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Imaginary creature wanders the mountainsideCLOTHIERQ: Have you ever heard of an imaginary animal that has longer legs on oneside of its body so it can easily walk onsteep slopes? -K.K.J., Malvern, Ark.A: Insome areas of North America, the legendary creature is known as a side-hill gouger. In Vermont, you would be talking about the wampahoofus. The first mention of these creatures in America dates to the mid-1800s. In parts of Europe, there are legends of the gyascutus and the dahu. The creature is variously known as a wowser, gudaphro, hunkus, prock and gwinter.Q: Is there a time frame for the Old West? - C.L., Bennington, Vt.A: No. The time period of the Old West is vague, though it’s generally thought to be the latter part of the 1800s, possibly after the Civil War to the tum of the century.Q: When a person is drugged by putting something in his drink, why is it called a “Mickey Finn”? -MICHAEL JORDANJ.W.J., Minersville, Pa.A: No one knows for sure, but one popular explanation involves a former bartender. The term “Mickey Finn” originated at a Chicago bar called the Lone Star Saloon and Palm Garden Restaurant, where a man named Mickey Finn worked. He had a practice of drugging his patrons with chloral hydrate and robbing them. Before becoming a manager of the Lone Star Saloon, Finn was a known pickpocket who usually victimized drunks coming out of bars and saloons. The Lone Star Saloon and Palm Garden Restaurant was open from 1896 to1903.Q: Who was the first athlete to appear on a boxof Wheaties? - K.R., lndianola, IowaA: New York Yankees slugger Lou Gehrig wasTONY BENNETTthe first athlete on a Wheaties box, appearingin 1934.The first image on thebox was that of fictional character Jack Armstrong, “All-American Boy,” who appeared earlier in 1934. Later that year, the first female depicted was aviator Elinor Smith.For the following 24 years, the pictures appeared on the side of the box. It wasn’t until 1958 that pictures were featured on the front -Olympic pole vaulter Rob Richards hadthat honor.By the way, basketballsuperstar Michael Jordan has been on the Wheaties box a record 18 times; golfer Tiger Woods has appeared 14 times.Q: Has any American president ever been a prisoner of war? - R.B., Spring Hill, Fla.A: Yes. Andrew Jackson.the seventh president ofthe United States, was a prisoner of war. Jackson was 13 when he joined the South Carolina militia to serve as a courier in the Revolutionary War. In 1779, the British captured him. When Jackson refused to clean the boots of a British officer, the officer slashed at him with a sword, leaving scars on his left hand and head, aswell as an intense hatred0for the British. Andrew“Old Hickory” Jacksonwas bom in 1767 and diedat the Hermitage inNashville, Tenn., in 1845.Q; Is singer TonyBennett married? Does hehave any children? - H.B.,Alturas, Ga.A: Anthony DominickBenedetto was bom Aug.3, 1926, in Astoria, N.Y.In 1952, Bennett married Patricia Beech. Several thousand women dressed in black and gathered outside St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in mock mourning of his marriage. The couple had two sons, D'Andrea(Danny) and Daegal. They separated in 1965 and divorced in 1971. Bennett married Sandra Grant in 1971. They had two daughters, Joanna andAntonia. They separated in 1979 and divorced in 2007. In 2007, Bennettmarried Susan Crow.(Send your questions toMrKnow-It-AllatAskMrKIAfajgmail.com orc/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.)
Newspaper Details
Baytown Sun
Baytown, Texas, US
Sun, Dec 09, 2012
Page 15
Full Page
Clipped by
Kevin S.
CA 27 Jan 2022
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