What's in a name? Some famous people you think you know actually use their middle rather than there first names when they're before the camera. How come they do this? It's a mystery, but here's just a few examples: - Daniel Louis Armstrong (musician/singer) - Ruz Fidel Castro (Cuban dictator) - Edward Montgomery Clift (actor) - Alfred Alistair Cooke (actor) - Dorothy Faye Dunaway (actor) - William Clark Gable (actor) - Samuel Dashiell Hammet (author) - Norvell Oliver Hardy (comedian) - James Paul McCartney (songwriter/musician) - Terence Steve McQueen (actor) - Keith Ruport Murdoch (publisher) - Patrick Ryan O'Neal (actor) - Eldred Gregory Peck (actor) - Helen Beatrix Potter (artist/author) - Robert Oliver Reed (actor) - Ernestine Jane Russel (actor) - Edith Norma Shearer (actor) - Marie Dionne Warwick (singer) - Howard Andy Williams (singer) - Marie Debra Winger (actor) ------------------------------- What was your first job? If you think your first job was pretty mundane, take heart! Even the rich, famous, and powerful often had mundane beginnings. Following is a list of some pretty big names who had somewhat less illustrious beginnings. - Sylvester Stallone - lion cage cleaner - Warren Beatty - rat catcher - Errol Flynn - sheep castrator - Sean Connery - French polisher for coffin maker - Cyndi Lauper- dog-kennel cleaner - Mick Jagger - porter at a mental hospital - Bette Midler - pineapple-chunker - Rod Stewart - grave digger - Jeffrey Archer - Deckchair attendant - Bill Withers - aircraft toilet seat manufacturer - Russ Abbott - hearse driver - Michael Douglas - petrol-pump attendant - Jon Bon Jovi - Christmas decoration maker - Jack Nicholson - mailing boy - Ozzy Osbourne - slaughterhouse laborer - Rock Hudson - vacuum cleaner salesman - Sting - filing clerk with the Inland Revenue - Burt Lancaster - lingerie salesman - Edith Piaf - wreath maker - Joe Cocker - gas fitter --------------------------------- Trivia The citrus soda 7-UP was created in 1929; "7" was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces. "UP" indicated the direction of the bubbles. Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you're there. Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush. The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as substitute for blood plasma. American car horns beep in the tone of F. (I thought they wheezed.) No piece of paper can be folded _in half_ more than 7 times. (try it) Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes. 1 in every 4 Americans has appeared on television. You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television. Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty years of age or older. The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum. A Boeing 747's wingspan is longer than the Wright brother's first flight. American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating 1 olive from each salad served in first-class. Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise. The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA." Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning. The 57 on the Heinz ketchup bottle represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had. The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets. Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin. (80%) The first owner of the Marlboro company died of lung cancer. Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. (she is still an airhead) Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined. Adolf Hitler's mother seriously considered having an abortion but was talked out of it by her doctor. Marilyn Monroe had six toes. All US Presidents have worn glasses. Some just didn't like being seen wearing them in public. Walt Disney was afraid of mice. The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in jelly.