by Curt Kovener 
Let’s clean out the useless trivia drawer to start the new year fresh. All are offered with unverified veracity but sometimes accompanied by comments.
•The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone. (Is that what “Yaba-daba-doo” means?)
•Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury. (And perhaps has about the same value.)
•Men can read smaller-print than women can; women can hear better.
•Coca-Cola was originally green.
•It is impossible to lick your elbow or stick it in your ear. (So don’t even try; you’ll hurt yourself.)
•The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska. (Probably in the snow, uphill both ways.)
•The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%. The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%. (Remember Canada is a part of the North American continent.)
•The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $16,400. (A Charley-size dog is even greater.)
•The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000.
•Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
•The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
•The San Francisco Cable Cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
•Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a king from history: Spades, King David; Hearts, Charlemagne; Clubs, Alexander the Great; Diamonds, Julius Caesar.
•Fun with numbers: 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987, 654,321
•If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
•Half of all North Americans live within 50 miles of their birthplace.
•Most boat owners name their boats. The most popular boat name is: Obsession.
•If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter “a”? One thousand.
•Honey is the only food that doesn’t spoil.
•In Elizabethan time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase…”Goodnight, sleep tight”. (And you thought it had to do with alcohol…which the next one does.)
•Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. “Wet your whistle” is the phrase inspired by this practice.
