Trivia

Every now and then a little thing happens that scholars later regard as a turning point in some culture’s development. Such occurred when the Portuguese introduced the sweet potato into New Guinea. The range of farming suddenly broadened. It let the population expand.

The most widely recognized voice in all of the cartoondom, it’s said, is still that of Bugs Bunny.

Q. Who was the pro football field official who shot himself in the behind?

A. Gene Barth. As a linesman, just before his first game in 1971, he was supposed to fire a blank pistol after each quarter. So he carefully slipped one into his back pocket at the start of the game, then caught the trigger as he took his hand back out. Blanks wound.

Q. How many hippopotamuses do we have left?

A. About 157,000 worldwide, according to one Smithsonian writer.

Q. Where’d we get the expression “passing the buck”?

A. It’s from an old card game term. A marker called a buck was put in front of the player whose turn it was to deal.