Author: Jake Rossen

If you’re old enough to feel self-conscious about going to Chuck E. Cheese without a juvenile, Dave & Buster’s might be a reasonable alternative. The arcade-slash-theme restaurant has been going strong since 1982, offering a mix of amusement fun and finger food. Take a look at some D&B trivia you can use the next time you’re waiting for a table.

1. THERE IS BOTH A REAL DAVE AND A REAL BUSTER.

Not all brand namesakes are rooted in reality—we’re looking at you, Betty Crocker—but Dave & Buster’s did actually start out with two guys named Dave and Buster. In 1977, Dave Corriveau opened an entertainment complex, Slick Willy’s World of Entertainment, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Not long after, former T.G.I. Fridays employee James “Buster” Corley opened his restaurant, Buster’s, a few doors down. Both Dave and Buster noticed customers floating in and out of both establishments, giving them the idea to combine their resources and put their offerings under one roof. Dave & Buster’s was born. (Dave’s name came first because he won a coin toss.)

2. THEY HAD VERY EXPENSIVE POOL TABLES.

Supervising two of the first Dave & Buster’s locations in Dallas, Corley and Corriveau wanted to make sure customers felt like they were in a higher-end gaming establishment. In addition to blackjack tables, the two ordered $15,000 pool tables that were handmade from mahogany and rosewood.

3. THEY USED TO OFFER A RIDE IN AN ELECTRIC CHAIR.

Always eager to try out the latest in arcade amusements, in 2000 a Dave & Buster’s in Maryland installed the Original Shocker—a replica electric chair that allowed patrons to simulate capital punishment. Players were strapped into an oak chair and grabbed on to handles to allow for a mild vibration in place of the 13,200 volts typical of the real thing. The attraction even offered a puff of smoke to mimic the singed flesh of the criminal element. In the understatement of the century, one spectator told The Washington Post the ride “borders” on bad taste.

4. THEY TRIED SYNCHRONIZED MOVIE SEATS.

Dipping into theme park realms, in 1996 Dave & Buster’s offered to screen movies with something they referred to as “synchronized seating.” The mechanical seats were programmed to react to the action onscreen. Short films inspired by Aliens and Days of Thunder were among the offerings.

5. EACH RESTAURANT HAS OVER $1 MILLION IN GAMES.

You’re probably not going to find any dusty Pac-Man cabinets here. Owing to their reputation for offering electronic diversions, a typical Dave & Buster’s will have over $1 million worth of arcade and interactive games on hand.

6. THEY MIGHT BE WORTH MORE THAN AN ACTUAL CASINO.

As a public stock, Dave & Buster’s has a market cap of $1.47 billion—that’s more than Caesars Palace, the Las Vegas-based casino empire with a cap of $947 million.

7. THEY WANT TO HELP DRESS YOU.

Earlier this year, the company began rolling out a possible substitution for its Power Card, the scannable card that keeps track of points accrued while playing games. For $10, customers can buy a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) accessory that performs the same functions without having to be inserted into machines. You can wear it as a bracelet, lanyard, or as a Harry Potter-style wand.

8. IT TOOK THEM 34 YEARS TO COME BACK TO ARKANSAS.

A Dave & Buster’s finally opened in Little Rock in 2016, 34 years after both owners had gotten their starts in the city. What took so long? Arkansas had legislation in place banning anyone from winning more than $5 in amusement games. A bill was approved that raised the cap to $500, so the franchise could continue to award big-ticket prizes like video game systems.

Exhausted the current selection of Netflix’s catalog? The service is constantly adding new and original programming to keep you entertained. Check out what’s fresh this October.

1. BLACK MIRROR (2016)

The consequences of relying heavily on technology is the central theme to this British-born anthology series, and it’s probably best you don’t know any more than that. After two seasons and a holiday special, creator Charlie Brooker is producing eight original installments for Netflix, including one curiously set in the not-very-digital ’80s. (10/21)

2. PATTON (1970)

The decorated World War II military commander was the subject of this decorated biopic, which won seven Academy Awards and earned some of the best notices of star George C. Scott’s career. Despite the accolades, Scott disliked the idea of acting being a competition and refused to accept his Oscar, becoming the first performer ever to do so. When he won during the 1971 telecast, he was asleep at home. (10/1)

3. QUIZ SHOW (1994)

Robert Redford’s fact-based drama tells the story of famous—and then infamous—quiz show contestants Charles Van Doren and Herbert Stempel, two warring personalities who were instructed how to answer questions in order to bolster ratings for the game show Twenty-One. Turns out the 1950s predicted reality television with precision. (10/1)

4. GRIZZLY MAN (2005)

Werner Hertzog’s haunting documentary retraces the steps of Timothy Treadwell, an animal conservationist and free spirit who paid a steep price for his unshakeable trust in the grizzly bears he studied. (10/1)

5. THE 13^TH (2016)

Ava DuVernay (Selma) directs this Netflix original documentary about the plight of prison inmates in our country and how race can influence incarceration policies. The title refers to the 13^th Amendment, which abolished slavery except in the case of punishment for a crime. (10/7)

6. MASCOTS (2016)

Christopher Guest (Best in Show, This is Spinal Tap) directs another improv-heavy ensemble mockumentary, this time about the challenges faced by sports mascots competing for a prestigious annual award. This being a Guest movie, people will embarrass themselves. In dog costumes. (10/13)

 

Despite appearances, not everyone heads to Starbucks for their morning caffeine fix. For well over 150 years, Folgers has been delivering ground, whole-bean, instant, and home-brew coffees to millions of sleepy consumers. Check out some facts on the company’s history, from their origins in whaling to some unfortunate run-ins with Charles Manson and snapping turtles.

1. THE FAMILY WAS NAME-DROPPED IN MOBY-DICK.

For centuries, the Folger clan of Nantucket was renowned for their whaling efforts. (Oil from whale blubber was often used for lamps until kerosene grew in popularity.) They were so well known that author Herman Melville referred to “a long line of Folgers and harpooneers” in his classic Moby-Dick.

2. THE COMPANY WAS FOUNDED THANKS TO THE GOLD RUSH.

James Folger was just 15 years old when his parents dispatched him and two older brothers to San Francisco to mine for gold in 1849. As plans go, it wasn’t a great one: the Folger boys didn’t have enough money to travel to the mining areas, so James stayed behind to earn some cash. He wound up working for the Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills company, which was marketing an early, commercially roasted ground coffee. Two decades later, James returned—this time with more cash—and bought the business, renaming it J.A. Folger & Co. in 1872.

3. MAXWELL HOUSE WAS AN EARLY NEMESIS.

After decades of being a regional favorite, Folgers was purchased by Procter & Gamble in 1963 and quickly became part of the national competition for store-bought coffee brands. Wary of giving up any ground, Maxwell House formed an in-house “Folgers Defense Team” in 1971. The result: Horizon, a coffee that came in a red can similar to Folgers, and a television commercial character named Aunt Cora (played by Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch from 1939’s The Wizard of Oz). Cora was meant to be a take on Folgers’ Mrs. Olson (see below), with the hope that if Maxwell House ran the commercials in regions early enough, Olson would seem like a second-rate take-off. Folgers was forced to lower their price from $1.20 to 87 cents per can just to remain competitive. By 1979, however, they had taken over 26.5 percent of the market share, well ahead of Maxwell House’s 22.3 percent.

4. EARLY COMMERCIALS WERE NOT VERY PC.

While Folgers has a history of memorable television spots, their most enduring ad campaign revolved around a Swedish character named Mrs. Olson, who appeared to keep busy by introducing Folgers coffee to her overworked neighbors in a series of pretty sexist ads in the 1950s and 1960s. (Folgers conducted research into how petulant the onscreen husbands could get and found housewives considered any kind of verbal abuse so typical as to be acceptable.) Virginia Christine, who portrayed Olson for 21 years, was born in Stanton, Iowa in 1920. When the ads grew popular, the town renovated its trademark water tower so it resembled a coffee pot in her honor.

5. THEY HAVE A LINK TO THE MANSON MURDERS.

One of the 20^th century’s most infamous crimes was the murder of Sharon Tate and four of her houseguests in 1969 by disciples of cult leader Charles Manson. Among the victims: Abigail Folger, the 25-year-old Folger fortune heiress, daughter of Peter Folger and great-granddaughter of founder James Folger.  (Manson and his cohorts were convicted of first-degree murder in 1971.)

6. THE “PETER” COMMERCIAL RAN FOR OVER 17 YEARS.

You’ll know it when you see it: in the 1986 television spot, a college student named Peter gets dropped off at the family home in a Volkswagen Beetle and surreptitiously makes coffee for his sleeping parents with the help of his younger sister. It’s a cozy little bit, and consumers responded so strongly that Folgers ran the ad for 17 consecutive years. Greg Wrangler, who played the coffee-making intruder, told BrandLandUSA.com in 2008 that producers wanted it to be timeless. “I remember they were really concerned about the look of the spot,” he said. “I’m referring to their choices on wardrobe … the Irish wool sweater, the VW Beetle that drops me off … they didn’t want it to be dated … which I think was a big factor in their ability to run it for so long.”

7. A WOMAN FOUND A SNAPPING TURTLE IN ONE CAN.

A lot of coffee comes into the United States via New Orleans, which is why 2005’s Hurricane Katrina resulted in a marked disruption of supply. The natural disaster may have had other side effects: According to the Associated Press, Marjorie Morris of Ainsworth, Iowa found a dead baby snapping turtle in her can of Folgers. While no harm came to Morris, she was dismayed by her timing: the 77-year-old had been using the can for a month before spotting the added ingredient.

8. THEY CAME UP WITH SOME PRETTY CLEVER MANHOLE COVER ADS.

In 2006, Folgers garnered some positive PR when they used foot-proof signage to cover manholes in New York City and made them resemble hot cups of coffee, complete with steam emitting from holes in the cover. While clever, the stunt had an unintended side effect: the aroma from the sewers was not what you’d normally associate with coffee. 

9. THEY’RE PRETTY TIGHT WITH DUNKIN’.

Folgers was acquired by the J.M. Smucker company in 2008, putting it under the same corporate umbrella as the Dunkin’ Donuts retail license. Together, the two home coffee brands made $577 million for the company in the second quarter of 2016 alone.

Jane Fonda was gone, and the exercise video craze had appeared to have left with her. The Oscar-winning actress who popularized aerobics with a series of video cassette tapes in the 1980s and helped usher in a national fitness focus that bordered on narcissism had returned to her acting career. None of her obvious heirs—Jake Steinfeld; Denise Austin; the sculpted, first-name-only Gilad—could seem to equal her cultural standing. Americans were faced with the prospect of going to an actual gym.

Where others saw a dead genre, Billy Blanks and Paul Monea saw opportunity. Blanks was a lifelong martial artist and low-budget film actor who had been refining a kickboxing cardio routine for decades; Monea was an infomercial king who made headlines with the Stimulator, a device that promised to cure backaches despite being little more than a barbecue grill igniter with finger grips.

In less than seven months, Blanks’s name would eventually surpass Fonda’s as a VHS exercise icon using a simple system that would be known the world over as Karobics.

When he found out Karobics was already trademarked, he renamed it Tae Bo.   

Karobics began in 1976, the year Bill Conti’s theme to Rocky became an anthem for anyone in a sweatsuit. Blanks, then 21 years old and a regular on the competition karate circuit, used it as a morale booster for workouts in his basement, shadowboxing and kicking into the air until he was exhausted.

After stints as a janitor and chemical plant worker, Blanks moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s, intending to parlay his athletic physique into an action film career: He scored parts in video store staples like Bloodfist and The King of the Kick Boxers. At the same time, he wanted to propagate Karobics among the city’s image-obsessed population, opening a fitness studio in Sherman Oaks and earning the respect of celebrity clientele like boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, Ashley Judd, and Sinbad.

“It’s the best”, the comedian told the Chicago Tribune in 1996. “It’s the baddest.”

Tossing the Karobics name, Blanks embraced Tae Bo, a martial arts and dance regimen that promised to burn hundreds of calories per session. A hybrid of Tae Kwon Do and boxing, Blanks said it stood for “Total Awareness of Excellent Body Obedience.” Not wishing a repeat of Karobics, he trademarked it in 1992.

Having studied Fonda’s tapes and how to count beats in ballet classes, Blanks was optimistic his workout would have national appeal. One of the home video distributors he approached early on disagreed, insisting that a black male would have problems convincing a mostly white, mostly female demographic to buy his tapes. Irked, Blanks broke off talks and decided to side with Paul Monea, an Ohio-based producer who sensed Blanks had the kind of charisma that played well in the early morning infomercial hours.

Monea, however, wanted Blanks to peddle exercise equipment. After deliberation, Blanks convinced him that a Tae Bo instructional would prove more profitable. There were already numerous celebrities enrolled in his classes that would be willing to provide video testimonials at no charge.

Monea was convinced. In August 1998, commercials and half-hour spots for Tae Bo began airing. For $59.85, consumers could purchase four workout tapes led by Blanks urging them to leave a puddle of sweat on their living room floors.

The infomercial aired up to 2000 times a day across various markets, costing Monea $1.5 million a week in airtime purchases. But it proved to be a worthy investment: in less than a year, Tae Bo would gross $80 million. The tapes outsold every major home video release of 1999, including The Matrix and Saving Private Ryan.

Previously known only to his Sherman Oaks regulars and karate enthusiasts, Blanks was suddenly inundated with up to 80 calls an hour from news outlets. (He shunted them off to a publicist.) So many people made a pilgrimage to his studio that staff would have to turn most of them away. Bantam Books paid a reported $1.2 million advance for a fitness guide. Blanks was even installed on Oprah for a guest spot—for an entire week.

Like any success in the fitness industry, Tae Bo was besieged by copycats. Blanks’s legal team issued 60 cease and desist letters a week to regional gyms advertising classes using the name without permission. To avoid litigation, prospective Tae Bo instructors could take a certification class from Blanks for $995. Those that didn’t were forced to lead derivative classes like Gotham Box, which married (loose) self-defense maneuvers with a regimented workout.

It was a flattering, if expensive, form of imitation. But Blanks was less charmed by litigation that started to bubble up from within his own inner circle. Sugar Ray Leonard, who had endorsed Tae Bo as a favor to his friend, filed a lawsuit against Monea for using his name without permission. Later, Blanks would struggle with Monea himself, alleging that his partner had cut him an unfavorable deal and had aligned Blanks’s own lawyers against him. (Monea denied the accusations: according to Cleveland Scene, the two settled out of court.)

The legal tussles took the fight out of Banks, who grew concerned the Tae Bo name was entering legally murky territory. By 2008, the tapes had slowed to a trickle, with Blanks in Japan marketing a new routine he dubbed Billy’s Boot Camp. (It sold one million copies overseas.) When he returned to the States, Tae Bo had been dethroned by new fitness trends: SoulCycle, CrossFit, and the higher-energy output of cardio sermons by the likes of Shaun T.

Now 60, Blanks continues to teach Tae Bo in both Sherman Oaks—his son now owns the school—and a location in Dana Point, California. New iterations dubbed Tae Bo Evolution and Tae Bo 2.0 promise to incorporate more equipment and variety. If instructors want to stick with a classic, they can be still be certified by Blanks personally—now for a more reasonable $250.

The plight of the bumble bee is getting serious. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just proposed that the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) be officially classified as an endangered species.

According to the USFWS, the bee has seen a steep decline in population from the 1990s, when it could be found across 31 states, to a current low point of just 13. Possible factors include climate change, habitat loss, pesticides, and pathogens introduced by commercially produced bees that circulate in the wild.

The status of Bombus affinis is particularly concerning since the bees are usually found pollinating several key crops, including apples, cranberries, and plums.

The Service will be taking comments on the addition until November 21, with a final decision expected afterward. If the proposal is enacted, it would mark the first time any species of bee has been granted federal protection.

[h/t Seeker]

Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.

Home renovations can turn up some strange things, but a family in the UK found something slightly more alarming than mold or a leaky roof. The Pipewell, England residents discovered a 3-foot-wide nest made by wasps that had taken up permanent residence in the attic of their new home, the BBC reports.

According to the Northampton Chronicle & Echo, a property that had sat unoccupied for years was once home to some 10,000 wasp squatters. Undisturbed by human activity, the wasps constructed a massive sphere connected to the outside by a long, “intricate” tunnel.

The discovery was made by exterminators who had been called in to treat a woodworm infestation and subsequently discovered a much bigger issue when the homeowner asked them to have a look at the massive orb in the attic. While not quite world record material—that honor belongs to a New Zealand nest found in 1963 measuring 12 feet long and 5 feet in diameter—it was still enough to cause a temporary case of buyer’s remorse.

Gary Wilkinson, who owns the pest control business Pest Professionals, told the Chronicle that the nest was an impressive feat of insect engineering.

“Although you wouldn’t want it in your own loft, you have to say it’s a very impressive and in its own way a very beautiful thing,” he said.

[h/t BBC]

Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.

Although its run was short-lived, ABC’s mid-1980s cop spoof Sledge Hammer! made a significant imprint in the minds of primetime viewers. David Rasche starred as the title character, a trigger-happy police detective who “shot first and asked questions never.” In honor of the 30th anniversary of the show’s premiere on September 23, 1986, we’ve got a few facts about the series that should hit the mark. 

1. IT WAS THOUGHT UP BY A TEENAGER.

In 1971, 10-year-old Alan Spencer snuck into a screening of Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry by buying a ticket to Fiddler on the Roof and switching theaters once he was inside. Impressed by the movie and its sequels, Spencer decided to write a script lampooning the renegade cop trope. At 16, he began circulating Sledge Hammer! around the business to readers who didn’t understand the kind of satire Spencer was aiming for. One agent called it “the work of someone with serious mental problems.”

Spencer persevered: Nearly a decade later, another Dirty Harry sequel arrived in theaters and reinvigorated interest in a send-up of the genre. Reworked as a half-hour sitcom, Sledge Hammer! suddenly became a hot commodity.

2. IT ALMOST ENDED UP AT HBO.

Leonard Stern, who produced the 1960s spy spoof Get Smart, knew of Spencer’s script and connected him with HBO. The network wasn’t sure what to make of the excessive violence and dark humor and wanted Spencer to revise it to fit the persona of Rodney Dangerfield, who they wanted to have starring in the project. Spencer declined and took the idea to ABC, which was receptive to it—provided all of the profanity was deleted. The writer and network cast Second City’s David Rasche and Anne-Marie Martin as Sledge and partner Dori Doreau, respectively. (Martin went on to marry Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton.)

3. ABC WAS CONCERNED THE SHOW WOULD CAUSE HEART ATTACKS.

Composer Danny Elfman created the track for the Sledge Hammer! opening credits sequence, which was shot in romantic close-up of Sledge’s beloved .44 Magnum firearm. In a James Bond homage, Rasche was supposed to then pick up the weapon and fire it directly at the viewer, “shattering” the television screen. ABC nixed the idea, fearing the abrupt visual might prompt heart attacks in susceptible viewers. (He fired it offscreen instead.)

4. IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PETER GABRIEL SONG. (BUT USED IT ANYWAY.)

Oddly, Sledge Hammer! the series and “Sledgehammer” the song had absolutely no connection with one another, but both were released within a few months of each other in 1986. With the song a hit, ABC convinced (and obviously paid) Peter Gabriel to allow them to use it in promotional spots for the series.

5. ABC REFUSED TO HAVE SLEDGE ADMIT HE WAS CRAZY.

A man who talks to and sleeps with his gun probably is in need of some kind of mental evaluation. But Spencer’s original catchphrase idea for Sledge—“I’m crazy, but I know what I’m doing”—was axed by ABC, which refused to allow any admission the character might be mentally ill. The phrase became “Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” 

6. IT HAD A RIVALRY WITH MR. BELVEDERE.

Spencer was not a fan of Mr. Belvedere, the genteel 1980s sitcom about an English butler who charms his American employers. Sledge took several shots at the show—which aired on the same network—prompting Belvedere star Bob Uecker to criticize Sledge while a guest on The Tonight Show. The war of words was never resolved.

7. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CANCELED SOONER.

As an acquired taste, Sledge Hammer! didn’t resonate with viewers, who preferred it a distant third to time slot competitors Dallas and Miami Vice. Believing the first season would also be the last, the show’s producers aired a finale that featured Hammer accidentally activating a nuclear warhead that reduced his city to rubble. When ratings improved for the apocalyptic finale, ABC decided to renew it—forcing the show to frame subsequent episodes as having taken place years prior to the explosion.

8. IT WAS A MARVEL COMIC. (FOR TWO ISSUES.)

Lasting just two issues, Marvel’s Sledge Hammer! took the detective into the sequential art world, including a guest appearance by Spider-Man. The cover of the first promised a faithful adaptation of the “show that refuses to die.” (Marvel’s onetime Hulk, Bill Bixby, directed several of the show’s episodes.)

9. A CONTRACT OMISSION MADE FOR A HOME VIDEO WINDFALL.

At the time Sledge Hammer! aired, studios and networks were mostly concerned with rights issues relating to videocassette releases. The network therefore didn’t bat an eye when Spencer, who loved laserdiscs, had it written into his contract that he be a profit participant in any “disc format” releases of the show. Sledge was released on DVD in 2004, a “disc format” the network could never have anticipated, and earned Spencer a significant cut of the profits.

10. NEW LINE WANTED TO MAKE A FEATURE.

In 1992, Spencer received word that New Line Cinema was interested in adapting Sledge Hammer! as a feature film. The creator passed when it became clear the studio wanted to move forward with a new cast and new characters.

11. IT EARNED ITS CREATOR AN HONORARY NRA MEMBERSHIP.

Not everyone took the satire of a gun-loving fascist as a joke. Spencer told Splitsider in 2012 that when Sledge Hammer! premiered, the National Rifle Association (NRA) bestowed him with an honorary membership for contributing to pro-gun awareness. “A lot of people took [the show] very seriously,” he said.

A number of manufacturers have been attempting to solve a puzzle that has plagued the digital camera industry since the smartphone came of age: how to convince consumers they need a separate device to take pictures.

Recently, Leica unveiled a series of colorful instant cameras that can develop film on the spot. The move was a fairly clear homage to Polaroid, which became world-famous for its instant camera and the ability to print stiff, distinctively gauzy photos on demand. Now Polaroid is attempting to outdo its competition with the Snap Touch, a camera that blends old-school features with the one must-have component of the modern day: a touchscreen.

Like the new Leica Sofort, the Polaroid Snap Touch comes in variety of snazzy colors. Unlike the Leica, users can opt for the 3.5-inch touchscreen instead of a viewfinder to frame their 13 megapixel photos. Prints will roll out on a 2-inch by 3-inch proprietary color photo paper that’s also waterproof. To further guarantee you won’t have to juggle devices, the Snap Touch can also shoot high-definition video.

For printing enthusiasts, the camera’s coolest feature may be analog in nature: photos are printed using Polaroid’s ZINK Zero, a process that uses heat to activate color crystals pre-printed on the paper.

The camera will retail for $179.99, with packs of paper starting at $9.99 for a 20-pack. Polaroid is now taking pre-orders

[h/t SlashGear]

Luke Skywalker, the dreamy-eyed kid who fantasized about a life beyond his dirt farm in Tatooine, has come full circle: Mark Hamill turns 65 today, making him three years older than Alec Guinness was when he portrayed wise old Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1977’s Star Wars.

Hamill was just 25 years old when he was cast in George Lucas’s space opera, having auditioned at the urging of friend (and future Freddy Krueger) Robert Englund. Hamill was paid $1000 a week during shooting, and later received a quarter of one percent of the film’s profits; 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back netted him $1 million. We can only speculate that the Disney vault rewarded him accordingly to return as Skywalker for The Force Awakens.   

To celebrate Hamill’s special day, have a look at his original audition reel for Star Wars, which is punctuated by someone saying, “Okay, good” off-camera and then coughing. It’s Hollywood movie magic, kids!

When Paramount’s television division decided they needed an action hero that was both family- and advertiser-friendly, writer Lee David Zlotoff had the answer: MacGyver, an adventure series about a freelance Samaritan who uses unlikely tools (paper clips, gum, chocolate) to get out of everywhere from a locked room to the Middle East.

The series, which ran for seven seasons, turned Richard Dean Anderson into America’s favorite science geek. Here’s a look back at the show, its production, and why MacGyver wasn’t allowed to have a girlfriend.

1. THERE’S A “REAL” MACGYVER. (KIND OF.)

After Lee David Zlotoff decided his protagonist would be armed with little more than a Swiss Army knife and a formidable intellect, he stumbled upon a gemologist at Caltech named John Koivula, who seemed to have experience in everything from physics to chemistry. When MacGyver was ordered by ABC, Koivula became the show’s scientific consultant. Writers would think of a logistical problem, then call Koivula, who would come up with the “MacGyverism,” or solution. Anything deemed harmful usually omitted a step or two so that people who attempted to recreate the experiments at home wouldn’t blow themselves up.

2. HIS FIRST NAME WAS ORIGINALLY STACEY.

The seventh (and final) season of MacGyver satisfied fan curiosity by revealing the character’s first name: Angus. (In a not-very-Dickens move, Richard Dean Anderson suggested it because he saw it on a banner in Vancouver.) But prior to the show’s premiere, Paramount publicity circulated a flyer that credited Anderson as playing “Stacey MacGyver.” The name was thought to be taken from an early version of the pilot script.

3. HIS LAST NAME WAS INSPIRED BY MCDONALD’S.

Zlotoff wanted a masculine-sounding name for the character and had intended to simply call him “Guy,” but friends convinced him that it didn’t sound too compelling. Instead, Zlotoff picked up on the fact that the popularity of McDonald’s was prompting people to facetiously add a “Mc” or “Mac” in front of words. “So I suggested we call our hero MacGuy,” Zlotoff recalled. “But everyone thought it really needed to have three syllables … and we finally got MacGyver and agreed that was the one.”

4. THE PILOT WAS SO BAD THE DIRECTOR HAD HIS NAME REMOVED.

Executive producer John Rich told the Archive of American Television that the pilot for MacGyver came in at a running time of 90 minutes—and it was awful. “It was dreary,” Rich said. “It was no good … it was an hour and a half of dreadful.” Over an Easter holiday, Rich re-cut the episode, removing 30 minutes. As a result of the perceived meddling, director Jerrold Freedman wanted his name taken off. The generic pseudonym “Alan Smithee” appears in the credits.  

5. VIEWERS THOUGHT THE SHOW KILLED A RHINO.

For an episode in which MacGyver confronts poachers, the show’s effects team spent $40,000 crafting a fake rhinoceros for a key scene in which the animal is destroyed. The money made for an effective moment, but it also prompted viewers to call in condemning the producers for victimizing a helpless creature. (In fact, only Richard Dean Anderson was harmed during filming: he accidentally stepped into a ditch and injured his back in the first season, causing a nagging injury that needed surgery two years later.)   

6. POOR MAC COULDN’T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND. 

While the show was popular for its clever approach to science, it didn’t hurt that Anderson was a former soap opera star and a frequent target of affection for swooning viewers. As a consequence, MacGyver getting romantically involved with a woman in the series was usually met with indignation. When a love interest was introduced for several episodes in the third season, the show’s fans voiced their displeasure over the potential of the show turning into Moonlighting.  

7. THE SHOW PAID FANS TO COME UP WITH “MACGYVERISMS.”

Getting MacGyver out of hairy situations using a variety of items within arm’s reach was a clever conceit—and one that got increasingly difficult to orchestrate as the series continued. At one point, John Rich offered viewers a cash reward if they could submit a scenario for use on the show. While all incoming letters were read, very few had plausible ideas: one successful entry described a way in which MacGyver could fix a leaking cooling system in a vehicle by cracking an egg into the radiator. As it heated and hardened, it would seal the hole.

8. MAC DID USE A GUN—TWICE. 

Among the character’s many distinctive traits, his disdain for firearms was possibly the most defining: because MacGyver couldn’t rely on weapons, he was forced to improvise alternative solutions. But in the pilot episode, Anderson (who didn’t like guns, either) is seen shooting an automatic weapon. In a later season, MacGyver used a gun, smashed out the barrel, and used the remaining piece as a makeshift hand wrench.

9. NOT EVERYONE WAS A FAN OF HIS NO-BAZOOKA POLICY.

When an episode aired in 1988 that depicted the origins of MacGyver’s aversion to guns—it turns out that a boyhood friend was killed by one accidentally—the National Rifle Association went nuclear. “Since that time, we have been on their hit list,” co-executive producer Steve Downing told the Los Angeles Times. “They have been encouraging people not to watch us and boycott our sponsors. We try to do a decent job of really saying why a gun is dangerous and they choose to boycott us and put us on their hit list.”

10. HIS FLOATING HOME ENDED UP ON CRAIGSLIST.

For most of the show’s run, MacGyver lived on a pretty cool floating home that was docked in a Vancouver boat yard. When Paramount was done using it, it was sold off, remodeled, and resold in 2012. Since then, it has apparently suffered damage due to the whole foundation-of-water thing. In late 2014, it sold for under $40,000 on Craigslist, far below the original $200,000 valuation.

11. YOUNG MACGYVER NEVER MADE IT TO AIR. 

Cool and hip are not exactly trademarks of the MacGyver franchise, but the WB still gave it a swing: in 2003, they commissioned a pilot that starred Jared Padalecki (Supernatural) as MacGyver’s equally resourceful nephew, Clay. A tepid network reception resulted in the series never getting a full order.

Now, CBS is trying again with its own MacGyver reboot, which premieres tonight.

12. FURIOUS 7‘S DIRECTOR WAS SET FOR A MACGYVER FEATURE.

James Wan directed the most recent installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, and it was obviously a wise career decision: that film made over $1 billion globally. But before he committed, Wan was deliberating over tackling a MacGyver feature film adaptation. “My initial concept was I wanted to do a young college MacGyver who went to Boston, one of the great universities, who’s really brilliant, right?” Wan told CraveOnline. “He gets blamed for something that he had designed, something really big that’s something everyone wanted, and now someone has weaponized it and everyone’s coming after him.” 

13. RICHARD DEAN ANDERSON BOTCHED HIS OWN MACGYVER MOMENT.

When Anderson was once locked out of his house, he found a way inside: The actor had gone to a cast and crew holiday party during the first season, but wasn’t having much fun. So he and a friend moved over to a gathering for Cheers instead; when Anderson made it home, he couldn’t get in. Relating the story to a TV Guide reporter, Anderson thought the most efficient solution was to pick up a nearby bench and throw it through the front window. A friend later sent him a new bench: it had the Swiss Army symbol on it.