Stream of Facts

On Oct. 4, 1931 the comic strip “Dick Tracy” made its debut; 60 years later, a film adaptation starring Warren Beatty and Madonna was created.

Madonna, aka Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, shares the same last name as Gwen Stefani’s great-aunt’s mother-in-law, making the two pop stars distant relatives.

Romance between relatives is less uncommon than one would think, with 20 percent of couples worldwide being between cousins and 23 U.S. states allowing such marriages.

Marriages are naturally costly, but Renee Strauss and Martin Katz’s creation, The Diamond Wedding Gown, has a record-breaking value of U.S. $12 million.

Because U.S. President Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) feared electricity, White House staff would turn on light switches for him and his family.

Premiering in 1968, “All in the Family” was the first television sitcom to record on videotape and to feature a toilet flush on prime time.

Time wasted in the American workplace accounts for 2.09 hours and up to $759 billion dollars in salaries, nearly half of which is spent surfing the internet.

In 2007, an experimental internet system was built in 75 year-old Sigbritt Löthberg’s home, producing 40 gigabyte per second download speeds and enough heat to dry her laundry.

Household laundry rooms for people making over $100,000 average about 82 square feet in size, contrasting to the national average of 47 square feet.

Record holder for “most feet and armpits sniffed,” Madeline Albrecht spent 15 years at Hill Top Research Laboratories, testing products for Dr. Scholl.

The Jay Leno Show If you haven’t had a chance to check out Leno’s new NBC show, it’s worth tuning in. It’s a lot of what the old “Tonight Show” used to be, with a with a few pleasant adjustments — one being the absence of Leno’s desk, which all his celebrity guests seem to comment on. What separates it from the existing mess of broadcasted late shows? Not a whole lot, but if you’re into that sort of thing, it is definitely one of the better ones. The monologues are clever; the skits are humorous; and, if you let the TV run through Conan and Fallon, you’ll have successfully completed the mission of not completing any homework that night.

Tune in weeknights on NBC at 10 p.m.

Male student with Burger King crown in Wallace Library.

“Stop diabetes? If they really wanted to do that, they’d get rid of half the stuff in this store.”
- Customer referencing diabetes donation jar in Bytes on the Run

“I am obsessed with my boyfriend!!”
- Female student in Booth Fine Arts Building

Large laundry cart barreling down staircase in Eastman Building.

Send your Overseen and Overheads with the phrase “Overseen and Overheard” in the subject line to leisure@reportermag.com. Now accepting cell phone pics!

flageolet: n. a small fipple flute resembling the treble recorder.

If you thought Ron Burgundy’s talent on the jazz flute was something, you should check out his flageolet skills.

Definition taken from http://merriam-webster.com.