Did Pilgrims Eat Turkey? N.Y. Phone Service Has Answer

We are all nagged from time to time by questions of only transitory importance whose answers we don’t know where to look for.

For example, “Have any world leaders ever died while having sex?”

Believe it or not that was one of the 6.2 million questions asked of the New York Public Library’s Telephone Reference Service in its two decades of existence. The service fields a question every 10 seconds, eight hours a day, six days a week.

Now 1,000 of the most provocative questions (and answers) can be found in “The Book of Answers” (Prentice Hall), by Barbara Berliner, head of the service, with Melinda Corey and George Ochoa.

Here are a few chosen at random from 27 categories:

Did the Pilgrims eat turkey on the first Thanksgiving? No. They ate venison, duck, goose, seafood and eels, but no turkey.

What do Americans fear the most? A poll of 3,000 of us showed that the fear of speaking in front of a group leads all others. Next are heights, insects and bugs, financialproblems and deep water. What? No ghosts, no dark, no bogymen, no earthquakes? And why don’t we fear war?

How many dogs and cats are there in the United States? 49.4 million dogs, 57.8 million cats. I wonder if they counted our dog and our five cats. Do wild cats count?

What is the most unlikely mating between dogs on record? A male dachshund is said to have “crept up” on a sleeping female Great Dane, thus begetting 13 Great Dachshunds with short legs, large heads and raised ears. Love is a wondrous thing.

How does one go about joining the French Foreign Legion? What every young man should know. Write to Legion Etrangere Quartier Vienot, 13400 Aubagne, France.

What are the seven deadly sins? Anger, covetousness, envy, gluttony, lust, pride and sloth. What are the seven virtues: faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.

Who invented the term black hole and what is it? American physicist John Archibald Wheeler gave the name to a collapsed star whose gravitational field is so intense that not even light can escape it.

What are close encounters of the first and second kind? No. 1 is the sighting of a UFO. No. 2 is the finding of physical evidence of a UFO. No. 3 is actual physical contact with a UFO. (I doubt that any has ever occurred.)

Where and when was the first baseball game. On June 19, 1846, the New York Club beat the Knickerbockers, 23-1, at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, N.J. Evidently the Knicks didn’t have major league pitching.

What sports personality said, “The opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings?” Dick Motta, then coach of the Washington Bullets, popularized the saying during the 1978 NBA playoffs. But it was Dan Cook, TV announcer and sportswriter for the San Antonio Express-News, who invented it.

Who said, “We are all worms, but I do believe that I am a glowworm”? Winston Churchill. I’m glad to add it to my collection of Churchilliana.

In the category World Culture we get the answers to some really serious questions:

Why do men button from the right, women from the left? Men usually dressed themselves; since most men are right-handed, it was easier to button from the right. Women (of class) were buttoned by maids; maids, also being mostly right-handed, like to button from their right (the lady’s left).

Why do (baby) boys wear blue, girls pink? From ancient times blue (the color of the sky) was considered magic against evil spirits. Boys, being precious, were thus protected from harm. Girls didn’t matter, so they were dressed in any color. Much later pink became standard. No wonder the feminists are against this tradition.

What country has the most physicians? The Soviet Union has more physicians than any other country. The United States has more psychiatrists, psychologists and dentists. But don’t trouble your mind about it.

When was the charge of the Light Brigade? The book says James Thomas Brudenell, Seventh Earl of Cardigan, led the charge at Balaklava in 1854. Don’t put us on. Errol Flynn led the charge.

What countries today have nuclear weapons? Eight are known to have or are suspected of having them: China, France, India, Israel, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. And Iraq will soon join the club.

The last chapter bursts some popular delusions:

Are Panama hats made in Panama? No. Ecuador.

What were Nathan Hale’s last words? Sorry, they were not “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” According to a witness, they were “It is the duty of every good officer to obey any orders given to him by his commander in chief.” In that case, I think we’d better leave the legend alone.

Are you ready for the world leaders who died while having sex?

They were Attila the Hun (d. 453), French president Felix Faure (d. 1899) and Pope Leo VIII (d. 965).

May they rest in peace.