Who created Superman?

Stan Lee is a legend in the pantheon of comic book creators. And deservedly so, given the man created such luminaries as Spider-Man and the X-Men.

But there’s a whole host of superheroes he can’t lay claim to. And one of them is Superman, who was last played by Brandon Routh and will arrive in cinemas next year rebooted with British actor Henry Cavill in the blue tights.

He’ll be joined by Amy Adams, who I think will make a far more convincing Lois Lane than certain predecessors. But while we wait for opening day, I wanted to know who created the hero. And it turns out to be a double duo.

Their names were writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, who invented the character in the 1930s.

But it surprised me to learn he wasn’t always out to protect truth, justice and the American way. In fact their first short story, The Reign of the Super-Man, portrayed him as a bald-headed villain seeking world domination.

Fortunately, the story didn’t sell, so they decided to switch him over to the right side of the law. And thus a legend was born.

You can read more about the Man of Steel here. But in the meantime, enjoy this first look at the new Superman in costume. Awesome . . .

Who invented Monopoly?

I love a good board game. And thankfully it’s a trait my nephews have inherited.

Not so thankfully, I also hate to lose. And so it was with (very) gritted teeth I spent the first few years of their life letting them win. At least until the youngest invented the ‘I beat Aunty Lisa’ routine, which involved running around the house sharing the news – and associated dance moves – with the world.

Needless to say, the ceasefire ended immediately. And I have not lost since, no matter how many times my mother and sister ask if it makes me proud to beat a primary school student. Well yes, for the record, it does. Victory is victory.

Anyway, the last time I paid my nephews a visit we sat down to play Monopoly. It was a newfangled version that involved an interactive DVD, but the essence was still the same – buy as many property sets as you can, make sure other people can’t do the same and then make them mortgage everything they own to pay off their debt when they land on your hotel.

I’ll let you guess who won (me) but I was pretty stoked that despite all the advances in technology they can still be interested in a game I loved when I was their age. And it inspired me to find out who invented it.

While there is talk inspiration came directly from The Landlord’s Game invented by Elizabeth Magie, official credit goes elsewhere.

I’ll let Mr Monopoly take up the (paraphrased) story…

“It was 1934, the height of the Great Depression, when Charles B. Darrow of Germantown, Pennsylvania, showed what he called the Monopoly game to the executives at Parker Brothers. Can you believe it, they rejected the game due to “52 design errors”! But Mr Darrow wasn’t daunted. Like many other Americans, he was unemployed at the time, and the game’s exciting promise of fame and fortune inspired him to produce it on his own. With help from a friend who was a printer, he sold 5000 handmade sets to a Philadelphia department store. People loved the game! But as demand grew, he couldn’t keep up with all the orders and came back to talk to Parker Brothers again. The rest, as they say, is history!”

Now here’s some fun facts I discovered..

* More than five billion little green houses have been “built” since 1935.
* The longest game in history went for 70 days.
* World records are maintained for the longest game in a treehouse (286 hours), underground (100 hours), in a bathtub (99 hours) and upside-down (36 hours).
* Escape maps, compasses and files were inserted into game boards smuggled into POW camps inside Germany during World War II. Real money for escapees was slipped into the packs of Monopoly money.
* The character locked behind the bars is called Jake the Jailbird. Officer Edgar Mallory sent him to jail.
* The highest rent property on the board has different names worldwide. In the US it is “Boardwalk” after a street in Atlantic City. In Spain, it is named “Paseo del Prado” after a street in Barcelona. And in France it is “Rue de la Paix”.

If only I really could collect $200 for passing Go!

How do you make your own bath bombs?

There’s nothing like a good bath – accompanied by a good book and maybe a glass of champagne – to relax the senses after a long day. And as someone who has made an art form out of the soak, I’ve usually got unlimited quantities of bath bombs, crystals, masks and more.

But after a summer clean out inspired by a sudden disdain for ‘clutter’, I was all out. So I decided to learn how to make my own. And the fantastic CSIRO website had all the answers in their great DIY science section, which teaches kids about everything from space and biology to the brain.

But I was only interested in DIY pampering. And here’s the recipe I found . . .

Bath bombs

Ingredients
* Food colouring
* Flower petals or body glitter
* Sweet almond oil
* Scented oil such as lavender oil
* 10 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
* 3 tbsp citric acid
* 2 large mixing bowls
* 1 large muffin tray
* Rubber gloves
* Spoon

Method
Grease the sides and bases of a large muffin tray with a small amount of almond oil. Place citric acid and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl. Mix together well to form the base mixture. Scoop out about half a cup and put it in another bowl. This will make about one or two bombs (depending on the mould size in your muffin tray). You could also use old plastic containers or anything that will hold a shape. Add the flower petals or body glitter to the base mixture. In the small glass jar, mix 6 drops of scented oil, 5 teaspoons of sweet almond oil and about 10 drops of food colouring. Gradually pour the oil mixture into the half cup of base mixture. While wearing rubber gloves, quickly mix it all together. The mixture is ready when it stays together in your hands without crumbling too much. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tray. Press down firmly. You can use the rest of the mixture with other types of scented oil or food colouring to make more bath bombs. Leave them in the tray to set for a few days. Carefully up-end to remove from moulds. Run a bath, hop in and drop a bomb. Watch it fizz!

Happy bathing!

What is the world’s fastest wedding chapel?

It’s Valentine’s Day today, and after finally digging my way free of the massive mound of roses and chocolate that never arrived on my desk I figured I should get something out of the day via a little extra knowledge.

And it seemed obvious the question needed to relate to romance and/or relationships.

But I didn’t want to know something predictable about the world’s oldest bride and youngest groom etc. I wanted something quirky about a celebration that often gets taken way too seriously.

So I headed to Guinness World Records and typed ‘wedding’ into the record search engine. And bingo, up came a fact just as fun as I wanted.

It’s for the World’s Fastest Wedding Chapel, which a reverend called Darrell Best from Illinois created from a 1940s fire truck. I’ll let Guinness tell you more . . .

“The wedding chapel entitled The Best Man allows lovers to tie the knot while they’re on the road and is capable of reaching speeds of 99 km/h. Rev. Best, who has married more than 40 couples in the vehicle, says people love it because “it allows them to get married in any environment they want. Sometimes they don’t want to get off the vehicle so it’s the bride and groom, two witnesses, and the minister all in the sanctuary on the back of the truck. It can get pretty intimate!”

See a video of the chapel in action here.

PS: Did you know St Valentine is the patron saint, among other things, of bee keepers, epilepsy, fainting, plague and young people. How unromantic!

What inspired Christian Louboutin to make his shoe soles red?

Even someone who doesn’t know much about haute couture understands the significance of a red sole on the bottom of a stiletto.

It’s the trademark of Christian Louboutin, the French shoemaker to the stars whose art has adorned the feet of everyone from Dita Von Teese, Barbie and Charlize Theron to Rihanna and Sienna Miller. It’s even been immortalised in a song by J-Lo called, unsurprisingly, Louboutins.

But I wanted to know where the inspiration to make such a bottoms up statement came from. And the answer is nail polish.

As legend tells it, Louboutin was working on a design prototype in the early days of his career and couldn’t put his finger on why the shoe wasn’t working. Suddenly he pinpointed the problem – the black sole was too dark.

Nearby, an assistant was doing her nails, so he grabbed her red polish and painted the soles. He soon realised he was on a winner and the legend was born.

These days he sells hundreds of thousands of pairs each year, not withstanding legal battles with YSL over his trademark. But even if you can’t afford to join his customer list, you can borrow his inspiration, with this Louboutin manicure.

And now back to J-Lo . . .

Who is the rude band in Old School and Starsky & Hutch?

Hollywood has produced some wonderful wedding singers.

Just look at Steve Buscemi’s heartfelt warbling of True in the Adam Sandler movie that celebrates the profession.

But for my money, the best among them is Dan Finnerty. And don’t worry if you haven’t heard of him before, because I just discovered him too. And felt obliged to (ahem) sing his praises.

To backtrack, today’s knowledge quest was born from a simple desire – to find out more about the band that cameos in Old School and Starsky & Hutch.

Anyone who has seen the films will understand my interest since they both feature milestone celebrations headlined by an incredibly coarse (but hilarious) band that peppers power ballads with enough bad language to make a grandmother or religious devotee blush.

Think Bonnie Tyler’s Total F****** Eclipse of the Heart and you’re on track.

Anyway, I knew the group couldn’t be just a movie ensemble as they are too practised and polished. And I was right. They are actually a comedy band called The Dan Band, led by the aforementioned Dan Finnerty, an actor and comedian.

Based in LA, their specialty is covers of female pop songs such as Toni Basil’s Mickey, with added obscenities and swearing. And their unique blend has proved very popular in Hollywood, featuring in other films such as The Hangover.

They even released a Christmas LP of originals called Ho: A Dan Band Xmas, which had tracks such as I Wanna Rock U Hard This Christmas, for which the video featured the Brady Bunch’s Florence Henderson hitting on Santa in a retirement home. Check it out below.

 

And to finish, a random fact: Dan is married to actress Kathy Najimy.

What is the difference between the CIA and FBI?

If you paid attention to the movies you would probably think there were only two kinds of American intelligence agents – bright-eyed recruits out to make their mark and grizzled veterans teetering on the edge of retirement.

Quite how they get from A to B never seems to be explained, although I guess that’s all part of the mystique. A need to know basis, if you will.

Anyway, in looking at movie options for today, my eyes fell on a listing for J Edgar, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the man who shaped the FBI into the powerhouse it is today. I ultimately decided against it, since I’m going through a phase of avoiding ‘worthy’ movies, but it did inspire today’s question – what is the difference between the CIA and FBI?

It’s a pretty clear delineation, which basically boils down to this …

* The Federal Bureau of Investigation chiefly focuses on domestic security with a primary function of criminal investigation.
* The Central Intelligence Agency does not perform law enforcement duties but instead holds responsiblity for international intelligence.

In theory, of course, the two play nicely together, but as in Mr & Mrs Smith – where Brad and Angelina play spies from opposite sides – things don’t always go according to plan. Enjoy the show.

 

Why did they replace Darren on Bewitched?

Growing up, there were many times I wanted to be Samantha Stevens, aka the magical housewife from Bewitched. But when I grew older, my allegiances turned more to Endora.

She just always seemed to be having more fun. And she really didn’t care for ‘Derwent’, who I always thought was a stick in the mind. I mean seriously, who asks their wife not to do the housework with a twitch of her nose?

Anyway, there was one thing I never knew about the show – why they suddenly replaced Dick York, the actor who originally played Samantha’s husband, Darrin. I had always assumed it was because of creative differences or whatever term Hollywood likes to use, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It seems Dick had a debilitating back condition that stemmed from an injury he suffered while filming a movie in Canada. As the series went on it began to cause shooting delays and script rewrites, before he eventually collapsed on set and was rushed to hospital. He was then replaced by Dick Sargeant who saw the role until out until the end of the series.

But enough about them. Let’s have some Endora . . .

 

What is a dirty martini?

My head was not in a good space as I turned the radio on.

I was grumpy beyond measure and all I wanted to do was get home and relax. Instead, I found myself detouring via a service station to replace the $40 worth of diesel I had put in only the day before. Yes. All gone in a matter of 24 hours.

Hoping to find an ’80s track to warble (badly) along too, I reached for the AM band just in time to hear Pink singing about a dirty martini making her girlfriend flirty. Suddenly I realised that while I’ve heard about this drink 1000 times before, I don’t actually know what it is.

I hit the internet to find out when I eventually made it home and it took me all of one second, courtesy of a cool looking website called Dirty Martini. 

In their words, the definition is basically … “gin or vodka with a small amount of dry vermouth and olive juice (also known as olive brine) mixed and garnished with olives. The resulting dirty martini is a little cloudy, due to the olive juice, hence the name dirty martini.”

A great answer, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to know how to make one. And since the site is obviously a lover of shaken, stirred and more, I figured they wouldn’t mind me showcasing one of their many recipes. Here goes…

Cheesy Dirty Martini

Ingredients
3 ounces vodka
½ ounce dry vermouth
1 tbsp olive brine
3 blue cheese stuffed olives

Method
In a shaker combine all ingredients except two of the olives. Take the third olive and squeeze the blue cheese into the shaker. Shake well for 30 seconds and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with remaining two blue cheese stuffed olives and enjoy.

As James Bond would say. I’ll drink to that!

PS: I am aware this is my second alcohol related post in only a few days. And?

Who was the first champion at the modern Olympic games?

I am a fabulous procrastinator and have made an art form out of putting off until tomorrow what I could or should do today. Which is how I came to be watching a documentary on Nile crocodiles instead of doing research on a laptop.

In my defence, it was an excellent program, which showcased only too well the animals’ ferocious speed and appetite. It was enough to make me very glad I’m human and not a hapless wildebeest lurking by an African waterhole.

It also inspired the topic for today’s blog, since their athletic lunges, snaps, claws and death rolls reminded me the 2012 Olympics are mere months away. And this, in turn, led me to ponder the first Modern Games and the question of who was their first champion.

Turns out it was an American.

His name was James Connolly and he picked up his silver medal (gold medals were not awarded to champions in those days) at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Greece by winning the men’s triple jump event, then known as the hop, skip and jump. It made him the first Olympic champion in 1527 years.

He also came second in the men’s high jump and third in the men’s long jump. Here’s another five facts on him I discovered at resources including his official Olympic biography here. 

* Born on November 28, 1865, and died on January 20, 1957.
* Was 27 years old and an undergraduate Harvard student at the time of the Games. He requested a leave of absence, which was denied, but was then granted an honourable withdrawal.
* Lost his title to compatriot Meyer Prinstein at the 1900 Paris games but still came second in the men’s triple jump.
* Attended the 1904 event four years later as a journalist.
* Went on to become a novelist.