• Although we think of the musketeers as swashbuckling swordsmen, musketeers of the 16th century were actually soldiers equipped with a musket, a muzzle-loaded long-barreled gun. French author Alexandre Dumas published his adventure novel “The Three Musketeers” in 1844. It told of the adventures of a young man of the 1600s named Charles d’Artagnan who seeks to join the elite musketeers guard. He is befriended by three of the most notable musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and the four embark on a career of daring escapades with their well-known motto of “all for one and one for all!” Since 1921, the story has been adapted to full-length films eight times. That first one in 1921 was a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks.
• Mars debuted their Three Musketeers candy bar in 1932, borrowing the name of Dumas’ novel. Why Three Musketeers? Originally, the confection had three pieces in the package, one chocolate, one strawberry, and vanilla, and it was marketed the 5-cent candy as a treat that could be shared with friends. However, when sugar rationing was instituted during World War II, the company found it was too expensive to produce all three flavors and phased out the strawberry and vanilla, producing only the most popular chocolate.
• The Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, were nineteenth-century English authors who penned what are viewed as masterpieces today. Charlotte was the author of “Jane Eyre” and three other novels. Emily wrote “Wuthering Heights,” her only novel, and Anne authored “Agnes Grey” and “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.” Since writing was considered a “man’s business, and not an appropriate vocation for ladies,” all three sisters originally published their work under male pseudonyms – Currer Bell for Charlotte, Ellis Bell for Emily, and Acton Bell for Anne.
• Who doesn’t immediately recognize the song that begins “Jeremiah was a Bullfrog”? “Joy to the World” was recorded by the rock band Three Dog Night in 1971, rocketed to the top of the charts, and was the #1 song of the year. Three Dog Night was formed in 1967, initially named Redwood. Between 1969 and 1974, no other band achieved more Top Ten hits or sold more concert tickets than Three Dog Night. The group had 21 consecutive Top 40 hits, including “Shambala,” “Black and White,” and “Mama Told Me Not to Come.” Where did their unusual name come from? Legend has it that a band member’s girlfriend read an article about aboriginal Australians who slept on the sands while holding a dingo dog. On cold nights, they would curl up with one dog, colder nights required two dogs, and especially cold nights were a “three dog night.” With one original band member remaining, 80-year-old Danny Hutton, the group still keeps up a schedule of concerts, 70 dates a year.
• The Andrews Sisters, LaVerne, Maxine, and Patty, began singing together when they were 14, 9, and 7, respectively, in 1925. Five years later they won a talent contest at Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theater, where LaVerne had been playing the piano accompaniment for silent film showings, trading for free dancing lessons for herself and her sisters. When their father’s Minneapolis restaurant went belly-up, the sisters went on the road to support the family. Thousands of U.S. troops were entertained by the sisters during World War II. The girls appeared in 16 movies and had more than 1,800 recorded songs to their credit, including the ever-popular “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” with sales of more than 80 million records over their 40-year career.
