As the article notes, it did have one drawback- it was possible for random noises in the room to activate functions on the TV.

Thomas Midgley, one of the other scientists, didn't "die with a smile on his face" as the article speculates. He contracted Polio, built an elaborate rope and pulley system to help himself in bed, and ended up strangling to death when it malfunctioned. So yeah, backfired would be an understatement.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was based on garbled reports of hippos, who actually do spray intruders from the back end. If they aren't just chomping on them.

I think my favorite BL entry will always be "Flick that Bic, roast that chick, and you'll feel my steel through your last meal!"

The article gets at least one fact wrong- it was a different good witch that kisses Dorothy at the start of the novel, not Glinda. Which also points out a plot-hole that the movie introduced by having Glinda send Dorothy off on her quest, instead of just telling her straight off about the shoes. In the original, the first less-powerful witch doesn't know about the shoes, and sends Dorothy to the Wizard after she does some divination-magic. Glinda only appears at the very end, after Dorothy and Co. travel to her distant home.
And they did make a sequel, Return to Oz, which is actually pretty good, if maybe too scary for really young children.

Our sun will never go supernova, it is too small. In a few billion more years, it will swell up into a red giant and then collapse into a white dwarf.

More Vampire Disco.

It should be made clear this did star Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, reprising their roles from the TV series. And that it wasn't until these movies got made that this version of the Hulk met any other Marvel superheroes; in the second film in the series he/they meet Daredevil. In the last one, Banner dies. I guess he was supposed to be brought back to life, but then Bill Bixby died in real life, putting an end to it all.

A song about the original non-soda drink..

Guess this joke isn't historically accurate then..
One day in ancient Egypt, the boatmaster of the Pharaoh's barge comes down belowdecks and makes an announcement to the oarmen. "First, the good news: today, double rations for all oarsmen!" The crew cheers. "And now the bad news: the Pharaoh wants to waterski."

For people interested in this sort of thing, I recommend a copy of "Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words." It's very long out of print, but there are lots of used copies floating around for purchase.

I would have gone with the Cleveland Spiders, which was the other popular option, inspired by a long-defunct team that went by that name.

I hope Doctor Who sticks with the original design.

"How do we know which one is the Komodo 3000?"

According to the Far Side it was cigarette smoking.