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Ask Mr. Know-It-All By Gary Lee Clothier
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Q: I keep hearing the U.S. Mint wants to discontinue making the penny. Why? Doesn't it realize it will cost consumers a ton of money with retailers rounding up the price of each item on the shelf? What is its reason for wanting to discontinue the coin? -- C.L.N., Plymouth, Mich.
A: First, this is not a Mint decision. The U.S. Mint executes policy, it does not create it. It is the U.S. Congress that establishes policy. According to the Numismatic News, it costs 2.41 cents to make a penny.
As for your concern about skyrocketing prices, it doesn't have to be that way. Retailers could continue to price goods using the current system. When you check out, the total bill would then be rounded off if paying with cash. If paying with plastic, the correct amount could be processed. A study by Wake Forest University economics professor Robert Whaples shows that rounding would have virtually no effect on the cost of goods.
Q: Is it true that Andrea Bocelli wanted to study law before becoming one of the world's greatest opera singers? How long has he been blind? -- W.M., Houston
A: Bocelli was born in September 1958 near Pisa, Italy. He was born with poor eyesight, which he lost completely at age 12 after a soccer accident. He graduated from the University of Pisa with a law degree, which he used for one year as a court-appointed lawyer before beginning his extraordinary career in opera.
DID YOU KNOW? Six years before the project was actually filmed, Julia Roberts was cast in the role of Viola in "Shakespeare in Love," but the project was dropped. Gwyneth Paltrow won an Oscar for her portrayal of Viola in 1998.
Q: I've been a fan of the TV series "Leave It to Beaver" since it first aired. I've read about many of the cast members on the show, but there are two who I have been unable to find any information about. Both left the show before it ended its run. One is the young lady who played Judy Hensler. The other is the young man who often was responsible for Beaver getting into trouble, Larry Mondello. -- L.D.C.
A: Jeri Weil played the part of Judy Hensler, Beaver Cleaver's classmate; she appeared in 31 of the show's 235 episodes. By the time "Leave It to Beaver" premiered, Weil, born in 1948, had appeared in at least six movies, though they were all uncredited roles, and one TV series. The few short biographies I found on her listed her as a former actress. The last I heard, she was a Realtor and writer in Los Angeles.
Larry Mondello was played by Robert "Rusty" Stevens, who was born in 1948. He appeared in 68 episodes. He, too, was a classmate of Beaver, but the two were also good friends. Larry was not the brightest kid in school. He had a knack for leading Beaver astray and getting him into trouble.
Stevens left the show in 1960 because his parents moved to Philadelphia. He appeared in several TV series before "Leave It to Beaver" and continued appearing on TV several years after leaving the show. As of early 2000, Stevens was an insurance salesman in New Jersey.
"Leave It to Beaver" aired from October 1957 to June 1963.
Q: In the movie "War Horse," where did they find Joey, and how many horses were used to play Joey? Where was the movie filmed? -- S.T., East Peoria, Ill.
A: Fourteen horses were used as the main horse character, Joey. Eight of the horses portrayed Joey as an adult, four as a colt and two as foals. The chief horse trainer was Los Angeles-based Bobby Lovgren, who has trained horses for "Seabiscuit," "Cowboys and Aliens" and "The Legend of Zorro." The movie was filmed in various English locales, including south Devon.
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© 2011, Gary Clothier DISTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSAL UCLICK
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Arnold Ahlert | ||||||||||||
