Actors

- Keanu [Reeves] means "Cool Breeze Over The Mountain"?
- Drake Bell [from Drake and Josh] was in the movie Jerry Maguire?
- James Dean needed glasses and could barely see without them? (he also had a crossed eye)
- Homer Simpson's real middle name is Jay?
- Ewan McGregor's uncle, Denis Lawson, played Luke Skywalker's friend Wedge Antilles in A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi?
- Jim Carrey was considered to play Willy Wonka in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory?
- Hayden Christensen was rejected for the role of Superman in Superman Returns?
- Johnny Depp was considered for the role of Jack in Titanic?
- Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous line in The Terminator ‘I’ll be back’ was originally scripted as ‘I’ll come back’?
- Orlando Bloom's first job was as a clay-trapper at a pigeon shooting range?

Music

- The first bass player of The Beatles was Stuart Sutcliffe and not Paul McCartney?
- Elvis Presley had a twin brother who died at birth?
- Paul McCartney lost half of his front tooth on a motorcicle accident?
- Bob Dylan's real last name is Zimmerman?
- Chester Bennington has every Madonna record ever released?
- Elvis favourite collectibles were official badges. He collected police badges in almost every city he performed in.
- The Beatles song "Martha My Dear" was written by Paul McCartney about his sheepdog Martha

Movies & TV

- In the US there are more TV sets than telephones.?
- Towards the end of the Forrest Gump, Forrest narrates that his wife died on a Saturday. When he is at her grave in the next scene, the tomb stone shows her passing on March 22, 1982, which is a Monday.?
- In 1919, 18-year-old Walt Disney teamed up with Ub Iwerks, to produce a series of cartoons entitled "Alice in Cartoonland."?
- In 1937 Disney won a special Oscar for the first full-length animation: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."?
- Mel Blanc, who played the voice of Bugs Bunny, was allergic to carrots
- The record for the most extras in a movie is believed to be more than 300,000 extras who appeared in the funeral scene of “Gandhi”
- Mr. Potatohead was the first toy advertised on TV
- The name for Oz in “The Wizard of Oz” was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence “Oz.”
- The youngest Oscar winner is Tatum O’Neal who was 10 years, 148 days, on April 2, 1974, when she received the best supporting actress award for “Paper Moon”.

Literature & Art

- The Bible still is the world's best selling book
- The word "novel" originally derived from the Latin novus, meaning "new."
- Vincent van Gogh, the world's most valued painter, sold only painting in his entire life - to his brother who owned an art gallery. The painting is titled "Red Vineyard at Arles."
- There are more than ten billion web pages on the internet.
- 2 billion people still cannot read.
- When Jonathan Swift published 'Gulliver's Travels' in 1726, he intended it as a satire on the ferociousness of human nature. Today it is enjoyed as a children's story

Random

- Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of the blue whale?
- Because steel expands when it gets hot, the Eiffel Tower is six inches taller in the summer than in the winter.
- Humans are the only species on earth that have face-to-face sex?
- Men get hiccups more often than women?
- A kangaroo can only jump if its tail is touching the ground?
- Los Angeles’ full name is “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula.”
- Someone paid $14,000 for the bra Marilyn Monroe wore in Some Like It Hot.
- The largest toy distributor in the world is McDonald’s?
- Mexico City has more taxicabs than any other city in the world?
- The animal responsible for the most human deaths worldwide is the mosquito?
- The “Special” tone available to users of Nokia phones when receiving SMS (text messages) is actually Morse code for “SMS”. Similarly, the “Ascending” SMS tone is Morse code for “Connecting People,” Nokia’s slogan. The “Standard” SMS tone is Morse code for “M” (Message).
- The origin of the English word “orgasm” derives from the Greek, “orgaein,” meaning “to swell” or “be excited or lustful.”
- Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur
- Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end.

I'll be updating this section, so there are more to come.

Labels: did you know, facts

Actors

- Keanu [Reeves] means "Cool Breeze Over The Mountain"?
- Drake Bell [from Drake and Josh] was in the movie Jerry Maguire?
- James Dean needed glasses and could barely see without them? (he also had a crossed eye)
- Homer Simpson's real middle name is Jay?
- Ewan McGregor's uncle, Denis Lawson, played Luke Skywalker's friend Wedge Antilles in A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi?
- Jim Carrey was considered to play Willy Wonka in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory?
- Hayden Christensen was rejected for the role of Superman in Superman Returns?
- Johnny Depp was considered for the role of Jack in Titanic?
- Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous line in The Terminator ‘I’ll be back’ was originally scripted as ‘I’ll come back’?
- Orlando Bloom's first job was as a clay-trapper at a pigeon shooting range?

Music

- The first bass player of The Beatles was Stuart Sutcliffe and not Paul McCartney?
- Elvis Presley had a twin brother who died at birth?
- Paul McCartney lost half of his front tooth on a motorcicle accident?
- Bob Dylan's real last name is Zimmerman?
- Chester Bennington has every Madonna record ever released?
- Elvis favourite collectibles were official badges. He collected police badges in almost every city he performed in.
- The Beatles song "Martha My Dear" was written by Paul McCartney about his sheepdog Martha

Movies & TV

- In the US there are more TV sets than telephones.?
- Towards the end of the Forrest Gump, Forrest narrates that his wife died on a Saturday. When he is at her grave in the next scene, the tomb stone shows her passing on March 22, 1982, which is a Monday.?
- In 1919, 18-year-old Walt Disney teamed up with Ub Iwerks, to produce a series of cartoons entitled "Alice in Cartoonland."?
- In 1937 Disney won a special Oscar for the first full-length animation: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."?
- Mel Blanc, who played the voice of Bugs Bunny, was allergic to carrots
- The record for the most extras in a movie is believed to be more than 300,000 extras who appeared in the funeral scene of “Gandhi”
- Mr. Potatohead was the first toy advertised on TV
- The name for Oz in “The Wizard of Oz” was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence “Oz.”
- The youngest Oscar winner is Tatum O’Neal who was 10 years, 148 days, on April 2, 1974, when she received the best supporting actress award for “Paper Moon”.

Literature & Art

- The Bible still is the world's best selling book
- The word "novel" originally derived from the Latin novus, meaning "new."
- Vincent van Gogh, the world's most valued painter, sold only painting in his entire life - to his brother who owned an art gallery. The painting is titled "Red Vineyard at Arles."
- There are more than ten billion web pages on the internet.
- 2 billion people still cannot read.
- When Jonathan Swift published 'Gulliver's Travels' in 1726, he intended it as a satire on the ferociousness of human nature. Today it is enjoyed as a children's story

Random

- Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of the blue whale?
- Because steel expands when it gets hot, the Eiffel Tower is six inches taller in the summer than in the winter.
- Humans are the only species on earth that have face-to-face sex?
- Men get hiccups more often than women?
- A kangaroo can only jump if its tail is touching the ground?
- Los Angeles’ full name is “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula.”
- Someone paid $14,000 for the bra Marilyn Monroe wore in Some Like It Hot.
- The largest toy distributor in the world is McDonald’s?
- Mexico City has more taxicabs than any other city in the world?
- The animal responsible for the most human deaths worldwide is the mosquito?
- The “Special” tone available to users of Nokia phones when receiving SMS (text messages) is actually Morse code for “SMS”. Similarly, the “Ascending” SMS tone is Morse code for “Connecting People,” Nokia’s slogan. The “Standard” SMS tone is Morse code for “M” (Message).
- The origin of the English word “orgasm” derives from the Greek, “orgaein,” meaning “to swell” or “be excited or lustful.”
- Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur
- Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end.

I'll be updating this section, so there are more to come.

Labels: did you know, facts