Facts You Probably don’t Need

• Hero of Alexandria, an ancient Greek mathematician, invented the first vending machine which dispensed holy water after you put a coin in it.

• One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Artemis, was burned down by a man who wished to be famous for his crime. Following his execution, the Greeks made it an offense, subject to the death penalty, to mention his name.

• Dwayne Johnson was Tim Burton’s second choice to play Willy Wonka in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

• During the British broadcast of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Pink Floyd was the background music while playing live in the BBC studios.

• The world’s first theater devoted exclusively to moving pictures appeared in Pittsburgh in 1905. Its founders called the place “Nickelodeon,” the word derived from the price of admission (a nickel) and “odeon” the ancient Greek word for theater.

• On average, women outnumber men in college three to two.

• Cincinnatus was a man who was twice given near-absolute power over the Roman Republic and gave it up both times.

Facts by Sean McVeigh, factologist.