Fact Extractor: News You’ll Never Need to Know

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In this issue of Fact Extractor:

Hucksters, Humbugs, Hoodwinks & Hogwash: Harebrained Hoaxes & Hullabaloo
Fact or Fable?
The Quick Quirk Quiz Question
Shameless Self-Promotion & Flagrant Advertising
Two Cents About Advertising Endorsements

Hucksters, Humbugs, Hoodwinks & Hogwash: Harebrained Hoaxes & Hullabaloo

A hoaxter named Jim Moran once purchased a nice leather-bound book that contained nothing but blank pages. On long train trips he would get his book out and, in full view of the other passengers, pretend to read it. He would howl with laughter, snort, chuckle, and pause to contemplate, all while turning the pages. He was sure to hold the book so that his fellow passengers could see it was completely blank. He found this was a good way to ensure no one ever bothered him. Moran once purchased a mask to take with him on a long drive across the U.S. The mask depicted an idiot and Moran wore the thing backwards. Whenever someone pulled around to pass him, he leaned his head out the open car window so the driver would be confronted with the sight of some moron at the wheel of a speeding car looking backwards out the window with no regard for safety.

Send YOUR schemes & screams to: HHHHHHH@TriviaQueen.com

Fact or Fable?

The animal that can withstand traumatic head injury better than any other animal and still function is the shark. FACT OR FABLE? Answer below.

Quick Quirk Quiz Question:

Lord Marcus Sandys of England served as the Mayor of Bengal, India. Around 1835 he returned home to England, bringing with him the recipe for a sauce popular in India that he liked. He gave the recipe to two druggists named John Lea and William Perrins. The two men were so impressed by Sandys' ravings about how good it was going to taste that they mixed up a few barrels full, hoping to make a big profit by selling the excess to their customers. But when they tasted it, they found it so awful that they stored the barrels in the basement and forgot about them. A few years later, the barrels were re-discovered while the basement was being cleaned out. Before throwing it out, they tasted it again. After aging for two years, the sauce had developed a new flavor that was an instant hit. They bought rights to the recipe from Sandys and went into business. When salesmen employed by Lea and Perrins convinced British passenger ships to put bottles of the sauce on their dining room tables, its popularity spread worldwide. Today the recipe includes anchovies, soybeans, vinegar, garlic, shallots, and molasses, which is aged two years. The sauce was named after the town where the druggists lived. It's still one of the world's most popular sauces, used in everything from meats to mixed drinks. What is it?

To find out, go to http://www.triviaqueen.com/enewsletters.htm and scroll all the way to the bottom of the page for the answer. While you’re scrolling, be sure to take a look at the trivia you could be reading while you’re there! Read our current issues of the Two Bit News for free, or check out our back issues for only 25 cents each! We’ve got trivial trifles, treasures, and treats for every appetite so cough up your quarters and learn a lot of news you never needed to know!

Answer to Last Week’s Quick Quirk Quiz Question:

The publisher’s names were SIMON and SCHUSTER.

Nothing You Need to Know about ADVERTISING ENDORSEMENTS

• A piano firm asked Will Rogers to endorse their brand brand of piano, but Rogers didn't play the piano and hated to endorse any product he couldn't test. He wrote back to the firm, "I guess your pianos are the best I ever leaned against."

• Tennis player Rod Laver was paid to endorse a certain type of tennis racket. However, he really disliked the brand and preferred his original racket. He solved the problem by using his old racket, which was painted to look like the kind he was endorsing.

• After winning the Olympic decathlon in 1976, Bruce Jenner was signed up to sell Wheaties. On the air, Jenner claimed he had eaten Wheaties all his life. The assistant district attorney in San Francisco brought suit against General Mills, claiming consumer fraud. They felt that Jenner hadn't REALLY eaten Wheaties all his life. Jenner challenged the DA to ask his mother. The suit was dropped.

• In 1972 Lou Brock, baseball's biggest base stealer, was shown in an ad in which he tore around the bases, then credited a certain type of candy for his speed. In a landmark decision stemming from this, the FTC ruled that candy can't be credited as the source of an individual's speed. They also ruled that Domino Sugar could not advertise themselves as the "official sugar" of the NFL because all brands of sugar are chemically identical. Three years later the FTC also ruled that any athlete endorsing a product would have to be a bona fide user of that product.

FLAGRANT ADVERTISING

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Fact or Fable:

FACT. Sharks can withstand traumatic brain injury better than any other animal.

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Janet Spencer, Trivia Queen of the Universe
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