Know It All

More than 1,000 different languages are spoken in Africa.

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More people are killed by crocodiles than by lions in Africa.

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A lion sleeps up to 20 hours a day.

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When addressing British nobility, the king and queen are called “your majesty,” princes and princesses are addressed as “your royal highness,” dukes and duchesses are called “your grace.”

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American actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) shocked Hollywood when she quit her successful movie career in 1956 to marry Prince Rainier (1923-2005) of Monaco. Princess Grace had three children: Princess Caroline (born 1957), Prince Albert (born 1958) and Princess Stephanie (born 1965).

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The game of chess is said to have originated in India and was used as a tool to teach military strategy to Indian princes.

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Chess is known as the Royal Game. Do you know how many squares on a chessboard? Can you name the chess pieces? See answer at end.

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The French originally developed playing cards. At one time, the kings signified real people; the king of hearts represented Charlemagne, the king of diamonds was Julius Caesar, the king of clubs was Alexander the Great and the king of spades was King David from the Bible.

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On playing cards, the king of hearts originally had a mustache. It was lost by poor copying of the original design.

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During World War II, “spotter” cards were printed. They were playing cards that showed the silhouette of war aircraft for quick identification from the ground or air.

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Snoopy’s character, World War I Flying Ace, is always pursuing the German WWI pilot, the Red Baron. Flying Ace uses his doghouse as his imaginary fighting plane.

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That famous comic dog Snoopy came from the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. His mother’s name is Missy. Five of his siblings have appeared in the “Peanuts” comic strip: Andy, Belle (his only sister), Marbles, Olaf and Spike. Spike has a mustache and is from a desert outside of Needles, California.

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Charlie Brown’s father was a barber. That was the profession of “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz’s (1922-2000) father.

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There is a Barber Museum in Winchester, Ohio. The museum features 58 barber poles, barber chairs from six eras and re-created barber shops from the past.

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“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” was the highest grossing film of 1969. The movie made almost $100 million. Paul Newman (1925-2008) was Butch, Robert Redford (born 1936) was the Kid.

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Answer: There are 64 squares on a chessboard. In the game of chess each player starts with 16 pieces: one king, 1 queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. The goal in the chess game is to get “checkmate” by capturing the opponent’s king.

Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend edition of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments? Email knowitall(at)smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 ext. 128.