Know it All

The Conner family in the television sitcom "Roseanne” (1988-1997) lives in the fictional town of Lanford, Ill. The Ingalls family in "Little House on the Prairie” (1974-1983) live in the fictional town of Walnut Grove, Minn. In "Leave it to Beaver” (1957-1963) the Cleavers live in the town of Mayfield, somewhere in the Midwest.

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British engineer George Stephenson (1781-1848) invented the steam locomotive. His first train was built in 1815 to haul coal from mines.

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His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum (born 1977), nephew of the crown prince of Dubai, recently established the A1 Grand Prix motor racing series. The first race took place in September. In the competition, as many as 30 nations have a racing team and compete against each other in races all over the world.

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The Dixie Cups, a singing trio in the 1960s, sang the 1964 hit song "Chapel of Love.” The girls were discovered at a talent contest, where they called themselves Little Miss and the Muffets.

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"West Side Story” (1961) is about two rival gangs that vie for control of the streets of New York. Can you name the gangs? See answer at end.

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In 1904 Emil J. Brach (1859-1947) opened a candy store in Chicago called Brach’s Palace of Sweets. His best selling candy was caramel, which cost 20 cents per pound. Brach’s Confections is now a large corporation, but caramel is still their best selling product.

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The highest mountain in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro. The mountain, an extinct volcano, is in Tanzania.

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Michael Lotito of France is able to eat and digest metal. Since 1966 he has eaten seven television sets, six chandeliers and a supermarket cart. His nickname is Mr. Eat-It-All.

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Italian Vincenzo Peruggia (1881-1947) stole the original Mona Lisa painting from the Louvre museum in Paris in 1911. The painting was missing for two years, until Peruggia was caught trying to sell it. He was sentenced to jail for one year and 15 days.

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Family and job are the two most often cited sources of stress, in that order.

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It takes 2.5 pounds of grapes to produce one bottle of wine.

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The admission fee at a student dance at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1932 was based on the weight of the date that a man brought; a penny per pound. The least expensive date cost 90 cents (she weighed 90 pounds), while the highest admission paid was $1.88.

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In a scene from "Rocky III” (1982) Rocky fights a wrestler named Thunderlips in a charity boxing/wrestling match. Thunderlips was played by real life wrestler Hulk Hogan (born 1953). The movie launched Hogan’s pro-wrestling career.

Answer: The gangs are the Sharks and the Jets. The 1961 movie, based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name, starred Natalie Wood (1938-1981) and Richard Beymer (born 1938) as the main characters Maria and Tony.

Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend and Wednesday editions of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments? E-mail knowitall@smdailyjournal.com or fax 344-5290 x114.