Sunday, March 21, 2010

Trivial Pursuits

It is raining outside. I am at home, and my bed beckons to me. I heard its calls from the office where, in an effort to stop myself from falling asleep, I bombarded myself with useless information.

For example, the industry that advertises the most is the automotive. Breakfast cereals come in second.

Coming from that, perhaps a car and breakfast magazine would probably make a lot of money.

A Kennedy, after World War 2, decided to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan. However, the authorities did not want to act on his information, so he turned to the immensely popular Superman radio show.

After the Nazis, the Superman people were looking for a new villain, and the KKK fit the bill.

So after months of revealing information about the Klan on the SUperman radio show, the mystique and mystery surrounding the organisation faded. By 1948, people went to Klan rallies to mock them.

The game Trivial Pursuits sold over 20 million units in the space of a few years. This was both good and bad, as the original cost was US$75 per unit, and it was sold at US$15 to retailers, who sold it for US$30.

Play-Doh was once used as a wallpaper-cleaning tool.

The idea for ankle bracelets worn by prisoners - revealing their current location to law enforcement agencies - had its genesis in a Spider-Man comic book.

Before I realised it, I had already spent around two hours reading, as I wait for some things to be finished.