Did you know that Gaston's little side-kick in Disney's Beauty and the Beast is named LeFou? And did you know that le fou is French for 'the fool'? And the candlestick character is named Lumiere because that is French for 'light'? And the reason Disney chose French words for the characters is because the original story of Beauty and the Beast is French?
More importantly, did you care?
I didn't think so.
Did you know that flotsam is floating debris of a shipwreck? And that jetsam is floating debris that was jettisoned (thrown overboard) in an emergency situation to try to lighten the load of a ship in danger of sinking? Did you know that Disney named Ursula's evil twin eel henchmen Flotsam and Jetsam?
Again, I'm pretty that info isn't very useful, either.
Did you know that originally, after the big 'Y' was whitewashed on the mountain above Brigham Young University, the letters 'B' and 'U' were going to be added to complete the initials of the school? Something put a stop to those plans (thank heavens I don't remember what halted them!), so the 'Y' stands alone. Did you know that the 'Y' on the mountain is why locals and alumni alike refer to the school as 'The Y'.
Yeah. More useless info.
Did you know that when flush-able toilets were first installed in Seattle, they had to be built on high pedestals or on upper floors of buildings because the city was sitting on a tidal flat and the incoming tide would back the sewers up if there wasn't enough water pressure (achieved through gravity) to prevent it? And did you know that when the city burnt to the ground in 1889, it was decided to rebuild the city streets at the second floor level to raise the city above the tidal flat and permanently 'fix' the toilet problems, but that building owners rebuilt on their existing foundations. So, streets were one floor above building entrances and sidewalks! For a while, ladders had to be used in order to cross the streets. Eventually, though, new sidewalks were built on the second floor level and new entrances created. So the second floors became the first floor and the underground sidewalks became covered 'boardwalks' with underground shops you could visit. The new upper sidewalks even had translucent glass tiles installed at intersections to create skylights for the underground sidewalks. In the end the underground sidewalks were abandoned all together.
Why do I need to know all that? When is that going to prove useful in my lifetime?
Did you know that the machine that resurfaces the ice on an ice rink is called a Zamboni machine, and that the Zamboni company has a 'near' monopoly on that particular job globally?
How do I even know that one?
My mind seems to latch onto and keep the most random facts. I wish my mind would latch onto and keep the stuff I actually WANT to remember! Like how to speak French. I used to be able to. Not so much anymore. Or the names of my students? Or how about remembering scheduled events that I am supposed to attend? Yeah, that would be GREAT!
Oh well.
Say, did you know that Steamboat Springs was named that because the first settlers noticed that the hot springs closest to town made a whistling sound that reminded them of the steamboat whistles back east? And in 1908, blasting for the new railroad going through town accidentally silenced the hot springs forever.
And did you know...
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