Mel Brooks got drumming lessons from Buddy Rich.

Popeye eating spinach was part of a government plot to encourage the public to buy food in those newfangled cans.

James G. Blight and Robert McNamara have suggested we would average 3 million war deaths per year worldwide in the 21st century. So far, deaths caused directly by war-related violence in the new century have averaged only about 55,000 per year, according to researchers at the Peace Research Institute Oslo.

On Aug. 19, 1951, pinch hitter Edward Carl Gaedel came to bat against the Detroit Tigers. A little person, Gaedel was 3 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 65 pounds. The shortest and lightest batter in major league history, he walked in four pitches.

Herbert Khaury changed his stage name to Tiny Tim while try­ing to get booked at a club that favored performances by little people.

This article appears in 30th Anniversary.

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