14 Royal Facts About Prince Albert

London Stereoscopic Company/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
London Stereoscopic Company/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

On August 26, 1819, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born near Coburg, Germany. In 1840, when Albert was just 20 years old, he married Queen Victoria, who reigned over the United Kingdom and Ireland for nearly 65 years—from June 20, 1837 until her death on January 22, 1901.

The couple had nine children together, including King Edward VII, who succeeded his mother on the throne. But their coupling came with more than a few challenges: Because Albert was German, a Protestant, and from an unremarkable state (Bavaria), Parliament wasn't thrilled about the match and was against him becoming the country's prince consort—a title bestowed on the husband of a reigning queen. As such, Albert spent the first 17 years of their marriage being known as His Royal Highness Prince Albert. On June 25, 1857, Queen Victoria granted Albert the official title of Prince Consort.

In honor of what would have been his 200th birthday, here are some things you might not have known about Prince Albert.

1. Prince Albert was the product of an unhappy marriage.

Prince Albert was born on August 26, 1819 at Schloss Rosenau castle, near Coburg, Germany. He was the second son born to Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Though Albert and his older brother, Ernest, were close throughout their lives, their home life was rather dysfunctional. Their father was a strict man who was known to have a number of affairs and is believed to have fathered at least three illegitimate children. The couple separated in 1824, when Albert was just 5 years old, and Louise was then exiled from court. It's believed that she never saw her sons again.

2. Prince Albert's paternity has been questioned by some royal insiders.

Albert (left) with his elder brother Ernest and mother Louise, shortly before her exile from court
Albert (left) with his elder brother Ernest and mother Louise, shortly before her exile from court.

Though there's no doubt that Prince Albert's father was a noted philanderer, the strongest evidence that Princess Louise had affairs was based purely on rumors. "The ducal court was not noted for the strictness of its morals," historical biographer Lytton Strachey wrote in 1921's Queen Victoria. "The Duke was a man of gallantry, and it was rumored that the Duchess followed her husband's example. There were scandals: one of the Court Chamberlains, a charming and cultivated man of Jewish extraction, was talked of; at last there was a separation, followed by a divorce."

When Prince Albert was 7 years old, his father filed for divorce from their mother, citing adultery. Because Albert bore a striking resemblance to his mother, some people began to question whether Ernest III was Prince Albert's biological father at all. "People have long speculated about Albert’s paternity, partly because he so strongly resembled his mother, not his father, and because of the fractured nature of his parents’ relationship,” Julia Baird, author of Victoria: The Queen, told RadioTimes.com earlier this year. No evidence has ever surfaced to confirm the rumors (though fans of Victoria will undoubtedly remember that it became a key plot point in the series).

3. Prince Albert and Queen Victoria were first cousins.

Albert and Victoria were first cousins who shared a set of grandparents as Albert's father, Duke Ernst of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was the brother of Victoria's mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The future couple shared some other commonalities: They were born in the same year, just three months apart (Victoria was born on May 24, 1819) and were both delivered by the same woman: Madame Siebold, the royal midwife.

4. Prince Albert first met his future wife when he was just 16 years old.

Queen Victoria (1819 - 1901) and Prince Albert take to the dance floor.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert take to the dance floor.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images

In May 1836, on Victoria’s 17th birthday, Prince Albert and the future Queen Victoria—then known as Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent—met for the first time when Albert and his brother visited Kensington Palace with their Uncle Leopold. "He is extremely handsome,” Victoria wrote in her diary of the prince. "His hair is about the same color as mine; his eyes are large and blue and he has a beautiful nose and a very sweet mouth with fine teeth.”

For years, their families had desired to see the two young royals marry, and it ended up being a happy match. After Albert's departure from Kensington, Victoria wrote to her Uncle Leopold: "How delighted I am with him, and how much I like him in every way. He possesses every quality that could be desired to make me perfectly happy."

One year later, on June 20, 1837, Princess Alexandrina Victoria became Queen Victoria.

5. Queen Victoria had to propose to Prince Albert.

“I dreaded the thought of marrying,” Victoria wrote in her diary. But in October 1839, Albert visited Windsor Castle and saw his cousin, now Queen Victoria, again. As royal rule stipulated that a reigning monarch could not be proposed to, it was Victoria who had to do the asking. So on October 15, 1839, Victoria proposed to Albert; he happily accepted and the couple married on February 10, 1840. Victoria called it "the happiest day of my life."

6. Queen Victoria saved Prince Albert's life in 1841.

Queen Victoria and her beloved Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, at Buckingham Palace.
Keystone/Getty Images

In 1841, Prince Albert went ice skating on a lake near Buckingham Palace. “I, standing alone on the bank, said, 'It is unsafe here,' and no sooner had I said this, than the ice cracked, and Albert was in the water up to his head, even for a moment below," Victoria wrote in her diary.

While her lady-in-waiting panicked, Victoria went right to work attempting to pull her husband out of the frigid water. “I was making my way to Victoria, who was standing on the bank with one of her ladies,” Prince Albert once said. “I fell plump into the water, and had to swim for two or three minutes in order to get out. Victoria was the only person with the presence of mind to lend me assistance, her lady being more occupied in screaming for help.”

Luckily for Albert, he emerged from the incident with just a bad cold.

7. Prince Albert and Queen Victoria survived several assassination attempts.

Like many heads of states before and after them, Albert and Victoria were the targets of a number of assassination attempts. In 1840, the royal couple was on a public carriage ride when Edward Oxford shot at the couple. At the time, Victoria was pregnant with her first child, Victoria. Thankfully, no one was hurt. (However, in the 2009 film The Young Victoria, starring Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend, Albert gets shot trying to save her.)

Another assassination attempt occurred two years later, and again they were unhurt. However John Francis, the shooter, had attempted to shoot the couple the day before, but failed to fire his pistol. He was detained and sentenced to death for treason. Instead, Victoria commuted his sentence to banishment for life.

The oddest attempt on the couple's life, however, happened in the summer of 1842: A man named Bean, with a very prominent hunched back, fired a pistol loaded with pieces of tobacco pipe. He escaped and managed to evade capture for two weeks (which every hunchback in London was questioned by authorities).

8. Prince Albert helped design Osborne House, a former royal estate on the Isle of Wight.

Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, Queen Victoria's holiday retreat
Oli Scarff/Getty Images

In the late 1770s, the Blachford family owned the Osborne Estate on the Isle of Wight. In 1843, Albert and Queen Victoria wanted to find a place where they and their children could escape the expectations placed on them when they were in London or Windsor, which is when they found Osborne house.

But the house, as it existed at that time, wasn’t big enough for their large family. Developer Thomas Cubitt suggested that Albert build a new home on the property. The two worked together to design the first phase, the Pavilion, which housed the couple's private rooms and the royal nurseries. They demolished the old house and completed the main wing in 1851.

Later on, Cubitt and Albert created a Swiss cottage for the children and stables for 50 horses. Albert oversaw all of the renovations and new buildings. Victoria died in Osborne House on January 22, 1901. After her death, King Edward VII (Victoria's son and successor) didn’t want the house, so—against his mother's wishes—he donated it to the country, where it remains a part of the English Heritage charity. Today, you can tour part of Albert and Victoria's old quarters, including their private beach.

9. Albert and Victoria regularly exchanged love letters.

In celebration of Prince Albert’s 200th birthday, The Guardian reports that the Royal Collection Trust has made available more than 17,000 documents—including family photos and financial papers—relating to Prince Albert in an online archive. By the end of 2020, they hope to have 23,500 documents digitized. Many of the items have never been published, including letters exchanged between the royals.

On their engagement day, Albert wrote to Victoria:

“How is it that I have deserved so much love, so much affection? I cannot get used to the reality of all that I see and hear, and have to believe that heaven has sent me an angel whose brightness shall illume my life.”

Besides the love letters, the collection also includes a speech Albert made at The Society for the Extinction of the Slave Trade and for the Civilization of Africa in which Albert called to abolish slavery, referring to it as “the blackest stain upon civilized Europe."

10. Prince Albert purchased Balmoral Castle.

Queen Victoria welcomes home the hunters at Balmoral, September 1953. 'An Evening at Balmoral Old Castle - The Stag Brought Home' - an engraving by L. Stocks after a watercolour painting by Carl Haag
Hulton Archive/Getty Images

In 1842, The Queen visited Scotland for the first time and fell in love with the country. In 1848, before Osborne House was finished, Prince Albert decided to lease Balmoral Castle from Lord Aberdeen, sight unseen. Fortunately, when Victoria finally saw the place for the first time, she thought it was “pretty.” In 1852, Albert bought the property. But since the main building was too small for their large family, Albert worked with an architect—this time William Smith—and built a new castle on the property, along with cottages and offices. He also made improvements to the surrounding woodlands and gardens.

In 1856, the project was finished and they demolished the old building. Unlike Osborne, Balmoral stayed in the royal family and is still a private residence for them today (it's typically referred to as Queen Elizabeth II's Scottish "holiday home").

11. Prince Albert saw photography as an “art form.”

In 1842, Prince Albert sat for photographer William Constable for a portrait. The photo still exists and is the earliest surviving photograph of a British royal family member. The Royal Trust Collection archive includes 10,000 photos that Victoria and Albert collected from various photographers. It also includes intimate family portraits, photos of the royal household, and photos of decorative objects. “Together these photographs reflect Prince Albert’s unwavering belief in photography as an art form, and his advocacy of its value as a historical record and a means to share knowledge,” reads the collection’s website.

12. Prince Albert organized the Great Exhibition of 1851.

1851: The Inauguration of the Great Exhibition in Crystal Palace, the glass and iron building designed by Joseph Paxton, at Hyde Park, London. It was officially opened by Queen Victoria
Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Inspired by the French Industrial Exposition of 1844, Henry Cole, editor of the Journal of Design and council member of the Society of Arts, wanted to create something similar in England. Through the Society he met Prince Albert and asked him to help organize the event. They wanted the Great Exhibition to be an event for all nations of the world “for the purpose of exhibition of competition and encouragement.”

In Hyde Park in central London, they commissioned a glass and iron conservatory known as the Crystal Palace, which contained the exhibition. Six million people—more than a third of Britain's population at the time—passed through the Palace, including Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, Karl Marx, and Charles Darwin. They and millions of others saw the world’s first international display of British design and manufacturing, including exhibits dedicated to steam engines, pottery, ironwork, perfumes, and houses. The event was so successful that a financial surplus from the event was used to establish a number of educational and cultural institutions, including the Natural History Museum and Royal Albert Hall.

13. Prince Albert was just 42 years old when he died.

On December 14, 1861, at approximately 10:50 p.m., Prince Albert died at the age of 42. Though the official cause of death was deemed to be typhoid fever, there are other theories as to what actually killed him, including stomach cancer and Crohn's disease.

Whatever the case, Albert seemed to know his days were numbered. Several weeks before his death, Albert reportedly told Victoria: "I do not cling to life. You do; but I set no store by it. If I knew that those I love were well cared for, I should be quite ready to die tomorrow … I am sure if I had a severe illness, I should give up at once. I should not struggle for life. I have no tenacity for life."

14. Victoria spent the rest of her life mourning her late husband.

While Prince Albert's health deteriorated, Queen Victoria attempted to remain optimistic, telling one of Albert's doctors: "My husband won't die, for that would kill me." While Victoria lived for another 40 years following Albert's passing, she never got over his death; she lived out the remaining years of her life in perpetual mourning and always wearing black.

54 Super Facts for Your Super Bowl Party

Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images
Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images

Want to be the smartest person in the room at this year's Super Bowl party? Bust out a few of these fun facts about Big Games past.

1. Super Bowl Sunday is the second biggest eating day of the year.

plate of chicken wings
iStock.com/bhofack2

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Super Bowl Sunday is America's "second-largest food consumption day." (Only Thanksgiving Day beats it.)

2. Those rumors about sewage systems failing because of all the flushing toilets during halftime are just that: rumors.

Close-up of a toilet flushing
kanjana intaounwong/iStock via Getty Images

A persistent rumor says that sewage systems in major cities occasionally fail during Super Bowl halftimes, because a large volume of people supposedly all flush their toilets simultaneously. Don't worry! There's absolutely no evidence to support this claim.

3. Peyton Manning is the only starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two different teams.

Donald Miralle/Getty Images

Peyton Manning is the only starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two different teams: the Indianapolis Colts in 2007 and the Denver Broncos in 2016.

4. Phil Simms was paid a lot of money to say he was celebrating his Super Bowl win by "going to Disney World."

Phil Simms is going to Disney World
Allsport/Getty Images

Phil Simms was paid $75,000 to shout "I'm going to Disney World” on the field moments after his Giants won Super Bowl XXI. Disney also paid Denver’s John Elway the same amount of money to yell the same thing—just in case his team won.

5. Two teams are tied for most Super Bowl wins—and a third could join them after Super Bowl LIV.

Mewelde Moore #21 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates holds up the Vince Lombardi trophy as he celebrates with his daughter Jalyn Chantelle after their 27-23 win against the Arizona Cardinals during Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009
Jamie Squire, Getty Images

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots are tied for the record for most Super Bowl wins, having captured six Vince Lombardi Trophies apiece. The San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys have each won five.

6. The New England Patriots have both won and lost the most Super Bowls.

 Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks passes as Wesley Woodyard #52 of the Denver Broncos defends during Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium on February 2, 2014
Jeff Zelevansky, Getty Images

Which team has lost the most? That would be a tie between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, who've each dropped five Super Bowl matchups.

7. Super Bowl fans would really like to see "Weird" Al Yankovic take the stage at halftime.

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

A 2014 Change.org petition to "Have Weird Al Yankovic Headline the Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show" received more than 100,000 signatures.

8. Super Bowl I was far from a sell-out event.

A fan holds up a ticket to Super Bowl 50 outside Levi's Stadium on February 7, 2016 in Santa Clara, California.
Andy Lyons, Getty Images

The priciest tickets to Super Bowl I, which was played on January 15, 1967, cost $12. Adjusted for inflation, that's the equivalent of about $89 today. And even at that bargain price, the event still didn't sell out.

9. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the first Super Bowl-winning team to visit the White House.

Jimmy Carter greets the Pittsburgh Steelers, 1980
The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum

In 1980, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the first Super Bowl-winning team to visit the White House. They visited with Jimmy Carter in a joint ceremony with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had won the 1979 World Series.

10. When it comes to accommodations, a Super Bowl host city is sometimes forced to get creative.

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

When Jacksonville, Florida, hosted Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, the city didn't have enough hotel rooms to meet the NFL's requirements. So in their bid to serve as the Big Game's host, they had to recruit five docked cruise ships as "floating hotels" for the event.

11. Maryland sports fans had good reason to not love New York back in 1969.

Joe Namath
Elsa/Getty Images

Maryland sports fans must have really hated the Big Apple in 1969. On January 12 of that year, the New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Nine months later, the New York Mets prevailed over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in the '69 World Series.

12. The Super Bowl I halftime show included 300 pigeons.

iStock

The Super Bowl I halftime show consisted of two marching bands, acclaimed trumpeter Al Hirt, two men in jet packs, and 300 pigeons.

13. Western Pennsylvania produces a lot of star quarterbacks.

Joe Montana and Dan Marino
DOUG COLLIER/AFP/Getty Images

Western Pennsylvania is quarterback country. Six Hall of Fame QBs hail from this region, five of whom (Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, and Jim Kelly) played in at least one Super Bowl each as quarterbacks. The sixth, George Blanda, competed as a placekicker in Super Bowl II.

14. There's a simple way to determine who will be the "home" team.

Doug Benc/Getty Images

In odd-numbered Super Bowls, the NFC team is the designated "home" team while AFC teams enjoy that honor during the even-numbered Super Bowls.

15. Super Bowl XLIV broke a longstanding TV ratings record.

M*A*S*H
Keystone/Getty Images

In 1983, 105.97 million people tuned in to the final episode of M*A*S*H, making it the most-watched TV broadcast in American history. It took more than a quarter-century, but in February 2010, Super Bowl XLIV finally broke that record when 106.5 million people watched the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts. Subsequent Super Bowls have broken even that record, with Super Bowl XLIX—which was played on February 1, 2015—currently holding the top spot, with 114.4 million viewers on average.

16. A record dollar amount is being (legally) bet in 2020.

Getty Images

It's estimated that more than $325 million will be (legally) bet on Super Bowl LIV—a record number.

17. In 1971, a member of the losing team was named MVP for the first (and so far only) time.

Chuck Howley
Brian Bahr/Getty Images

Although the Baltimore Colts beat Dallas in Super Bowl V in 1971, Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley was named the game's MVP. He's the only player in history to earn this honor as a member of the losing team.

18. The Vince Lombardi trophy is crafted by a company everyone knows.

Former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan
Tom Hauck /Allsport

The Vince Lombardi Trophies—a new one of which is handed out every year—are made out of sterling silver by Tiffany & Co.

19. A power outage put a halt to Super Bowl XLVII.

Super Bowl blackout (Superdome 2013)
Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

A power outage at New Orleans's Superdome put Super Bowl XLVII on hold for 34 minutes.

20. Installing new sod for a Super Bowl game is a pretty big task.

Super Bowl 50
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

A fresh layer of high-quality, natural sod is installed on the field prior to each Super Bowl played on natural grass. For Super Bowl 50, the company West Coast Turf harvested 75,000 square feet of premium grass on the NFL’s behalf.

21. Boston's former mayor had to send a lot of Dunkin' products to New York when they lost to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

Giants Super Bowl XLII victory parade
Al Bello/Getty Images

In 2008, then-Boston Mayor Thomas Menino lost a high-stakes bet to his Gotham counterpart when the Giants upset the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Because of New England's defeat, Menino had to send a truckload of Massachusetts delicacies—including 42 pounds of Dunkin' Donuts coffee (because it was the 42nd Super Bowl) and 12 dozen Boston cream pies (a reference to Tom Brady's number)—to New York City, where the food was donated to charity.

22. Jim McMahon embraced the pre-Super Bowl spotlight.

Jim McMahon, Super Bowl XX
Getty Images North America

A few days before Super Bowl XX in 1986, Bears QB Jim McMahon mooned a TV news helicopter that was flying over one of Chicago's practice sessions.

23. There has never been a shutout in the Super Bowl.

NFL logo
Tom Hauck/Staff/Getty Images

There has never been a shutout in the Super Bowl. The Miami Dolphins hold the record for fewest points scored in a Super Bowl; in 1972, they lost to Dallas, 24-3.

24. Only one Super Bowl game has gone into overtime.

Pats overtime TD
Elsa/Getty Images

Super Bowl LI was the first one to ever go into overtime. The Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-28.

25. For the first time ever, there were no cheerleaders at Super Bowl XLV.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Super Bowl XLV was the first one in history that didn't include cheerleaders. That's because neither of the game's participating teams—the Pittsburgh Steelers nor the Green Bay Packers—has a professional cheerleading squad.

26. Cleveland has neither played in nor hosted a Super Bowl.

Johnny Manziel, Cleveland Browns
Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

Cleveland is the only current NFL city that has neither hosted a Super Bowl nor seen its own team, the Browns, make an appearance in one.

27. There was a major mishap when the second half kicked off in Super Bowl I.

football on field
iStock.com/tomazl

During Super Bowl I in 1967, NBC was still in commercial when the second half kicked off. Officials asked the Packers to kick off again.

28. The 1989 halftime show was broadcast in 3D.

Dan Witkowski

The 1989 Super Bowl halftime show was broadcast in 3D (a novelty for the time). In it, a magician dressed like Elvis Presley ("Elvis Presto") had the entire stadium participate in a round of the classic “Is this your card?” trick.

29. In 1977, a frisbee-catching dog provided some pre-game entertainment.

dog catching frisbee
iStock.com/Mordolff

Another unusual spectacle was the 1977 Super Bowl pre-game show, which included a Frisbee-catching dog named Ashley Whippet.

30. Lisa Simpson correctly guessed the winner of Super Bowl XXVI.

Lisa Simpson Predicts Super Bowl XXVI
Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Springfield's resident wunderkind really knows her football. In an episode of The Simpsons which aired on January 23, 1992, Lisa correctly guessed that Washington would beat Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVI, which was played three days later.

31. Not sitting president has ever attended a Super Bowl.

Titans fan Al Gore
LUKE FRAZZA/AFP/Getty Images

No sitting president has ever attended a Super Bowl. However, four sitting vice presidents—Spiro Agnew, George H.W. Bush, Al Gore, and Mike Pence—have made Big Game appearances.

32. The NFC had a 13-year winning streak.

Getty Images

From 1985 to 1997, the NFC won 13 straight Super Bowls. During that streak, the NFC clubs outscored their AFC opponents by a cumulative score of 490-219.

33. Things got messy at the White House celebration for Super Bowl XXI.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum

While celebrating the Giants' Super Bowl XXI victory with President Reagan at the White House, linebacker Harry Carson emptied a Gatorade tub of popcorn over the Gipper's head.

34. John Candy caused a momentary bit of distraction.

George Rose/Getty Images

On San Francisco's Super Bowl XXIII game-winning drive in 1989, Joe Montana saw a celebrity spectator; in mid-huddle, he nonchalantly asked his teammates, "Hey, isn't that John Candy over there?"

35. Joe Salave'a had the perfect answer to a reporter's question on Super Bowl Media Day 2000.

RICK RUNION/AFP/Getty Images

On Super Bowl Media Day in 2000, a reporter asked then-Titans defensive tackle Joe Salave'a, "What's your relationship with the football?" He replied: "I'd say it's strictly platonic."

36. There's been a fair amount of back-to-back Super Bowl victories.

TONY RANZE/AFP/Getty Images

Back-to-back Super Bowl victories aren't as rare as you might think. The Packers, Dolphins, 49ers, Cowboys, Broncos, Patriots, and Steelers have all pulled off this feat. In fact, Pittsburgh has won back-to-back Super Bowls on two separate occasions.

37. The Super Bowl has given some popular TV shows a great start.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

The Wonder Years, Family Guy, and Undercover Boss all made their premieres immediately after the Super Bowl.

38. The 1985 Chicago Bears were nominated for a Grammy.

Mike Powell/Getty Images

The 1985 Bears recorded a hit rap song called "Super Bowl Shuffle," which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. (It lost to Prince & the Revolution's "Kiss.")

39. Joe Montana had a perfect Super Bowl record.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Joe Montana not only emerged victorious from all four of his Super Bowl appearances, he did it without throwing a single interception in any of those games.

40. A streaker interrupted the 2004 Super Bowl.

Super Bowl streaker
Brian Bahr/Getty Images

Just before the second-half kickoff in the 2004 Super Bowl, a man disguised as a referee stripped down to a G-string and streaked across the field. Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham was able to knock him to the ground, enabling security to apprehend the hooligan.

41. The coin used for Super Bowl XLIV's coin flip was out-of-this world.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

In 2010, Super Bowl XLIV featured an unusual piece of memorabilia: The coin that was flipped right before the game had previously spent 11 days orbiting the Earth on a NASA space mission.

42. A California Aquarium hosts an Otter Bowl.

Otter!!
ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

For the past several years, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, has hosted an annual Otter Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday, where a group of these adorable mammals play around with a football while a staffer narrates the action. The event was canceled in 2019 so that the aquarium and its visitors could pay tribute to Brook, a popular, 21-year-old sea otter resident who passed away shortly before the event following a diagnosis of congestive heart failure. The event has returned for 2020 though.

43. Tom Brady is the NFL's most winning quarterback.

Super Bowl QB Tom Brady
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

The New England Patriots' Tom Brady has won six Super Bowls, more than any other starting quarterback. Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana won four apiece.

44. The player who scored the first-ever Super Bowl touchdown was hungover.

referee calling a touchdown
iStock.com/groveb

The very first Super Bowl touchdown was scored in 1967 by Packers wide receiver Max McGee (who was hungover at the time). 

45. Super Bowl players get pretty hefty bonuses.

Bob Levey/Getty Images

Super Bowl bonuses are a thing. In 2019, every player on the Pats' championship roster earned $118,000 for winning. The defeated Los Angeles Rams received $59,000 each as a consolation prize.

46. University of Alabama and Purdue University have a good track record when it comes to quarterbacks.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Two colleges have produced three Super Bowl-winning starting quarterbacks: the University of Alabama (Bart Starr, Joe Namath, and Ken Stabler) and Purdue University (Len Dawson, Bob Griese, and Drew Brees).

47. The Super Bowl used to go by a much longer name.

Green Bay Packers defensive linemen Willie Davis (left) and Henry Jordan (right) tackle Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson (middle) in Super Bowl I.
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

The event we now call the "Super Bowl" originally went by a duller name: "The AFL-NFL World Championship Game." Although "Super Bowl" has been used unofficially since the very first game, the term wasn't officially recognized by the league until a few years later, with the name first appearing on the cover of the program in 1969 and on the ticket in 1970.

48. Forty years after winning Super Bowl VII, the Miami Dolphins were (finally) invited to the White House.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

In 2013, 40 years after winning Super Bowl VII, the famous perfect-season Miami Dolphins were invited to the White House by Barack Obama.

49. A (presumably) excited fan stole Don Shula's watch in 1973.

Don Shula
JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images

As Don Shula was being carried off the field after the Dolphins' Super Bowl win in 1973, a fan reached up to shake his hand—and stole his watch.

50. The Super Bowl XXX website was banned by some servers.

Al Bello/Allsport/Getty Images

During the 1995-1996 season, some proxy servers blocked the Super Bowl website because it was Super Bowl XXX.

51. Hunter S. Thompson wrote about a couple of Super Bowls.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Hunter S. Thompson covered Super Bowls VII and VIII for Rolling Stone.

52. Ratings for the 1993 Super Bowl went up during Michael Jackson's halftime show.

Michael Jackson Super Bowl Halftime 1993
Mike Powell/Allsport/Getty Images

In 1993, Michael Jackson's halftime performance had higher ratings than the game itself.

53. Tom Brady is the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl.

Tom Brady at the Super Bowl
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

In 2019, Tom Brady became the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl at age 41—he beat Peyton Manning, who led the Broncos to a Super Bowl win in 2016 at age 39.

54. Kyle Shanahan is making history in Super Bowl LIV.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with his father, Mike Shanahan, after winning the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is making his Super Bowl debut in 2020—making he and his dad, Mike Shanahan (who led the Denver Broncos to consecutive Super Bowl victories in XXXII and XXXIII) the first father-son duo to each make a Super Bowl appearance as head coach.

Why Was February Chosen to Celebrate Black History Month?

eag1e, iStock via Getty Images Plus
eag1e, iStock via Getty Images Plus

Every February since 1976, the United States has celebrated the achievements of African-Americans during Black History Month. The month-long celebration puts those accomplishments and milestones into focus via the media and in classrooms.

But why February? Was that part of the calendar chosen for any specific purpose?

It was. Black History Month began as “Negro History Week,” a label applied by historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926. Woodson was bothered by the fact that many textbooks and other historical reviews minimized or ignored the contributions of black figures. Along with his Association for the Study of Negro Life and History—later the Association for the Study of African American Life and History—Woodson earmarked the second week in February to raise awareness of these stories.

Woodson chose that week specifically because it covered the birthdays of Frederick Douglass (February 14) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12). The ensuing publicity led many mayors and college campuses to recognize the week; through the years, the groundswell of support allowed the occasion to stretch throughout the entire month.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford made Black History Month official, saying that he was urging everyone to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Have you got a Big Question you'd like us to answer? If so, let us know by emailing us at bigquestions@mentalfloss.com.

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