Know it all

The largest volcano in our solar system is on the planet Mars. Olympus Mons is 373 miles wide and 13 miles high. It is three times as tall as Mt. Everest.

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Mt. Wai-’ale-’ale in Kauai, Hawaii, is the wettest place in the world. The ancient volcanic crater sits 5,148 feet over sea level and has more than 350 days of rain each year.

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The highest grossing movie of the year 1952 was “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) starring Charlton Heston (1923-2008). The fifth highest grossing movie of 1952 was “Singin’ in the Rain,” starring Gene Kelly (192-1996) and Debbie Reynolds (born 1932). “Singin’ in the Rain” cost $2.5 million to produce, running more than $600,000 over budget.

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Gene Kelly was enlisted in the Navy during World War II. His service was delayed because he was considered more useful in Hollywood as an actor, to distract the population with his movies. Kelly did go through boot camp and did his duty for the war by making training films.

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In the movie “At War With the Army” (1950), Jerry Lewis (born 1926) sang the song “The Navy Gets the Gravy but the Army Gets the Beans.” Lewis and Dean Martin (1917-1995) starred in the musical comedy about soldiers in an army training camp. Lewis is the bumbling private, Martin is a confident ladies man.

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The college kids in the movie “The Nutty Professor” hang out at a local watering hole called the Purple Pit.

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Many television shows and sitcoms establish a favorite meeting spot for their characters. In the television series “Beverly Hills 90210” (1990-2000) the high school kids hung out at a restaurant called the Peach Pit. The characters of “Seinfeld” (1989-1998) often ate at a diner called Monk’s Café. A coffee shop called Café Nervosa was Frasier’s favorite place to meet his brother in “Frasier” (1993-2004). The friends on “Friends” (1994-2004) always went to a coffee shop called Central Perk.

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The iconic television series “Happy Days” was set in the 1950s and revolved around a small-town family, the Cunninghams. Ron Howard (born 1954) starred as teenager Richie Cunningham.

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The father was named Howard, the mother was Marian and the sister was Joanie. Can you name their cool, leather-jacket wearing friend? Can you name the restaurant that was the kid’s hangout? Remember the theme song? See answers at end.

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Actor Henry Winkler (born 1945) has written fictional books for children that deal with the topic of dyslexia. Winkler suffered from dyslexia as a child.

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Dyslexia is a general term for learning difficulties in reading or interpreting words, letters and symbols. The word is derived from the Greek word “dys,” meaning poor or inadequate, and “lexis,” meaning word or language.

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Some celebrities that were dyslexic as children were Tom Cruise (born 1962), Danny Glover (born 1947), Jay Leno (born 1950) and Cher (born 1946).

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Answer: The cool friend was Fonzie, played by Henry Winkler. Fonzie’s full name was Arthur Fonzerelli. The name of the restaurant was Arnold’s. The theme song was “Rock Around the Clock” (1955) recorded by Bill Haley (1925-1981).

Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend and Wednesday editions of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments? Email knowitall(at)smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 ext. 114.