Did you know … a U.S. Rep once proposed an amendment to require a vote to declare war?

Well, friends, it seems I did it again.

Last week (in the introduction to the column, no less) I mentioned that this Friday is the first day of summer.  That part, I got right.

The other part, however, I have been corrected on.  You remember, the part where I said the sun rose earliest and set latest?

Turns out, thanks to a note from my good friend John, that it isn’t that way at all.  Yes, the first day of summer has the longest sunshine and the shortest darkness.  But it’s not the day when the sun rises earliest and sets latest – those are two other days entirely.

I have a policy of correcting any mistakes I make in this column, even if they’re in the introduction.  So, I stand corrected, and encourage you to enjoy the rest of the column!

Did you know …

… one of the main characters in Star Wars almost had a regular role on a popular television show?  Mark Hamill (born 1951), known to one and all forever as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars series of movies, had completed the pilot episode for the series Eight is Enough in 1976.  Hamill played the oldest son, David, in the family dramedy program.  While waiting for word on whether Eight is Enough would be picked up as a series, Hamill took a role in a little science-fiction film called Star Wars.  During the shooting of the movie, the series was picked up by ABC, and Hamill was forced to leave the cast of the show to stay with the movie.  The role of David was taken over by actor Grant Goodeve (born 1952).  (And the rest, as they say, is history, set a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.)

… an amendment was proposed for the Constitution that would have made war impractical?  In 1935, Representative Louis Ludlow of Indiana (1873-1950) introduced a Constitutional amendment that would have required all acts of war to be put to a national popular vote. The rationale behind the amendment was to give those who would have to serve and, perhaps, die in those conflicts the chance to have a say in whether the country should be involved.  Ludlow’s amendment made only one exception to the vote – if the U.S. was attacked first.  Like most proposed Constitutional amendments, it went nowhere.  (I think we could’ve avoided a whole lot of unhappy history with this one.)

… two nations on Earth use the word “the” to begin their official names?  The Gambia in Africa is one; The Bahamas in the Caribbean Sea is the other.  No other nation officially uses “the” at the start of its name.  (Nor do they want to.)

… elephants use their ears to regulate their body temperature?  Blood flow into the ears carries excess heat from the elephant’s body, and cooler blood re-enters the bloodstream.  And flapping their large ears allows elephants to reduce their body temperature by 10˚ or more.  (The fact that it makes them look silly is not considered.)

… a well-known actor was supposed to play one of the main characters on a popular 1980s television show, but walked out after being insulted?  When the creators of Punky Brewster, a situation comedy about a young girl being raised by a foster parent, were casting the role of the foster father, their first choice was actor Fred Gwynne (1926-1993).  Gwynne was deep into discussions regarding the role when a casting director referred to him as “Herman Munster,” a reference to his role in the early 1960s comedy The Munsters.  Gwynne had worked diligently over the years to distance himself from that role which had typecast him, and when the casting director called him that, an insulted Gwynne walked out of the meeting and away from the program.  The role eventually went to George Gaynes (1917-2016).

… a snail spent several years glued to a card before being discovered to be alive?  In 1846, authorities at the British Museum glued what they believed was a dead snail to a card for display.  When the snail came unglued some five years later, the staff of the museum was astonished to see it was still alive, and had been the whole time.  (Now that’s what I call living.  Thanks to Mason for the tip!)

… the symbol of medicine, the caduceus, has snakes on it for a reason?  In an ancient Greek legend, snakes were thought to have revealed the practice of medicine to human beings.  They are recognized for that on the caduceus.  (Trying to make up for that debacle with Adam and Eve, I’d wager.)

… presidents have not always been featured on U.S. currency?  There are numerous examples, but one of the most striking is the face of the $20 bill from 1875.  It features the image of Pocahontas (1596-1617), a Native American woman best known for assisting the English settlers at Jamestown, Virginia.  If that doesn’t strike you odd, try this:  in 1855, back when banks were allowed to print their own currency, the Saint Nicholas Bank of New York City printed five-dollar notes which featured a portrait of Santa Claus.  (Ho, ho, ho indeed.)

… the first U.S. president to visit a foreign country while in office was Theodore Roosevelt?  In November of 1906, Roosevelt (1858-1919) sailed on the USS Louisiana to visit Puerto Rico and Panama.  (Many others wanted to, but didn’t.)

… a town in Minnesota has 20 zip codes?  Young America Township, in Carver County, Minnesota, has a population of about 700 people.  But it is also the home of a major rebate processing center, which requires a lot of different zip codes.  The U.S. Postal Service has assigned at least 20 to the town of 34 square miles.  The township is about ten miles southwest of Minneapolis.  (Both sides of the sign say “City Limits.”)

Now … you know!