Fascinating Facts and Trivia

Not sure if this has been done before but here goes(I am sure a mod will move it if necessary) Anyway, let's go. Have you got a fascinating fact that you'd like to share here, perhaps you know something totally amazing that no-one else would know. Tell us here.

Did you know that the cartoon series Hanna-Barbara came up with Wacky Races(which I am sure we all know) was inspired by the comedy film 'The Great Race' which featured Jack Lemmon, Peter Falk and Tony Curtis to name three. Jack Lemmon played a character called Professor Fate(complete with villainous twirling moustache) and Falk was Max his assistant. They would be transformed into the villainous Dick Darstardly and his sidekick dog Muttley and Tony Curtis's clean-cut hero character would eventually become Peter Perfect. In the film Fate challenges various drivers to a race and then tries to cheat at every turn. It features probably the funniest custard pie fight ever seen with Jack Lemmon playing Fate and a rather stupid prince. If you've never seen it seek it out.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Cult Children's Television.

Here are some pretty good facts
1.Each year, the environment covers more than 40% of the Earth.
2.Every animal on Earth lays eggs.
3.The Earth neither hates nor loves, but sits, waiting patiently, for people to do famous stuff

(08-10-2018 20:06 )GreenMachine Wrote:  Did you know that the cartoon series Hanna-Barbara came up with Wacky Races(which I am sure we all know) was inspired by the comedy film 'The Great Race' which featured Jack Lemmon, Peter Falk and Tony Curtis to name three.

And Natalie Wood played the part of Maggie Dubios, who became the inspiration for Penelope Pitstop

Yeah that's right I couldn't remember if it was Natalie Wood or someone else. Incidentally Natalie Wood's sister Lana was the girl that was thrown out of a hotel window, landing in a pool in the James Bond film 'Diamonds Are Forever'-she plays Plenty O'Toole("after your father no doubt") who befriends Sean Connery as James Bond.

And speaking of James Bond, did you know the theme tune, the famous one played by Vic Flick on guitar, was actually taken from a play called The House of Mr Biswas written by Don Black. The piece is in fact credited to Monty Norman.

Speaking about James Bond. Fleming found the name from a book on ornitholigy which he had written by fellow birdwatch James Bond.

And Fleming wrote his books on his estate in Jamaica which was called Goldeneye.

And by a staggering coincidence a Goldeneye is a breed of duck.

As the new Johnny English film is out with Rowan Atkinson, the genesis of that character came from a series of Barclaycard television commercials in the early 90's when he played a sort of secret agent called Bernard Latham.

Not sure if this is fascinating but speaking of James Bond (initial being JB obviously) and the fact that they're all goverment agent related. You have Jack Baur and also Jason Bourne all similar types of characters ish. But all have initial JB.

The statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus used to have an arrow but it kept being nicked so they left it out.

The world's smallest police station is inside the arch at Hyde Park Corner-I am not sure if it is still used but there is also a museum inside(I've seen it and been up the top of it when there is an Open London weekend(places not usually open to the public are opened up like The Foreign and Commonwealth Office which I've also been to)

British Children's television producer Cynthia Felgate was more prolific than US tv producer Aaron Spelling.

What came first the camera or the film (developing plates etc)?

The camera obscura came first as it goes back in time. The pinhole effect goes back even further.

Early developing happened when a tar convered plate was put in an obscura. Where the light was strong the tar soidified and the soft tar was later washed away.

It's contentious who produced the first photograph in 1835.

This is what you call a REAL camera.... Courtesy of mad cap Aussie George R Lawrence, who was asked to shoot some important train back in the day....
   

http://robroy.dyndns.info/lawrence/mammoth.html