ASK MR. KNOW-IT-ALL Pigging out on trivia answers

Q. As a young boy, I had a piggy bank on my dresser that I put change into from time to time. Now, 50 years later, I still have the same pig. Do you suppose if the creator of the first bank were into lambs, we would use lamby banks today?

J.M., Athens, Ga.

A. Well now, that was worth a smile-plus, but I don’t think so. The history of the piggy bank began in the Middle Ages, and at first was nothing more than a simple jar made of clay, known as “pygg” clay. Over time — and we’re talking centuries — the words “pygg” and “pigge,” the barnyard animal, became one, and they were pronounced the same. Sometime in the 19th century, an English potter decided to create a visual pun and made a bank of pygg clay to resemble a pig. Two hundred years later, I’m answering a question about this delightful creation.

YES, IT REALLY IS A WORD! Anatidaephobia is the fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you.

Q. Who is the incredibly cute actress on the AT&T television commercials?

M.F., Somerville, Mass.

A. Since late 2013, Milana Vayntrub has played the role of Lily Adams on the AT&T commercials. She was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She trained in the improv comedy group Upright Citizens Brigade and has had roles in theater productions, film and television.

DID YOU KNOW? Christopher Walken traveled with the circus when he was 15 years old. He was a lion tamer.

Q. I think the most unusual nicknames for a university is Stanford’s name, Cardinal. Why is it singular? What is the school’s mascot?

S.N., West Chester, Pa.

A. Leland Stanford Junior University, more commonly known as Stanford University, was founded by railroad magnate, U.S. senator and former California governor Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford, in memory of their only child, Leland Stanford Jr., who died of typhoid fever at age 15. Stanford opened on Oct. 1, 1891.

In 1892, the color cardinal was picked as the primary color of Stanford’s athletic teams. White was adopted as a secondary color in the 1940s. In 1930, an Indian was adopted as the school’s mascot, but was dropped in 1972 after objections from Native American students.

From 1972 to 1981, the official nickname for the school was the Cardinals, but in 1981, it was decreed that the athletic teams would be represented by the color cardinal in its singular form.

Stanford has no official mascot, but the Stanford Tree, a member of the band wearing a self-designed tree costume, appears at major Stanford sports events. The tree is based on El Palo Alto, a redwood tree in neighboring Palo Alto that appears in the Stanford seal and athletics logo.

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