A question that takes the cake

I was at a block party eyeing the pastries. Someone brought Jaffa cake — a thin cake with orange jelly or marmalade, coated in chocolate. I’m not a fan of orange, but I was curious about the name of the cake. The woman had no idea, she only knew the recipe. So, I ask you, what is Jaffa cake? — C.L.P., Chandler, Arizona

Jaffa cakes were originally a small cake consisting of three units: a Genoise sponge base (an Italian sponge cake), orange-flavored jelly and a coating of chocolate. They were introduced by British food manufacturer Mcvitie and Price in 1927 and named after Jaffa oranges — sweet, near-seedless orange from the Middle East. The company did not trademark the name, so they are now made by a number of companies. You can find recipes on the Internet.

When is Mickey Mouse’s birthday? How was it determined? What about Donald Duck? — M.W., Gloucester, Massachusetts

Mickey’s birthday is Nov. 18, 1928, the date when his first cartoon, “Steamboat Willie,” was released. Donald’s special day is June 9, 1934, the date when “The Wise Little Hen” was released.

In my travels, I’ve been to several deserts where it has rained. What it the driest desert in the world? — E.E., Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The Atacama Desert stretches more than 600 miles along the Pacific coast in the northwestern-most region of Chile and southern Peru — it gets top billing for the driest desert on Earth. At the center is known as an “absolute desert,” where no rain has ever been recorded since records have been kept.

Is it true that the plastic flamingo is the official city bird of Madison, Wisconsin? If so, why? — J.F.L., Covington, Louisiana

It’s true. In 1979, University of Wisconsin Madison students planted more than 1,000 plastic pink flamingos on the grassy expanse near the dean’s office as a prank. In 2009, with warm memories, the city council voted to give the statue the special status of city’s official bird.

The plastic pink flamingo was designed in 1957 in Leominster, Massachusetts.

I own a sign announcing the introduction of the double-sided record disc. The ad goes on to say you get music for only 32 1/2 cents per side. When were double-sided records introduced? What is 65 cents in today’s money? — Y.C.L., Olathe, Kansas

Double-sided recordings, with one song on each side, were introduced in Europe in the late 1910s and quickly became the norm in United States.

Sixty-five cents in 1920 would be worth about $7.66 today.

DID YOU KNOW? Claudette Colbert was considered for the role of Scarlett O’hara in “Gone With the Wind” (1939). The role went to Vivien Leigh.

According to actor James Cagney, while he was president of the Screen Actors Guild, he was strongly opposed to mob infiltration in the industry. Because of this, a hit was put out on him to drop a Klieg light on him. What is a Klieg light? Is the story true? — M.A., Moundsville, West Virginia

In his autobiography “Cagney By Cagney” (1976), Cagney wrote that there was a Mafia plan to murder him, but George Raft, a close friend of notorious gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel used his many connections to cancel the hit.

As for a Klieg light, it’s a heavy light used in the film industry to this day. It was named after the two brothers who developed the light, John and Anton Kliegl.