Extremely Difficult Trivia About "Die Hard" (1988)

      To all those that celebrate, Merry Christmas!  I thought I'd do another trivia article, and instead of the usual horror or sci-fi movie, because of the date I figured I'd go with a Christmas-themed action film.  I realize there's been a lot of debate about whether or not "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie, which I find a bit odd.  Clearly it is, since it starts on Christmas Eve (and apparently ends on Christmas Day, or almost), is set at a corporate Christmas party, has a lot of Christmas decorations and songs, etc.  You can say it's not a movie suitable for young children, I guess, but that's about it.  Anyway, here we go.  As always, these trivia questions are intentionally very obscure, so much so that even fanatical viewers might not know the answers--that's the point, it's a challenge.  Also as always, I'll ask the questions first, and then include the answers below, if you want to play along.

Questions:

1)    According to John McClane, how long has he been a cop?

2)    Who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nakatomi firm?

3)    What is Ellis's first name?  (Holly uses it once, while fending off his advance in the beginning.)

4)    Argyle lists off the features of the limo he's driving.  What are they?  (Hint, he mentions six.)

5)    What are the names of John and Holly's children?

6)    How long has Holly been in Los Angeles?

7)    When Ellis is trying to entice Holly for a date, what does he mention a night with him entails?

8)    What holiday-themed song does Argyle play for John in the limo?

9)    On the computerized employee list, whose name is right below Holly Gennero?

10)   What floor of the Nakatomi building is the party located?

11)   What is Holly's job title?  (It's listed on her office door.)

12)   What is Ellis's job?

13)   What's written on the truck that transports most of the robber/terrorists?

14)   John says he can stay with a former colleague who's moved out to the L.A. area.  Who is it?

15)   Based on Theo's computer screen, how many elevators are in the Nakatomi building?

16)   According to Han Gruber's bio of Takagi, where was Takagi interned from 1942-43?

17)   Also according to this bio, what 3 universities did Takagi attend?

18)   What classic tune does Hans hum before questioning Takagi?

19)   Where is Takagi's suit from?

20)   Takagi thinks that Han's gang are terrorists, and are there in protest of what Nakatomi project?

21)   What exact amount, in negotiable bearer bonds, are the Gruber gang looking to steal?

22)   How long does Theo estimate it will take to beat the first 6 locks of the Nakatomi vault?

23)   What floor does John pull the fire alarm on?

24)   What was the key code password for the first vault lock?

25)   What is the name of the first robber/terrorist to be killed?

26)   What channel on the CB radio does John use to call for help?

27)   What is the full address of the Nakatomi building?

28)   What is the phone number of the Nakatomi security office?  (This, and the address, are on the screen when the emergency dispatcher is talking to John.)

29)   What is Al Powell's call sign?

30)   At the gas station/minimart that Al goes to, what is the listed price for unleaded fuel?

31)   What college football teams are playing on the television that the fake security guard is watching in the lobby?

32)   What is the number of Al's police car?  (It's printed on the roof, plainly seen after he crashes.)

33)   Which robber/terrorist is dropped on Al's car?

34)   Hans derisively compares John to John Wayne, Rambo, and Marshall Dillon.  Who does John then say is his favorite?

35)   What is the call sign and channel number of the network that Dick Thornburg works at?

36)   Who are the two hosts of the network's Nightline News at 10:00 segment?

37)   What number news truck does Dick take to the Nakatomi building?

38)   What is police officer Dwayne T. Robinson's job title?

39)   Which terrorist group was Hans Gruber previously a member of?

40)   According to Al, what are the ingredients of a Twinkie?

41)   Who called John "Mr. McClane" in the third grade?

42)   As a ruse, Hans demands the release of the imprisoned members of 3 terrorist groups around the world.  Who are they?

43)   What is the name of the terrorist expert being interviewed on Dick's network?

44)  What mistake does this expert make in his interview?

45)   What kind of scenario do FBI agents Johnson and Johnson say the Nakatomi situation is?

46)   What alias does Hans use when he's pretending to be an American hostage when John encounters him?

47)   John mentions a famous W.C. Fields quote.  What is it?

48)   How old was the kid that Al Powell shot, mistaking his toy gun for a real one in the dark?

49)   Who is the city power worker who calls in and gets the power shut off in the Nakatomi building?

50)   What grid number is shut off?

51)   The FBI agents estimate that what percentage of the hostages will also be killed in the helicopter raid on the roof?

52)   Aside from Karl, who's killed by Al, and Hans, who's dropped off the building, who is the last terrorist that John kills?

53)   How many people were in Hans' group, including him?

54)   Theo is hit by Argyle's limo while driving the ambulance, and then knocked out by an Argyle punch.  However, one of the other robber/terrorists is also not seen being killed.  Who is it?

55)   How many people does John kill?

56)   How many people do the robber/terrorists kill?

57)   What kind of handgun does John use, which he brought with him?

58)   What kind of gun does Al use?

59)   What kind of gun does Hans use?  (Not counting the empty one John gives him, Hans' primary gun of choice.)

60)   What two candy bars does Uli eat while waiting near the candy counter in the lobby?

61)   What was the huge flaw in the robber's escape plan, including a continuity error that the creators admitted to?

Answers:

1)    11 years.

2)    Mr. Ozu.  Takagi's titles are the President of Nakatomi Trading and the Vice Chairman of the Nakatomi Investment Group.

3)    Harry.

4)    CD, CB, TV, telephone, full bar, VHS.

5)    Lucy and John, Jr., who's usually called Jack.  Both of them are seen as adults in later sequels.

6)    About 6 months.

7)    Mulled wine, a nice aged brie, and a roaring fireplace.

8)    "Christmas in Hollis," by hip hop group Run DMC.

9)    The oddly named Bruce Gfeller.

10)   The 30th floor.

11)   Director of Corporate Affairs.

12)   He's in charge of International Development.

13)   Pacific Courier.

14)   Cappy Roberts

15)   10.  6 low rise elevators go to the 16th floor, 3 go up to the 34th floor, and 1 service elevator goes up to the top, 35th floor.

16)   Manzanar, which was a real internment camp for American Japanese citizens.

17)   Takagi started as a scholarship student at the University of California (unspecified campus), got his law degree at Stanford, and his MBA at Harvard.

18)   Beethoven's "Ode to Joy."

19)   John Phillips, London.  Hans says Arafat allegedly shopped there too.

20)   A project in Indonesia, for which we see a model.

21)   $640,000,000.

22)   About 2.5 to 3 hours.  Half an hour for the first key code one, and 2 to 2.5 hours for the next five locks.

23)   The 32nd floor.

24)   Akagi, or "Red Castle" in English.  The online sites I looked at indicated this translation wasn't accurate, for what it's worth, and also I find it weird that Takagi would choose a password that's one letter off his surname.  At least it's better than "password," or "123456," I guess.

25)   Tony Vreski, who is 2nd in command Karl's brother.

26)   Channel 9.

27)   Nakatomi Plaza, 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, California, 90213.  This is the real address for the building the movie was shot at, the Fox Plaza building.  Although the listed zip code now is 90067, but maybe it changed over the decades.

28)   213-203-3723.  I'm surprised they didn't use a fake "555" number.

29)   8--Lincoln--30.

30)   77 and 9/10 cents.  Those 1980's prices!

31)   Notre Dame versus USC.

32)   110.

33)   Marco.

34)   Roy Rogers.  John particularly liked his sequined shirts.

35)   KFLW, channel 14.

36)   Harvey Johnson and Gail Wallens.  

37)   5.

38)   He's the deputy chief of police for Los Angeles.

39)   The West German Volksfrei movement.  Their leader says Gruber was kicked out.

40)   Sugar, enriched flour, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, polysorbate 60, and yellow dye number 5.  I looked it up, and Al missed a few, most notably eggs, water, corn syrup, and Red 40, although maybe those were added since 1988, I suppose.

41)   Sister Theresa.

42)   The 7 members of the New Provo Front (Northern Ireland), the 5 members of Liberte du Quebec (Canada), and the 9 members of the Asian Dawn (Sri Lanka).

43)   Dr. Hasseldorf, author of "Hostage Terrorist:  Terrorist Hostage: A Study in Duality."

44)   He refers to Stockholm Syndrome as Helsinki Syndrome.  Then Harvey Johnson incorrectly thinks Helsinki is in Sweden, but Hasseldorf is wrong too, and first.

45)   An A-7 scenario.

46)   Bill Clay, which he evidently gets from the company list board on the wall.

47)   "I'd rather be in Philadelphia."

48)   13 years old.

49)   Walt. 

50)   212.

51)   20-25%.  Which they are disturbingly comfortable with.

52)   Eddie, the Huey Lewis-looking guy who impersonates the lobby guard.

53)   13.  People keep saying 12, but maybe they mean aside from Hans Gruber.

54)   Kristoff, who is knocked down, and presumably out by John before he confronts Hans and Eddie in the vault at the end.  Kristoff is Theo's assistant, and doesn't have much screen time, or lines.

55)   10--as mentioned previously, Theo and Kristoff aren't seen being killed, and Al kills Karl.  All the others of the Gruber gang are dispatched by John, by broken neck on the stairs, gunshots, being dropped off the building, and the C-4 explosion in the elevator shaft.

56)   12.  Karl kills the 2 real Nakatomi building security guards, Hans shoots Takagi and Ellis, Alex and James kill the 2 guys in the police SWAT RV with the rocket missile, and 6 guys, including Agents Johnson and Johnson, die in the helicopter after the robbers blow up the roof.  (Note, some of this info, including the helicopter crew number, is based on diehard.fandom. com, if you're curious.)

57)   A Beretta 92F, which is a 9 millimeter.

58)   A Smith & Wesson Model 15, .38 caliber.

59)   A Heckler & Koch P7M13 semiautomatic pistol.

60)   A Nestle Crunch and a Mars bar.

61)   How are all 13 robbers, plus the stolen bearer bonds, going to squeeze into one normal sized ambulance?  I know they also brought another car, but presumably they can't use that for the same reason they can't use the truck.  For the continuity error, in the early scene showing most of the Gruber gang exiting the back of the truck, notice there's no ambulance in the back.  Whoops!  Still an awesome movie, though.   

   

   

 

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--American/Chinese Soybean Snacks (Edamame)

      This is an example of a food type I'd kind of forgotten about, one that I could have done a post about years ago.  But I had to be reminded of it, as I was a month or two ago, when I saw edamame for sale at the alternate Shop-Rite.  This particular product was the wasabi flavor of dry roasted edamame from Seapoint Farms, out of California.  However, the soybeans actually came from China--hence the title.

      According to the sources I read online, soybeans have been cultivated by humans for at least 7000 years, starting in China.  Edamame, though, is somewhat distinct, as it is immature soybeans that have been boiled or steamed.  It's unknown when this was first done, or by who, but the earliest reference to edamame was in 1275, in the thank you note written by a famous Japanese monk, Nichiren.  Edamame is a Japanese word, which means "stem bean."  Shelled edamame is sometimes called "mukimame."  And the Chinese usually call it "maodau," which means "fur bean" or "hairy bean."  Westerners were much slower in embracing edamame--the earliest reference in the U.S. wasn't until 1855, when a farmer noted the difficulty in shelling the beans.  The apparent first reference in a book wasn't until 1923, in "The Soybean," by Charles V. Piper and William Joseph Morse.  (I checked on Amazon, and a new edition of this book can be yours for only $12.95, plus tax and shipping.)  Edamame is made using immature soybeans rather than mature beans because the younger ones are sweeter, due to have more sucrose in them.  Traditionally edamame is soaked in salt water to give it some light seasoning.  Modern variants sometimes add other spices, to give more of a kick.  Also, only the beans themselves are usually eaten, while the outer pods are discarded.  Edamame is quite nutritious--it's high in protein, fiber, iron, folate, manganese, Vitamin K, and phosphorus, while being relatively low in calories, and bereft of cholesterol. 

     I wasn't able to get much background information about Seapoint Farms, other than that it was started in 1996, founded by Kevin and Laura Cross.  (Who are probably a husband and wife team, given the common surname, but I'm not positive--they could be siblings, or cousins, for all I know.)  Their official company website proudly claims that they were the first American firm to market edamame in U.S. health food stores and groceries.  Since this start, though, Seapoint has expanded into offering other types of products, such as lentils, seaweed, pasta, and frozen prepared meals.  With the common element that all are vegetarian, and sometimes vegan.  The company also states that it's the largest manufacturer and importer of edamame in the U.S., and I for one can't challenge this.  I'm not sure why they go to the expense of importing soybeans, instead of just getting locally grown ones--maybe the Chinese kinds the company especially likes don't grow well in the States.  Additionally, like a lot of healthy-conscious companies Seapoint seems to be anti-gluten, if that's important to you, for whatever reason.

Edamame from various Japanese restaurants across the East coast of the U.S.:  Sorry to be so vague, but these samplings were years, or even over a decade ago, so I can't be more specific.  Some Japanese restaurants I'd been to used edamame kind of like the way Mexican establishments use nachos--they're a free appetizer given out to folks before your ordered appetizers or entrees arrive.  They were usually unshelled, slightly salty edamame, presumably soaked in saltwater in the traditional manner.  They were good, if unspectacular.  The texture was soft and a little chewy.  A bit bland, but a decent starter.  I found them to be a nice green veggie contrast to the usual later meal of raw fish and rice.

Seapoint dry roasted edamame, wasabi flavor:  These were in a bag, and were already shelled.  They were green, dry, and crunchy.  I could detect a definite wasabi spice bite.  Better than the regular edamame I had in the Japanese restaurants.  Pretty good.  A more than solid snack.

     Therefore, in conclusion, I recommend edamame in general, and the Seapoint Farms variant in particular.  They're a good snack, and as a bonus they're a bit healthier than typical snacks like potato chips or candy.  And I'll happily try other Seapoint products when/if I see them for sale, and add to this post accordingly.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--An Italian Apertif Liqueur

      A while ago, at the Buy Rite Liquor store down the road I saw some more interesting "shot bottles" near the cash register.  Meaning tiny, 50 mL bottles, or about the amount of a typical shot at a bar, or given out on an airplane ride, etc.  As I've covered before, I love these--for a couple of dollars you can try an exotic (or non-exotic) liquor.  If you enjoy it you can get a bigger bottle, but if you don't you're not stuck with, say, nearly 750 mL of something you loathe, and had to pay $15 to $20 plus for.  Anyway, today I'll be discussing Select Aperitivo, which is made in Bologna, Italy by Montenegro S.R.L. (aka Gruppo Montenegro).

     As so often occurs, the official Select website wasn't as detailed as I would have liked.  So I had to consult other websites.  Back in 1920, brothers Mario and Vittorio Pilla founded Fratelli Pilla & C., which sold liquor.  However, in addition to selling other liquors, apparently, they decided to create and market their own, which they called Select.  Kind of like Coca-Cola, the exact ingredients of Select are a trade secret.  Of the reported 30 botanicals included, the manufacturers only mention two--juniper berries and rhubarb roots.  These are individually macerated, in a way that's supposedly very important to the drink's taste.  The odors and tastes they're going for include citrus fruits, balsamic eucalyptus, menthol, spicy, tropical, and sweet-bitter.  The billed color is "red with orange highlights, like an Italian sunset."  (I'm guessing many countries have red-orange sunsets, too, depending on the time of year, environmental conditions, etc., but whatever, they're trying to evoke a relevant poetic image.)  Back to the manufacturer's history, in 1954 Select was acquired by Distilleries Jean Buton, and then sometime later it was absorbed by Gruppo Montenegro.  Montenegro in turn dates back to 1885, and is huge.  It produces some foods (teas, polentas, spices, corn oils, and pizza doughs), and liquor brands like Amaro Montenegro, and Rossi Antico.  They also distribute foreign brands like Jose Cuervo tequila, Bushmills whisky, Jack Daniel's whiskey, Finlandia Vodka, Kraken Rum, 1800 tequila, etc., in Italy.

     Furthermore, Select started out as an apertif, as a digestive bitter.  Or, a bitter-flavored hard liquor that was usually consumed with a meal, to enhance digestion.  But, by the 1970's Select was progressively imbibed more as part of cocktails.  Most commonly, "spritzes," or Italian style wine-based cocktails.  The Select was usually combined with Prosecco white wine (which is made in the same area of Italy as Select) and soda water, poured over ice and garnished with a green olive.  Sometimes spritzes are made with other Italian bitter digestives.  As a preview, in a near-future post I'll be exploring another one of these.  I didn't realize that Select is most often drank as part of a cocktail until after I'd brought in home, drank it plain, and then learned about it on the internet.  Plus, honestly even if I did know this I probably wouldn't have bought the additional Prosecco and soda water, since the former would almost certainly entail spending another $20 or so on a larger bottle.  Since I'm not a wine guy, the Prosecco would have probably been wasted on me.

Select Aperitivo:  Had a red color, and nice herbal aroma.  The taste was also pleasing--kind of spicy.  Reminded me of Becherovka (see my July 27, 2014 post) or Jagermeister.  Not as intense as those, but still above average, or solid.  All in all, a good shot, if you like herby, spicy liqueurs.  I would recommend this.  Also, I was somewhat surprised to learn that juniper berries are in this, since I find the juniper-based gin to be utterly revolting.  As for rhubarb, I guess it's okay in pies, but I wouldn't say I love it.  Evidently the other 28 botanicals in Select really make the difference.  In the event I ever see it in a bar, I would certainly consider having it as a "proper" cocktail, with the white wine, soda water, etc.  If this ever happens, I'll obviously update this post.

 

Pro or Olympic Athletes Who Were Also High Ranking Politicians in the United States

      Recently I got to thinking about politicians who were former professional athletes.  Given my personal tastes, I first thought of people who played in the National Football League and Major League Baseball.  But as I discovered, there were more who played in other pro leagues.  I initially was going to make this about people from around the world, but after checking this out, it was too ambitious--simply put, there are too many examples if I use the entire world, and this would end up being like a 10 part post or more.  So, I limited myself to just American politicians, since this left me with a manageable number of examples.  So, apologies to my non-American readers.

     Also, I decided to limit the list a bit more.  Mainly, I went with higher ranking politicians.  That is, U.S. House of Representatives members, U.S. Senators, state governors, or city mayors.  Plus, as athletes the individuals had to play at least one official regular season game or match--no folks who were members of the practice squad, or competed in preseason games.  For the Olympians, I limited it to people who won a medal (i.e., a gold, silver, or bronze), not just made an Olympic team.  Although I will list one non-medal winning Olympian at the end, in an Honorable Mention section.  As usual, I did the best I could, but it's clearly possible I may have missed somebody.  So I welcome readers to comment and mention any mistakes or omissions, and I'll fix this post when I can.  Anyway, let's get to it.  I'll divide these examples up by sport, with brief athletic accomplishments listed, followed by what type of politician they were.  And further highlights in other  careers, if applicable.

Mixed Martial Artists (MMA):

1)    Sharice Davids:  Davids had a brief pro MMA career, fighting twice, in 2013 and 2014.  She beat Nadia Nixon via submission, and then lost a decision to Rosa Acevedo.  In politics she won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of Kansas, starting in 2019 and continuing through present.  She's a Democrat.  Also, as far as I could find she's the only female high ranking politician who was formerly a pro athlete.

2)    Mark Wayne Mullin, who normally goes by MarkWayne Mullin:  Like Davids, Mullin had a short MMA stint, from 2006-07.  He fought 3 times, and won all 3.  I by knockout, and 2 by submissions, against Clinton Bonds on two occasions, and versus Bobby Kelley once.  Currently, and since 2013, he's been a U.S. House member from Oklahoma, as a Republican.

National Hockey League (NHL):

1)    Brandon Bochenski:  Bochenski played in the NHL from 2005-10, with the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, and Ottawa Senators as a right wing.  In 156 total games he scored 28 goals, and had 40 assists, with a +/- of 1.  He also accrued 54 penalty minutes.  Politically, he's been the mayor of Grand Forks, North Dakota since 2020, for the Republican party.

National Basketball Association (NBA)/National Basketball League (NBL):

1)    Bill Bradley:  Bradley played with the New York Knicks from 1967-77, as a small forward.  In his career he averaged 12.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.  Total, in 742 games he shot 44.8% from the field, and scored 9217 points.  He was named to one All Star Team, and was part of 2 NBA title-winning teams.  He's a Hall of Famer, and also won a gold medal on the 1964 U.S. Men's basketball team.  In Washington he served as a U.S. Senator from 1979-97 for New Jersey, as a Democrat.

2)    Kevin Johnson:  Johnson played as a point guard from 1987-2000, mostly with the Phoenix Suns.  He started 623 of 735 games.  His per game averages include 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 9.1 assists, and 1.5 steals.  He was named an All Star 3 times.  Later he served as the mayor of Sacramento, California from 2008-16.  Johnson was a Democrat.

3)    Tom McMillen:  McMillen was with several teams, including the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Bullets, in a career stretching from 1975-86.  A center, he played in 729 total games.  His per game averages were 8.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 0.3 steals, 1.1 assists, and 0.3 blocks.  Then from 1987-93 he was a Democratic U.S. Representative for Maryland.

4)    Morris "Mo" Udall:  Udall's pro basketball career was brief, as he only played 1 year, with the Denver Nuggets in the old NBL, in 1948-49.  A forward, he appeared in 57 games, averaged 6.5 points per game and made 121 of 171 free throws.  (I couldn't discover any more statistics, since it was so long ago, when stats weren't kept nearly as well.)  His tenure as a U.S. Representative, conversely, was long, as he served from 1961-91 for Arizona, as a Democrat.  I realize some folks might not count the NBL as a top pro league, (the NBA doesn't count its stats, for example), but since several of its teams joined with the then BAA (Basketball Association of America) to make the NBA, I think it should count.

Olympic Medalists:

1)    Dave Albritton:  In the 1936 Olympics Albritton won a silver medal in the men's high jump.  Later he served as the Congressional Representative for the state of Ohio from 1961-72, as a Republican.

2)    Bob Mathius:  Mathius won gold medals in the decathlon  in both the 1948 and 1952 Games.  Later, he served as a U.S. Representative for California from 1967-75, as a Republican.  He also acted in several movies, such as "The Bob Mathius Story" (1954), "China Doll" (1958), "It Happened in Athens" (1962), and "Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete" (1962).

3)    Ralph Metcalfe:  Metcalfe had quite a lot of success in the Olympics.  In 1932 he won the silver medal in the 100 meters, and a bronze in the 200 meters.  Then in the 1936 Games he won silver at the 100 meters again, and gold in the 4X100 meter relay.  Later he was a Democratic U.S. Representative for Illinois from 1971-78.

4)    Jim Ryun:  Ryun was a famous runner in the United States, starting from a young age.  However, his only medal was a silver in the 1500 meter event for the 1968 Summer Games.  From 1996-2007 he was a U.S. Representative for Kansas.  He was a Republican.

Major League Baseball (MLB):

1)    Fred Brown:  Brown had a very short pro baseball career, from 1901-02 with the National League's Boston Beaneaters.  (Yes, that was their name.)  As an outfielder, he played in 9 total games, with 21 plate appearances, 20 at bats, 2 runs, 4 hits, 1 double, and 2 rbi, for a "slash" of .200/.200/.250, an adjusted OPS of 24, and -0.2 WAR.  His political career was much more distinguished.  He was the governor of New Hampshire from 1923-25, and a U.S. Senator for the same state from 1933-39.  Brown was a Democrat.

2)    Jim Bunning:  From 1955-71 Bunning was a pitcher, mostly for the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies.  His lifetime won-loss record was 224-184, and his lifetime ERA was 3.27.  His WHIP was 1.179, his adjusted ERA was 115, he was named to 9 All Star teams, and his overall WAR was 59.4.  He's in the Hall of Fame.  Then, from 1987-99 he was a U.S. Representative for Kentucky, followed by a U.S. Senate seat from 1999-2011, also for Kentucky.  He was a Republican.

3)    Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell:  Mizell was in the Majors from 1952-53, and then again from 1956-62, for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Mets.  A pitcher, his career won-loss record was 90-88, his ERA was 3.85, and his adjusted ERA was 104 (or just a little above average).  His lifetime WHIP was 1.385, and his WAR was 17.5.  He was technically named to 2 All Star teams, but both were in one year, 1959. Mizell also won a World Series with the Pirates in 1960.  Down in Washington D.C.  he was a Representative from North Carolina from 1969-75, serving as a Republican.

4)    Pius Schwert:  Like Brown, Schwert's time in MLB was short, and not that sweet.  He was a catcher for the New York Yankees in 1914-15.  He appeared in 12 games, with 27 plate appearances, 24 at bats, 6 runs, 5 hits, 3 doubles, 3 walks, and 6 rbi.  For an overall slash of .208/.296/.333, an adjusted OPS of 89, and 0.2 WAR.  He was a U.S. Representative for New York from 1939-41, as a Democrat.

5)    John K. Tener:  He goes way back, to MLB's infancy.  In 1888-89 he played with the Chicago White Sox, who at that time were in the National League.  Tener was mostly a pitcher, but he also played some outfield, first base, and third base.  All told as a hurler he finished with a 22-20 won-loss record, with a 3.40 ERA, (112 adjusted ERA).  His WHIP was 1.342.  At the plate he slashed .234/.290/.301, with 63 hits, 3 homers, 25 rbi, and an adjusted OPS of 66.  His overall WAR was 2.5.  He also played in some other pro baseball leagues, of arguably lesser standing.  In the world of politics he served as a U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania from 1909-11.  Then he was the same state's governor from 1911-15, both times as a Republican.

National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL):

1)    Steve Largent:  Largent played wide receiver from 1976-89, with the Seattle Seahawks.  He ended with 819 receptions, 13,089 receiving yards, 100 receiving touchdowns, and 1 rushing touchdown.  His AV was 140, and he was named to 7 Pro Bowls, and 1 All Pro team.  All these accomplishments led him to be named to the NFL Hall of Fame.  Then from 1994-2002 he was a U.S. Representative for Oklahoma, as a Republican.

2)    Colin Allred:  Allred, in contrast to Largent, had a very brief and uneventful career.  He played from 2007-10 with the Tennessee Titans, as a mostly reserve linebacker.  He competed in 32 games, with 2 starts.  His final AV was 2.  Since 2019 he's been a U.S. Representative for Texas, as a Democrat.

3)    LaVern Dilweg:  Dilweg played in the NFL's infancy, from 1926-34, mostly with the Green Bay Packers, as an end.  He played in 107 games, with 72 as a starter.  Stats from these early days are very sparse, but I can tell you he scored 12 touchdowns, was named to the All Pro Team 5 times, and was a member of 3 NFL title winning teams.  He also was named to the Hall of Fame All-1920's Team.  Conversely, his national political tenure was brief, as he was a U.S. Representative for Wisconsin from 1943-45.

4)    Anthony Gonzalez:  Not to be confused with the great tight end Tony Gonzalez, this Anthony Gonzalez was a wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts from 2007-2011.  In 40 total games, with 12 as a starter, he caught 99 passes for 1307 yards, and 7 touchdowns.  Gonzalez's career AV was 16.  Since 2019 he's been a U.S. Representative from Ohio, serving as a Republican.

5)    Jack Kemp:  Kemp played with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers in 1957, and then with the AFL's San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills from 1960-69, all as a quarterback.  In all he played in 122 games, with 105 starts.  He completed 46.7% of his passes, for 21,218 yards, 114 touchdowns, and 183 interceptions, for a quarterback rating of 57.3.  On the ground he rushed for 1150 yards, and 40 touchdowns.  His total AV was 83, and he was named to 7 Pro Bowls and 2 All Pro teams.  Kemp was also the starter for 2 AFL title winning teams.  Later, in 1995-2003 he was a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma, as a Republican.

6)    Burgess Owens:  Owens played from 1973-82, with the New York Jets and Oakland/L.A. Raiders, as a defensive back.  He played in 137 games, all as a starter.  He intercepted 30 passes for 458 yards, and 4 touchdowns, and also recovered 13 fumbles.  Additionally, he returned 1 kickoff for a touchdown, and scored another, unspecified touchdown (presumably on a special teams play, perhaps a blocked punt or field goal).  His total AV was 62, and he also was part of a Super Bowl winning team.  As of 2021 he's now a U.S. Representative for Utah, as a Republican.

7)    Jon Runyan, Sr.:  From 1996-2009, Runyan was an offensive tackle with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, and San Diego Chargers.  He started 192 out of 207 total games.  He was named to 1 Pro Bowl, and accumulated 106 AV.  From 2011-15 he was a U.S. Representative for New Jersey, as a Republican.

8)    Jim Schwantz:  Switching back to more obscure players, Schwantz was a linebacker who played with the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, and San Francisco 49ers, in 1992, and then from 1994-98.  He played in 72 games, none of them starts.  Schwantz was a special teamer, and made 46 total tackles, with a career AV of 7.  He was, though, named to a Pro Bowl (as a special teamer, obviously), and was part of a Super Bowl title winning team.  Since 2009 he's been the mayor of Palatine, Illinois, as a nonpartisan, whatever that means.  (I guess it's another way of saying independent.)

9)    Heath Shuler:  There's no nice way to say this--Shuler was a huge bust in the NFL.  He was the third overall pick in the 1994 draft, and didn't live up to this.  A quarterback, he played with Washington and the New Orleans Saints, from 1994-97.  Shuler started 22 out of 29 overall games.  He completed 49.2% of his passes, for 15 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, 3691 yards, and a 54.3 quarterback rating.  He added 198 yards and a touchdown rushing, and his total AV was only 6.  Later, however, he served as a U.S. Representative for North Carolina, from 2007-13 as a Democrat.

10)   Alan Autry, Jr., who was also known as Carlos Brown:  Autry/Brown played quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1975-76, starting 3 of 26 games.  He completed only 37.2% of his passes for 396 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions.  Rushing-wise he added 49 yards.  His overall quarterback rating was 35.0, or worse than if he spiked the ball into the turf on every play.  And his overall AV was 2.  After football, though, he got into acting.  He appeared in such movies as "Remember My Name" (1978), "North Dallas Forty" (1979), "Southern Comfort" (1981), "Nomads" (1986) and "House" (1986).  On television he acted in such programs as "Cheers" (1983), "The Dukes of Hazard" (1981 and 1984),"In the Heat of the Night" (1988-95), and "Grace Under Fire" (1995-96).  Then he served as the mayor of Fresno, California from 2001-09, as an independent.  He also was involved in some musical compositions.  So, all in all, kind of a Renaissance Man, I suppose.

Canadian Football League (CFL)

1)   Fob James:  James played pro football briefly, for one year with the CFL's Montreal Alouettes in 1956.  Alas, I wasn't able to find out any of his statistics, other than that he played in 10 games, as a halfback.  Politically he was governor of Alabama on two separate occasions, from 1979-83 and again from 1995-99.  He was a Democrat and then a Republican.

2)   J.C. Watts:  Watts was a lauded college football player in the late 1970's.  Unfortunately, that was still a time when African-American players were rarely given a chance to play quarterback in the NFL.  Therefore, Watts went up north, and played in the CFL, from 1981-86.  He was both a member of the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Toronto Argonauts.  I did see a few stats--he completed 52.9% of his passes, for 12,414 yards, 66 touchdowns, 93 interceptions and an overall quarterback rating of 67.9.  Later he served as a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma, from 1995-2003, as a Republican. 

Honorable Mention:

1)   Ben Nighthorse Campbell:  Campbell was the captain of the U.S. judo team during the 1964 Summer Olympics.  Alas, he didn't earn any medals.  In 1987-93 he was a U.S. Representative from Colorado.  From 1993-2005 he was a Senator, from the same state.  Like Fob James he was both a Democrat and a Republican during his political career.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Unusual American-Honduran Chip (aka Crisps)

      When I first located these chips, at the alternate Shop-Rite, I thought I was on to something somewhat rare in my area.  A week or two later, however, I saw them again, in my local Rite Aid pharmacy.  Which, like most pharmacies, has an understandably limited food selection.  Therefore, these chips evidently aren't nearly as tough to get as I initially thought.  But, they do come from the Central American country of Honduras, and some of them are made from atypical vegetables, such as batata, taro, and parsnip.  So I think they more than qualify for my parameters of being an exotic food.  In all, I tried two selections from the Terra brand--their original with sea salt kind, and their sweet potato with sea salt one.

    The Terra story starts in Manhattan, New York, with two chefs--Dana Sinkler and Alex Dzieduszycki, in the late 1980's.  Both of these men were employed at 4 star restaurants (i.e., well respected eateries), but yearned for something new and different.  Thus, they quit, and together they started a catering business.  This then evolved into running a tavern.  Their customers naturally wanted snacks to go along with their liquid libations, so Sinkler and Dzieduszycki decided to create their own.  By February of 1990 they opened their own chip making business, Terra.  Their crunchy treats began to grow in popularity, so much so that by 1993 they'd outgrown their location and relocated to a bigger space in Brooklyn.  Later, their business was acquired by The Hain Celestial Group, out of Lake Success, New York.  Hain Celestial, meanwhile, is a larger company, which has many brands, including Alba Botanical, Gale's Imagine, Joya, and Robertson's.  They export to over 70 countries around the globe, in parts of North, Central, and South America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe.  Hain Celestial has a stated commitment to ecology, health, and having happy, well-treated employees.  Back to the Terra brand, alternate chip flavors include plantain, blues (blue corn), and barbecue sweet.

     As for the exotic vegetables, taro is one of the most ancient cultivated crops--while the exact date is unknown, it may have been domesticated as early as 11,000 years ago.  It's toxic if eaten raw, but is safe after being steeped in water, or cooked.  Batata is sometimes known as Cuban sweet potato, and it is a close relative.  The main difference between it and regular sweet potato is the former is starchier.  Finally, the parsnip is a root vegetable, related to parsley and carrots.

Terra sweet potato chips with sea salt:  These were orange, of course, and ribbed.  On average the chips were about 5 cm. by 2.5 cm., or about 2 inches by 1 inch.  Only slightly crunchy.  The taste was respectable.  Basic, but good.  Salt tang was decent, perhaps because it was sea salt instead of table salt.  Not the best sweet potato chips I've ever had, but not the worst either.  Solid.

Terra original chips with sea salt:  In this bag there were five different kinds of chips, so I'll list each separately.  

a) Sweet potato:  Like the sweet potato chips from above--orange, crunchy, nice.

b) Taro:  These were roundish, and were white with purple specks on them.  They tasted like corn chips.  Had a denser texture.  Good overall.  There weren't many of this type of chip in the bag, so I'm assuming they're more expensive.

c) Ruby dipped:  These were unnamed vegetable chips, which were dipped in beet juice to give them a red color.  They were salty, crunchy, and kind of tasted like the sweet potato kind.  Or, decent, but unspectacular.

d) Batata:  These were yellow, and like the taro, slightly denser in texture.  Once again, they tasted pretty much like the sweet potato and ruby dipped ones.  Also not many of these in the bag.

e) Parsnip: This type of chip was a yellow disc, with a distinctive ring in the center, which made it look somewhat like a banana.  Very few of these available.  Very dense texture.  Taste was just okay--the weakest of the five kinds.

     Therefore, overall these Terra chips were alright--not the best chips I've had, but slightly better than average.  I would recommend them, especially if you want to try new vegetable chips, or like sweet potato chips.

     Since the chips came from Honduras, I thought I'd delve into that country a bit, as I often do.  When I looked at fun facts about this nation, several were repeatedly mentioned.  Alas, all of the ones that particularly caught my eye were somewhat questionable.  For example, several websites claimed that Honduras was the first country to ban smoking in enclosed spaces, including in one's home, back in 2011.  However, when I tried to confirm this, I couldn't.  So evidently Honduras was one of the first, but not necessarily THE first.  Also, some sources claimed that Honduras has the second biggest coral reef in the world, after Australia's.  But then other sites indicated this reef, while impressive, is really the 3rd or 4th biggest.  Moving on, the cathedral in the Honduran town of Comayague is billed as having the oldest clock in the Americas, and perhaps even the world.  The story is that the clock was built by Arabs, during their occupation of Spain around 1100 A.D.  In what's now Granada.  This clock was then transported over the ocean to Honduras in about 1711.  However, looking into it, other online sources say that the oldest clock is in Salisbury Cathedral, in Wiltshire, England, and it dates back to 1386.  So maybe the Honduran clock is older, but doesn't currently work?  I couldn't find out the explanation.

     As for famous folks born in Honduras, or of Honduran ancestry, there's Steve Van Buren, who was born in Honduras, although to a Spanish mother and American father (who judging by his name was presumably Dutch).  Van Buren played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1944-51, as a halfback.  He was named All-Pro 5 times, led the Eagles to two NFL titles, and was named to the Hall of Fame as well.  Staying in the word of sports, Teofimo Lopez was born in the U.S., to Honduran parents.  He's the current unified Lightweight boxing champ, although by coincidence he puts his title on the line about 12 hours after I typed this in, so we'll see if he retains his belts.  His record as of now is 16-0.  (Update--Lopez was shockingly upset by George Kambosos, Jr. by a split decision.  So he lost all his titles, and his record is now 16-1.)   Moving to acting, arguably the most famous person of Honduran heritage is America Ferrera.  She had roles in movies like "Real Women Have Curves" (2002), "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (2005, and its 2008 sequel), "The Dry Land" (2010), "Cesar Chavez" (2014), "How to Train Your Dragon" and its sequels (2010, 2014, and 2019), and on television shows like "Ugly Betty (2006-10) and "Superstore" (2015-21).  Honduran-born Jose Zuniga appeared in movies such as "Alive" (1993), "Crooklyn" (1994), "Con Air" (1997), "Constantine" (2005), "Twilight" (2008), "The Dark Tower" (2017), and on television's "Law & Order" (1992-2006).  Finally, there's acting brothers Daniel and Luis Moncada.  Who despite their resemblance to each other are not twins.  Daniel was in movies like "Sabotage" (2014), "Blood Father" (2016) and "The Mule" (2018).  Luis had roles in films such as "Collateral" (2004), "Fast & Furious" (2009), and on TV's "Dexter" (2011)  and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (2019).  But they're probably most recognized for their roles on the television programs "Breaking Bad" (2010) and its related prequel "Better Call Saul" (2016, 2018-20).

     

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--An Uzbek Meal

      Today I'm going to do something I don't do often do on my blog, and discuss some exotics from a particular restaurant.  As far as I can recall, I've only done this three times before, about the Bald Headed Bistro in Tennessee (see my post on October 16, 2012), Half Moon, located in Pennsylvania (February 9, 2013), and a Turkish Mediterranean restaurant (October 24, 2020).  The eatery in question today is Silk Road Choyhona, out of Gaithersburg, Maryland.  I was visiting a friend who lives in the Washington, D.C. area (Hi Dan!), and we both were eager to try some cuisine we'd never had before, from Uzbekistan.

    The Silk Road Choyhona official website is sparse, so I can't cover the establishment's history.  About all the site contained was a gallery of food photos, a "contact us" section, and the menu.  I did, though, learn a little about the main course I had, plov.  Plov, also known as palov, is the traditional, signature dish of Uzbekistan.  It consists of a meat--often lamb or mutton, rice, carrots, and onions, and sometimes chickpeas, raisins, barberries, or other fruit are added.  In general, Uzbek food is described as being "noodle-rich," as the country does a lot of grain farming, and thus, grain eating.  Sheep herding is also common, therefore lamb (young sheep), and mutton (older sheep) are often the meat base for meals.  Also, despite being majority Muslims (I saw estimates of between 88% to 96.5% of the population), the Uzbeks are more secular, as alcohol is made and consumed there--beer, wine, cognac, and especially vodka.  (Maybe most to all of this is consumed by the non-Muslim minority, but the point is, it's legal.)  Getting back to Silk Road Choyhona, the restaurant is well regarded online.  I saw a 4.7 out of 5.0 rating on Facebook, and a 4.5 out of 5.0 on Yelp.

Tongue appetizer:  This was meat, still in its tongue shape, with a horseradish paste to spread on it.  I loved this.  The horseradish was nicely spicy--not too bland, not too hot--and I love tongue in general.  (Sorry to do this yet again, but my first ever post about exotic/disgusting foods was tongue, back on April 23, 2012.)  Given the size of the tongues (about 3 inches by 1.5 inches, or about  8 cm. by 4 cm) these might have been sheep's tongues, but I couldn't find out exactly.  Whatever animal they came from, these tongues were still very good.  Chewy, juicy, and tender.  So I really enjoyed this overall.

Plov:  According to their menu, this was made with braised lamb, rice, roasted garlic, chili pepper, chickpeas, carrots, and raisins.  At first I had serious misgivings, as there were many carrots mixed in with this, and it would have been hard to pick them all out.  And as I've surely already mentioned, I despise carrots--they are one of my least favorite foods ever.  I find them repulsive, both raw or cooked.  But something wonderful happened.  I tried some of them, mainly out of duty, and they were actually okay!  They were oily, and spiced, and these somehow overcame the usual horrifically terrible carrot taste.  I actually finished all the carrots, happily, which is somewhat of a miracle.  The rest was good too--the rice was also nice and spicy, and the lamb was tasty as well.  I usually enjoy lamb, so that's not a big surprise.  Overall this dish wasn't awesomely great or anything, but more than solid.  If I had one minor quibble, it would be that they could have included more meat in it.  But especially given the carrots being magically made palatable, this was a pleasant surprise, and I'm glad I tried it.

     Returning to the country of Uzbekistan, it was one of the former Central Asian Soviet Republics.  Meaning it became independent in 1991.  It's one of the most populous Central Asian nations, with a population estimated at over 32,000,000.  As far as fun facts, Uzbekistan boasts the world's largest open pit gold mine, in Muruntau.  One of its communities, Samarkand, is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in the world, dating back to the 8th to 7th century B.C.E.  Its traditional dish, plov, was reportedly invented by a cook serving Alexander the Great.  And for those that enjoy geographical trivia, Uzbekistan is one of only two double landlocked countries in the world, meaning it has no ocean coastline, and is itself surrounded by landlocked countries.  (Or, in other words, you'd have to cross over 2 countries to reach an ocean.)  The tiny European nation of Liechtenstein is the other double.

     As for famous people with Uzbekistan heritage, Ruslan Chagaev was an excellent boxer in the heavyweight division, as he held the WBA championship belt from 2007-09, and then again from 2014-16.  His final pro record was 34-3-1.  Moving to games, Rustam Kasimdzhanov is a chess grandmaster.  Salizhan Sharipov, who's half Uzbek, and half Tajik, is a respected former cosmonaut and astronaut--among his other accomplishments, he performed two space walks.  Uzbekistan's first Olympic gold medalist was won by Lina Cheryazova, in the freestyle skiing, women's aerials event in the 1994 winter games.  In the world of acting, there's Rita Volk, born Margarita Volkovinskaya, who acted in such films as "Almost Friends" (2016), "Summer Days, Summer Nights" (2018) and "We Still Say Grace" (2020), and on television programs such as "Faking It" (2014-16) and "Condor" (2020-).  She also appeared in a couple of music videos for horror maestro John Carpenter.  But arguably the most recognizable person of Uzbek heritage in the U.S. is Milana Aleksandrovna Vayntrub.  She was nearly ubiquitous as the character Lily Adams in AT&T television commercials in 2013-16, and 2020 on.  She also appeared in such films as "Life Happens" (2011), "Ghostbusters" (2016), and "Werewolves Within" (2021), and on television shows such as "ER" (1995), "Other Space" (2015), and "This is Us" 2016-17. 

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Roquefort Cheese

      Roquefort is certainly a type of cheese I've heard of, but I wasn't sure that I'd actually ever had any.  Therefore, when I saw some for sale several weeks ago, I snapped it up.  At the very least, I'd have it again, post blog formation, so I could take notes and really do a proper sampling of it.  The brand that I had was Joan of Arc, and the label certifies it's a product of France.  However, Joan of Arc is currently owned by the Canadian cheese company Saputo, which I covered in my post about kasseri cheese on June 27, 2020.

     Roquefort is an ancient cheese.  Although just how ancient is a matter of some debate.  Some folks think it dates back almost 2000 years, as they claim Pliny the Elder wrote about it in 79 A.D.  But, other historians contend that Pliny was not necessarily referencing Roquefort itself--he could have been discussing another Gallic cheese, and he pointedly did not mention it was a blue cheese, which Roquefort certainly is.  Therefore, the first undeniable historic reference to actual Roquefort is in 1411, when French king Charles VI granted a monopoly for making the cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, who reportedly had been making it there for centuries at least.  There's also a legend about how Roquefort was invented.  The tale goes that a youth was eating bread and sheep's cheese in a cave, but he happened to spy a young woman nearby that he took an immediate fancy to.  He ran off in an attempt to woo her, and left his meal behind.  Months later he returned, and discovered that mold from the bread had infested the cheese, but in a cool, delicious way.  (I should note that one website disputes that the cheese could have been invented this way.  They claim that investigation of the Roquefort bacteria's genetic information indicates that it's distinct from the type of food-spoiling bacteria that would have formed on the bread, and this bacteria doesn't exist in those caves on its own.)  Whenever it was developed, and how, Roquefort is probably the most famous of the blue cheeses.  Meaning cheeses that deliberately have mold growing in them, from the Penicillium roqueforti bacteria.  (Which, despite the similarity in name, is not the same bacteria that makes the important antibiotic penicillin.)  Roquefort is an incredibly popular cheese, especially in France.  It's often referred to as the "King of Cheeses."  Although this title is not official--numerous other cheeses claim to be this sovereign as well.  (I'd like to see a "Game of Thrones"-style series of battles over this, but I don't think any are forthcoming.)  Evidently it's the 2nd most popular cheese in France, behind only Comte.  Moving on, there are the legal issues surrounding it.  Due to EU regulations, cheese can't legally be called "Roquefort" unless it follows several detailed guidelines, the main ones being that it has to be aged, cut, and packaged in Roguefort-sur-Soulzon and its caves, and be made from only sheep's milk, and these sheep must be of the Lacaune breed.  I assume other countries might not be as strict in this labelling, as often happens with "unofficial" brands of bourbon, champagne, tequila, etc.  Finally, Roquefort is thought to have some medicinal qualities.  Historically shepherds used to apply it to wounds to avoid infection and gangrene, and some modern research indicates it may have anti-inflammatory properties, the ability to inhibit LPS leukocytes, and even be effective against chlamydia.  That said, if you suffer from any of these ailments, I'd strongly advise going to a doctor instead of just putting the contents of your cheese plate on your afflicted areas.

     I can't really tell you much of anything about the Joan of Arc company or brand, alas.  The official website was sorely lacking about its history.  The label of my cheese reads, "Since 1918," so there's that.  And my package has official-looking seals on it, so maybe it's one of the seven companies that legally produce Roquefort cheese.  (I couldn't discover which one of the 7 mine was from, though.)  Conversely, however, the label of the cheese I had did not indicate it was unpasteurized.  And supposedly official Roquefort cannot be pasteurized.  But, I don't know if it's legal to sell unpasteurized cheese in my state of New Jersey.  So I'm more than a little confused about whether the Roquefort I ate was 100% legitimate or not.

Joan of Arc Roquefort cheese:  The color of it was yellowish-white, with greenish mold chunks mixed into it.  The odor was strong, almost pungent.  The taste was also quite strong--sour, and reminiscent of other blue cheese I've had, only bolder.  I tried some plain, and then some on some water crackers.  Which helped--the cracker helped balance the nearly overpowering flavor of the Roquefort in an effective way.  This wasn't my favorite cheese, but, as always, it was still very good.  I would definitely recommend it, unless you're adverse to strong cheeses, and blue cheeses in general.  The sight of the mold, and knowing that you're eating mold is a little off-putting, I guess, but the flavor was definitely well above average, and quite tasty.

     One final tidbit, about the woman who inspired the brand/company name of this cheese, Joan of Arc.  Some folks might not know that she fought alongside a man who's considered to be one of history's worst serial killers, Gilles de Rais.  He was a nobleman who was superior in military matters--he was even named a Marshall of France.  But then, later, long after Joan was dead, he was accused of sexually assaulting and then murdering dozens, or even hundreds of children.  Some modern historians question his guilt, but Gilles de Rais was executed in 1440 A.D.  He's also believed to have been the basis for the "Bluebeard" story.

     

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Two More German Cookies

      Well, I didn't cover a single food during the past month of October--three of the posts were about horror movies, one was about the World Series, and the final one concerned a pumpkin liquor.  So any readers who prefer my articles about consumables should be happy.  Today I'll discuss two kinds of cookies (or biscuits) from the Bahlsen company, out of Germany--their Choco Leibniz flavor and their First Class kind.

     Bahlsen is a moderately old company, as it started in 1889 in Hanover, Germany.  Hermann Bahlsen took over a cake/cookie business owned by a H. Schmuckler and renamed it Hannover Cakefabrik H. Bahlsen.  One of the firm's first products was a cake named after a famous Hanover resident named Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) *.  According to their official website, Bahlsen won a gold medal at the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition.  (Normally I wouldn't include a tidbit like this, but it struck me as a coincidence since I'm reading Larson's "The Devil in the White City," about killer H.H. Holmes and that Chicago fair.)  Next, Bahlsen reportedly used the first assembly line in Europe at their factory in 1905, or 8 years before Henry Ford made this innovation famous in the U.S.  But the most surprising informational nugget on the website was about Bahlsen's activities during the Nazi years in Germany.  In 2019 they commissioned an independent historian, Prof. Dr. Manfred Greiger, to investigate their business's actions during this time.  Greiger discovered that the Bahlsens were Nazi party members, and used over 700 forced slave laborers in their factories from 1943-45.  Most of these workers were women from Nazi-occupied Poland and the Ukraine.  Anyway, clearly Bahlsen committed crimes against humanity during World War II, but it's nice to see them own up to it at least, and even put it on their website.  Cynics may say it was only because of heiress Verena Bahlsen's published online comments defending the company's World War actions, saying that they treated the workers well, etc.  (Obviously these statements were false, and she did later apologize.)  But, at least it's a start, I guess.  I mean, probably every mid 20th century German company did some level of wrong during the Nazi years, but this is the first one I've looked at for my blog that actually addressed it.  And I realize this tangent is much darker in tone than most of my posts about edibles, but I did notice it, and thought I'd discuss it a little.  Moving back to food details, Bahlsen also owns several other brands, including Leibniz, Raw Bite, and Brandt(who I covered in my post on August 13, 2019).  Finally, I was amused to see the citation, "Those who love cookies also accept website cookies" on their website.

Bahlsen Choco Leibniz, milk, crispy cookies:  These were rectangular in shape, about 6 cm. by 4.75 cm. (or about 2.5 inches by 1.75 inches), that were a yellow cookie on one side, and brown chocolate on the other.  "Bahlsen Leibniz" was embossed on both sides.  So it was a cookie with a chocolate section, kind of layered.  It was almost like an open faced Twix.  They were quite good.  The cookie part and the milk chocolate were both tasty.  Would definitely recommend.

Bahlsen First Class, milk, crispy wafers with hazelnut praline:  These cookies were square, about 4.75 cm. (about 1.75 inches) to a side.  One side was chocolate, while the other was a yellow cookie with cross hatched waffle-like pattern.  "Ohne Gleichen/First Class" was embossed on them.  These were chocolate wafers, crunchy.  I'm not a huge hazelnut flavor fan, so I didn't like these as much as the other kind.  But they still were alright.  If you like hazelnut, you'll probably enjoy them.

*  Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was apparently quite the Renaissance Man.  (Not quite literally, by most historian's time reckonings, but figuratively.)  He excelled as a mathematician, diplomat, scientist, and philosopher.  Even if Voltaire made fun of him in "Candide."

Extremely Difficult Trivia About "Dawn of the Dead" (1979)

      Well the Month of Morbidity is almost over, so I thought I'd end with talking about one of my very favorite movies, the original "Dawn of the Dead."  (For the record, I thought the 2004 remake was surprisingly decent, but George Romero's 1979 version is still the king, by far.)  In my opinion, this one is the best of the "Dead" series, and the best movie Romero ever made, which is high praise.  Anyway, it'll be the usual format, with the questions first, and the answers at the end.  Many SPOILERS ahead, obviously, so you're warned.  And these questions are the very definition of trivia--ultimately unimportant details, so don't feel bad about not knowing some or even all of them.  Finally, Happy Halloween to all those that observe and celebrate it.

Questions:

1)   In what city does the movie open in?

2)   In the opening scene at the television station, what is the name of the person being interviewed?

3)   And who is interviewing this guest?

4)   What is the name of the television station itself, as in its 4 letter call sign code?

5)   Franny gets into an argument with one of the station employees, someone who wants to leave the rescue station listings onscreen, even though some of them aren't still open and safe.  Who is this scummy person, who cares more about ratings than people's safety?

6)  What time of night does Steven tell Franny to meet him on the roof, to fly to safety?

7)   Who is the leader of the housing project that the SWAT team is entering?

8)   What is the name of the first person seen killed on screen?  (Hint, it's the rookie SWAT member who briefly talks with Roger.)

9)   One of the SWAT members goes crazy upon entering the housing project, killing zombies and innocent living people at random, before being executed by Peter.  What is this crazed SWAT guy's name?

10)  What is the number of this housing project?

11)  What is the name of the first zombie we see take a bite out of someone?  (We hear his wife say his name right before he attacks her.)

12)  What is the make and model of the helicopter that Steven is flying?  

13)  What is the six digit registration number of the helicopter?  (It's written on the side of the craft, and prominently on the bottom as well.)

14)  Why flying, our set of heroes see some large groups of living people congregating in the countryside, including some National Guardsmen and safety personnel.  What town are the firefighters from?  (It's written on their hats.)

15)  What brand of beer are these congregating people drinking?

16)  In the office/lounge building at the local airport, Peter drinks some coffee from a machine.  What is the charge per cup?

17)  Also in this building, we briefly see a candy machine.  What are the listed prices for these?

18)  The power is still on at the shopping mall our group goes to, and remains on for the rest of the movie.  What does Peter speculate is the reason for this?

19)  Why does Roger scold Franny for disparaging Spam?

20)  In the mall office, where the group finds the mall keys and light controls, you can briefly see a poster with a high school football schedule.  Name the school.

21)  Several times the group passes by a tavern/bar within the mall.  What is this establishment's name?

22)  The group spends a lot of time in a department store within the mall, which has separate escalators and the elevator.  What is this store's name?

23)  What brand of liquor is the group seen drinking?  

24)  According to Steven, at the beginning of the film, Franny is about how many months pregnant?

25)  According to Fran's angry retort, where was the group originally headed for before they stopped at the mall?

26)  Our group is seen watching a borrowed black and white television set.  What is its make and model?

27)  And what channel are they watching?

28)  What company's trucks do Peter and Roger use to block the four mall doors?

29)  While they're doing this, on the CB radio Roger refers to Peter with a nickname.  What is it?

30)  A grocery store is located across the parking lot from the main mall building.  What is it?  (Hint, it was a large American chain in the 1970's, and beyond.)

31)  We witness a zombie exhibiting tool use in the movie, which is a sign of intelligence.  Briefly explain it.

32)  Where on his body is Roger bitten by the zombies?

33)  What is the make and model of the gray car the group uses to ride around inside the mall?

34)  A young male zombie in a baseball uniform sits and watches Franny through the glass.  What is written on the back of his shirt?

35)  According to Peter, he's seen how many guys get bitten by a zombie?

36)  Also according to Peter, how long did these guys then live after the bite?

37)  After the group has destroyed all the zombies in the mall, Peter tells them the famous quote of his grandfather, "When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth."  (It's the movie's tagline.)  Where was his granddaddy from?

38)  The group is later watching a television broadcast of a scientist talking.  According to him, what percentage of the available food on a human corpse does a zombie typically use?

39)  What two controversial suggestions does this scientist then make?

40)  The group watches this on their second, color television.  What make is it?

41)  Roger evidently was in the military before he was a police officer.  What evidence for this is seen?

42)  What brand of tennis ball does Peter use, and what color are they?

43)  Later we see the group has three large glass carafes filled with liquor, each labeled.  What are the three types of liquor?

44)  The apparent leader of the biker gang at the end is wearing what kind of military helmet?

45)  What brand of beer is the biker gang seen drinking?

46)  True or false?  The word "zombie" is never said by a character in the movie.

47)  Writer/Director George Romero and his then wife, assistant director Christine Forrest, each have 2 brief acting roles in the movie.  What are they?

48)  Why does the biker wearing the sombrero test his blood pressure at the sit down machine while the zombies are swarming his group at the end?

Answers:

1)   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Although it was really shot in Pittsburgh, PA, and surrounding towns.)

2)   Dr. Foster.

3)   Berman.

4)   WGON.

5)   Givens.

6)   9:30.

7)   Martinez.

8)   Rod (or possibly Roy) Tucker.  It's hard to hear when he's saying his first name, so that's why I included the alternate.  Other online sources also seem divided on Rod or Roy.  The actor who played the guy is named Rod Stouffer in real life, so maybe it's more likely his character was also named Rod.

9)   Wooley.

10)  107, evidently the building's address.

11)  Miguel.

12)  It's a Bell 206B Jet Ranger II.

13)  N90090.

14)  Monroeville, PA.  The same town where the mall was and still is located.

15)  Iron City Beer, a Pittsburgh local favorite.  Romero had done a television commercial for Iron City years before.

16)  20 cents.  Coffee was cheap in the late 1970's!

17)  15 cents each.  Candy was cheap, too.

18)  He guesses it might be run on nuclear power.

19)  Because it has its own key opener built into the can, unlike other food containers.

20)  Gateway.

21)  The Brown Derby.

22)  Penney's.

23)  Jack Daniels whiskey.

24)  About 3.5 to 4 months.

25)  Canada.

26)  It's a JC Penney Solid State set.

27)  10.

28)  B & P.  Not the infamous Gulf-polluting British Petroleum, but the Baltimore & Pittsburgh trucking company, based out of a town near Monroeville, PA.  According to online sources, it went out of business the same year the film came out.

29)  Too Tall Too Slow.

30)  A & P.

31)  A zombie uses a crowbar as a club to smash the window to get at Roger while he's hotwiring a truck.

32)  His lower left leg, and his lower left arm.  Later, when Roger's entering the car inside the Mall, a zombie re-opens his leg wound with its fingers, but doesn't quite bite him again.

33)  It's a Volkswagen Scirocco Mark I.  There was some debate online, but it's probably a 1978 model.

34)  Bach's Arco Pitcairn.

35)  Half a dozen, or six.

36)  None lasted longer than 3 days.

37)  Trinidad.

38)  5%.  Meaning they're almost always able to revive and walk around themselves after.

39)  It's kind of garbled, but he apparently wants to feed the zombies, (or possibly eat them?) and then he suggests we nuke major cities, since many zombies are congregating there.

40)  A color Panasonic, of unknown model and year.

41)  When Peter and Steven bury Roger we see dog tags on the surface of the grave.

42)  Wilson tennis balls, and they're orange.

43)  Gin, scotch, and bourbon.

44)  A Nazi SS helmet.

45)  Miller.

46)  False.  At the end, while talking to Steven on the radio, Peter mentions that thousands of zombies will come in after the bikers move the truck and open one of the doors.  I think this is the one and only time, though.

47)  They're seen in the television station scenes at the beginning, playing a director (George) and a producer (Christine).  George is the bearded and scarfed guy, and Christine is sitting next to him, talking about how she can't pull rescue station locations out of her ass.  Later they both play a biker.  Christine is the "elf biker chick" and George is "Nick," the biker in the Santa Claus suit.

48)  There's no logical reason for this!  But it does make for a cool, grisly death scene.  

  

  

  

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Dutch/American Pumpkin Spice Liqueur

      I'm taking a bit of a chance here today, with this blog topic.  I'm well aware that some folks hate pumpkin-spiced consumables, and feel that these are way overdone, in the autumn season and in the month of October especially.  But I couldn't resist.  I've probably mentioned this before, but I don't mind the proliferation of pumpkin-flavored foods and drinks during the Halloween season.  Sometimes they're good, sometimes not, but I don't see what the big deal is.  If you don't like the flavor, it's easy enough not to eat it.  I think every person dislikes some edible or drinkable, so avoiding the ones you hate seems like a minor inconvenience.  However, clearly many people disagree with me.  Anyway, today's focus is a pumpkin-spiced liqueur from Bols.

     Bols bills itself as the oldest distillery in the world, claiming a start date of 1575, in Amsterdam.  While no source seems to directly contradict this, it seems slightly questionable, or at least the history is kind of vague.  We're not told what the name of the founder(s) is, other than that they were presumably surnamed Bols.  The first surviving reference to the business isn't from until 1640.  The most famous member of the Bols clan, Lucas Bols, was then born in 1652.  He led the company to an enormously productive period, aided by capital earned from his being a major shareholder in the very lucrative (but controversial in other ways) Dutch East India Company.  The next highly significant historic company event occurred in the early 1800's.  Bols was struggling mightily.  In part due to the blockade enacted by Napoleon.  Also, the last Bols direct heir, Herman, died in 1813.  Therefore, in 1816 the business was sold to Gabriel Theodorus van't Wout, although he kept Bols as the company's name.  Bols rebounded but in 1868 it was sold again, this time to the Moltzer family.  Again, the firm prospered--among other things they received many royal warrants from surrounding European nations.  They also opened Bols distilleries in other countries, including France, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, South Africa, Argentina, and the U.S., from the 1920's to 1947.  In 1954 the Moltzers sold out, and Bols became a publicly traded company.  Otherwise, Bols attempted its first non-alcoholic products (soft drinks, mineral waters, bitters) in 1983, and became the dominant producer of genever (the Netherlands' traditional drink, a juniper-flavored liquor that was a precursor to gin) in 1986 with the purchase of the Henkes company.  The next several decades saw Bols join with and then separate from several other firms until its final sale to ABN AMRO Capital and the group led by Huub van Doorne in 2006.  Bols makes over 30 kinds of liquors, including advocaat, apricot brandy, blue Curacao, creme de cassis (see my post on August 21, 2021), butterscotch schnapps, mango liqueur, sloe gin, and triple sec.  Finally, according to its website, Bols initial liquor flavors, way back in 1575, were cumin, cardamom, and orange.

Bols pumpkin spice liqueur:  Had an orange color, not shockingly.  The odor was slight, but rather like vanilla and pumpkins.  As usual, I didn't have much in the way of mixers, so I just tried it straight, and chilled.  It did taste a bit boozy--its alcohol content is 21%.  But it was pretty good overall.  If you like pumpkin flavor in general, you'll probably like this.  (And I guess if you don't, this probably will also be disappointing.)  I appreciated that they tried a different kind of liquor flavor.  It turned out well enough.  Not my favorite drink or anything, but more than okay.  Also, I guess you can use this to annoy friends who vocally hate pumpkin spiced things.

     Just one final tidbit--the Dutch traditional drink genever (which has many alternate spellings), is also sometimes known as "Dutch Courage."  Which is also a term used to describe alcohol in general, as in someone whose bravery is thought to have come out of a bottle, and not from their own strength of character.

 

Extremely Difficult Trivia About "The Shining" (1980)

      Today I'm tackling one of the most lauded horror movies, 1980's "The Shining."  (Personally I think it's a bit overrated--for more on that you can read my post on October 20, 2018, which covers 17 movies I think are overrated.)  This is also the movie which has so many interpretations and alleged hidden meanings that an entire documentary was made about, 2012's "Room 237."  (I've also heard that while some of the theories in this documentary seem reasonable, others are ridiculous and silly.  But to be fair I haven't seen it.)  So, because so many people have evidently watched "The Shining" countless times, maybe even frame by frame, perhaps more folks will know the answers to the incredibly difficult questions I'll be posing here.  But I'll take that chance, and see if I can stump even the most ardent fanatics.  As usual, there are obviously many SPOILERS ahead.  And if you're a normal, moderately rabid horror fan don't feel bad about not knowing many or all of these questions, since they're just unimportant details.  Also as usual, I'll ask the questions first, and then provide the answers below.

Questions:

1)    What's the name of Mr. Ullman's secretary?

2)    And what's the name of the other hotel employee who sits in on Jack and Ullman's interview, and will later show Jack around?  (I think he's the on-season caretaker.)

3)    According to Ullman, what exact dates are the Overlook's open, on-season period?

4)    How long, in miles, is the single stretch of road that connects the Overlook to its nearest town, Sidewinder?

5)    Ullman tells Jack about a previous off season caretaker, Grady, who killed his wife and two daughters with an axe.  When did this tragedy occur?

6)    We see some children's character decals in the Torrance's apartment, around Danny's bedroom.  What comic strip and then movie are these characters from?

7)    Right before Danny blacks out while brushing his teeth we see he's wearing a shirt with a number on the shoulder.  What is the number?

8)    During his talk with the doctor, Danny says his friend Tony lives in two parts of Danny's body.  What are they?

9)    What town and state is the Torrance apartment located in?

10)   What state does Wendy say that the Torrances originally were from?

11)   During their tour, Wendy admires the Native American designs in one of the hotel's main rooms.  Ullman says they're based on two tribes' traditions.  What are these two tribes?

12)   According to Ullman, how many Presidents have stayed at the Overlook?

13)   What is Danny doing in the Game Room when he first sees the ghosts of Grady's daughters (in real life, not a vision)?

14)   How high, in feet, are the hedge maze's walls?

15)   What year did construction start on the Overlook, and when was it finished?

16)   What is the name of the massive room in the hotel that Ullman says can comfortably accommodate 300 people?

17)   According to Ullman, why is there no alcohol left in the Overlook during the off season?

18)   "Wendy" is actually a nickname.  What is her actual, full first name?

19)   How many sirloin steaks are in the hotel's freezer for the use of the winter caretakers?

20)   What does Danny say is his favorite food?

21)   During Halloran's talk with Danny, Danny is wearing a jacket with writing on the back.  What does is say?

22)   We see Jack wearing a t-shirt for bed wear with writing on it.  What does it read?

23)   What brand of cigarettes does Jack smoke while he's writing?

24)   Wendy watches a Denver television new segment which mentions that a 24 year old woman has been missing for 10 days, while out on a hunting trip with her husband.  What is that missing woman's name?

25)   What is the Overlook Hotel's CB radio call sign?

26)   And then what is the United Forest Service's CB radio call sign?

27)   When Jack first sees Lloyd the Bartender, how much money does he say he has?

28)   What kind and brand of alcohol does Lloyd serve Jack?

29)   Jack praises Lloyd's bartending skills, and mentions three cities while doing so.  What are these cities?

30)   According to Jack when did he accidently hurt Danny?

31)   According to Wendy while talking to the doctor, how long has Jack been sober?

32)   We see Dick Halloran watching the news at his winter home.  What channel is he watching?

33)   What are the names of the three newscasters mentioned during this broadcast?

34)   Grady accidently spills a drink on Jack's clothing in the ballroom.  What kind of drink was it?

35)   Grady identifies himself to Jack, but gives a different first name than Ullman did earlier.  What are the two first names?

36)   Grady mentions that one of his daughters did something that warranted "correction."  What was it?

37)   Dick Halloran flies from his winter home in Florida to Denver.  What airline does he use?

38)   What airport does he fly into?

39)   What garage does Halloran rent the Snowcat from?

40)   Who does Halloran talk to on the phone to arrange this rental?

41)   What Denver radio station is Halloran listening to while he drives to Sidewinder?

42)   The radio broadcast mentions that two passes are closed due to the winter weather.  What are they?

43)   What cartoon are Wendy and Danny watching before she confronts Jack?

44)   Staying on television programming, at one point we see the Torrances watching a movie.  What is it?

45)   What is the name of Jack's immense writing room?

46)   What brand of typewriter does Jack use?

47)   What real Major League Baseball player's signature is on the baseball bat wielded by Wendy?

48)   During their heated argument, Jack says he's responsible for looking after the hotel until what month and day?

49)   Everyone remembers what Jack says after he breaks open the apartment's bathroom door with an axe, and sticks his face in the hole--"Here's Johnny!"  But what does he say when he axes open the door to their caretaker apartment before this?

50)   At the end, we see an old photo on the wall in which Jack is inexplicably within a crowd scene at the Overlook.  What was the exact date of this ball?

51)   Near the end, Wendy sees four separate ghostly manifestations.  Briefly describe them.

52)   One of the actors or actresses in the movie claimed that director Stanley Kubrick loved playing chess with them, as this person was the only one available who could give Kubrick a challenge.  Who was it?

Answers:

1)    Susie.

2)    Bill Watson.

3)    May 15th to October 30th.  So the caretaker's first day is apparently on Halloween!

4)    25 miles.

5)    The winter of 1970.

6)    We see "Snoopy" from the "Peanuts" comic, and "Dopey" from Disney's "Snow White."

7)    #42.

8)    Tony lives mostly in Danny's mouth, but sometimes he hides in Danny's stomach.

9)    Boulder, Colorado.

10)  Vermont.

11)  The Navajo and the Apache.

12)  4.

13)  He's playing darts.

14)  13 feet.

15)  It was begun in 1907, and finished in 1909.

16)  The Gold Ballroom.

17)  Insurance reasons.

18)  Winifred.

19)  50.

20)  French fries with ketchup. 

21)  Flyers.  (But it doesn't look like the NHL Philadelphia Flyers.)

22)  Stovington.  (Which is the name of the school in Vermont where Jack used to teach.)

23)  Marlboro.

24)  Susan Robertson.

25)  KDK 12.

26)  KDK 1.

27)  $60.  Two 20's and two 10's.

28)  Jack Daniels whiskey.

29)  Timbuktu, Mali, and Portland, Maine, and Portland, Oregon.  (As in Lloyd's the best from these places to the other places.)

30)  3 years ago.

31)  5 months.  So evidently Wendy or Jack is lying.  Since she told the doctor that Jack quit drinking the day after hurting Danny.  Presumably Wendy doesn't want to admit that Jack continued to drink well after this accident.

32)  Channel 10, or WPLG out of Miami, Florida.

33)  Glenn Rinker, Ann Bishop, and award-winning weather expert Walter Cronice.

34)  Advocaat.  Which is a Dutch drink made with eggs, sugar, and brandy.  Kind of like spiked eggnog, it sounds like.

35)  Ullman says it's Charles, but Grady says it's Delbert.  Some viewers think this is a mistake, but knowing Kubrick's fanatical attention to detail, it's probably not.  It's probably showing that Grady existed as a butler at the Overlook in 1921, and then as a caretaker in 1970.  Like Jack was somehow at the Overlook in the distant past (see Question #49), and also as a caretaker in the late 1970's.

36)  She stole a book of matches and tried to burn the hotel down.

37)  Continental.

38)  Stapleton International Airport.  Which in reality closed in 1995, and was replaced by the Denver International Airport.

39)  Durkin's.

40)  Larry Durkin.

41)  Radio 63, KHOW.

42)  The Wolf Creek and Red Mountain passes.

43)  Roadrunner.

44)  "Summer of '42" (1971)

45)  The Colorado Lounge.

46)  It's an Adler, which is a German brand.  It's probably either a 1960's J4 or a Tippa S model--there's online debate about that.  It was a popular portable typewriter brand of this time.  Also, it changes color as the film progresses.

47)  Carl Yastrzemski, the Hall of Fame Boston Red Sox player.  Presumably a nod to novel author Stephen King, since King's a major Red Sox fan.

48)  May 1st.  Which, as we know from Question #3, doesn't match with Ullman's stated date of May 15th.  Apparently Jack misremembered.  He IS crazy, after all.  Or, alternately, maybe May 1st is the real last day for the winter caretaker, and the hotel needs about 2 weeks to get it ready for guests.

49)  He says the more boring, "Wendy, I'm home."

50)  July 4th, 1921.  So, presumably more of the weird duality thing, like with Grady.

51)  a)  The guy in the bear or dog suit orally pleasuring a man in a tuxedo in one of the bedrooms.

      b)  A jolly man holding a drink despite sporting a horrendous head wound, who says, "Great party, isn't it?"

      c)  Cobwebs and dressed human skeletons in one of the ballrooms.

      d)  Blood pouring out of the elevator.  (The Simpsons did a great joke about this in their parody.)

52)  Tony Burton, who played the small role of Larry Durkin.  Burton's arguably most recognized for playing Tony "Duke" Evers, Apollo Creed and then Rocky's corner man/trainer, in the "Rocky" movie series.

     For any readers jonesing for a post about a consumable, next week's will be about one of these, and it's appropriate for the Halloween season.

 

 

Worst Individual Hitting Performances Ever in a World Series

      The playoffs just started for Major League Baseball, which got me to thinking about the final playoff series, the World Series, which of course determines the champions of the sport.  These series get the most attention, and players' reputations can be made, or hindered by how well they do in them.  I've already covered some unlikely World Series heroes in my post on October 30, 2013, so I thought it would be fun and interesting to explore who were the duds.  Mainly, which players had the worst World Series, as judged by their ineptitude at the plate.  Therefore, I pored over my baseball encyclopedia, and the Baseball Reference website, and determined the answer to this question.  Clearly, I had to decide on a minimum number of at bats, since a guy going 0 for 4 in a Series is obviously not as damaging as another guy going 0 for 16.  Anyway, I decided on 15 at bats for my cutoff, as this seemed to be a decent amount of action in a best of 7 Series.  (I realize a handful of early 1900's Series were actually best of 9 games, but you get what I mean.)  Also, I decided to not just look at batting average, but players' OPSs, which stands for on base percentage plus slugging average.  In the past few decades, I think even casual, non-statistically oriented fans recognize that getting on base without getting a hit, usually via a walk, is much more valuable than players who don't walk much, and are therefore making more outs at the plate.  Anyway, so I determined my list by ranking players who had the worst overall OPSs.  I'll also include each player's slash, or batting average/on base percentage/slugging average, as well as their team, the year that particular Series was played, and their position.  Ties in OPS will be broken using other stats, such as runs scored, rbis, stolen bases, and/or negative stats like caught stealing or errors committed in the field.  Later I'll include some lists of worst overall battings averages in a Series, too, and some contenders for worst Series hitters ever, who played in more than 1.  This first list will go from least worst to worst of the worst.  The setup will be:

OPS, Slash, at bats, other stats, player name, position played, year, and team.

Worst hitting performances in a single World Series:

22)  .125, .063/.063/.063, 16 at bats, 1 run scored, Steve Nicosia, catcher, 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.

21)  .125, .063/.063/.063, 16 at bats, 1 run, 1 caught stealing, Cody Bellinger, outfielder, 2018 Los Angeles Dodgers.

20)  .125, .063/.063/.063, 16 at bats, 1 run, 1 stolen base, 1 error, Walt Weiss, shortstop, 1988 Oakland Athletics.

19)  .125, .063/.063/.063, 16 at bats, 3 errors (in one inning!), Willie Davis, outfielder, 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers.

18)  .120, .000/.120/.000, 22 at bats, 1 run, Dal Maxvill, shortstop, 1968 St. Louis Cardinals.

17)  .118, .059/.059/.059, 17 at bats, 1 rbi, Dick Sisler, outfielder, 1950 Philadelphia Phillies.

16)  .114, .059/.056/.059, 17 at bats, 2 runs, 1 rbi, Ken Griffey, Sr., outfielder, 1976 Cincinnati Reds.

15)  .111, .056/.056/.056, 18 at bats, Everett Scott, shortstop, 1915 Boston Red Sox.

14)  .111, .000/.111/.000, 16 at bats, 1 run, 1 error, Flea Clifton, third base, 1935 Detroit Tigers.

13)  .105, .000/.105/.000, 17 at bats, Placido Polanco, second base, 2006 Detroit Tigers.

12)  .105, .053/.053/.053, 19 at bats, 1 run, Buck Herzog, third base, 1913 New York Giants.

11)  .105, .053/.053/.053, 19 at bats, 1 run, 1 stolen base, 2 errors, Mariano Duncan, second base, 1996 New York Yankees.

10)  .103, .053/.050/.053, 19 at bats, 2 rbi, Brooks Robinson, third base, 1969 Baltimore Orioles.

9)    .100, .050/.050/.050, 20 at bats, 2 rbi, 1 error, Evan Longoria, third base, 2008 Tampa Bay Rays.

8)    .100, .050/.050/.050, 20 at bats, 1 error, Mike Schmidt, third base, 1983 Philadelphia Phillies.

7)    .087, .000/.087/.000, 21 at bats, 1 stolen base, 1 rbi, Jimmy Sheckard, outfield, 1906 Chicago Cubs.

6)    .087, .000/.087/.000, 21 at bats, 3 errors, Red Murray, outfield, 1911 New York Giants.

5)    .059, .000/.059/.000, 15 at bats, 1 rbi, Scott Rolen, third base, 2004 St. Louis Cardinals.

4)    .056, .000/.056/.000, 17 at bats,  Lonny Frey, second base, 1939 Cincinnati Reds.

3)    .000, .000/.000/.000, 15 at bats, 1 rbi, Wally Berger, outfield, 1939 Cincinnati Reds.

2)    .000, .000/.000/.000, 16 at bats, 1 rbi, 2 errors, Rafael Belliard, shortstop, 1995 Atlanta Braves.

1)    .000, .000/.000/.000, 21 at bats, 2 errors, Billy Sullivan, catcher, 1906 Chicago White Sox.

Let's figure this another way.  Here's a list of the guys who had over 20 at bats, without a single hit.  Most of them were on the previous list.  Hodges missed it because despite not getting even one hit, he did walk 5 times.

0 for 22 at bats, Dal Maxvill, shortstop, 1968 St. Louis Cardinals.

(There's a four way ties for second)

0 for 21 at bats, Billy Sullivan, catcher, 1906 Chicago White Sox.

0 for 21  at bats, Jimmy Sheckard, outfield, 1906 Chicago Cubs.

0 for 21 at bats, Red Murray, outfield, 1911 New York Giants.

0 for 21 at bats, Gil Hodges, first base, 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers.  (In addition to his 5 walks, Gil did score 1 run, and get 1 rbi, but he also committed an error.)

     I didn't figure out who had the worst offensive performances while playing in more than one World Series, since that would have taken a ridiculous amount of time.  But these guys surely would be on any list, perhaps even in this order.  Again, it's least worst to worst of the worst, with a minimum of 20 at bats, and playing in at least 2 Series.

7)  .432, .121/.159/.273, 66 at bats, Cody Bellinger, first base/outfield, 2017, 2018, and 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers.  (Bellinger is still active, and his Dodgers could even play in the Series this year, so this could change.)

6)  .425, .188/.206/.219, 32 at bats, Rafael Belliard, shortstop, 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1996 Atlanta Braves.

5)  .381, .115/.217/.164, 61 at bats, Dal Maxvill, shortstop, 1964, 1967 and 1968 St. Louis Cardinals, 1974 Oakland Athletics.

4)  .321, .133/.188/.133, 30 at bats, Dick Tracewski, shortstop/second base/third base, 1963, and 1965  Los Angeles Dodgers, 1968 Detroit Tigers.

3)  .309, .037/.235/.074, 27 at bats, Pat Burrell, outfield, 2008 Philadelphia Phillies and 2010 San Francisco Giants.

2)  .193, .061/.132/.061, 49 at bats, Marv Owen, third base, 1934 and 1935 Detroit Tigers.

1)  .048, .000/.048/.000, 20 at bats, Lonny Frey, second base, 1939 and 1940 Cincinnati Reds, 1947 New York Yankees.

     So that's it for now.  Enjoy the playoffs, and then the World Series!  Maybe someone this year will qualify for these lists.  For example, catcher Mike Zunino of the Tampa Bay Rays came awfully close last year to qualifying for the first, single series list, and if he plays in another one this year he might qualify for the second, lifetime one.