Ask Mr. Know It All

Q. I dislike chocolate — chocolate bars, chocolate fudge, chocolate icing, chocolate ice cream and chocolate cake, with one exception. I like German chocolate cake. The cake does not have a strong chocolate flavor, and I like the coconut-pecan frosting. Did the cake originate in Germany?

K.G., Rolla, Mo.

A. No, the cake was created by a man named Sam German in 1852 and was known as German’s chocolate cake. He developed it for a competition thrown by the American Baker’s Chocolate Co.

DID YOU KNOW?

Linda Blair was considered for the starring role in the movie “Taxi Driver” (1976), but the role went to Jodie Foster instead. Foster was nominated for an Oscar for her turn as Iris.

Q. Have you ever heard of the Peel automobile?

E.L., Clinton, N.J.

A. There were two models of Peels — the Trident and the much smaller P50.

Only the most diehard automotive buff has any knowledge of them, but it’s no wonder — there were fewer than 100 of the two-seater, three-wheeled Trident ever made on the Isle of Man, England, in 1966. The Trident was 72 inches long and 42 inches wide.

The smaller P50 was 54 inches long and 41 inches wide; it weighed 130 pounds. The one-seater was designed for a man and his briefcase.

They are being manufactured again in England. Each is custom made and comes with a factory-installed windshield wiper and washer; a cup holder is extra.

Q. Where did the term “bean counter” originate?

M.E.H., Peoria, Ill.

A. Beans are about as cheap a commodity as you can get. In the interest of keeping on top of costs, counting each one in inventory would be nitpicking, to say the least. It is a pejorative term for accountants, bankers and anyone who holds a financial interest in an endeavor. I think that in recent years the negative association has all but disappeared, and it just means a money counter.

The term appears first as a term meaning “a counter where beans are sold” in a Lewiston, Maine, paper in 1907. The first reference to accountants occurred in a Fort Wayne, Indiana, paper in 1919.

DID YOU KNOW?

According to Jackie Gleason, it was Orson Welles who gave him the moniker “The Great One.”

Q. I remember a one-panel comic from the 1930s called Toonerville Folks; one of the characters was named Aunt Eppie Hogg. No one I’ve asked remembers it. Am I the goofy one?

M.T.D. Naples, Fla.

A. Only your friends know for sure, but there was, in fact, an Aunt Eppie Hogg associated with Toonerville Folks, a comic by Fontaine Fox.

The cartoon, which ran from 1908 through 1955, was a daily look at the Toonerville Trolley, the broken-down vehicle that met all the trains in Toonerville. It was driven by Skipper.

Other characters in the town included Terrible-Tempered Mr. Bang, the Physically Powerful Katrinka, Little Woo-Woo Wortle, Aunt Eppie Hogg (The Fattest Lady in 3 Counties) and Mickey McGuire, the town bully.

DID YOU KNOW?

Sally Field auditioned for the role of Elaine Robinson in “The Graduate” (1967); the role went to Katharine Ross instead.

Send your questions to Mr. Know-It-All at AskMrKIA@gmail.com or c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

2014 Gary Clothier