Mental Floss: Instant Knowledge (26 page)

(the damage done)

USEFUL FOR:
telling people that whatever their mistake, it can’t be
that
bad

KEYWORDS:
hooray, hallelujah, or thank you, Jesus

THE FACT:
In those first two months after New Coke hit the market the company received over 40,000 letters of complaint and 6,000 calls to its 800 number every day.

Only 87 days after its launch, the company reintroduced the original Coke formula as Coke Classic to subdue the masses. The return of Coke was considered so important to the American people that Peter Jennings of ABC News interrupted
General Hospital
to break the story on national TV. So what were the Coke execs thinking? Surprisingly, the launch of New Coke was based on the most exhaustive market research project in history. To the tune of $4 million, Coke conducted over 200,000 blind taste tests in which New Coke outperformed both Pepsi and Old Coke. Their mistake? Neglecting the emotional value of the soda to the American public.

USEFUL FOR:
academic gatherings, chatting with philosophers, and clearing Nietzsche’s good name

KEYWORDS:
superman, will to power, or Nietzsche

THE FACT:
Seems like you’ve got to be pretty cocky to pen a phrase like “God is dead,” but the famed philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was more parts mild-mannered Emmanuel than anything else.

In fact, the bold, seemingly atheistic statement was actually a rail against the corruption of the church at the time. But the guy whose autobiographical
Ecce Homo
includes such chapters as “Why I Am So Wise,” “Why I Am So Clever,” and “Why I Write Such Good Books” was actually an unassuming man. His belief in “the will to power” as the most basic human drive finds little reflection in his own life outside his fantasies. Though he fancied himself a warrior and a ladies’ man, Nietzsche’s military service was brief and unspectacular, and he never had a lover. As a bad boy in college, he may have visited a brothel or two, though. One theory suggests that the insanity that cut his career short and institutionalized him for the last 11 years of his life was the result of untreated syphilis.

(and the Beefeaters)

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties, entertaining British guests, mocking anyone who remembers (or voted for) Richard Nixon

KEYWORDS:
Nixon, Secret Service, presidential initiatives

THE FACT:
Playing the role of fashion police at the White House, President Richard M. Nixon actually tried to makeover the Secret Service to look more like troops protecting a king.

Richard M. Nixon liked a bit of pomp (with occasional circumstance). After all, Tricky Dick often saw other heads of state protected by guards in bright-colored uniforms with shiny trim or tall fur hats (as in Britain’s famous Beefeaters outside Queen Elizabeth’s official London residence). But what did the White House have? Guys in dark, plain security uniforms. Wanting a piece of the regal action, Nixon ordered a redesign of the outfits worn by White House guards. Unveiled in 1970, the new duds featured gold-trimmed tunics and rigid, peaked hats reminiscent of 19th-century Prussia. The royalist look didn’t go over so well with Americans. Critics howled. Comedians snickered. And the White House immediately threw out the Prussian hats. Within a few years the fancy duds (along with their chief proponent) were retired entirely.

(and its mysterious origins)

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties, grocery store lines, and impressing sweet tooths of all ages

KEYWORDS:
Where does nougat come from?

THE FACT:
Like falafel and the number 0, nougat is yet another product of Middle Eastern genius.

Originally made from a mixture of honey, nuts, and spices, the basic recipe for nougat was transplanted to Greece, where it lost the spices and gained the name “nugo.” Later cultural exchanges brought the treat to France, where it became “nougat,” and the recipe switched ground walnuts to ground almonds. In 1650, the French made another change for the better, adding beaten egg whites and creating the fluffier, modern nougat texture. The first commercial nougat factory opened in Montélimar, France, in the late 18th century, and today the area is renowned for its nougat, with about a dozen manufacturers producing the sugary treat. As for its ugly American cousin, the nougat you’re probably familiar with from candy bars, it’s not “true nougat.” The imitation stuff is chewier, less almondy, and contains enough artificial preservatives to make a French candy maker wince.

(isn’t it time you met the betels?)

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties, barroom banter, and chatting up people from South Asia

KEYWORDS:
dip, chew, or Nicorette

THE FACT:
The betel nut, which is actually the seed of a certain palm chewed with the leaf of a certain vine, is supposedly the third most popular recreational drug in the world (after alcohol and tobacco).

From India through Southeast Asia and well into the Pacific, this mild intoxicant is often the drug of choice. Chewing it makes the saliva flow freely while coloring it deeply; if you see gloppy masses of red spittle all over the sidewalks, you know that you are in betel country. In many tribal societies of Southeast Asia, betel is a cornerstone of sociability; sharing one’s stash is how friendships are cemented and courtships initiated. Whether it’s good for the teeth, however, is a matter of some debate.