Seth McFarland (creator of Family Guy) was booked on one of the planes that crashed into the WTC but missed his flight by 10 minutes.

Early BBC TV showed pictures and sound alternately: they only had one transmitter that couldn't do both at the same time.

Until the 1920s, television was also known as Hear-seeing, Seeing by Wireless, Optiphone, Farscope and the Electric Telescope.

TV dinners were so called because the compartments resembled the screen and knobs on an old style round cornered TV.   

Rounded corners on electronic devices have been patented by Apple.

Nokia once made gas masks, the Finnish army used them until 1995.

Everybody expected the Spanish Inquisition – they were legally obliged to give 30 days’ notice.

Sting, Mick Hucknall, Mick Fleetwood, Madonna, Motorhead, Cliff and Carlos Santana all own their own wine producing vineyards

Three of Fidel Castro’s sons, Alexis, Alexander and Alejandro, are named after Alexander the Great.

40% of the human race did not survive beyond its 1st birthday.

The French company Bich changed it's name to Bic to stop people in English speaking countries pronouncing it as 'Bitch'.

Play-Doh was originally designed to as a wallpaper cleaner.

The first bubble gum produced bubbles that had to be removed from the face with turpentine.

James I of England only ever washed the tips of his fingers.

Louis XIII of France wasn't bathed until he was almost seven years old.

According to a passenger from Sudan, the first London Underground trains smelt like 'crocodile breath'.

The air in London is cleaner now that at any time since the 16th century.

In the 16th century, Britain had one pub for every 200 people.

At any one time, 46 million people in the world are drunk.   

Hangovers cost the U.S. economy more than $220 billion in lost productivity each year. 

A popular Roman hangover cure was deep-fried canary.

Frank Sinatra was the actor originally planned to play Dirty Harry.

The children's song that starts 'There once was an ugly duckling', refers to the 'coming out' of a gayer. Hans Christian Anderson was a raving mincer.

...Norman Wisdom

Gordon Gekko (Wall Street) never said "greed is good"

Queen Victoria never said "We are not amused"