Offbeat knowledge for the moment

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The first person killed in an airplane accident was Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge. On September 17, 1908, Selfridge was a passenger with Orville Wright in a demonstration flight at Fort Myer, Virginia, when the crash occurred. Wright survived. The first pilot of a powered airplane to be killed was Eugene Lefebvre, in France on September 7, 1909.

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Ringo Starr started out as Richard Starkey. While Starkey was in the band Skiff le, their front man Rory Storm dubbed him Rings because he wore so many rings. Storm eventually changed the nickname to Ringo to give it a cowboy flavor.

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Famous American showman P T. Barnum had his obituary published before his death.

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During World War II, before James Arness portrayed U.S. mar-shall Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke, he was the first American soldier to jump off his boat at the Anzio beachhead. He was ordered to do so by his commanding officer because, standing at 6’8", Arness was the tallest man in his company, and the water’s depth needed to be tested as a safety precaution.

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The shallow champagne glass originated with Marie Antoinette, from wax molds made of her breasts.

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During the War of Independence, more inhabitants of the American colonies fought for the British than for the Continental Army.

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In 1970, MCI stood for Microwave Communications, Inc. No longer used as an acronym, it now stands alone.

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Think that being called a Neanderthal is an insult? Neanderthal man, the first human being in the true sense, had a brain capacity 100 cubic centimeters larger than modern man’s (or woman’s).

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The expression "it’s so cold out there it could freeze the balls off a brass monkey" derived from the Civil War. To stack up cannonballs, they were placed into a pyramid formation known as a brass monkey. But when the weather got frigid outside, they would fracture and split off ... thus the popular aphorism.

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American consumers were asked to vote for their favorite Wheaties champion of all time. Wheaties celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1999 by rereleasing the original cereal packages featuring the champions selected; the top ten vote recipients were Michael Jordan, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Mary Lou Retton, Tiger Woods, Cal Ripken, Jr., Walter Payton, John Elway, Jackie Robinson, and the 1980 U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team.