What was Oskar Speck known for?

Oskar Speck paddled a kayak away from Hamburg, Germany, in May 1932. He was bound for Cyprus, with plans to work there in a copper mine, until he decided to kayak around the world instead. He went to Syria, India, Singapore, Indonesia — paddling some 30,000 miles in the ensuing years, while Europe’s political climate was in turmoil. When he reached Australia in 1939, the world was at war. Speck was met by Australian authorities, who congratulated him on his seafaring accomplishment and then put him in prison as an enemy.

Trivia question: The paddlewheel steamer, Clermont, which traveled between Albany, N.Y., and NewYork City, was the brainchild of what artist/inventor/entrepreneur?

A) Thomas Edison

B) Robert Fulton

C) Henry Hudson

D) Samuel Morse

Little kids see broccoli and think it looks like trees. The great English painter Thomas Gainsbor- ough thought the same, and the trees in some of his landscape paintings might actually be the artist’s rendition of broccoli stalks. Because painting landscapes outdoors requires ideal views and weather conditions, Gainsborough sometimes built his own model landscapes in his studio using twigs, rocks and coal, with broccoli for trees, and painted those instead.

Ordinary marathons through the streets of major world cities not challenging enough for you? Consider the Huangyaguan Great Wall Marathon or the Conquer the Wall Marathon, which include running up thousands of stone steps to follow a course atop the Great Wall of China. And you thought interval training on the treadmill at your gym was tough!

French King Louis XIV loved to dance, not merely in the ballroom but also in the ballet. His most memorable role was in a production of “Le Ballet de la Nuit” when he was 15 years old — about 10 years into his 72-year reign as king of France. He performed the role of Apollo, god of the sun, wearing a golden costume. The performance was so dazzling, it earned Louis his nick- name: “The Sun King.”

A couple of years before his death in 1973, martial arts master Bruce Lee wrote a proposal for a TV series about a Chinese martial arts master living in the old Wild West of the United States. Studios gave it a pass then (coincidentally?) produced “Kung Fu,” starring David Carradine as a martial arts master from China living in the old west. (Bruce Lee was turned down for the lead!) Recently, Lee’s original concept has been revived and is in production. Although it’s set in 19thcentury San Francisco, it’s being shot in South Africa.

In 1901, New York became the first state to require automobile owners to register their cars and put license plates on them. By 1918, all states required license plates for cars, but not all required licenses for the drivers themselves.

Trivia answer: The paddlewheel steamer, Clermont, was the brainchild of Robert Fulton.

Leslie Elman