Tag: Useless But Compelling Facts

Continuing with our date related trivia themes, February 18th (yesterday) is an interesting day for Arts & Sciences in history.

On the 18th of February in 1564, Michelangelo Buonarotti, the famed Italian painter, sculptor and architect, died. On this same date in 1885, Samuel L. Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain, published Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, coming on the heels of his successful book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Now those are the art factoids.

In science, however, February 18th has a discovery – that also has a somewhat unique fact – with which it is associated. The discovery, made in 1930, was subsequently overturned and determined to be incorrect in 2006.

What was the discovery, who discovered it and what happened to it?

OK. OK. So it’s been a while. . . But trivia, like rock ‘n roll, never dies. So back in August, we asked a number of trivia questions about Augustus Caesar. As you will see below, only one person got the answers all correct and so here is what he told us – embellished a bit by yours truly.

First (and easiest) the name of the month in the Roman calendar before it was called August was Sextilis. Next, Augustus Caesar was actually born Gaius Octavius Thurinus on September 23, 63 BCE. He was referred to as Octavius, but after being adopted by Julius Caesar, he was called Gaius Julius Caesar Octavius. Octavius’ mother was Atia Balba Caesonia, a niece of Julius Caesar and thus Octavius was the grandson of Julius Caesar’s sister. When Octavius’ father died, Julius Caesar adopted Octavius and changed his name. You never learned this in Shakespearean English classes did you?

Subsequently, when the Roman Senate conferred the title of ‘Augustus’ upon him, he was known as Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus. Although Augustus was never crowned as Emperor, the Roman Senate did bestow a permanent title of ‘Imperatur’ or Commander-in-Chief upon him. Although ruthless to his enemies (and suspected enemies), Augustus is widely regarded as the leader who gave Rome its Golden Age, but heralded the onset of a long period of internal peace in the Roman Empire – sometimes called Pax Romana or Pax Augusta – lasting more than 200 years and ending with the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 CE.

The winner of our August contents is our very own GALA member, colleague and friend from Australia, Peter Le Guay, partner at Thomsons Lawyers, who got every single part of the answer correct – ok, I had to prod a little, but he did. Congratulations Peter!

I thought it would be fitting to have an "August" trivia contest in the middle of August, so let’s try our hands at some fun facts about Augustus Caesar. Augustus Caesar is one of the most popular leaders in history, having brought the Roman Empire to its "Golden Age." Leaving an impact on Western civilization that is still evident today, he revised the tax code, started the Praetorian Guard, the Vigiles, the first police and fire department – indeed, Jesus Christ was born during his reign – and he is widely regarded as the first Roman Emperor, although he was never proclaimed Emperor by the Roman Senate, nor ever took on that title himself. Augustus Caesar died August 19, 14 CE, at the ripe old age of 75, and it would probably be too easy to ask you what month is named after him; but let’s start with what was the month in the Roman calendar called before it was renamed "August"?

Now of course you knew that Augustus Caesar wasn’t his real name. Augustus means majestic or illustrious – a title awarded him by the Roman Senate in January of 27 BCE – and you already know Caesar was a title bestowed upon the Roman leader. Augustus Caesar had not one, but two names before that title. First, what was the name he was given at birth?

Now we also know that after 4-year-old Augustus’ (no real name still) father died, he was adopted by Julius Caesar. You might ask why, but since it’s my trivia contest, I’ll ask you to tell me: what was the young boy’s natural relationship with Julius Caesar before the adoption, and what name was he given after he was adopted by Julius Caesar (it is to this name that the title "Augustus" was added by Rome).

Now, Augustus (I’m not giving away his real name yet) was only 18 years old when Julius Caesar was assassinated ("Et tu, Brute?"), but he, Lepidus and Marcus Antonius (i.e., Mark Antony) were appointed by the Senate to govern Rome. Lepidus was removed by the Senate for trying to grab some of Augustus Caesar’s territory, and Mark Antony, who had married Augustus Caesar’s sister (I’m still not giving away his name), abandoned her and ran off to Egypt to be with Cleopatra – you remember that story! Well, with his sister deserted and his country abandoned, Augustus Caesar become sole ruler of the Roman Empire and bitter enemies with Mark Antony. Ultimately war came and Augustus Caesar’s forces defeated the combined might of Mark Antony’s legions and Cleopatra’s army at the battle of Actium in 31 BCE. Augustus was never crowned, appointed or hailed as Emperor, but the Roman Senate actually did bestow a permanent title upon him – what was it?

Our last UBCF question recognized the fact that the Summer Olympic Games were held in London, which is the home of James Bond, and noted that the 23rd Bond film, Skyfall, will be released this fall – the year marking the 50th Anniversary of the release of the first Bond film, Dr. No. Our trivia question, which no one answered correctly, asked who created the distinctive opening sequence of every Bond film – the camera sighting down the barrel of a gun, usually followed by shots and blood dripping down the screen as the title credits roll. For an added degree of difficulty, we asked you to name the only two films prior to GoldenEye for which this person did NOT create the opening title credits, and which two well-known films had “uncredited” title designs created by this same person.

Maurice Binder (1925–1991) created the now-famous gun barrel sequence for the opening titles of the first Bond film, Dr. No. Prior to GoldenEye, only From Russia with Love (1963) and Goldfinger (1964) had title credits that were not designed by Mr. Binder. In answer to the second part of the bonus question, Mr. Binder was the title designer for the motion pictures Damn Yankees! and Indiscreet, and in both cases he was not credited in the film.

The release of “Skyfall” this November will mark the 23rd Bond film and comes in the 50th Anniversary year of the release of the very first Bond film, “Dr. No“. Many potential trivia questions arise from the films and the origins of Ian Fleming’s iconic character, James Bond, but most are far too easy for our discerning Legal Bytes readers – from the cast of Bond actors, starting with Sean Connery in 1962; to the Aston Martin DB5, arguably one of the most famous cars in the world; to the cast of supporting women and would-be evil-doers who have served as a foil to Bond’s escapades to save the world from constant and imminent danger. By the way, if anyone has a DB9 they want to donate to me, please let me know where I can retrieve it. I have aspired for each new model since 1963!

So, let’s make this one interesting. It would be hard to imagine anyone not instantly recognizing the distinctive opening sequence of every Bond film starting with “Dr. No” in 1962. . . Sighting down the barrel of a gun, usually followed by shots and red blood dripping down the screen as the title credits roll. Anyone know who created it AND, if you correctly identify the individual, can you tell me (a) the only two films prior to “GoldenEye” for which this same person did NOT create the opening title credits AND (b) which two well-known films had title credits created by this professional during an amazing career, but which were “uncredited” in the films.

If you know the answers and are first to send them to me, you’ll win. Send your answers directly to me at joseph.rosenbaum@rimonlaw.com.

In April, we asked to tell us about an event that occurs usually no more than once a century; always happens in pairs, eight years apart; and last occurred in 1761 and again in 1769. Having transpired in 2004, many Legal Bytes readers were fortunate to know about and actually catch a glimpse of the transit of Venus last month – when it appeared as a small black dot taking a few hours to transit across the fiery disc of the star we call the sun. For those of you who missed it, it will happen again, but not until 2117 and then (eight years later) in 2125.

To be fair, the person who had the correct answer first was none other than long time Legal Bytes reader, fan and friend, Shari Gottesman. But when I checked, a grouping of people responded correctly within 24 hours to a tough question; so while Shari was first, let me also tip my hat (in order) to: James Griffin, Simon Persoff, Kathryn Farrara, Meredith P. Hartley, Mary Lew, William J. McDonough, Randy Henrick, Denise McCarthy, Judy Ruble, Richard Fine, Scott A. Grubb, Peter Le Guay (all the way from Australia), Marianne T. Urso, Yvonne Williams and Neira Jones. Thank you for reading; for responding; for being avid fans and eager readers.

It happens rarely – usually no more than once a century or so – but when it does happen, it always occurs in pairs, eight years apart. It happened in 1761 and again in 1769. It will happen in 2117 and again in 2125. But it also happened in June 2004 and, in a little more than a month from now, at the beginning of June 2012, the second of this eight-year pair is scheduled to take place. What is it?

If you know the answers and are first to send them to me, you’ll win. Send your answers directly to me at joseph.rosenbaum@rimonlaw.com.

Last month, we asked you to tell us about the 100th birthday celebration that took place, starting from its humble beginnings on March 6, 1912, in New York.

Thanks to long-time friend and loyal Legal Bytes reader, Sam Dressler, for correctly reminding us that it is the OREO cookie. Happy Birthday, and congratulations Sam!

On March 6, 2012, a 100th birthday was celebrated – having been born in New York in 1912. Beloved around the world, bringing smiles to the faces of young and old for 100 years. Name?

 

As 2011 came to a close, with the buzz and frenzy over the upcoming Facebook (www.Facebook.com) IPO, we asked you to tell us the first company in the world that ever issued stock, where it was incorporated, the year stock was issued, whether it paid a dividend and whether it – or actually a successor corporation – is still around.

Drum roll . . . . . .

The Dutch East India Company (in Dutch: Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) was established in 1602, and although one other company had been chartered (incorporated) before it, the Dutch East India Company was the first to issue stock. Perhaps the quasi-sovereignty of Google (www.Google.com), Facebook (www.Facebook.com) and other mega-corporations should not be so surprising since my own research uncovered the fact that its charter permitted the company to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, and even establish colonies and coin money. And that was in 1602! It must have been doing something right back then because the Dutch East India Company actually paid an 18 percent annual dividend for almost 200 years. Unfortunately, the company became fraught with corruption and by 1800, having gone bankrupt, it was formally dissolved as a corporation, with its land holdings becoming the Dutch East Indies which, over the course of ensuing centuries, expanded into what is now known as Indonesia.