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Ask Mr. Know-It-All By Gary Lee Clothier
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Q: Is Mark Walberg of "Antiques Roadshow" related to actors Donnie and Mark of the same last name? -- W.F., Azusa, Calif.
A: Mark L. Walberg of "Antiques Roadshow" fame is not related to brothers Donnie and Mark, whose last name is Wahlberg (with an "h"). Donnie, who is on the TV series "Blue Bloods," is the older brother to Mark, whose film "The Fighter" was released last year. Donnie was born in 1969, while Mark was born in 1971. Mark L. Walberg was born in 1962.
Q: Although it has been many years since I visited Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia, I still consider it one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I have long wondered: Who is Peggy? -- K.J., West Reading, Pa.
A: I couldn't agree with you more about the beauty of Peggy's Cove. In his book "This Is Peggy's Cove," Bill deGarthe suggests the most plausible explanation is that the name for Peggy's Cove, located at the entrance to St. Margaret's Bay, was shortened from Margaret's Cove. OK, you say, but who was Margaret? The bay was named after French explorer Samuel de Champlain's mother, Marguerite. His map of 1612 shows the bay as St. Marguerite Baie.
Q: I'd like to know who designed the first Enigma machine used by all branches of the German military. -- C.M., Santa Cruz, Calif.
A: It was about 1918 when Arthur Scherbius developed his idea for the "rotating rotors" in a cipher machine that could send and receive encoded "secret" messages. He took his invention to the German military, but it wasn't interested. A German company bought the patents and began manufacturing the machine, named Enigma, in the early 1920s for commercial use. The German navy started buying Enigma machines in 1925, followed soon after by the German army and air force. They all modified the machine to satisfy their needs. The German military used them during World War II.
Q: I am sad that Borders is closing its bookstores. How did the company get its name? When and where was the first store? -- J.M., Orlando, Fla.
A: In 1971, Tom and Louis Borders opened the first Borders Book Shop in Ann Arbor, Mich. Nine years before that, in Pittsburgh, Pa., Lawrence Hoyt opened the first in his chain of Walden bookstores, named after Henry David Thoreau's literary classic, "Walden." Kmart Corp. purchased Waldenbooks in 1984 and acquired Borders in 1992, forming the Borders-Walden Group, later renamed Borders Group. In early 2011, Borders announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Q: Which NFL quarterback attempted the most passes in a single game? How about the most pass completions? -- K.L., San Antonio, Texas
A: On Nov. 13, 1994, Drew Bledsoe attempted 70 passes (a record) and completed 45 of those passes (another record) in a game against the Minnesota Vikings. He rallied his New England Patriots from a 20-0 deficit to a 26-20 overtime victory.
Q: Maybe you can answer a question I have had for many years. You answered a question about Norma Larsen, the "Champagne Lady" on "The Lawrence Welk Show." Who was the popular singer before her who had that title, and why was she replaced?
A: The original "Champagne Lady" was Alice Lon, who assumed the title in 1955 during the first season of the TV series. Welk fired her in 1959 for displaying too much knee to the television audience. The viewers were livid and loudly protested, demanding her return. Welk tried but was unable to convince Lon to return to his show; Norma Larsen Zimmer later became the "Champagne Lady."
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© 2011, Gary Clothier DISTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSAL UCLICK
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Arnold Ahlert | ||||||||||||
