How did “six feet under” become the standard burial depth? Actually, it never did. The laws vary from state to state (and country to country). Many states mandate that there be a minimum of 18 inches of dirt on top of the casket or burial vault. When figuring in the height of a coffin, plus the 18 inch soil buffer, anywhere from four to six feet is the norm. Sometimes graves can be as deep as nine feet; this often occurs in cemeteries with limited land area that need to accommodate couples that want to be buried together. Instead of side-by-side plots, the caskets are buried one atop the other. (There is still an 18 inch soil cushion between the two coffins.)

The laws regarding minimum grave depths began “surfacing” in the 1830s, when the cemetery business became a commercial enterprise. Prior to that time, families dug their own graves for deceased loved ones, and often the holes were so shallow, that a few decades of soil erosion often meant bones would mysteriously pop up in random fields. Savvy morticians realized they could sell a piece of ground to grieving families and assure them that their dearly departed would forever rest in peace, and all of that back-breaking digging would be taken care of for them.

NOTE: Today marks the last in the Fact of the Day series, which is nearing 1500 entries. We’ve enjoyed bringing it to you these last almost-five years, but the wonderful content evolving on the blog here at mental_floss has made this task a bit redundant. We’ll continue the Quiz of the Day (and our other efforts at mental_floss, which include fact-checking all the material for each issue). See you there!

- Kara & Sandy

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

What’s the difference between a chef and a cook?

In a professional kitchen, the type found in an upscale restaurant, hotel, or catering company, the Executive Chef is the head honcho. Even though an E.C. has superior cooking skills (and usually a degree or certificate from a culinary school), a large part of his or her duties are administrative. An E.C. has to plan menus, order supplies, and schedule the staff. The Sous Chef is the second banana. This hands-on executive supervises the kitchen staff and makes sure everything is prepared properly and on schedule. The S.C. sometimes pitches in and helps the Executive Chef with paperwork and the planning, costing, and ordering of food and kitchen supplies. A Line Chef (sometimes called a Station Chef) is in charge of a particular area within a large kitchen. In a banquet hall, an L.C. might coordinate and supervise all the roasting, baking and broiling. (In a smaller kitchen, a Line Chef is probably the person actually doing the roasting, baking and broiling.)

A plain old cook, on the other hand, is a person without a degree who deftly prepares a variety of different foods. He or she concentrates on tasty, hearty portions in a minimum amount of time, at a reasonable price, and usually with a minimum of thought to presentation.

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

The Big Apple’s skyline is dotted with what appear to be miniature grain silos on stilts. Other metropolitan areas tend to rely on electric pumps to supply water to their skyscrapers, but New York City is not any other metro area. It started its phenomenal growth shortly after the Civil War, and with limited land area, the only way to go was up. As the buildings got taller, they grew faster than the city’s underground plumbing system, and it became apparent that the available water pressure was insufficient for anything over six stories.

Gravity to the rescue!

Rooftop tanks are fed from the city’s pipes, and typically hold 5,000 to 10,000 gallons of water. About half of the water is tapped for everyday use, while the rest is saved to fight fires. Some buildings use steel tanks, but steel is more expensive and requires more maintenance than traditional wooden tanks. Wood remains the material of choice for New York’s water tanks; experienced coopers construct them in a few hours by hammering planks into place. Once the tanks are filled, the water causes the wood to swell, and the gaps between the planks are sealed. Wood is also an excellent insulator, keeping the water warm in winter and cool in the summer.

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

Have you ever had trouble swiping your older, more-used credit cards through a card reader? Has the cashier sighed heavily and cast an annoyed glance in your direction as he or she finally gives up and types in the number manually? Next time, try the handy plastic bag solution.

There are tiny particles embedded in that magnetic strip on the back of your card. When the card is “swiped” through the reader, those particles are translated into binary code and transmits your card number (and other pertinent information) to the computer at the bank or wherever the merchant transmits the data for verification. As a card gets older and more worn, slight surface defects might occur in the magnetic strip that could corrupt the data stream. (The machine might read a zero where there isn’t one, and kick back your card as being invalid.)

Increasing the distance of the card surface from the reader even a few thousandths of an inch often improves the signal-to-noise ratio, causing the electric eye to skip over the “ticks” in the magnetic strip. The easiest way to accomplish this is to place a strip of clear cellophane tape over the strip, but since most consumers don’t carry a roll of Scotch tape with them, a plastic shopping bag will do the trick. Place the card in the bag, pull the bag tight around the card, and swipe it. In many cases, the card will now clear. Of course, we know that once you get home you’ll immediately apply for a replacement card, so that you won’t be holding up the line like that again.

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

Can you copyright a joke? Probably not. A schtick, maybe – let’s face it, if you or I got onstage at open mike night and doused the audience with confetti, they’d immediately peg us as a Rip Taylor-wannabe and boo us off the stage. But jokes and funny stories are a different animal, altogether. (“But jokes and funny stories are a different animal.”)

Back in the days of vaudeville, comedians regularly used the same gags. At that time, a person who bought a ticket to a show in Peoria had no idea that the guy onstage was simply parroting the same jokes that other comedians were using in Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit. Milton Berle would later capitalize on this tactic; he was one of the first vaudevillians to host his own TV show, and he regularly made use of jokes and gags he’d absorbed from other Borscht Belt comics.  (Bob Hope once said that Uncle Miltie “never heard a joke he didn’t steal.”)

When Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show became the venue for aspiring comics, the stakes were raised. Because he had such a huge viewing audience, the public became aware of comedians and their routines, and local up-and-comers were quickly exposed as copycats when they “borrowed” material from professionals. Of course, there are still some struggling comics out there who still steal jokes and routines, but in most cases, it’s not worth the originator’s time and money to legally smack him down. It’s often more effective just to let the fans spread the word via the Internet that “Hey, I saw that same monologue on Saturday Night Live two years ago!”

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

“Pay attention when I’m talking to you, son.” If you recognize our poor attempt at voice characterization, you’ll know we’re trying to mimic Warner Brothers cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn. And, yes, there’s a reason for that.

Lighthouses were certainly an important aid to ships back in the day. There were no Lorans or Global Positioning Devices in the 1800s, so navigation on the seas required placing a man with a telescope in the crow’s nest. Lighthouses were used to warn sailors of rocky shores, but until 1841, when prisms were used to amplify the signal, the light given off by the traditional wick lamp traveled only a few miles (even in the best weather).

Then there was the problem of fog. In heavy fog, lighthouses were all but invisible, and it was determined that an audible warning system was warranted. In the early days of navigation, a human was stationed on the rocky shore during a fog and manually rang a large bell to warn ships. Robert Foulis, a Scottish immigrant who’d relocated to Canada, came up with the idea of using steam to power a large whistle that would alert ships. His first foghorn was installed at Partridge Island, St. John’s, Newfoundland, in 1859. His design included a way to make individual foghorns bleat different combinations of tones, so that a captain could identify which harbor he was near, even when he couldn’t see it in heavy fog.

Sadly, while Foulis had a brilliant technical mind, he had no business savvy. Another man latched onto the design and patented the foghorn, reaping all the benefits. Foulis died penniless.

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

No, no, that’s not what is meant by an “orphan drug.” Orphan drugs are used to treat orphan diseases (ones that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the United States). Orphan diseases - usually genetic in origin and often chronically debilitating - are so rare that a typical general practitioner in a busy urban area would see only one case in a year. Multiple myeloma, sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis are a few of the more well-known conditions that fall under the umbrella of orphan diseases.

Because of the relatively low number of patients affected by these rare diseases, there has never been much financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies to develop medications to treat them. In an effort to combat that, the government passed the Orphan Drug Act in 1983 to stimulate the research, development, and approval of products that treat rare diseases. In return, pharmaceutical companies receive tax incentives for any clinical research undertaken. They also get market exclusivity for seven years, which can prove to be a double-edged sword. If Company X accidentally finds that a pill they’ve been developing to treat acid reflux disease also happens to relieves the symptoms of Crohn’s Disease, consumers wouldn’t be able to buy it until the Crohn’s drug currently on the market that is produced by Company Y has exhausted its seven-year contract.

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

Up with People is the butt of many jokes and spoofs in the media, but what do we really know about the organization?

It all started with a group called Moral Re-Armament, a Christian movement founded in 1938. The organization was formed as a reaction to the re-militarization of Germany after World War I. As time went on, however, the group admitted people of all religious faiths and focusd on four “absolutes”: absolute honesty, absolute purity, absolute unselfishness and absolute love.

In 1965, a dynamic musical production was staged on Mackinac Island, Michigan, as part of an international youth conference. The performance had actually been arranged by Moral Re-Armament, but corporate sponsors were wary of MRA being seen by some folks as a “cult,” so the concert was dubbed Sing Out ‘65 instead. The performance was such a hit that local Sing Out groups sprouted up across the country. They were a publicist’s dream – the participants were so clean-cut that they could be extras on The Lawrence Welk Show, yet young enough to sing current pop hits and get plenty of national TV coverage to counteract the hippie and anti-Vietnam movements.

By 1968, the organization had changed its name to Up with People and had severed all ties with MRA. It is now a registered educational international non-profit entity that gives its participants an opportunity to travel the world while communicating a positive message via the international language of music.

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

The insect known as a ladybug is something of a study in contrasts. They were called “ladybirds” in England long before LBJ’s wife made the name famous. They’re beetles, yet folks don’t cringe and squeal when one lands on them as they might do if a Junebug or boll weevil did. No, ladybugs are harmless little Volkswagen-shaped bugs with pretty red bodies and black spots that somehow make them seem … well, cute.

Despite their name, there are (of course) male ladybugs, but only entomologists can tell the difference at a glance. Legend has it that the Coccinella septempunctata got its feminine name back in the Middle Ages, when farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary to spare their crops from an invasion of pests. The red beetle with the black spots appeared to devour the offending insects, and they became known as “Our Lady’s Beetles.” On a more scientific note, ladybugs developed their distinctive coloring as a protective device. Their blood is said to be distasteful and even toxic to many predators. Over time, carnivorous insects have learned that “red bug equals nasty taste.”

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

Many A-list (well, and B and C-list) celebrities shill for products behind the scenes without recognition. Why? Like most things in Hollywood, it’s all about the Benjamins.

Appearing on-camera for a commercial is more of an ordeal for an actor … hair, makeup, wardrobe, and often multiple re-takes. A 60-second spot can take up to 12 hours to shoot. The sponsor not only has to pay the celeb’s outrageous salary, they also have to pay union wages for the on-set crew. An off-camera voiceover, on the other hand, only requires that the star read his lines vocally at a studio. No special makeup or lighting required. The spot can be knocked off in a few hours, and the star can still accrue megabucks, since the sponsor is saving all that money.

In case you haven’t recognized some of the latest celebrity shills in recent years, here’s a quick breakdown:

• Antonio Banderas – Nasonex allergy medication
• Queen Latifah – Pizza Hut
• Kelsey Grammer – Disney World
• Christian Slater – Panasonic
• Julia Roberts – America Online
• Gene Hackman - Lowes

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

Peeing like a racehorse. Why is it when our bladders are full to overflowing that we compare our need to void to that of a Thoroughbred?

Scientifically speaking, when it comes to urinary output, the larger the animal, the more he produces. So a Clydesdale’s stream is actually far more impressive that that of the average Thoroughbred racehorse. Of course, the only Clydesdales most of us see are those that star on Budweiser commercials, and any scenes of horses relieving themselves would be edited out. Racehorses, on the other hand, not only get more on-camera exposure during, say, Kentucky Derby time, they are also regularly observed at various tracks around the country. It’s not uncommon for trainers to administer Lasix, a diuretic, to their steeds before a race. Lasix not only prompts the the creature to empty his bladder before a race (thus making the horse lighter), studies have shown that it helps to reduce exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, a phenomenon that may occur during a stressful race. So, with one thing and another, the common image of extreme peeing burned into many brains is that of horses like Man O’War.

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

What exactly is a “poop deck,” and aren’t most ships equipped with a “head” for that purpose?

The so-called poop deck is the roof of the poop cabin, which is located on the stern and extends from the mizzenmast aft. The word is derived from the Latin puppis, which means “stern,” or the rear section of a ship. It apparently was first transmogrified into “poop” by William Caxton in 1489.

Enquiring minds may be wondering how the stern of a ship became synonymous with … well … you know. Turns out that that “poop” evolved from the Middle English word poupen, which meant “to make a gulping sound.” It may have had something to do with the “rear” connection as well. Try to erase that mental picture from your mind and go take our daily quiz.

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

Whether it was an episode of Little House on the Prairie or an old Western film, it seemed that whenever a pioneer woman was about to give birth, bystanders were ordered to boil water. Was this just a screenwriter’s cliché? Or simply an excuse to get the men out of the room?

Actually, midwives did require hot (not boiling) water to assist a mother as she gave birth. She would first use it to prepare warm compresses to apply to the perineum in order to prevent tearing during the birthing process. Then the leftover warm water was used to clean up both mother and baby. Remember, these were the days when there were no running water taps inside the house, and water had to be hauled inside by the bucket and then heated over a fire. Boiling water in advance made sure that there was plenty of warm water available when Junior finally made his appearance.

By the way, even though it seems as though boiling water might have been part of a sterilization process, it wasn’t until 1880 that Louis Pasteur convinced folks that bacteria caused disease or infection.

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

From April through mid-December, around 5,000 sailors travel in continual motion on the Great Lakes. They live and work aboard vessels hauling freight from Lake Superior to Lake Michigan or Lake Huron or Lake Erie or vice versa. At some point during their journey, the ships pass through the Port of Detroit where the J.W. Wescott II will meet them and send up “mail by the pail.”

The J. W. Westcott Company is headquartered along the Detroit River, just below the Ambassador Bridge. It became an official U.S. post office in 1895, and its pilot boat has been delivering letters and packages (as well as candy, cigarettes, and the occasional pizza) to vessels as they pass through the narrows of the Detroit River. During shipping season, the company is on duty 24/7 and delivers just about anything requested by the shipping companies, whether it’s a new stove for a freighter or groceries for a trawler’s cook. The Wescott meets the ships mid-river and hands up the goods in five-gallon steel buckets. It’s a tricky exchange, as the pilot boat has to match the speed of the larger vessel, make the delivery, then pull away so as not to get caught in the bigger ship’s wake.

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com

Gail Brewer-Giorgio was a Georgia-based writer who concocted a story about a popular Southern rock and roll singer named Orion Eckley Darnell. Orion became so famous that his fans referred to him as “The King.” Sadly, Orion eventually felt trapped by his success and staged his own death, complete with a wax figure in his likeness and an elaborate funeral.

Elvis Presley died in August 1977, and shortly afterward, Brewer-Giorgio’s story was published. It didn’t take fans and conspiracy theorists to decide that she was telling the true story of the King, and that the real Elvis was alive somewhere. A producer named Shelby Singleton sensed an opportunity and found a singer named Jimmy Ellis whose voice and style were nearly identical to Presley. Singleton dyed Ellis’ hair black and asked him to grow sideburns, but there was no hiding the fact that his face didn’t look anything like Elvis’. Shelby had a brainstorm – have Ellis perform while wearing a mask. Not only that, but have him perform under the name “Orion,” just like the guy in Brewer-Giorgio’s book.

Ellis wasn’t wild about having to perform incognito, but he went along with it. In fact, he achieved an amazing level of success, considering his whole career was based on keeping fans guessing as to whether or not he was really Elvis Presley. His voice was so similar to Presley’s that RCA almost sued Singleton; they thought he’d unearthed some unreleased Elvis tracks. Orion recorded nine albums in three years and played to sell-out crowds in medium-sized venues. His career ended just that quickly, though, when he ripped off his mask onstage in a fit of anger during a performance in 1981.

By Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik

Questions or comments? email trivia@mentalfloss.com