Weekend Open Thread

… the first time a major character in a television show “died” was in 1956? Actress Jean Hagen (1923-1977) became unhappy in her role on the situation comedy Make Room For Daddy, which ran from 1953 to 1964. The show’s producers were worried about how to deal with Hagen’s departure, but they didn’t want to end the show. So they decided to have her character “die” off-screen during the break between seasons. Divorce was not an option for television in that day and age. Star Danny Thomas (1912-1991) was concerned that the show would fail without Hagen’s character, but audiences became sympathetic to his character as a widower, and his character would re-marry in a year or so. The show was renamed The Danny Thomas Show following Hagen’s departure. (Thus proving that no one is irreplaceable – not even me.)

… a ninth-century warlord was killed by a man he’d beheaded shortly before? Sigurd the Mighty (?-892) was the Viking conqueror of what is now Scotland. In 892, Sigurd challenged a rival, Mael Brigte (?-892) to a battle and defeated him, beheading Mael. Sigurd then tied the severed head of his rival to his saddle and rode off in triumph. During the ride, though, Mael’s teeth kept grazing against Sigurd’s bare leg, creating a wound which became infected. The infection killed Sigurd a couple of weeks later. (The realization that Mael was known as “Mael the Buck-toothed” should have been a giveaway.)

… the letter combination “ough” can be pronounced nine different ways? To prove it, read this sentence: A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman struck through the streets of Scarbrough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed. Congratulations … you just said those four letters nine different ways. (Now untie your tongue.)

… the letter “x” in an airport’s three-letter code does not mean “international”? When airports began using the standardized three-letter codes in the 1930s, those cities that used only two letters simply added an “x” at the end. The “x” did not stand for anything. Additional trivia note: Most of the three-letter codes tie in to either the city name or the airport name, but some are hard to figure out. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, for instance, uses the code ORD. That comes from the original name of the airport, Orchard Field.

… the first graduating class of New Mexico State University in 1893 had only one member? That member was shot and killed before he got to graduate. Sam Steel (1876-1893) was finally awarded his degree posthumously in 1998, 105 years after he should have graduated. (Class reunions would’ve been lonely anyway.)

… a British man changed his name because of telemarketing calls? Tim Price (born 1963) of Leicester, England, was becoming so thoroughly annoyed – or “cheesed off,” as they call it in Britain – with telemarketers cold-calling his home that he went to the trouble of legally changing his last name to “Pppppppppprice” in order to make his name impossible for the telemarketers to say. His reasoning is that, if the marketers can’t pronounce his name, they won’t call him. (Clever, very clever!)

Now … you know!

Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas this year is for all of the leaders of my country to receive anything and everything they deserve.
I already have everything I could possibly need.
I’ll leave the milk and cookies out, of course.
Love,
RGR 4-78

The QB rushes 41 times for 76 yards.

So, soo glad I do not have to deal with that anymore. Departed in August 2000. Still have a small professional practice in DC but we do everything via email, UPS, and telephone.

When I was assigned to WRAMC in November, 1975, the beltway was about 60 miles in circumference, it was a four land divided highway with steel guard rails as the median. It could be tricky on a motorcycle with some gaps in the road bed and iron strips to hold stuff together but traffic flowed.

Almost bought an XJ in the mid-80s but two auto repair shop clients both told the that they would not work on it, if I did! I trusted them and to this day have never owned, or even driven, a Jag.

It was pretty funny, both shops knew each other and one called the other and said, “do you know what that asshole is thinking about doing?” Then the other guy called me, told me the story, and all three of us ended up on the phone laughing so hard I nearly cried!

Haha, instead, we all ended up keeping boats on the Chesapeake. A Jag would have been cheaper not nearly as much fun.