Chicken Noodle News or Chicken Noodle Network (CNN nickname)
The Cable News Network (CNN) was founded by Ted Turner and first broadcast on June 1, 1980. Other television networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) laughed about CNN's seeming amateurishness and low…
Gate Rape
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began in 2001 under the U.S. Department of Transportation; in 2003, TSA was moved to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. New airport scanners…
Razzleberry Pie
"Razzleberry pie" was trademarked by Marie Callender's restaurants, with a "first use" date of 1998. Marie Callender's razzleberry pie is made with raspberries and…
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people”
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people" is a popular saying, first cited in this form in 1931. The saying has been attributed to Eleanor…
“An economist finds something working in practice and wonders if it will work in theory”
Walter Heller (1915-1987), who was an economic advisor under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, said this in 1979: "An economist is a man who, when he finds something works in…
“Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm”
William Manchester's book, Portrait of a President: John F. Kennedy in profile (1962), includes a famous line: "'Washington,' John Kennedy once said lightly, 'is a city of…
“My mother served nothing but leftovers; the original meal has never been found”
Calvin Trillin -- frequently described as "America's funniest food writer" -- is often credited with this joke about leftovers: "The most remarkable thing about my mother is…
St. Wapniacl (Cabinet mnemonic)
"St. Wapniacl" was the old mnemonic to remember the offices of the President of the United States' Cabinet. It was arranged in order of creation and importance: State, Treasury, War,…
“See The Dog Jump In A Circle. Leave Her Home To Entertain Every Visitor Here” (Cabinet mnemonic)
"St. Wapniacl" was the old mnemonic (since at least 1917) to remember the offices of the President of the United States' Cabinet. It was arranged in order of creation and importance:…
“Never Eat Chips, Eat Salad Sandwiches And Remain Young” (“necessary” spelling aid)
"Never Eat Chips/Cheese/Cake, Eat Salad/Salmon Sandwiches And Remain Young” is a mnemonic aid that some have used to spell the word “necessary.” The line “Never Eat Chips: Eat Salad…
“May I have a large container of coffee right now?” (Pi mnemonic for 3.141592653)
"Can/May I have a large container of coffee right now" is one of several mnemonic ways to remember the value of Pi (3.141592653). The word "may" has 3 letters, "I" has…
“A Rat In The House May/Might Eat The Ice Cream” (“arithmetic” spelling aid)
"A Rat In The House May/Might Eat The Ice Cream" is a mnemonic aid that some have used to spell the word "arithmetic." The line "a rat in the house may eat the ice…
“Kids Prefer Cheese Over Fried Green Spinach” (taxonomy mnemonic)
"Kids Prefer Cheese Over Fried Green Spinach" is a mnemonic device for remembering the biological groupings used in taxonomy: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. The…
“King Henry Died Monday Drinking Chocolate Milk” (metric mnemonic)
"King Henry Died Monday Drinking Chocolate Milk" is a mnemonic device for remembering the metric units, in descending order: kil-, hecto-, deka-, meter-, deci-, centi-, milli-. The…
“A refrigerator is a place to store leftovers until they are old enough to throw out”
"A refrigerator is a place where you store leftovers until they are ready to be thrown out" is an old comic observation. A newspaper comic caption on September 8, 1954 was: "Our…
“It never occurs to politicians that Lincoln is worth imitating as well as quoting”
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is one of the most-quoted of American presidents. "It never occurs to politicians that Lincoln is worth imitating as well as quoting" is a quip that dates to…
“I can give you the formula for failure: Try to please everybody”
Longtime New York (NY) World editor Herbert Bayard Swope (1882-1958) said at a December 1950 dinner in his honor, as reported by Leonard Lyons: "Swope responded thus: He said that from the…
“On Thanksgiving Day all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment — halftime”
"On Thanksgiving Day all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment — halftime" is a quip showing that televised football games are as much part of the Thanksgiving…
“It’s not the minutes at the table that make you fat—it’s the seconds”
"It's not the minutes at the table that make you fat -- it's the seconds" is a pun that plays upon the word "seconds" (meaning "second helpings" or…
“How many cooks does it take to stuff a turkey?” (joke)
"How many cooks does it take to stuff a turkey? One, but you really have to squeeze him in!" The turkey-stuffing joke -- included in many Thanksgiving joke collections -- has been cited…