more than any other type.
"Hello Dolly" At age 64, Louis Armstrong was the oldest American to have a number 1 hit single.
"Happy Days Are Here Again It F. D. R.'s 1932 carnpaing song.
It Video Killed the Radio Star" August 1.1981. The fust rock Video aired on MTV. The group was the Bugles.
Michael Nesmith Former member of the Monkey's, whose mother invented Liquid Paper.
Paul Anka Every time The Tonight Show theme is played he collects $200 for having written it in 1962.
Stevie Wonder He endorses all of his contracts with his fingerprint.
Thriller Michael Jackson's best selling album of all time. Its had global sales of 40,000.000 copies by May 1988.
22 SPORTS
Bubble Gum Blowing The largest bubble blown .measured 22" in diameter. It was blown by Susan Montgomery Williams of Fresno, Ca.
Pogo Stick Jumping The greatest number of jumps achieved on a pogo stick is 130,077 by Guy Stewart in Reading, Ohio.
Somersaults Ashrita Furman performed 8,341 forward rolls over 12 miles 390 yards in 10 1/2 hours.
Checkers Nathan Cohen of Portland, Me., played 172 opponents, 5 to 10 at a time. It took him 4 hours and he won every game.
Chess Bobby Fischer became the frrst U.S. Chess player to make his way through the elimination matches for the World Chess Championship.
Throwing Dr. Larry Ruhf set a record of 2 minutes 31 seconds, for keeping a boomerang aloft in a throw-and-catch con test.
Ferris Wheel Riding The endurance record for big wheel riding is 37 days by Rena Clark and Jeff Block at Frontier VilIag.e
23 Amusement Park, San Jose, Ca
Grape Catching The longest distance for catching a grape in the mouth, that has been thrown from a site on the same ground level, is 319' 8" by Arden Chapman.
24 MOVIES
A Trip to the Moon 1902. Considered to be the earliest science fiction film ever made. It was directed by George Melies.
Don .Iuan 1926. The fust moving picture with sound. The first movie with a fully synchronized musical score.
The .Iazz Singer 1927. The rust talkie; it starred Al Jolson, and was produced by Warner Brothers.
Wings 1927. The first movie to win an Oscar for best picture.
Lights of New York 1928. The rust all-talking feature film. Produced by Warner Brothers, it opened at the Strand Theatre in N.Y.C.
Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse's debut movie. Walt Disney was Mickey's voice.
Dracula 1931. Universal Studios had no idea how the film would be received; so, they distributed the movie without any mention of the picture's horror theme. The advertisement said only.
25 "The story of the srrangest passion the world bas ever known. "
Fran ken stej n 1931. Boris Karloff played the original monster. And, be played the monster 2 other times as well: Bride of Frankenstein. 1935, and Son of Frankenstein. 1939.
Fredric March and Wallace 1931-32. The only Oscar tie Berry for best actor. The actors starred in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Champ. respectively.
A Bill of Divorcement 1932. Katharine Hepburn's first film. She was directed by George Cukor, and he went on to direGt her in 7 more films.
The Mystery of the Wax 1933. This horror classic is Museum one of the last films made in two-color technicalor. (This is an interim stage between tinted films and three-color tecbnicolor.)
Kine KQm~ 1933. The only movie to play both Radio City Music Hall and the Roxy Theatre at the same time.
It HaDpened One Ni.fht 1934. Clark Gable's casting in this movie was supposed to be a punishment. MGM sent him to Columbia on loan as a disciplinary measure for what MGM thought would be just a routine film.
26 The Farmer Takes a Wjfe 1935. Henry Fonda's film debut.
Mary of Scotland 1936. The only film John Ford ever directed Katharine Hepburn in.
Snow White and the Seven 1937. The fust full-length Dwarfs cartOOD.
Lost Horizon 1937. Based on James Hilton's novel which he wrote in 6 weeks. It took Frank Capra 2 years to film it. The smallest Tole was that of the High Lama; he appears only once, but it is a crucial scene to the story. Capra's first two choices for the part both died before they could go in front of the camera. The role was finally played by Sam Jaffe.
The Wizard of Oz 1939. This picture was filmed 2 times during the silent era, and neither version had a wicked witch. In the 1939 movie, the wicked witch played by Margaret Hamilton was added. She also played the role of Miss Elmira Gulch: the hatchet-faced. vindictive, bike-riding. Kansas neighbor.
Gone With the Wind 1939. The greatest film of all time. No other picture of its day received as much advance publicity: it was advertised for 3 years prior to its opening. And. no other
27 flim of its day ran as long:
3hrs. 39min. IIAfter all,
tomorrow is another day,II is the films last line.
Woman of the Year 1942. The first of 9 films Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy did together.
Casablanca 1943. Based on an unproduced play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison called Everybody Comes to Rick's. llsa Lazlo and Rick Blaine played by Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart were almost played by Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan. In the midst of W.W.II., the film won 3 Oscars.
The Outlaw 1943. Publicity for this film, starring Jane Russell, was so extensive she received 1,100 fan letters per week even though the movie was not released for 3 years due to censorship. This was Jane Russell's first movie.
To Have or Have Not 1944. Based on the Hemingway story, this was the fITst film to pair Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
Going My Way 1944. Bing Crosby won his only Oscar portraying the fun-loving priest in this film.
Lifeboat 1944. Alfred Hitchcock appeared as the portly
28 "before" figure in a "before/after" diet ad in a newspaper.
All About Eye 1950. Nominated for the most Oscar awards than any other film: 14 nominations.
The Robe 1953. Lloyd C. Douglas' Biblical epic was the first cinemascope feature, and it was projected on a curved, elongated screen.
The Night of the Hunter 1955. Robert Mitchum's hands are tattooed: LOVE on his right hand, and HATE on his left hand.
Love Me Tender 1956. Elvis' first fIlm. It recouped its $1,000,000 cost in just 3 days.
Beloved Infidel 1959. Gregory Peck portrayed F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Ben-Hur 1959. Won more Oscars than any other film: 11 awards.
The Misfits 1961. The screen play was written specifically for Marilyn Monroe by her third husband, Arthur Miller.
The Miracle Worker 1962. Anne Bancroft won an Academy Award for her performance. This was a movie made from a play in which she also appeared on Broadway in.
29 Lolita 1962. James Mason played the fastidious and nymphet loving Humbert Humbert.
The Thrill of It All 1963. Doris Day was the movie indusny's top box office star from 1960-1964 for such movies as this one.
Cleooatra 1963. The most expensive movie ever made: it cost $44,000,000. The largest number of costume changes by one performer: Elizabeth Taylor changed 65 times. Her costumes cost $130,000.
Kathrine Hepburn and 1968. The only Oscar tie for Barbara Streisand best actress. The actresses starred in Lion in Winter and Funny Girl, respectively.
Butch Cassidy and the 1969. This 20th Century Fox Sundance Kid production popularized the song "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head".
The Godfather. Part II 1974. The fust sequal to win an Oscar for best picture.
WESTERNS
In 1954, 55 rl1ms of this genre were made in the U.S., and only 3 were made in 1984.
The Great Train Robbery 1903. Directed by Edwin S. Porter, this is the first Western of a recognizable form.
The Covered Wagon 1923. The first real super Western of epic proportions:
30 it introduced the epic tradition to the Western.
The Painted Desert 1931. Clark Gable's film debut as a cowboy.
Colorado Territory 1949. A Western about an old-time outlaw who makes one last desperate stand. Directed by Raoul Walsh. this film was a remake of the 1941 melodrama High Sierra, also directed by Walsh.
John Ford He directed more Westerns than any other major film director: close to 60. Among them is the 1928 Western, Hangman's House.
Cimarron The only Western to ever win an Oscar for best picture.
WHO PLAYED IT OR WHAT MOVIE SAID IT?
BIOQd and Sand 1922. An idolized toreador who is swept into an amourous adventure with a sultry woman: Rudolph Valentino.
Sherlock, .Ir I 1924. A movie projectionist who is also an amateur sleuth: Buster Keaton.
Flesh and the Devil 1927. A beautiful but conscienceless woman who inspires a deadly rivalry between two close friends: Greta Garbo.
3 1 The Circus 1928. A luckless soul who f'mds himself trapped in a cage with a sleeping lion while a fox terrier barks noisely outside the cage: Charlie Chaplin.
Our Dancing Daughters 1928. An irrepressible flapper who is actually a moral girl seeking rrue love; Joan Crawford.
Duck SOUD 1933. "We're fighting for this woman's honor, which IS more than she ever did."
Men in White 1934. Dr. George Ferguson in this hospital drama from MGM: Clark Gable.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939. ''I'm going to stay right here and fight for this
lost cause. tl
In Yigil in the Nillht 1940. Carole Lombard played a nurse who takes the blame for her sister's fatal mistake. Who played her sister: Anne Shirley.
The Maltese Falcon 1941. "r hope they don't hang you, precious, by that sweet neck."
Casablanca 1942. ''I'm only a poor
corrupt official. tl
The Picture of Dorian Gray 1945. Who sings a plaintive "Goodbye, Little Yellow Bird" in a rowdy English music hall: Angela Lansbury.
32 SneJJbound 1945. Posing as a psychiatrist. he is deeply disturbed by a lapse of memory and by suspicion he may have committed murder: Gregory Peck.
The Razor's Edge 1946. A girl-on-the-skids sings "Mam'selle" in a Paris bistro: Anne Baxter.
Key Largo 1948. "One Rocco more or
less isn't worth dying for. II
Adam's Rib 1949. David Wayne composes and sings "Farewell, Amanda" as a tribute to: Katharine Hepburn.
The People Against Q" Hara 1951. A criminal lawyer saves an innocent boy from execution: Spencer Tracy.
The Man with the Golden 1955. A resident of a Chicago slum area who is married to a' bedridden woman. He is a confmned drug addict desperately in need of help:Frank Sinatra.
The Apartment 1960. "Shut up and deal. II
Dr. Strangelove 1964. "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the War Room!"
DID YOU KNOW... ?
Gary Cooper In 1939, when he earned $482,819, he was America's highest-paid citizen. His total earnings as an actor
33 have been estimated at over $10,000,000.
William Holden He sent Barbara Stanwyck a dozen roses every April I, until his death, in 1981, for fighting to keep him in the 1939 film, Golden Boy.
The Marx Brothers They tITst appeared as a foursome under the name: "The Four Nightingales".
II Charlie Chan" The philosophical Chinese detective from Honolulu was portr~yed in more feature length American films than any other celluloid investigator: 46 pictures, and 1 serial from 1926 1949.
The Granes of Wrath Darryl F. Zanuck, of 20th Century Fox, bought this John Steinbeck novel for $75,000: the highest price for any book of the 1930s, including Gone With the Wind.
Sylvester Stallone The highest rate of pay in cinema history is that paid to Stallone: $12,000,000 for Cobra. and the same for Over the Top. And, he broke his own record when he was paid $16,000,000 for Rocky IV.
Apocalypse Now Filming this Francis Coppola film was so rigorous that
34 Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack on location.
Oscars There have been 1,857 Oscar awards given out from 1929-1988.
Down and Out in Beverley Nick Nolte ate real dog food HiJls in this movie.
Rain Real things often do not look real in films. Real rain, for example, photographs like scratches across the film. So, movie rain comes from overhead sprinklers: water mixed with milk so it will photograph clearly.
Star Wars 1977. The top money making film of all time: $164. 765, 000.
35 1ST APPEARANCES
1920 Trojan contraceptives Pogo Sticks Boysenberries
1921 Betty Crocker Band-Aids Wrigley's chewing gum Drano
1923 Rubber diaphragm Sanka Welch's grape jelly
1924 Kleenex Spiral-bound notebooks Wheaties
1926 Zippers Flavored yogurt
1928 Rice Krispies Peter Pan peanut butter
1929 "Popeye" Paper money of the present SIze
1930 Sliced bread (Wonder) Snickers bars
1931 Stockings in transparent mesh
1933 Blood banks Campbell's Cream of Mushroom and Chicken Noodle soups
1934 Paper underware
1935 Beer in cans Gallup Poll
36 1936 Tampax tampons
1937 Spam Shopping carts
1938 March of Dimes
1940 Photos of a sneeze Fully airconditioned store (Tiffany's)
1945 Frozen orange juice
1946 Electric blankets FDR dimes instead of the 1916 Mercury dimes
1949 Silly Putty Scented bras (by Love-E of Hollywood)
1950 Smokey the Bear Minute Rice
1951 Vibrating Mattresses (300x a minute)
1952 Circular bed
1953 Playboy
1955 Roll-on deodorant Disneyland (Anaheim, Ca.)
1958 American Express
Sweet t n Low
1959 Movies with scent, Behind the Great Wall
1961 Electric toothbrush
1962 K-Mart
37 Tab
1963 Weight Watchers
1964 Zip codes Pop-Tarts Movies shown on airplanes
1965 Diet Pepsi
1967 Me
1968 Woman on the "Ten Most Wanted" list (Ruth Eisemannschier)
1969 Penthouse
1970 Nun in the Air-Force
1972 Bank to provide motion pictures for its customers waiting in line (Chemical Bank, N.Y.C.)
1973 College Belly-Dancing course (University of Texas at Arlington)
1975 Disposable razors Advertisement on television for tampons Non-stick chewing gum for denture wearers (Wrigley)
1977 No-brand generic products Pocket televisions
1978 Garfield cartoon Pen with erasable ink (Eraser Mate)
1979 Electric Blackboard
38 COCKTAIL TRIVIA
- Mr. Average American Stands 5'9". weighs 173 lbs.• wears a 40 regular suit, 9 1/2 C or D shoe size, and his ring size is 9 or 10.
Mrs. Average American Stands 5'4". weighs 143 Ibs .• wears a size 10 or 12 dress. 34-36 B bra size, 7 1/2 shoe size. and a ring size of 6.
Lovers 33% of male lovers were underware to bed, while only 4% of women do.
4% % of American females who do not own bras or panties.
75% % of American women who wear the wrong size bra.
53% % of American babies who are breast-fed.
115,000 operations Number of silicone breast implants performed in the U.S. in 1986.
225 operations Number of sex-change procedures performed each year in the U.S.
23 Years How long the average marriage lasts.
50th Anniversary lout of every 8 couples celebrate this anniversary.
30% % of men who have had sex. with a prostitute.
39 60% % of women who make love most frequently in the missionary position.
5% % of both men and women who have had sexual contact with animals.
6 Times The amount of times Americans fall in love 10 their lives.
1986 There were: 310,917 births a month 71,750 births a week 10,250 births a day 427 births an hour 7 births a minute.
Oct. 16, 1916 The first birth control clinic was opened by Margaret Sanger, Fania Mindell, and Ethel Burne at 46 Amboy St., Brooklyn, N.Y.
5 or 6 Times The average number of times Americans visit the bathroom each day.
What we do in the bathroom 40% read 20% smoke 14% listen to the radio 8% talk on the phone
6.8 billion gallons The amount of water Americans use in one day to flush their toilets.
6,000,000 tons Amount of manure that fell behind fann animals In the U.S., each day.
40 2,220,000,000 man-hours The amount of time spent each year mowing lawns in America.
70% % of Americans who own running shoes but do not run.
400 billion gallons The amount of blood the hearts of Americans collectively pump in one day.
224,372,599,000 hours The number of hours of television watched in American households in 1985.
69 commercials The number of Coca-Cola commercials the average American sees each year.
18,000 murders By age 16, the number of murders the average child sees on television.
Sept. 30, 1630 The first criminal executed in the American colonies: John Winthrop was hung for murder.
1964 The year the first person was executed for witchcraft in America: Margaret Jones of Charlestown, Mass.
1712 The year the first fines for speeding were issued: it was levied against a reckless carter in Pa.
Pennsylvania Evening Post May 30,1783, the first daily newspaper in the U.S.: it was
41 published by Benjamin Towne.
3,929,625 The population in America in 1790. when the first authorized census was taken.
Union Hotel The flISt hotel built in America: 1802. in Saratoga Springs. N.Y.
William S. Hart This silent ftIm star posed for the original Uncle Sam poster.
Walter Williams The last Civil War veteran died in Houston, Texas. at the age of 117: Dec. 19,1959.
FBI agents July 7,1972, the first 2 women were sworn m: Susan Lynn Roley and Joanne E. Pierce.
Buick Riviera The type of car most often stolen in the U.S.
Dallas The so-called "Who Shot J.R.?" episode, 1980, was seen by more U.S. viewers than any other television program in history.
I Love Lucy The favorite television show of all time.
163 weddings. The number of weddings performed each day in 1985, at Las Vegas' Little Church of the West.
42 Richard Nixon masks The number 1 best selling Halloween mask bought by adults.
Cookbooks The average American household owns 15: and tries 1-2 new recipes a month.
Tomatoes Americans began to eat them in 1834, but tomatoes did not become popular until 1900.
White Castle This, not McDonald's, was America's first major hamburger chain: 1921.
S% % of Americans who eat at McDonald's each day.
8% % of the meals Americans eat in their cars that were not prepared at home.
1,417 pounds The amount of food consumed each year by the average American.
121 pounds The amount of potatoes Americans consumed per person in 1985.
7S acres The amount of pizza Americans eat in one day. That is enough food to cover 60 football fields.
41.6 billion servings The amount of cold cereal Americans consumed in 1986: an average of over 11 million servings a day.
43 23,000,000 gallons The quantity of soft drinks consumed by Americans in one day.
17% Of all the beverages Americans drink, the % of which is beer.
16,OOO~OOO,OOO toys Since 1912, the number of toys given away in boxes of Cracker Jacks.
44 SOURCES
The following are the sources for all of the facts found in this book. The sources are listed under the relative headings.
PRESIDENTS
Carruth, Gorton. What Happened When: A Chronology of Li fe and Events in America. New York: Harper and Row, 1989.
DeGregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. New York: Dembner Books, 1984.
Jeopardy Productions, Inc. J~opardy!. New York: Pressman Toy Co., 1987.
Kane, Joseph Nathan. Facts About the Presidents. New York: The H.W.Wilson Co., 1981.
McLoone-Basta, Margo, and Siegel, Alice. The Second Kids' World Almanac of Records and Facts. New York: World Almanac, 1987.
_nn. The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc., 1985.
STATES
Carruth, Gorton. What Happened When: A Chronology of Life and Events in America. New York: Harper and Row, 1989.
Hirsch, E.D.,Jr., Kett, Joseph F., and Trefil, James. The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1988.
Hoffman, Mark S., edt The World Almanac and Book of Facts: 1988. New York: World Almanac, 1988.
Johnson, Otto, ed. Infonnation Please Almanac: Atlas and Yearbook, 1989. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1989. Kane, Joseph Nathan. Famous First Facts: A Record of the First Happenin~s, Discoveries, and Inventions in American History. New York: The H,W.Wilson Co., 1981.
Weiss, Daniel Evan. 100% American. New York: Poseidon Press, 1988.
_n __ , The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc., 1985. n---.Collier's Encyclopedia. New York: Macmillan Educational Co., 1984.
BOOKS
Heuman, Otto L. The Deli~hts of Reading: Quotes. Notes and Anecdotes. Boston: David R. Godine, Inc" 1987.
Brook, I.M" edt Dictionary of Literary Bio~aphy: Yearbook, 1987. Detroit: A Bruccoli Clark Book, 1987.
Carruth, Gorton. What Happened When: A Chronolo~y of Life and Events in America. New York: Harper and Row, 1989,
Davis, Thadious M., and Harris, Trudier, edt Dictionary of Literary Bio~raphy: Afro-American Fiction Writers After 1955. Detroit: A Bruccoli Clark Book, 1984.
Hart, James D., ed. The Oxford Companion to American Literature. New York: Qxford University Press, 1983.
Herzberg, Max J., ed. The Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1962.
Jeopardy Productions Inc. Jeopardy!. New York: Pressman Toy Corporation, 1987.
Martine, James J., edt Dictionary of Literary Biography: American Novelists. 1910-1945, part 2+3, Den-oit: A Bruccoli Clark Book, 1981.
Maynard, Richard A. The American West on Film: Myth and Reality. New Jersey: Hayden Book Co" Inc" 1974. McFarlan, Donald, ed. Gutness Book of World Records. 1989. New York: Bantam Books, 1989.
Unger, Leonard, eq. ~merican Writers: A Collection of Literary Bioeraphies. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1979.
Walden. Daniel, ed. Dictionary of l.iterary Bio'Wphy: Twentieth Century American- Jewish Fiction WriteT~. Detroit: A Broccoli Clark Book, 1984.
MUSIC
Biracree, Tom and Nancy. Almanac of the American People. New York: Facts OR File, 1988.
Carruth. Gorton. W~at Happened When: A Chronology of Life and Events in America. New York: Harper and Row, 1989.
Jeopardy Productions, Inc. Jeopard~!. New York: Pressman Toy Co., 1987.
McFarlean, Donald, ed. Guiness Book of World Records. 1989. New York: Bantam Books, 1989.
McLoone-Basta, Margo, and Siegel, Alice. The Second Kids' World Almanac of Records _and Facts. New York: World Almanac, 1987.
Wallechinsky, David, and Wallace, Irving. Tht?-~eopie's Almanac. New York: Double Day and Co., 1975.
People Weekly: 15th Anniversary. vol. 31., No.9. March 6,1989.
SPORTS
Carruth, Gorton. What Happened When: A Chronology of Life and Events in America. New York: Harper and Row, 1989.
McFarlan, Donald, ed. Guiness Book of World Records. 1989. New York: Bantam Books, 1989. MOVIES
Everson, William K. A Pictorial History of the Western Film. New Jersey: The Citadel Press, 1975.
Hutchinson, Tom. Horror and Fantasy in the Movies. New York: Crescent Books, 1974.
JeOpardy Productions, Inc. Jeopardy!. New York: Pressman Toy Co., 1987.
Johnstone, Michael. American Heroes. New York: Gallery Books, 1988.
Lawton, Richard. A World of Movies: 70 Years. of Film Historv. New York: Bonanza Books, 1981.
Maynard, Richard A. The American West on Film: Myth and Reality. New Jersey: Hayden Book Co.• 1974.
McFarlan, Donald, ed. Guiness Book of World Records. 1989. New York: Bantam Books, 1989.
McLoone-Basla, Margo, and Siegel, Alice. The Second Kids' World Almanac of Records and Facts. New York: Wodd Almanac, 1987.
Michael. Paul, ed. The American Movies Reference Book: the Sound Era. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc .• 1969.
Pitts, Michael R. HollywQod and American--.History: A Filmography of Over 250 Motion Pictures Depicting U.S. History. North Carolina: McFarland and Co.• Inc .• 1984.
Schennan. David E., ed. Life Goes to the Movies. New York: Time Life Books., 1975.
Sennett, Ted, ed. The Movie Buffs Book. New York: Bonanza Books, 1975.
Shales, Tom. The American Film Heritage: Impressions from the American Film Institute Archives. Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books LID.• 1'972. Steinberg, Cobbett S. Film Facts. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1980.
Zinman, David. 50 Classic Motion Pictures: The Stuff that Dreams Are Made Of. New York: Bonanza Books, 1970.
-----. Film Notes: The Silent Film. New York: The Museum of Modern Art Film Library, 1949.
-----. People Weekly: 15th Anniversary. vol. 31., No.9. March 6,1989.
FIRST APPEARANCES
Gordon, Alan and Lois. American Chronical: Six Decades In American Life. 1920-1980. New Yark: Atheneum, 1987.
COCKTAIL TRIVIA
Biracree, Tom and Nancy. Almanac of the American People. New York: Facts on File, 1988.
Carruth, Gorton. What Happened When; A Chronolo2Y of Life and Events in America. New York: Harper and Row, 1989.
Jeopardy Productions, Inc. Jeopardy !. New York: Pressman Toy Co., 1987.
Johnstone, Michael. American Heroes. New York: Gallery Books, 1988.
Lapham, Lewis H., Pollan, Michael, and Etheridge, Eric. The Harper's Index Book. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1987.
Parker, Tom. In One Day. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1984.
Wallechinsky, David, and Wallace, Irving. The People's Almanac. New York: Bantam Books, 1978.
Weiss, Daniel Evan. 100% American. New York: Poseidon Press, 1988.