Legacy

LSU's Student Media Magazine


Advertisement

Random Facts

Sep 1st, 2008 | By Steven Weber | Category: Random Facts

randomfactsmike

  • In the 1950s, Mike the Tiger was kidnapped by Tulane fans before a game. He was found abandoned in New Orleans — he and his cage both spray-painted Tulane green.
  • In 1981, pranksters broke open Mike’s cage and released the tiger. He ended up in the Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
  • That same day, track trial records were broken in every running Division.
  • The founder of eBay is a Princeton University alumna who also created pBay, which is eBay with Princeton exclusivity.
  • Scientists at Rutgers University almost discovered something way more significant than eBay; in December 2004, they revealed they were close to finding the cure for HIV by inhibiting reverse transcriptase.
  • Though the cure is a work in progress, what the university did accomplish was the creation of Cheez Whiz.
  • Bengal Punch was a sports drink created in 1958 for the LSU football team. It is believed to be the first sports drink ever created, pre-dating Gatorade by seven years.
  • The simple introduction of electrolytes sealed the throne for Gatorade as an official sports drink.
  • Bengal Punch’s original recipe of sugar and water can be found in one of the most unsung heroes of thirst quenchers: Jungle Juice.
  • “Spaghetti Westerns” were films made in the mid-60s usually starring mediocre American actors, so named because most were produced by Italian studios.
  • Even before Spaghetti Westerns, German Westerns, which were generally called “Sauerkraut Westerns,” were popular in Europe.
  • When Asians made Westerns they were never called “Rice Westerns.” We simply refer to them as cult classics.
  • Barry Manilow sang, but did not write, the 1976 charttopper “I Write the Songs.”
  • Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.
  • While casting the 1984 movie “The Terminator,” O.J. Simpson was considered to play the title role, but producers rejected him as they thought he wouldn’t be taken seriously as a terminator of any kind.

Leave Comment