Weekend Open Thread

CONG-RATS CW

… you might have created a paraph? At least once, anyway. A paraph is a flourish at the end of your signature. It is said that they originated as a check against forgery. (And they looked really keen, too!)

… many performers insure parts of their bodies? For example, actress Julia Roberts (born 1967) has insured her smile for $30 million. Singer Mariah Carey (born 1970) has her legs insured for $35 million. Dolly Parton (born 1946) has had her bosom insured for $600,000. And it’s not a new practice, either. Bette Davis (1908-1989) had her waist insured for $28,000; Jimmy Durante (1893-1980) had his famous nose insured for $50,000; and Jennifer Lopez (born 1969) has had her backside insured for $300 million. (I’d love to know what the premiums on such policies are, wouldn’t you?)

… a baseball star and the actor who played him in a movie had a previous connection in their lives? In 1925, New York Yankees baseball star Babe Ruth (1895-1948) became ill with a stomach condition that many believed at the time was caused by an excessive consumption of hot dogs and soda, provided mainly by the team’s batboy, William Bendix (1906-1964). Rumor had it that Bendix brought Ruth 30 hot dogs and 12 bottles of soda, rendering him unable to play that day – or any day for several weeks. The Yankees fired Bendix as a batboy after Ruth took ill, but today it is known that Ruth had an intestinal abscess, and that was what kept him out of the lineup. Twenty-three years later, Bendix – who went on to become an award-winning actor – would portray Ruth in the movie The Babe Ruth Story. Additional trivia note: At the time the movie premiered, Ruth – who had wanted to star in it himself – was dying of cancer. He reportedly saw the movie but became uncomfortable and left before it was over. Bendix’ portrayal of Ruth was variously called “dreadful,” “amateurish” and “wrong from start to finish.”

… the composer of the Confederacy’s “song” was from the North? Daniel Decatur Emmett (1815-1904) composed the song “Dixie” – or to use its full title, “Dixie’s Land” – in 1859. Emmett was born and raised in Mount Vernon, Ohio, which remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War. It was said that the songwriter was disgusted by the popularity of the song in the Confederacy. (You would think he’d have been happy about the royalties, though.)

… none of the members of the Beatles could read music? All four – John Lennon (1940-1980), Paul McCartney (born 1942), George Harrison (1943-2001) and Ringo Starr (born 1940) – were able to play guitar, piano and drums very well, but never learned to read music. (But they loved you, yeah yeah yeah.)

… timing really is everything? Actor and rapper Will Smith (born 1968) was in debt to the Internal Revenue Service for some $2.8 million and was on the verge of declaring bankruptcy when he was signed to star in a new comedy series, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, for NBC. Smith had already had many of his possessions taken by the IRS and what income he was making from his rap music was being garnished when the 1990 deal to star in the series was reached.

This is kinda like reliving a great part of my childhood.