THE DULLES VERSION OF THE BATPHONE

John Foster Dulles, who was the Secretary of State under President Eisenhower, liked to unwind on Duck Island, which was a remote spot on Lake Ontario without landlines or even electricity. And, of course, cell phones were a thing of the future. His opportunities for telecommuting were thus quite limited. Therefore, as a precaution, he had made arrangements for his office to call CBS if he was needed in the event of an international crisis. If Dulles heard on his transistor radio the phrase on World News Roundup "[T]his story is of special interest to Secretary of State Dulles...", he knew that he had to take a boat or plane back to the mainland immediately so that he could get to a telephone.

PRURIENCE AND MINIATURE GOLF

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Minature golf was invented in 1867 at the prestigious Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in Scotland. The club members wanted to provide a sport for their wives and daughters but could obviously not have the females play regular golf.  After all, it would be intolerable to permit women to raise their clubs past their shoulders on the backswing, as it could then cause their breasts to bounce around on the downstroke. The Club thus provided a two-acre course called the Ladies Putting Green which could be played in full modesty with just a putter.

Times have changed since then, as evidenced by this 2011 Kia commercial featuring Michelle Wie.

THE BARLEY MEN

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Fans of classic loincloth movies such as Spartacus, Demetrius and the Gladiators, and the Terror of Rome versus the Son of Hercules are led to believe that gladiators were lean, mean, fighting machines. These combatants are usually portrayed  with wiry, sinewy bodies with sculpted six-pack abs and arm muscles like steel cables covered with bulging veins.

There is little doubt that most gladiators were skilled and savage fighters and not someone you would want to offend. They were without question well-muscled. However, for the most part, these muscles were concealed under a thick layer of fat. Gladiators were generally stout individuals and looked more like John Belushi than a young Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The cause of this phenomena is simple. The warriors were fed primarily beans and cheap grains. In fact, they were nicknamed "barley men" as a result of their diet. The high amount of carbohydrates really bulked them up. In order to obtain the necessarily calcium and other minerals required for their heavy physical regime, they consumed a primitive sports drink comprised of plant ashes dissolved in vinegar. They rarely ate meat except on the night before a match.

The diet was intentionally chosen on its merits and not just for the fact that it was inexpensive. The adipose actually served as protection so that an injury would be inflicted on the padding of fat instead of on vital organs. In addition, such superficial wounds bled dramatically and added greatly to the theater of the occasion.

For further information on feeding barley men, please click on this article on the Archaeology website.