Mental Floss: Instant Knowledge (12 page)

(fun for the feeble-minded)

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties, amusement park lines, definitively convincing any kid that things were a lot more boring before their time

KEYWORDS:
Who knows how the first escalator came about?

THE FACT:
The original escalator wasn’t so much a moving staircase as a really big ramp.

In 1891, Jesse Reno patented the first escalator, paving the way for today’s world—one in which we choose not to use staircases, just StairMasters! But Reno’s initial invention was more of an inclined ramp than the escalator we know today, where passengers hooked into cleats on the belt and scooted up at a 25-degree angle. Fairly soon after, he built a spiral escalator—the mere thought of which nauseates us—in London, but it was never used by the public. Reno’s first escalator, though, was
widely
used, albeit not practically. In a testament to how utterly unamusing amusement parks were in the 1890s, 75,000 people rode Reno’s “inclined elevator” during a two-week exhibition at Coney Island in 1896. Let’s be clear: The escalator was not the means by which one traveled to a ride. It was the ride itself.

USEFUL FOR:
making snide comments whenever someone forces you to watch
Evita

KEYWORDS:
Madonna, dictators’ wives, or “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina”

THE FACT:
While Ms. Perón definitely has a bit of a sob story and a rags-to-riches tale, you really shouldn’t feel obligated to cry for her.

“Saint Evita” was the daughter of an adulterous relationship between two villagers in an impoverished part of Argentina. She made a name for herself as an actress before marrying Juan Perón in 1944, but, being illegitimate (and a peasant), she was never really accepted in the social circles in which he routinely traveled. As a rising military officer, Perón quickly found himself dictator of Argentina, and “Evita” was by his side. In fact, she was more than just there to wave at crowds and manage the mansion. Evita actually ran several government ministries and almost became vice president in 1951 (the military bullied Perón into making her drop out of the campaign). And though she’s best known in the United States from the musical and movie that bear her name, the flick plays up the glamour and romance of her career while largely ignoring her corruption, oppression of political rivals, cozying up to Nazi war criminals, and other questionable doings.

(and a lopping mistake)

USEFUL FOR:
impressing history buffs, making small talk on death row

KEYWORDS:
guillotine, execution, or flat-out wrong

THE FACT:
Despite what you may think, Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin did
not
invent the guillotine, though the contraption is named for him.

The doctor’s name was Guillotin, with no final
e,
and he was deputy to the French States-General in 1789. A supporter of capital punishment, he thought it should be done uniformly, with merciful efficiency, and proposed a head-chopping device. Of course, such machines had been around for centuries. After the States-General became the revolutionary General Assembly, French
Procureur General Syndic
Pierre-Louis Roederer turned not to Guillotin, but another doctor, Antoine Louis, for a design. And, in fact, it was a German engineer who built the first working model. While it’s not clear how the machine came to be named for Guillotin, we do know why it’s spelled that way. The final
e
was added to make it easier to rhyme with in revolutionary ballads.

USEFUL FOR:
any situation where you feel comfortable enough, really

KEYWORDS:
bathroom, prunes, or great Hungarians

THE FACT:
While Max Kiss told everyone that the name he picked for the medication he invented, Ex-Lax, stood for “excellent laxative,” the word originally came from a slang term he found in a Hungarian newspaper referring to parliamentary deadlock.

Definitely strange but true. As for the product itself, in 1905, the Hungarian immigrant and pharmacist, Kiss, went on vacation in the old country, and while en route aboard ship, a physician told him about a new tasteless powder laxative produced by Bayer. It was one small step for the drug company, but one giant leap for humanity, which had been previously plagued by foul-tasting, not-altogether-gentle laxatives such as castor oil and tea made from moss. Kiss set off on a series of flavor experiments that eventually led to the chocolate-flavored medication still sold today. Oddly enough, though, Ex-Lax did try to expand its taste roster, but with dubious results. Early in the company’s history, Kiss tried to turn the American public on to a
fig-flavored
drink version, but it went over like a lead balloon.

(a.k.a. A Groupie Kind of Love)

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties, making friends at obedience school, and lamenting with all the other rock stars how hard having an enormous fan base is

KEYWORDS:
dog, Beatlemania, Liszt, or haircuts

THE FACT:
Believe it or not, the Beatles weren’t the first stars to have such an insane following. In fact, Franz Liszt was a rock star before rock was invented. And he even had to buy a dog to cope with the fame (but not for the reasons you’d think).

There’s a reason musicians only give out autographs these days. The Hungarian Franz Liszt (1811–1886), a virtuoso in the tradition of Paganini, played the piano and created a sensation throughout Europe. Everywhere he toured, women swooned—and he sometimes swooned himself. Liszt was one of the first rock stars, and the word
Lisztomania
was actually coined during his lifetime. In fact, he used to receive so many requests for a lock of his hair that he finally bought a dog, snipping off patches of fur to send to his admirers. An unexpected use for your best friend.