Tuesday Trivia

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Sorry I'm late with this. With my DSL outage from yesterday, followed by my energy outage, I just let it slip by me. Anyway, today is about PEOPLE.

YOUNG PEOPLE

In 2001, a Nepalese boy named Temba Tsheri became the youngest person to climb Mount Everest. While traveling with a French hiking group, the 16-year-old reached the summit of the mountain, which is approximately 29,035 feet high!

It took six weeks at sea, but Michael Perham, a 14-year-old from Hertfordshire, England, managed to sail solo across the 3,500-mile long Atlantic Ocean in his yacht, the Cheeky Monkey, in January 2007.

Child prodigy Ruth Elke Lawrence was only 11 years old when she passed the Oxford entrance exam in mathematics, and became the youngest person ever to attend the prestigious university. With her father there to accompany her to classes, Ruth graduated with a bachelor's degree in two years instead of the usual three. Now in her thirties, Lawrence teaches at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The Guinness Book of World Records credits Balamurali Ambati as the youngest person to become a doctor. Balamurali graduated from NYU at the age of 13 and from Mount Sinai's School of Medicine at age 17. He currently teaches and does research in ophthalmology, and has a long list of awards and honors under his belt.

Arfa Karim Randhawa of Pakistan caught the attention of Bill Gates after passing her Microsoft Certified Professional examinations at age ten. After she asked for a job, Gates suggested she should stay in school, but did offer her an intership instead.

In the small country of Bhutan in southern Asia, the youngest monarch in the world ruled the throne for over 30 years. Jigme Singye Wangchuck was only 17 when he became the "Druk Gyalpo," or "Dragon King," back in 1972, and he remained in power until 2006, when he handed over control to his oldest son.

WOMEN, MOTHERS/DAUGHTERS

Sarah Goddard was a printer in colonial America. Her daughter Katherine was the first to print the Declaration of Independence.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton's daughter, Harriet Stanton Blatch, organized the Equality League of Self-Supporting Women in 1907. Elizabeth was one of the leaders of the mid-nineteenth century women's movement.

Belle Starr was dubbed the “Bandit Queen” of the Wild West. She was an outlaw who was killed under mysterious circumstances. Her daughter, Pearl, also became an outlaw.

Betty Rozier and her daughter Lisa Vallino invented a device that made intravenous procedures safer and and more comfortable for patients.

Leola Hopkins was the first woman to enlist in the U.S. Navy after the outbreak of World War II. Her mother was a corporal in the female Marine reserve unit during World War I.

Hilma Wolitzer started writing fiction at the kitchen table with her kids and her dogs around her. One of those kids, her daughter Meg, published her first novel, Friends for Life, in 1994, at the same time her mother published her novel Tunnel of Love. They went on a seven-city promotional tour together.

JOBS THEY HAD BEFORE THEY WERE STARS

Mick Jagger: The Rolling Stones lead singer once worked as a porter at the Bexley Mental Hospital while he was a student at the London School of Economics. His salary? A whopping 4 pounds, 10 shillings per week (about $7.80 U.S.).

David Letterman: Before his stint as the late night talk show host, Letterman worked at Indianapolis television station WLWI (now called WTHR) as a local anchor and weatherman. He was eventually fired for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included erasing state borders from the weather map and predicting hail stones "the size of canned hams.

Clint Eastwood: This Hollywood icon once earned his pay digging swimming pools for the rich folks of Beverly Hills, while auditioning for parts at night. He also spent time as a lumberjack, steel mill worker, aircraft factory worker, and gas station attendant.

Whoopi Goldberg: Life was not always so glamorous for the Academy Award-winning Whoopi. Once upon a time while living in the Chelsea projects of New York City, she worked as a bricklayer, garbage collector, and even a funeral makeup artist.

Sean Connery: Known for playing James Bond seven times, Connery has made quite a name for himself in show business. However, before finding fame and fortune, Connery first worked as a milkman in his native Scotland. After a stint in the Royal Navy, he took on numerous jobs in the late 1940s and early 1950s, including lifeguard, ditch digger, and artist's model. In 1953, he even competed in the Mr. Universe contest, placing third in the tall man's division.

Madonna: The Material Girl once worked a number of low-paying jobs to make ends meet in her early years. She was let go from her job at a Dunkin' Donuts in Times Square when she squirted jelly filling all over customers! (Hey! I worked at DD, too. But I was boring.)

PEOPLE .... AND BOOKS

J. J. Audubon’s The Birds of America, published in 1840, is the most valuable book in the world. It sold for $8,802,500 in March 2000—the highest price ever paid for a book.

Charles Dickens called the sickly character in A Christmas Carol “Small Sam” and “Puny Pete” before settling on “Tiny Tim.”

The Bible is the best-selling nonfiction book of all time. Since 1815, more than 2.5 billion copies have been sold worldwide. It has been translated into more than 2,200 languages and dialects.

A.A. Milne, the author of the Winnie the Pooh series, used his son as inspiration for the character Christopher Robin. His son, also named Christopher Robin, grew up hating the stories because his schoolmates teased him about his imaginary friends.

More than 220 million copies of R.L Stine's Goosebumps books have been sold since 1992, when the first book, Welcome to the Dead House, was published.

Hillary Clinton’s memoir, Living History, sold more than 200,000 copies in its first day of publication, more than any other nonfiction title. It was published in June 2003.

PEOPLE IN LAS VEGAS

Bugsy Siegel named his Las Vegas casino "The Flamingo" for the long legs of his showgirl sweetheart, Virginia Hill.

In 1931, the Pair-O-Dice Club was the first casino to open on Highway 91, the future Las Vegas Strip.

In 1899 Charles Fey invented a slot machine named the Liberty Bell. The device became the model for all slots to follow.

The Imperial Palace on the Las Vegas strip is the nation's first off-airport airline baggage check-in service.

In March 1931, Governor Fred Balzar signed into law the bill legalizing gambling in the state.

The longest running show in Las Vegas is the Follies Bergere at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino, which opened in 1959.

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