Uncle John’s Impossible Questions & Astounding Answers (22 page)

What followed was 1925’s
The Great Gatsby
, a sordid tale of wealth, love, betrayal, and bootlegging, set in New York. The book came in at second place in the Modern Library’s “100 Best Novels of the 20th Century” behind James Joyce’s
Ulysses
. (Would it have been as well received if it was called
The High-Bouncing Lover
? We’ll never know.)

Along with Galahad, Gawain, and Lancelot, they were Knights of the Round Table. According to legend, King Arthur made them all sit at a round table in order to stop their incessant bickering and start to see themselves as equals. Also according to legend, it worked.

The line “I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie” was removed by what author from what book for what reason?

Why did Jerry Seinfeld insist on wearing red pants and a blue shirt in the pilot episode of his famous TV show?

Dr. Seuss’ environmentally themed children’s book
The Lorax
tells of a creature rendered homeless after a greedy businessman removes all the trees. One of the lines in the 1971 book is, “I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie.” More than a decade after
The Lorax
was published, two scientists from the Ohio Sea Grant Program wrote to Seuss (real name: Theodor Geisel) to inform him of their success in ridding the Great Lake of pollution. Convinced that things were no longer bad in Lake Erie, Seuss instructed his publisher to remove the line from future printings.

That red-and-blue color combo is one of many references to Jerry Seinfeld’s pop-culture hero, Superman. One of the most enduring TV legends is that either an image or a reference to the Man of Steel appeared in all 180 episodes of
Seinfeld
. Is it true? Many die-hard fans insist that it is, although some of the allusions are so subtle that it’s a stretch. In the first few years of the show, a small Superman figurine sat on Jerry’s bookcase; in later episodes, he appeared on a magnet on Jerry’s refrigerator. In addition, Jerry and his friends often discussed other DC Comics characters—Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen, Aquaman, and the Bizarro World. And Jerry, in his younger years, enjoyed drawing pictures of naked Lois Lane.

Who appeared on talk shows in 1987 urging his fans
not
to go see his new movie?

Bill Cosby. He could do no wrong in the 1980s…or so he thought. Then came
Leonard, Part 6
. Basking in the phenomenal success of
The Cosby Show
, the comic starred in this spy spoof as Leonard Parker, a retired CIA agent who is called back into action to battle evil vegetarian Medusa Johnson. Her fiendish plan: to brainwash animals (lobsters, frogs, bunnies) to kill people. Wearing a silver jumpsuit and pink ballerina shoes, Leonard ballet-fights evil bird men, and later uses a magic hot dog to foil Medusa. Then he rides an ostrich to safety. Really. According to
every
movie critic,
Leonard, Part 6
was not only bad—it was one of the worst films in the history of cinema.

And Cosby agreed.

He hated the finished product so much that he bought the TV rights to keep it from being rebroadcast (although it’s now available on DVD). He also appeared on several talk shows urging his millions of fans, “Don’t waste your money.” Cosby blamed the train wreck on the inexperience of young director Paul Weiland (who would go on to direct TV’s
Mr. Bean
). But it wasn’t
all
Weiland’s fault—Cosby himself co-wrote the screenplay and produced the film. He won three Razzie awards for
Leonard, Part 6
: Worst Picture, Worst Actor, and Worst Screenplay. Fortunately, Cosby vowed to quit the feature film business. (Unfortunately, not before he made
Ghost Dad
.)

Miss Marple was probably the most famous detective spinster of the 20th century. What offense inspired mystery writer Agatha Christie to create Miss Marple?

How many more copies could a book expect to sell if it landed a coveted spot in Oprah’s Book Club?

In her 1926 Hercule Poirot mystery novel,
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
, Agatha Christie introduced a clever spinster character named Caroline Shepherd. That same year, the novel was adapted into a play. When it premiered, Christie was aghast to discover that playwright Michael Morton had turned Shepherd’s character from a wrinkled old lady into an attractive young woman. Determined to “give a voice to old spinsters,” Christie decided to make one the lead character of her next novel.

Since then, Miss Marple has been featured in dozens of books, movies, and television shows. She’s been played by some very accomplished actresses, including Gracie Fields, Margaret Rutherford, Joan Hickson, Helen Hayes, and Angela Lansbury, whose character on TV’s
Murder, She Wrote
was inspired by Miss Marple—a quick-witted woman who has the uncanny knack of always being in close proximity to a murder.

From 1996 until 2010, Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club showcased 65 titles. According to publishing industry insiders, having a book in the club would increase its print run by 500 percent…and all but guarantee it a spot on the
New York Times
Bestseller List. The phenomenon was called the “Oprah Effect,” and Uncle John is sad that his
Bathroom Reader
was never chosen.

What classic novel begins with this line: “The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning”?

What famous playwright wrote the screenplay to the 1987 crime drama
The Untouchables
?

What do actors Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, George Hamilton, and Anthony Hopkins have in common?