John McCain can’t comb his own hair. He can’t lift his arms above shoulder level because of torture he suffered as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
Trivia
Starting Small
The first KISS concert drew an audience of three (at the Popcorn Club in Queens, January 1973).
Music to the Eyes
Most expensive music videos, as of July 2006:
- Michael and Janet Jackson, “Scream,” $7 million
- Puff Daddy, “Victory,” $2.7 million
- Mariah Carey, “Heartbreaker,” $2.5 million
- Busta Rhymes, “What’s It Gonna Be?!” $2.4 million
- Backstreet Boys, “Larger Than Life,” $2.1 million
- Ayumi Hamasaki, “Fairyland,” $2 million
- Madonna, “Bedtime Story,” $2 million
- Madonna, “Express Yourself,” $2 million
- Will Smith, “Miami,” $2 million
- Missy Elliot, “She’s a Bitch,” $2 million
Afloat
Swans mate for life.
It Was Ever Thus
Insulting nicknames of U.S. presidents:
- John Adams: His Rotundity
- Martin Van Buren: Martin Van Ruin
- William Henry Harrison: Granny Harrison
- John Tyler: His Accidency
- James Buchanan: Old Public Functionary
- Ulysses S. Grant: Useless
- Rutherford B. Hayes: His Fraudulency
- Grover Cleveland: The Beast of Buffalo
- Woodrow Wilson: Coiner of Weasel Words
- Warren G. Harding: President Hardly
Bottoms Up
Beer consumption per capita, as of 2004, in liters per year:
- Czech Republic: 156.9
- Ireland: 131.1
- Germany: 115.8
- Australia: 109.9
- Austria: 108.3
- United Kingdom: 99.0
- Belgium: 93.0
- Denmark: 89.9
- Finland: 85.0
- Luxembourg: 84.4
Darwin, Australia, has the highest beer consumption of any city in the world. The average resident there drinks 230 liters, or about 60 gallons, of beer each year.
Seeing Things Differently
- Dan Aykroyd has one blue eye and one brown eye.
- Gracie Allen had one green eye and one blue eye.
- Jane Seymour has one green eye and one brown eye.
- Elizabeth Berkley’s eyes are green, but her lower right eye is brown.
- Kate Bosworth’s eyes are blue, but her lower right eye is hazel.
- David Bowie has a permanently dilated left eye that can appear brown or green.
Good Company
Nobel laureates by country, as of July 2006:
- United States: 160
- United Kingdom: 110
- Germany: 92
- France: 44
- Switzerland: 25
- USSR and Russia: 21
- Italy: 19
- Canada: 18
- Sweden: 18
- Netherlands: 18
- Hungary: 16
- Denmark: 14
- Poland: 14
No Tips
Throughout his entire professional career, Andy Kaufman kept a day job busing tables at Jerry’s Famous Deli in Los Angeles.
Canary Bruiser
Big Bird is 8 feet 2 inches tall.