Lifelong Virgins

Lifelong virgins:

  • Hans Christian Andersen, author
  • J.M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan
  • Lewis Carroll, author and logician
  • Emily Dickinson, poet
  • Immanuel Kant
  • Søren Kierkegaard
  • Nikola Tesla, inventor
  • Ed Gein, serial killer

Mark Twain kept his virginity until age 34; Goethe until 39. Voltaire wrote, “It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that virginity could be a virtue.”

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Seven Summits

http://sxc.hu

The “Seven Summits” — the highest peak on each continent:

  1. Everest (Asia), 29,035 feet
  2. Aconcagua (South America), 22,834 feet
  3. McKinley (North America), 20,320 feet
  4. Kilimanjaro (Africa), 19,340 feet
  5. Elbrus (Europe), 18,510 feet
  6. Vinson Massif (Antarctica), 16,066 feet
  7. Kosciusko (Australia), 7,310 feet

About 80 mountaineers have climbed all seven.

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Yikes

Unusual phobias:

  • albuminurophobia: fear of kidney disease
  • alliumphobia: fear of garlic
  • allodoxaphobia: fear of opinions
  • ancraophobia: fear of wind
  • anuptaphobia: fear of staying single
  • arachibutyrophobia: fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth
  • atomosophobia: fear of atomic explosions
  • aulophobia: fear of flutes
  • aurophobia: fear of gold
  • barophobia: fear of gravity
  • caligynephobia: fear of beautiful women
  • cherophobia: fear of gaiety
  • deipnophobia: fear of dining or dinner conversations
  • euphobia: fear of hearing good news
  • geniophobia: fear of chins
  • genuphobia: fear of knees
  • hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: fear of long words
  • linonophobia: fear of string
  • lutraphobia: fear of otters
  • mottephobia: fear of moths
  • porphyrophobia: fear of the color purple
  • pteronophobia: fear of being tickled by feathers
  • scriptophobia: fear of writing in public
  • spheksophobia: fear of wasps
  • zemmiphobia: fear of the great mole rat

Politicophobia is defined as “abnormal” dislike of politicians.

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Highest-Grossing Films

Highest-grossing films worldwide, to date:

  1. Titanic (1997)
  2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
  3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001)
  4. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
  5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
  6. Jurassic Park (1993)
  7. Shrek 2 (2004)
  8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
  9. Finding Nemo (2003)
  10. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

At first that looks like a triumph of modern marketing — all of these films were made in the last 12 years. But here are the top ten when receipts are adjusted for inflation:

  1. Gone With the Wind (1939)
  2. Star Wars (1977)
  3. The Sound of Music (1965)
  4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
  5. The Ten Commandments (1956)
  6. Titanic (1997)
  7. Jaws (1975)
  8. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
  9. The Exorcist (1973)
  10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Titanic has made $1.8 billion worldwide to date, and it’s only number 6 on the all-time list. Gone With the Wind has made $3.8 billion, more than twice as much.

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“The Flour City”

Cities with dubious epithets:

  • Eau Claire, Mich.: Cherry Pit Spitting Capital of the World
  • Burlington, Iowa: Loader/Backhoe Capital of the World
  • Sturgis, Mich.: Curtain Rod Capital of the World
  • Beaver, Okla.: Cow Chip Throwing Capital of the World
  • La Crosse, Kan.: Barbed Wire Capital of the World
  • Clearwater, Fla.: Lightning Capital of the World
  • Gallup, N.M.: Drunk Driving Capital of the World

Wichita, Kan., calls itself the “Air Capital of the World.” Touché.

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Showoffs

Only nine people have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony award:

  1. Mel Brooks
  2. John Gielgud
  3. Marvin Hamlisch
  4. Helen Hayes
  5. Audrey Hepburn
  6. Rita Moreno
  7. Mike Nichols
  8. Jonathan Tunick
  9. Richard Rodgers

If you count honorary awards, then Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli also qualify. If you count “daytime Emmys,” then so does Whoopi Goldberg.

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Densa

Famous members of Mensa:

  • Isaac Asimov, writer
  • Jean Auel, author
  • Scott Adams, cartoonist (Dilbert)
  • Richard Bolles, author of What Color Is Your Parachute?
  • Asia Carrera, adult film star
  • Geena Davis, actress
  • Jodie Foster, actress
  • Mell Lazarus, cartoonist (Miss Peach, Momma)

An alternative society is open to the stupidest 2 percent of the population. It’s called Densa.

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Bit Players

Short actors:

  • Sylvester Stallone: 5’7″
  • Tom Cruise: 5’7″
  • Al Pacino: 5’7″
  • Richard Dreyfus: 5’5″
  • Dustin Hoffman: 5’5″
  • Danny DeVito: 5’0″
  • Linda Hunt: 4’9″

Stature doesn’t equal talent. Asked for advice on acting, John Wayne (6’4″) said, “Talk low, talk slow, and don’t talk too much.”

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