The Facts Everyone Should Know Test

[marlon]

The president question sort of surprised me. The picture is obviously George Washington, but I thought that it was generally accepted that he was not the first president.

WHAT ?

George Washington is NOT the first US president ? I have always learned that he was.

marlon

 

[turbo]

who is mickey mantle ?
who played in "it's a wonderful life"

who wrote moby dick

i did not know those

marlon

Mickey Mantle was a famous baseball player (NY Yankees) well-known for his home-runs.

That movie starred Jimmy Stewart.

Moby Dick was written by Herman Melville. The book was based on the sinking of the whaling ship Essex. The real story was far more gruesome than the novel, involving starvation and cannibalism at sea. Google on "Owen Coffin" if you're interested. BTW, Mountain's song "Nantucket Sleighride" was dedicated to the memory of Owen Coffin.

 

[mathwonk]

jimmy stewaRT, DONNA REED, WARD BOND, JEEZ,...

HERMANN MELVILLE, ARE YOU KIDDING? SURELY NO ONE IS UNAWARE OF THAT! what about the author of pitcairns island, or mysteries of paris?

on the other hand I've never heard of "youtube".

 

[Evo]

HERMANN MELVILLE, ARE YOU KIDDING? SURELY NO ONE IS UNAWARE OF THAT!

Yeah, I thought that Moby Dick was a classic known worldwide. Like who doesn't know who wrote Les Miserables?

 

[arildno]

Yeah, I thought that Moby Dick was a classic known worldwide. Like who doesn't know who wrote Les Miserables?

Yes, it belongs to the class of "books that I ought to read, but have never found the time to do so".
That is, the same class of books that most people put Remembrance of Things Past, for example.

 

[marlon]

Yeah, I thought that Moby Dick was a classic known worldwide. Like who doesn't know who wrote Les Miserables?

Moby Dick ? I first thought that was a detective but that's Dick Tracey no ? Ofcourse Les Misérables is very well known here.

greets
koopatrizzle

 

[Evo]

I've actually never read Moby Dick, but read enough about it that I know the story and the author. My mother gave me her copy of Les Miserables in French when I was 8, I muddled through part of it then decided to wait for the movie. I have not seen the Broadway play either.

 

[marlon]

My mother gave me her copy of Les Miserables in French when I was 8,

WOW !

BRAVO...

You understood that kind of French at the age of 8 ?

marlon

 

[Evo]

WOW !

BRAVO...

You understood that kind of French at the age of 8 ?

marlon

No, of course not. I could understand barely enough to get the gist. But I'm stubborn and really tried reading it, I just couldn't do it though.

Babar was more my speed.

 

[neutrino]

Most people in Europe will recognize George Washington. The other guy,John Adams that is, i never heard of.

marlon

Here's some trivia regarding Adams: He was the first (P)resident of the White House.

Edit: I just saw this -

During Adams' second day in the house he wrote a letter to his wife Abigail, containing a prayer for the house. Adams wrote:

I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this House, and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.

Looks like his prayers have gone unanswered.

 

[marlon]

Babar was more my speed.

HA Babar, is that an elephant who was king ?
If so, i know that tv series

marlon

 

[Evo]

HA Babar, is that an elephant who was king ?
If so, i know that tv series

marlon

Oy, there was no tv show when I was little. Yes, he became king and married his cousin Celeste. http://www.babar.com/

 

[marlon]

Oy, there was no tv show when I was little. Yes, he became king and married his cousin Celeste. http://www.babar.com/

yep i know that guy.

When i was about 10 (16 years ago :shy: ) it was a very popular TV series.

marlon

 

[mathwonk]

i was foirtunate and grew up in the golden age of comic books. there was a sewries called classics comics, later classic illkustrated that published wonderful comic book versions of many great classics like moby dick and les miserables, count of monte cristo, etc, arabian nights...much later i actually read the "originals", in translation, and loved them even more. well i never made it thorugh all 13 volumes or so of richard burtons arabian nights, and besides a lot of it is offensive, but i read a lot.it is amazing how skillfully the classic comic of say monte cristo, covered in 64 pages the main events of almost the whole 1400 page book.

the moby dick comic was very entertaining too, and well and amusingly illustrated, whereas the book itself is tedious for many persons, although i happen to like reading the work of a brilliant writer and craftsman with words.

later the pedants pointed out that the comic books changed the original to make it more fun in many cases, and started a campaign to make the comics more faithful, ( probably so their moron children could use them as cliffs notes) but less violent.

of course they then became boring and justifiably went out of existence.

check out this original cover for jekyl and hyde.

http://www.classicscentral.com/cc13.htm

now that was a real comic book.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

it is amazing how skillfully the classic comic of say monte cristo, covered in 64 pages the main events of almost the whole 1400 page book.

I read that comic as a child and then read the book as an adult. Although there was a 35 year gap between the two readings, I could still see the images from the illustrated version when I read the book. Well, it has been called a children's book.