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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 40 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Rich and Famous
| William Buckland was the first professor of Geology and Paleontology at Oxford University in the 19th century. He had some unusual habits that included keeping a large menagerie at his country home. When giving large parties these animals were usually involved. What did the professor and his guest do with the animals at these festivities? | The Eccentricities of the Rich and/or Famous
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They ate them.. Buckland practiced zoophagy. He claimed to have eaten his way through the animal kingdom. When attending one of his famous parties, guests would be served a variety of meats that were obtained from his personal zoo. These included panther, crocodile, kangaroo, and anaconda, just to name a few. One famous story tells of him being shown the heart of King Louis XIV which had been saved as a historical relic. Upon seeing the object he is purported to have exclaimed "I have eaten many strange things, but have never eaten the heart of a king before". He then picked up the relic and ate it!
| Gerald Tyrwhitt-Wilson was usually known as Lord Berners. He was a descendant of Edward III of England. He had a myriad of unusual habits. One predilection involved keeping an unusual animal as a pet and daily tea companion. What kind of animal was this even-toed ungulate mammal? | The Eccentricities of the Rich and/or Famous
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Giraffe. Lord Berners kept his giraffe in his home until the animal died of old age. He was also known for dyeing the pigeons on his property bright colors. His Rolls Royce had a small clavichord; his home contained a 100 foot tower from which he would watch nature for his paintings and while he authored his books. The tower had a sign at the entrance that read "Members of the public committing suicide from this tower do so at their own risk"!
| Once given the title by "The Guinness Book of World Records" of being the most beautiful woman to have ever lived, this reclusive Swedish actress was given to dressing as a man as she roamed the streets of New York City. What was the name of this reclusive screen star who wished to be left alone? | The Eccentricities of the Rich and/or Famous
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Greta Garbo. Greta Garbo was one of America's great silent screen actresses. Even at the top of her popularity she guarded her privacy intensely. After she retired from the screen in the 1940s she avoided the media at all costs. She allowed only her assistant and her nurse into her apartment; she basically shut herself off. In the evenings and at night she would sneak out the back of her building dressed as a man and wander the streets in complete anonymity. She would sometimes have her nurse dress as herself and go out the back while she would leave by the front. Almost no pictures of her survive from this period. She died in 1990.
| Mehran Karimi Nasseri lived in a European airport from 1988 until 2006 due to bureaucracy and immigration laws. In what city was the airport that Nasseri made home for 18 years? | The Eccentricities of the Rich and/or Famous
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Paris. Nasseri was expelled from Iran in 1977 for openly protesting the Shah and his regime. In 1988 he flew to Paris with the intent to fly on to London after the United Nations granted him refugee status. This granted him residence in any European country. He chose England. While on lay-over in Paris his briefcase with all paperwork including his passport was stolen. London refused to let him disembark and sent him back to Paris where he lived in the airport for the next 18 years. No country would accept him for residency so he moved to a Paris shelter. His story is the basis for the 2004 movie hit "The Terminal".
| This Serbian born scientist may have suffered from OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). He made large contributions to the field of electromagnetism and was an electrical and mechanical engineer. What is the name of this unusual genius who has an electrical measurement named after him? | The Eccentricities of the Rich and/or Famous
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Nikola Tesla. Tesla was the epitome of the mad scientist. He is credited as the inventor of the radio, the electric motor and the generator, to name just a few. The tesla is a measurement of magnetic flux density. In spite of his brilliance he was ostracized by his peers because of his eccentricities. He was a life-long celibate, and was obsessed with pigeons. He would not stay in a motel or apartment whose number was not divisible by the number 3. He abhorred obesity. He also had a pathological fear of germs. These are just a few of reasons he is included in this quiz!
| There is a unique mansion in California built by the eccentric owner of one of America's largest arms manufacturers. Known for having flights of stairs that go nowhere and doors without rooms, who was the owner of this unique residence? | The Eccentricities of the Rich and/or Famous
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Sarah Winchester. After losing her husband William and her daughter Annie, Sarah Winchester became sure the family was cursed. She consulted a psychic who advised her to build a house for herself and the spirits of all the people killed by Winchester firearms. The psychic also prophesied that if she ever quit building onto the home it would result in her death. Work on the house continued for 38 years until Sarah Winchester died. Sarah Winchester never remarried or had any other children.
The Eiffel Tower. Victor Lustig actually sold the Eiffel Tower for scrap metal. The fact that he did not own it in any way, shape or form did not stop him. He set up three men to see which one would pay him the most and promptly accepted payment from the top bidder. He was not arrested as the buyer was too embarrassed and afraid of legal repercussions. After this scam was over, he turned around and tried it again!
| Hetty Green was rich and one of America's first female millionaires. Her money was made in the stock market. She was the epitome of a miser. What happened to her son when she refused to pay for medical attention for him? | The Eccentricities of the Rich and/or Famous
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He lost his leg.. Hetty Green attempted to take her eight year old son to the hospital after he broke his leg. Wearing a disguise she took him to the charity ward. When she was recognized and told she would be charged for his care, she promptly took him home. He got gangrene and the leg had to be amputated. Other examples of her refusal to spend money included having no hot water and no heat in her home. She wore the same black dress without ever changing it until it fell into rags. She did not bathe, change her underwear, nor wash her clothes. She was known as "The Witch of Wall Street".
He could speak over 25 different languages.. Carlos Mirabelli could speak languages as diverse as Spanish, Swahili, and Maori. He was also able to write in multiple forms such as cuneiform, hieroglyphics, and ancient Greek. All he had to do was hear a language and within five minutes he could learn the basics and be fluent within two hours. He built a small fortune exhibiting himself.
| Britain's Queen Victoria had one habit that persisted all year long every year, one that most of her guests and even her own children detested? What was it? | Quirks of the Rich and Famous
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Insisting every window be thrown wide open even in winter. Victoria was notorious for her dislike of heat, in fact, and no matter how cold it was, even on the chilliest days of winter, she insisted the windows remain open. Only reluctantly would she agree at times to close them if the temperature went lower than 56 degrees Fahrenheit. Her children took to waving the thermometer outside in the cold air when she was heard coming, so that it would drop lower than it actually was, in order to be allowed to close at least one window. In summers she always surrounded herself with buckets of ice. Lord Clarendon always claimed that his toes were frost-bitten after a visit to the Queen, and the only way Lady Ponsonby could cope was to retire to her bed as often as possible. Comically, Lord Clarendon also detested the wallpaper adorned with thistles that Victoria insisted on having in as many rooms as possible, and he grumbled to his wife, "As for the thistles, they would have rejoiced the heart of a donkey".
| Adolf Hitler posed as a vegetarian on and off for much of his adult life. Propaganda Minister Goebbels put around the idea that it was because Hitler was conscious of the health benefits of such a diet, but in fact, the real reason was something different. What was that reason? | Quirks of the Rich and Famous
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Hitler suffered from excessive flatulence. Hitler suffered from excessive flatulence from both ends you could say. Goebbels, always in any attempt to portray the German dictator as noble and clean-living, and with an almost God-like status, spread many myths of this kind about Hitler. It wouldn't do after all for the general public to think that their leader had a problem with farting. Hitler was also said to be particularly adamant about the vice of smoking, and commenced a series of vehement anti-smoking campaigns throughout the country on the subject - but who knows, perhaps he was even a closet smoker as well. Yet how incongruous was his stance against smoking if true? If only he'd displayed such vehemence against the ovens being lit up. Perhaps in a thousand years, when all the pain and sorrow he caused has faded into the pages of history, people will be able to stand back and analyse, from the detached position of time and distance, the complexities of the fascinating historical character of Adolf Hitler.
Collecting and selling off movie memorabilia. Debbie, born in 1932, only sold her collection off now and then because the culmination of her three disastrous marriages sent her bankrupt. Her first husband ran off with Elizabeth Taylor, her second husband was a gambler, and her third sent her completely bankrupt. Over time she has accumulated large collections of the memorabilia and has displayed them in museums and at the odd casino or two, but when necessary, she periodically sold them off. At her most popular, Debbie Reynolds was a big name MGM star. The movies most associated with her are the series of the "Tammy" films, four in all, from 1957 to 1967; and in 1952, the excellent musical "Singin' in the Rain".
Funeral director. The lovely Angelina was a little bit weird and troubled growing up. Not only did she see this work as the ideal (pardon me while I shudder), but she also went through a period of cutting herself, saying of this later in life that "For some reason the ritual of having cut myself and feeling the pain, maybe feeling alive, feeling some kind of release, it was somehow therapeutic to me". Oh dear. I'd prefer a stiff scotch myself. She was a troubled youngster, gangly, thin, wearing braces and glasses, and, because of the split up of her parents, often forced to wear second-hand clothes - all of which saw her teased mercilessly by her classmates. Her father, Jon Voight, would later claim that his daughter had "serious mental problems" and perhaps for a while, the troubled beautiful actress did. Today, however, surrounded by her brood of children and with her partner, Brad Pitt, Angelina does a staggering amount of charitable work for children and refugees throughout the world. Nobody can deny her talent as an actress. She has won an Academy Award, and multiple Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globes for her work on the silver screen. May she always stay as happy and contented.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelina_jolie if you wish to do any more reading on the lovely Angelina and verify her undertaking ambitions)
| King Henry VIII of England has left the world of royalty with which heady record that has never been surpassed, and probably never will, by monarchs before and since his reign? | Quirks of the Rich and Famous
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Beheading more English notables than anyone else. This list of head-rollers included "two wives, one cardinal, four leading public servants, and six of the king's close attendants and friends, not to mention various heads of monasteries." It doesn't include the lesser classes of people whose heads had a habit of vanishing under Henry's reign as well. Henry, who reigned from from 1509 to 1547, and who lived from 1491 to 1547, was once handsome, talented, well-educated, charming, and an accomplished musician, writer, poet and athlete. However, he grew to be horribly cruel, a tyrant, unbalanced, ferociously bad-tempered, diseased and enormously obese. This obesity was so marked that his smarmy little army of courtiers took to wearing padded clothing in an effort to flatter him and make it appear he wasn't as large as he was in reality. Good old Henry, in fact, was a head turner in more ways than one.
In dressing gown and slippers. Several overseas diplomats interpreted this as a deliberate insult to them and their country, but it was not the case. Jefferson liked to dress as informally as he could whenever he could, including turning official state dinners into more casual affairs. Why not? It was his home, he could dress as he pleased. Now, however, it would no doubt create an international incident and poor old America would probably be bombed, given the sad state of the world at present. The brilliant Jefferson, who lived from 1743 to 1826, was the third president of the United States from 1801 until 1808, and was one truly remarkable man and leader.
A hammer under his pillow. Nicholson had been friends with Roman Polanski for many years, long before the murder of Polanski's wife. He openly supported Polanski after the tragedy, and, because he also attended the Manson trial, perhaps his own fame, the gory details of the crime, and the easy way in which her home had been accessed by the killers, made the great actor a bit toey. Either way, the hammer was his bedroom companion from then on. The brilliant, charismatic Nicholson won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for 1975's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and then won again for 1997's "As Good As It Gets". During his long film career he has won a staggering amount of other awards and nominations.
Refused to let them marry but tolerated their many affairs. It is believed that the reason he wouldn't let his daughters - of whom he was very fond and educated as much as he did his sons - marry legally, was to prevent minor lines springing up to challenge any claims on his throne after his death. He allowed them as much freedom as a hippie in every other way, tolerated cheerfully all their affairs, adored the grandchildren they produced and was altogether a proud and doting father. Charlemagne was one amazing man and his life makes fascinating reading. Two other personal quirks he had were that he detested doctors in any shape or form and refused to follow any advice they gave; and he disliked getting togged up for fancy occasions, preferring to get around for most part dressed in the ordinary garb of those around him.
| Britain's Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) never took his army career seriously until his marriage proposal to Kitty Pakenham was turned down by her brother in 1793. What did he do in a fit of anger over this rejection? | Quirks of the Rich and Famous
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Burned his violins. Wellington had only joined the army in 1787 because he had no other work and his aristocratic family was short of money. Up until 1793 and his marriage proposal, he didn't take his army career seriously however, and more often than not could be seen attending socials, balls, entertaining guests, and partaking in the odd spot or two of gambling, although not excessively so. He was also a rather fine violinist with an aspiring career in that field. His devastation and anger over the rejection of his marriage proposal was the spur that led to his finally taking his army career seriously - and history is replete with the outstanding success of his endeavours in that regard. Just for the record, he did get to eventually marry his Kitty, some thirteen years later, but alas, the marriage was not a satisfactory one. So much for the romantic gesture of burning those poor, hapless violins.
| Colonel Gadaffi, the leader of the country of Libya, never goes anywhere without being accompanied by a bodyguard of forty experts trained in martial arts and firearms. What is unusual about these bodyguards? | Quirks of the Rich and Famous
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They are women. If Gaddafi never had any other controversies associated with his name, this one alone would stand out like a neon light. The squad of women are known as the "Amazonian Guard". All of the women who make it to this honoured position are hand picked by Gaddafi himself. Oh, and he insists they must all be virgins as well. One isn't quite sure how this fact could contribute to his personal safety, but coupled with the fact that he also has several wives, perhaps he needs protection from them as well.
| Following a sharp drop in the standard of living, and the complaints that followed, which country's supreme political and religious leader said crossly, "I cannot believe that the purpose of all these sacrifices was to have less expensive melons"? | Facts on Famous People
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Ayatollah Khomeinhi. The Ayatollah Khomeini (1902-1989) was the religious and political leader of Iran following the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. He held this position until his death. His importance in the world of Islam cannot be denied, nor the fact that he was a popular leader of his country. Yet he was also responsible for the deaths of thousands of people during that time as well. He was an educated man, both in traditional subjects, religion and religious laws, and the philosophies of ancient Greece. He was also fascinated by literature and poetry and had a collection of many works of same, particularly that of poetry. On his death it was revealed that he had written three volumes of poetry himself. Before he became involved in politics, he worked as a lecturer in many of the top seminaries of the time, and also wrote many articles on philosopy, law, religion, mysticism and ethics. His resume would impress even the most hardened of critics.
When the Shan of Iran introduced a series of reforms for the country to bring it more into line with the west, Ayatollah, who saw all these moves as submitting to American and Israeli interests, moved into the political arena. Exiled for most of the years that followed, he continued to work behind the scenes for his ideals, a return to his country's old Islamics values, and the removal of the Shah. As a result of his agitations and the swelling Islamic movement in Iran, and when the Shah left the country in January 1979 for health treatment for the cancer that killed him, Khomeini returned. This instigated an absolute turmoil of opposing ideals in Iran for the months that followed and many, many lives were lost. He was installed as Supreme Leader of Iran in November that year. Khomeini, however, wasn't content to stop at that. He believed in spreading Islamic rule to the rest of the world and began setting these ideals into action as soon as possible. The world continues to deal with this to this day, well into the 21st century.
Under his rule in Iran, all westernised influences were banned, Islamic law was put in place everywhere, and strict dress codes and acceptable behaviour were sternly enforced. When complaints began to be heard by him about the sharp drop in the standard of living since his return, that is when he made the somewhat comical remark in the question above. Other actions and comments by Khomeini stressed the importance of being a martyr over a comfortable life and his belief that economics were for asses. Under his rule, poverty rose by a staggering 45 percent and large number of Iranians began to leave the country. these included between two to four million "entrepreneurs, professionals, technicians and skilled craftsmen". Extremely harsh punishments were meted out as a matter of course, thousands of political opponents were executed, freedom of speech was denied, critical newspapers were shut down, Kurdish people were attacked, and religious minories were disadvantaged. Yet, despite all this, his death in 1989 saw an outpouring of grief in Iran that has never before been witnessed.
Information for this question was obtained from the following site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayatollah_Khomeini
| He's written and performed some absolutely brilliant songs over his long career, even though he isn't everyone's cup of tea. Still kicking on in 2012, who was once described by a London music critic as looking "like an undernourished cockatoo"? | Facts on Famous People
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Bob Dylan. Singer-songwriter Dylan was born in Minnesota in 1941. His song-writing output is astonishing, with many of his great numbers resounding through every era of modern music. He has written rock, folk, country, popular and Christian songs, and his performing style changes from performance to performance accordingly. It's almost as if he doesn't know whether to protest, rock or pray. Along the way he has managed to offend everyone at one time or another as well, yet still continues to perform and draw in massive crowds well into the 21st century. He's an amazing and unique artist, even if he does look like a cockatoo.
A few - just a few - of his most popular songs include "Blowin' In The Wind", "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", "The Times They Are A-Changin'", "It Ain't Me, Babe", "Like A Rolling Stone", "Lay Lady Lay", "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and "Just Like A Woman".
Information for this question was obtained from the following site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan
| What happened to Samuel Morse's hat when he visited Rome in 1836 and refused to take it off in the presence of the Pope? | Facts on Famous People
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One of the Swiss Guards knocked it flying. Morse (1791-1872), who was brought up as a strict Calvinist, was a fervent leader of the Anti-Catholic movement in America in the 19th century. Such was his obsessive hatred of Catholics that he even ran for the position of Mayor of New York on the platform of refusing admittance of Catholic immigrants into the country. He only received 1,496 votes. Morse also worked his bigoted little heart out to attempt to unite Protestants to ban all Catholic businesses and institutions (schools in particular) in the country; and to forbid any Catholic from being granted work in public office.
Because his brother was the editor of the powerful "New York Observer" during this time, Morse had many letters published in that paper in which he urged people to fight Catholics everywhere. It's interesting to note though that photographs of Morse in his later years show him with a fine row of medals adorning his chest - most of which were bestowed on him by Catholic countries. Why he ever visited Rome in the first place is a mystery. Perhaps he went there for the express purpose of insulting the Pope. Who knows? (Miss O'Hara, please send the following telegram to Mr Morse: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do")
Information for this question was obtained from the following site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Morse#Death
His arm is buried somewhere else. Stonewall Jackson (1824-1863) was shot during the night following a successful engagement against the Union army at the Battle of Chancellorsville. He and his staff were returning to camp and were mistaken by his own men for the enemy. They thought his approach was a "damned Yankee trick!" Three bullets hit him. Two of these were in his left arm. The poor man was also dropped from the stretcher that was carrying him back to "safety". The wounds to his left arm were so bad that it had to be amputated. The chaplain buried it near the battlefield site in Orange County.
Eight days later, Jackson died from pneumonia. He was buried in the cemetery at Lexington. It wasn't until 1921 during army training exercises that the arm, buried in a wooden box, was found by General Smedley Butler. He had been told by a local farmer that the arm could be found there and set out to disprove this. He reburied the arm in a metal box and had a plaque erected to mark the spot. General Jackson, long dead to the world, remains 'armless and armless to this day.
Information for this question was found from the following site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_Jackson#Death
| Cricketer Ernest Halliwell was noted for putting which food product inside his batting gloves to protect his hands? | Facts on Famous People
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Raw meat. Ernest Halliwell was born in England in 1864. He developed a love of cricket from when he was a young boy, and followed his enthusiasm for the game right through to the top levels of play. This included representing the country of South Africa as captain of their international cricket team. From 1892 to 1902 he played eight test matches for that country. He has been described as "the best wicket keeper in the world". To protect his hands from the fast ball deliveries of some bowlers, Halliwell took to lining the inside of his wicket-keeping gloves for extra padding. It is noted that he was the first wicket-keeper to do so. One would hope he was also the last to do so. There's an awful lot of handshaking that goes on after a game of cricket.
Information for this question was obtained from the following site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Halliwell
| How did the audience members react to the premiere of Stravinsky's ballet "The Rite of Spring" in Paris in 1913? | Facts on Famous People
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They rioted. Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was born in Russia in 1882, and died in America in 1971. He composed for ballet, concerto, symphony, piano works, and many other instruments. As well as his homeland, he also lived in Switzerland, and moved constantly between the two countries until the outbreak of World War I. He was unable to return to Russia for another fifty years. He took up permanent residence in France because of this, and, in 1939, on the outbreak of the Second World War, he moved to America. The three countries of Russia, France and America thus have an equal right to claim him as a national composer.
From the time he was in his late thirties he had also acquired a mistress, and set up two separate establishments, spending time in either place until his wife's death in 1939. He then married his 'stand-by' wife on his arrival in America and the two remained together until his death in 1971. On the premiere of "The Rite of Spring" in Paris in 1913, the audience, comfortably used to elegant compositions for many years, were shocked and shaken by Stravinsky's choreography and the intense rhythmic dramatics and dissonance of his composition. When this disturbing music and choreography began to portray fertility rites on the stage, half the audience had had enough. Catcalls, whistles and boos began echoing round the theatre, loud arguments sprang up between "...supporters and opponents of the work ...soon followed by shouts and fistfights in the aisles". This degenerated into a full blown riot, and even the police, who were called in to restore order, could not do so. The disaster continued for the rest of the performance.
Information and quotes used in this question was obtained from the following sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rite_of_Spring#Premi.C3.A8re
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stravinsky
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/rite+of+spring
| Purdue University in Indiana, USA, has two lunar astronauts graduates. One was the last man to walk on the moon under the Apollo lunar program. Who was the other? | Facts on Famous People
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The first man on the moon under the Apollo program. That's a pretty amazing record when one thinks of it - the alma mater of the first and last man (in the 20th century) to walk on the moon. Purdue has a reputation for outstanding engineering curricula and has played a very influential role in the history of American aviation. Not only has it seen the first man on the moon (Neil Armstrong), and the last man to walk on the moon in the 20th century (Eugene Cernan) graduate from its ranks, but also Gus Grissom from the Mercury space program. By a quirk of fate the university was founded in 1869, one hundred years before the first man walked on the moon.
We all know those historic words spoken by Neil Armstrong when he first stepped onto the lunar surface. That phrase, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind" has well and truly secured its place in the history books. I think however that Eugene Cernan's words are also worthy of note as he left the lunar surface for the last time as part of the magnificent Apollo lunar missions:
"America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow".
Information for this question was obtained from the following sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Wise
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Cernan
| Martha Wise (1884-1971) was an American woman who attempted to murder seventeen people by poisoning them. She succeeded with three. Why did she do this? | Facts on Famous People
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She liked to go to funerals. Martha Wise, nee Hasel, was born in Ohio. She married a much older man in 1906, but the marriage proved to be an unhappy one. She was made to do all the work on his farm as well as in the house, and was no better off than she had been in her unhappy childhood. Even when she was heavily pregnant, her husband made her feed the pigs and plow the fields. As an excuse to get out of the house now and then, she began attending funerals of people with whom she'd been acquainted. There she could sit peacefully, with not a thing to do.
This method of relaxation and escape grew to appeal to her more and more however, and, following the sudden death of her husband, she began to attend the funerals of everyone, regardless of whether she had known them or not. People began to look at her oddly but her only response, when queried about her strange hobby, was that she enjoyed funerals. Then her behaviour grew even stranger. She began to weep and wail openly at all funerals, travelling far and wide to attend same. No matter who the deceased was, Martha wailed.
One Thanksgiving, when visited by several members of her family, the guests all fell ill after the meal. One subsequently died. The following year, on New Year's Eve, the same thing happened. This time two people died. That's when the authorities began to investigate. They discovered that Martha had ordered large quantities of arsenic from her local drug store, saying she needed it to kill rats. When questioned, she soon confessed to the murders and the attempted murders. She said that the reason she had done this was so she could attend more funerals, because there weren't enough of these being held locally.
Martha was sent to jail in 1925 and not released until she was 79 - for good behaviour. However, none of her relatives would allow her to live with them. All the local nursing homes refused to take her in as well. Martha had nowhere else to turn, so went back to jail instead, where she passed away nine years later. I can't make up my mind whether this story is funny, horrifying or terribly sad. It doesn't record whether anyone attempted Martha's own funeral. Well, apart from herself, that is.
Information for this question was obtained from the following site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Wise
| Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (12-41 AD) was given the nickname Caligula when he was a child by the soldiers of the Roman army. The meaning of this is "little soldier's boot". Why was he given this nickname? | Facts on Famous People
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He wore a set of miniature boots. Romans soldiers wore very sturdy boots for their long campaigns and military service in all parts of the Empire. The Roman word for one of these boots is "Caliga". From the tiny age of three, Gaius was taken by his father, General Germanicus, on many of his campaigns in northern Europe. Germanicus had a small soldier's uniform and miniature soldier's boots made for the child. It was the soldiers in these campaigns who endowed the child with the nickname Caligula. It gave them much amusement to see the little boy dressed in his uniform, with a sturdy little caliga on each foot, attempting to stride around the camps as his father did.
Information for this question was obtained from the following site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula
The Birdman of Alcatraz. Stroud lived from 1890 to 1963. He spent the greater part of his life in various prisons, from 1909 until his death. Originally committed for twelve years for murder, he proved to be an exceptionally violent prisoner. During his first stint for murder, he assaulted several people, and in 1916 stabbed a guard to death. He spent the remainder of his life in solitary confinement, segregated from all but the most necessary of human contact for an agonising forty-two years.
During his time in prison, Stroud found a nest filled with injured birds. He took them and cared for them until they were old enough to care for themselves. It was from this experience that his interest in birds sprang, and, over the years that followed, he became known as an expert in the field of ornithology. Most of this work was centred on canaries, the only birds he was allowed to have. He wrote two acclaimed books on his work, "Diseases of Canaries" and "Stroud's Digest on the Diseases of Birds". He also contributed to several important strands of bird pathology, and discovered a cure for one avian disease.
Because of all the letters he received, which involved the prison authorities having to read and copy each one, attempts were eventually made by those who controlled Stroud's life to put an end to his avian activities. This went as far as attempting to have him transferred. Stroud resisted, but to no avail. He was transferred to Alcatraz, where he spent the remainder of his life - and where he was not allowed to keep his beloved birds. He switched to studying law and writing to fill in his time instead. He wrote "Bobbie", which was an autobiography, and "Looking Outward: A History of the US Prison System from Colonial Times to the Formation of the Bureau of Prisons". The Warden, however, banned their publication. He died, from ill health, at the age of seventy-three, on 21 November, 1963, having spent all but nineteen years of his life in prison. With forty-two of those years in solitary confinement, this seems to well and truly qualify as cruel and unusual punishment.
Information for this question was obtained from the following site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Stroud
| Because it was so soon before Christmas, Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang was refused permission to take reindeer jerky with him during a shuttle mission. What was used instead? | Interesting Facts on Famous People
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Moose. I can't imagine why I think that is so funny, but sadly I do. Swedish physicist and astronaut Christer Fuglesang was born in 1957. His space career included flying two space shuttle missions and five spacewalks. Because it was so soon before Christmas, it was thought it would be indelicate of Fuglesang to take along reindeer jerky on the joint mission with the Americans to the International Space Station in December 2006. So he was give moose jerky instead. Nobody of course considered how the unfortunate moose would feel in all these high flying decisions. Still, at least it got to jump over the moon.
| Well known Canadian journalist Dick Beddoes rashly made a promise in one of his columns that if Canada didn't win the forthcoming Summit Series against the Russians, he would eat his column with a bowl of what? | Interesting Facts on Famous People
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Borscht. Sports journalist Dick Beddoes (1926-1991) made this reckless statement regarding the 1972 ice hockey Summit Series against the Russians when he was working at "The Globe and Mail" newpaper in Toronto. His exact words were that he would eat his words "shredded at high noon in a bowl of borscht on the steps of the Russian Embassy" if the Soviets won even one game. Well, there's nothing like tempting fate. The Russians won the first game of the series - and Beddoes followed through on his bet. Borscht, for those who are unaware of this dish, is a soup made from beetroot. It's an acquired taste.
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