Archives: Useless Facts

The “Girl with a Pearl Earring” was painted by Johannes Vermeer sometime around 1655.  The painting has had a variety of names over the years, becoming known by its current title at the end of the 20th century, primarily based on the earring worn by the girl portrayed in the painting.
In 2004, a modern day motion picture of the same name, tells the story of a young peasant girl (played by Scarlett Johansson) working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer (played by Colin Firth), who becomes his assistant and the model for the painting, arguably one of his most famous works.

Who painted “Girl with a Pearl Earring”?

A baby rabbit is technically called a kitten, but since there would obviously be confusion with baby cats, they are typically referred to as “kits.”

As an added bit of trivia, just like deer, female rabbits are called does and males are called bucks.

What are baby rabbits called?

The only U.S. President that was also licensed bartender was Abraham Lincoln.

According to an article in the Chicagoist (“Bartender-In-Chief: Abraham Lincoln Owned A Tavern”): “In January 1833, he partnered with his friend from his militia days, William F. Berry, to purchase a small store, which they named Berry and Lincoln. Stores could sell alcohol in quantities greater than a pint for off-premises consumption, but it was illegal to sell single drinks to consume at the store without a license. In March 1833, Berry and Lincoln were issued a tavern, or liquor, license, which cost them $7 and was taken out in Berry’s name. Stores that sold liquor to consume on the premises were called groceries.”  The store failed, primarlily because Berry was an alcoholic who drank the store’s supply of liquor, running up a substantial debt.  According to the article “It wasn’t until 1848, when Lincoln was a congressman, that he was able to pay off the whole debt.”

Fortunately, Abraham Lincoln is remembered for many other things!

 

 

Which President of the United States was the only President that was also a licensed bartender?

In the movie Home Alone, the McCallister family is taking a vacation to Paris when they inadvertently leave Kevin behind.

Bonus: Joe Pesci plays Harry and Daniel Stern plays Marv, the two thieves that suffer the unexpected consequences of tangling with Kevin.

In the movie Home Alone, Kevin is accidentally left behind as the family heads to a vacation.  Where were they going?

Bonus: Can you name either or both of the thieves in the movie, one played by Joe Pesci and the other by Daniel Stern?

The song White Christmas, made its debut in the movie Holiday Inn in 1942.   Although many people believe the song first appeared in the movie White Christmas, many feel the movie was actually developed to take advantage of the popularity of the song.

White Christmas was written and composed by Irving Berlin, who received an Oscar  (Academy Award) for the song!

 

The television series that launched the career of Bruce Willis, was “Moonlighting,” the comedy-drama that aired 67 episodes from 1985 to 1989. The show starred Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis as private detectives and is widely credited with making Willis a star.