The Greatest Trivia Book Ever 1

By Mitchell Symons

All my life I’ve collected weird and wonderful facts. Even before ‘trivia’ was (or should that be ‘were’?) invented, I’ve been obsessed with the pursuit of what you might call worthless knowledge. Now, after a lifetime’s devotion to the cause, I’m proud to present to you my favourite facts of all time. My greatest hits, if you will. Most of what you will read has been acquired organically, from reading books, magazines and newspapers. However, I am happy to acknowledge material culled from the internet – which was where I first saw PROOF THAT HELL IS EXOTHERMIC and Hugh Gallagher’s brilliant THE ULTIMATE COLLEGE APPLICATION. I have tried to source – and/or get permission to use - these wonderful items but to no avail. However, I'm sure that their original authors would appreciate this wider audience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: White Hart Books
• Release date: Aug 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781913721060

Mitchell Symons

Mitchell Symons (born 11 February 1957) is a British journalist and writer. Born in London, he was educated at Mill Hill School and the LSE where he studied Law. Since leaving the BBC, where he was a researcher and director, he has worked as a writer, broadcaster and journalist. He was a principal writer for the early UK editions of the board game Trivial Pursuit, and has devised many television formats. He wrote an award-winning opinion column for the Daily Express.

Book preview

THE GREATEST TRIVIA BOOK EVER 1

THE GREATEST TRIVIA BOOK EVER 1

MITCHELL SYMONS

White Hart

Contents

Introduction

Firsts

Transplant Firsts

Some Examples Of Murphy's Law

Around The World

Places That Have Been Called The Venice Of The North

Places That Have Been Called The Venice Of The South

Places That Have Been Called The Venice Of The East

Places That Have Been Called The Venice Of The West

All The Countries Which Have French As Their Official Language (Or One Of Them)

Some Of The World’s More Unusual Museums

Onlys

The Very Best Of The Best Trivia 1

Adolf Hitler

Celebrities And Other People

People Who Became Famous With Initials Instead Of First Names

How Fans Are Known

Movies

Some Of The Alternative Titles Given At The Start Of Carry On... Films

Parts Played By Sid James In Carry On... Films

Parts Played By Kenneth Williams In Carry On... Films

People Who Appeared In Just One Carry On… Film

Movie Roles That Were Turned Down

Questions Still Not Resolved By Numerous Viewings Of The Great Escape

The Oscars

Humans

Expressions We Get From Baseball

The U.K.

What A 10-Stone Person Would Weigh Elsewhere In Our Solar System

Proof That Hell Is Exothermic

Music

Beatles Trivia

Songs Which Have False Endings

Genuine Names For Lipsticks

Genuine Products From Overseas

Slogans Used By Churches To Get People To Attend

Sport

Great Soccer Fanzine Titles

A Newcomer's Guide To Rugby Union

Wonderfully Titled (Genuine) Books

Codes Used By Lovers On The Envelopes Of The Letters They Sent*

Animals

Animal Hybrids

U.S. Presidents

Cannibalism

Miscellany

Eccentric Events From Around The World

The U.S

Words

Words Of Yiddish Or Jewish Origin

How To Speak ‘Strine’ (Australian)

The Simpsons

Numbers

History

The Ultimate College Application

Insects & Other Creepy-Crawlies

The Very Best Of The Best Trivia 2

Love, Sex & Marriage

Death & After

After Death

Extraordinary Wills And Bequests

Great Epitaphs

Unfortunately Named Products And Campaigns

Extraordinary Executions (And Non-Executions)

The Last Words Of Men About To Be Executed

Animal Executions

Extraordinary Deaths

The Lighter Side Of Death

Things Which Are Not What They Seem

Other Countries That Drive On The Left

Art & Literature

Thing That Started in the 1950s

Thing that began in the 1960s

Things that started in the 1970s

Great (Genuine) Boat Names

The C.I.A.’s Take on the World

Bizarre Place Names In The U.K

The Bible

Dumb Things People Have Said

First Names Which Have Been Specifically Banned In Other Countries

Great Country & Western Titles

How Monopoly’s Values Compare To Real Life

Celebrities And Their Grandparents

Actors Who Deliberately Put On Weight For Movie Roles

Dad’s Army Facts

‘Laws’ Named After People

Meteorology

Food & Drink

The Way We Live

Tv

Science & Nature

Fish & Other Sea Creatures

Unintentionally Funny (Genuine) Newspaper Headlines

Birds

Wonderful Names For Birds

Lasts

About the Author

Introduction

All my life I’ve collected weird and wonderful facts.

Even before ‘trivia’ was (or should that be ‘were’?) invented, I’ve been obsessed with the pursuit of what you might call worthless knowledge.

Now, after a lifetime’s devotion to the cause, I’m proud to present to you my favourite facts of all time. My greatest hits, if you will.

Most of what you will read has been acquired organically, from reading books, magazines and newspapers. However, I am happy to acknowledge material culled from the internet – which was where I first saw PROOF THAT HELL IS EXOTHERMIC and Hugh Gallagher’s brilliant THE ULTIMATE COLLEGE APPLICATION. I have tried to source – and/or get permission to use - these wonderful items but to no avail. However, I'm sure that their original authors would appreciate this wider audience.

---

I’d like to thank my publishers, John Blake and Jon Rippon for this wonderful opportunity.

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In addition, I’d also like to thank the following people for their help, contributions and/or support: Penny Symons, Gilly Adams, Marcus Berkmann, Jeremy Clarkson, Paul Donnelly, Jenny Garrison, Tricia Martin, William Mulcahy, Nicholas Ridge, Charlie Symons, Jack Symons, Chris Tarrant, Clair Woodward and Rob Woolley

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If I’ve missed anyone out, then please know that – as with any mistakes in the book – it’s entirely down to my own stupidity.

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Mitchell Symons

[e-mail]

Firsts

A man named Grant Morton is credited with being the first person to parachute from a moving airplane, in 1911, over Venice Beach, California.

According to legend, Valentine sent the first ‘valentine’ greeting himself. It’s said that, while in prison, Valentine fell in love with a young girl – possibly the daughter of the prison warder – who visited him. Just before his death, he wrote her a letter signed ‘From your Valentine’.

Africa’s first republic, Liberia was founded in 1822 – thanks to the efforts of the American Colonization Society which decided to settle freed American slaves in West Africa. Liberia, which means land of the free, became home to (as they were known) Americo-Liberians who established a settlement in Monrovia (named after U.S. President James Monroe)

Aspirin was the first drug offered as a water-soluble tablet in 1900.

Barbra Streisand’s first performance was as a chocolate chip cookie

Peter Sellers was the first male to feature on the cover of Playboy

Belgium was the first country to issue electronic passports

Bingo was first played in 1888.

Boxing was the first sport to be filmed (in 1894)

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were the first models joined together at Madame Tussauds. When they separated, it cost £10,000 to separate their models

Britain’s first Indian restaurant was opened more than fifty years before the first fish-and-chip restaurant

Britain’s first school crossing patrol officer - or lollipop lady – started work in Oxford in 1933

Britain’s very first mobile phone call was made on 1 January 1985 by Ernie Wise

Captain James Cook was the first man to set foot on all continents (except Antarctica)

Charlotte Brontë was the first person to use the expression ‘raised eyebrow’ in print

Coca-Cola sold just 25 bottles in its first year.

Croatia was the first country to recognize the United States in 1776.

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Britain’s first female doctor, was also Britain’s first female mayor (of Aldeburgh).

For 2,000 years, chocolate was only available as a drink. The first solid chocolate bar wasn’t sold till 1849.

Germany was the first country to use Daylight Saving Time.

Glenn Miller was the first recording artist or performer to receive a gold record. He got it for Chattanooga Choo Choo, in 1942.

Grenada was the first country to have an Elvis Presley postage stamp.

Gyles Brandreth’s father bought the first set of Monopoly sold in the UK

Having been born in London, Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, was the first foreign-born First Lady of the U.S.

Humphrey Bogart was the first Gerber baby (for Gerber Baby Foods)

In 1620, Dutch inventor Cornelius van Drebbel launched the world’s first submarine in the Thames. The first military submarine – the Turtle - was built in 1775

In 1680, Manfredo Settala became the first person in all recorded history to have been killed by a meteorite.

In 1830, the Government Minister William Huskisson became the first person to be killed by a train when he was attending the opening of the Liverpool-Manchester Railway. As he stepped on the track to meet the Duke of Wellington, Stephenson's 'Rocket' hit him He died later that day.

In 1881, the Isle of Man was the first territory to give women (property-owning unmarried women and widows) the right to vote.

In 1893, New Zealand became the first country to do likewise – followed by Australia in 1902. Finland – in 1906 – was the first European country to give women the vote. In the UK, women over thirty got the vote in the UK in 1918 but it wasn’t till 1928 that they had equality with men (when the minimum voting age was 21)

In 1903, EverDry became the first commercially available anti-perspirant. It was so acidic that it ate through clothing.

In 1911, Bobby Leach, a British-born circus star, became the first man* to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survive (although he ended up in hospital for 23 weeks). Fifteen years later, he died...after slipping on a piece of orange peel in New Zealand.

*...but not the first person. That was Annie Edson Taylor, a 63-year old teacher in 1901

In 1922, Pitcairn Airlines became the first airline to provide air sickness bags

In 1926, a midwife named Aasa Helgesen was elected the first female mayor in Norway. Extraordinarily, she didn’t even know that she was on the ballot

In 1930, Uruguay became the first country to host the FIFA World Cup. They also won it.

In 1978 Emilio Marco Palma became the first person to be born in Antarctica

In 1986, Japan became the first country in the world to ban lead in petrol.

In 1993, the Dutch government became the first to legalise euthanasia (mercy-killing) under certain strict conditions

In 2004, Bhutan became the first country in the world to ban cigarettes.

In 301AD, Armenia became the first country to make Christianity the state religion

In late 17th Century Paris, lemonade became the world's first marketed soft drink

Jake Gyllenhaal received his first driving lesson from Paul Newman

King Louis XV (aka King Louis The Well-Beloved) was the first person to use a lift when in 1743 his ‘flying chair’ carried him between the floors of his Versailles palace.

Leonardo da Vinci was the first person to record that the number of rings in the cross section of a tree trunk revealed its age. He also discovered that the width between the rings indicated the annual moisture.

Modern hair conditioner was first introduced to soften men's hair, beards and moustaches.

Paddy Ashdown’s grandfather was the first man in Ireland to buy a car

Peter Sellers provided the voices for the first PG Tips chimps’ ad (he was paid £25)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is credited with being the first person to introduce skiing to Switzerland

Sir Frederick Ashton’s first ballet – A Tragedy of Fashion - was inspired by the story of a French chef who was preparing a banquet for King Louis XIV and was so upset that the fish delivery was late

Spectacles were first worn in Italy in about 1285

Sunglasses first became popular in the 1920s when movie stars began wearing them to counteract the photographers’ bright lights.

The area we now call Ethiopia is said to be where the very first human beings originated.

The Butterfly stroke in swimming was first used at the 1956 Games. In fact, it was actually invented for the Games as some swimmers had begun to exploit a loophole in the breaststroke rules to swim butterfly

The Dutch were the first Europeans to discover Australia and New Zealand.

The expression ‘The King is dead – long live the King!’ was first used at the accession of King Charles VII of France in 1422.

The first alarm clock could only ring at 4 a.m.

The first automatic telephone exchange was invented in 1889 by an American undertaker who wanted to prevent telephone operators from advising his rivals of the death of local citizens.

The first British telephone directory was published by the London Telephone Company in 1880. It listed more than 250 names and numbers.

The first commercial text message was sent in December 1992

The first country to ban foie gras on the grounds of cruelty was Nazi Germany.

The first couple to be shown in bed together on US prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone

The first diet soft drink, called ‘The No-Cal Beverage’ was launched in 1952.

The first duplicating machine was invented by James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine to help him with all the copying he had to do for his steam engine business.

The first Englishman to be killed in an aviation accident was Henry Royce (of Rolls-Royce fame)

The first genuine French kiss in a Hollywood movie was between Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood in the 1961 film Splendor In The Grass.

The first Harley Davidson motorcycle built in 1903 used a tomato can for a carburettor.

The first Internet hoax to reach a mass audience was the 1994 jape that Microsoft had bought the Catholic Church

The first man-made object to break the sound barrier was a whip.

The first message tapped by Samuel Morse over his invention the telegraph was: What hath God wrought?

The first modern health resort opened in Spa in Belgium in the 18th century. Belgium was also the home of European’s first casino (in 1763)

The first motel - the Motel Inn – was opened in 1925 in California

The first of the five senses to go with age is smell

The first person killed in a car accident was Londoner Bridget Driscoll, who in 1896 was run over by a car travelling at the speed of 4 mph.

The first photograph of the moon was taken in 1839 (by Louis Daguerre) but the details were not clear. J.W. Draper took the first recognizable photograph a year later.

The first post office built in the Antarctic dates back to 1904

The first pull-top can was invented by Ermal Cleon Fraze in 1959, after he had to resort to using his car bumper to open a can of drink.

The first ready-to-eat Breakfast Cereal was Shredded Wheat in 1893 (it beat Kellogg's Corn Flakes by just 5 years)

The first sport to have a world championship was billiards in 1873.

The first toothbrush was invented in China in 1498.

The first tube escalator was introduced at Earls Court in 1911. Wooden-legged ‘Bumper’ Harris was employed to travel up and down it to prove that it was safe.

The first TV coverage of a Wimbledon tennis match was in 1937

The first words spoken by Thomas Edison over the phonograph were: Mary had a little lamb

The Indian mathematician, Aryabhatta first came up with the mathematical concept of zero at the end of the 5th century

The man who built the town stocks in Boston charged so much he was the first man punished in them.

The Russians were the first to send a man into space (Yuri Gagarin in 1961). The Russians also sent the first dog into space. In 1957, Laika, a stray, was launched into space on Sputnik 2. Alas, she died a few hours after launch from overheating, probably due to a malfunction in the thermal control system. However, the experiment proved that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and endure weightlessness. In 2008, the Russians unveiled a monument to Laika in Moscow

The singer/songwriter James Taylor was the very first act signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records

The title Ms. – designed to replace Miss or Mrs. – was first used in 1949

The very first radio commercial is thought to date back to Argentina in 1922. It was for a restaurant named Los Andes

The world's first traffic island was installed - at his own expense - by Colonel Pierrepoint outside his London club. He was killed crossing over to it

The world’s first church was built in Turkey.

The world’s first in-flight movie was shown in 1925 (on a Deutsche Lufthansa flight)

The world’s first police force was established in Paris in 1667.

The world’s first scheduled passenger air

Reviews for The Greatest Trivia Book Ever 1

[Bruce Haynes Haynes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Full of Nice and Informative data. Its really good to read it