If you’ve ever had to spend a few minutes waiting around with nothing but a bottle of water to amuse you, you’ve probably noticed a strange symbol appearing on the bottom: a triangle with a single-digit number.
The swishing-arrow design is, of course, the widely-recognized symbol for recycling. But what do those numbers inside the logo mean?
Business Insider recently helped clarify things. The stamp is a Resin Identification Code, or RIC, and the numbers indicate exactly what type of plastic is being used for that particular container: “1,” for example, is polyethylene terephthalate, a linguistic nightmare of a plastic typically found in soda bottles and peanut butter jars. High-density polyethylene is designated “2,” a sturdier plastic that can accommodate heavier products like a gallon of milk or laundry detergent. Low-density polyethylene (“4”), in contrast, is pretty flimsy, and you’ll typically find it used for grocery bags or shrink-wrap.
The series goes up to “7,” which indicates a mixture of plastics being used. The codes help local recycling centers sort their returns and indicates to consumers which containers can be turned in. Not all centers are equipped to deal with every type of plastic, especially PVC, or “3” and “7,” which can be found in everything from sunglasses to bulletproof material.
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In the movies, U.S. ambassadors often appear to come to the aid of jailed foreigners in inhospitable prisons. In the press, they’ve been vilified for not spending all of their time in the country they’ve been assigned to represent or for not being fluent in the language. Some critics have even referred to their appointment as a kind of payola scheme, with positions being awarded in exchange for campaign contributions to the sitting president.
Ambassadors for the United States seem to wear a variety of faces, but which of them is accurate?
“It varies widely from country to country,” Dennis Jett, a former U.S. ambassador to Peru and Mozambique and current professor of international affairs at Penn State University, tells mental_floss. “France will be very different from Russia. But generally, ambassadors have two functions, one internal and one external.”
The internal function is managing the U.S. embassy itself and all of its employees, which can number from one to 1000 and involve several representatives from the Treasury Department, the CIA, and other government branches. The external function is dealing with the native government, missionaries, and local press in representing the President of the United States.
“You explain what Washington is thinking,” Jett explains, “and explain to Washington what the other government is thinking. You have a lot of people wanting a lot of your time.”
For Jett, that meant getting involved in Mozambique’s highly volatile civil war that resulted in the country’s first free and democratic election in 1994. He had to live up to his diplomat label, encouraging democracy while being careful not to agitate the sitting government with criticism as the press swarmed around him.
On one occasion in Peru, Jett arrived for a social engagement and left early. A half-hour later, terrorists from the country’s Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement stormed the event and kept hostages—including several of Jett’s embassy employees—for 126 days.
Those incidents cast a long shadow over the stereotype that ambassadors do little but arrange parties and entertain foreign dignitaries. “The Middle East is hard,” Jett says. “Pakistan, places like that.” Depending on the conditions of the territory in question, ambassadors may even be eligible for danger pay on top of their regular salary. “It can be as little as 5 percent [extra] or up to 40 percent. If you’re going into a place with malaria or what’s called a ‘hardship post’—a place with a threat of terrorism—you’ll be paid more than if you were going to the Caribbean.”
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Jett was a career foreign affairs officer, rising through the ranks of the U.S. Foreign Service as a diplomat and later a Senior Director of African Affairs before securing a post as an ambassador, the top-ranking diplomat. Traditionally, career employees will make up roughly 70 percent of the 180-odd ambassador posts at any given time, with the remaining 30 percent filled by political appointees who contributed to a presidential campaign or have another personal connection to the president.
While these individuals typically get assigned low-risk posts in cushy, tourist-friendly places like Europe or the Caribbean and the standard free lodging, there’s still opportunity for them to risk embarrassment. Mark Austad, Ronald Reagan’s appointee to Norway, was fired for overt womanizing; other appointees quizzed by the Senate before their official hiring have expressed only minimal fluency in the requisite foreign language. In one instance, one wannabe Ambassador to Argentina admitted he had never actually been to the country.
The argument for such reciprocation is that donors are typically wealthy and can afford to bolster weak Congressional spending when it comes to an embassy’s “representational entertaining”—the bureaucratic term for “lavish parties.” But Jett feels that it’s a poor excuse for a tired and unfair system. “We need capable, competent people who speak the language and can carry out the job, regardless of whether they’re rich,” he says.
Ambassadors typically resign following a new president taking over the Oval Office. Appointees typically slip back into the private sector, while career diplomats either return to Washington or consider another ambassadorship.
As for those dramatic interventions on behalf of jailed Americans: Don’t expect to see Jett or his peers stage a spirited rally on your behalf.
“We don’t have the ability to bring that kind of pressure,” he says. “You’re subject to the laws of that area. We can get you the names of some lawyers. Maybe some better food. That’s about it.”
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Since being formed in 1980, the Phoenix-based Make-A-Wish Foundation has become synonymous with fostering goodwill toward children with serious illnesses. Anyone under the age of 18 can petition the organization with a request for a trip, celebrity visit, or other special arrangement. In almost all cases, they’ll grant the child’s wish via fundraising efforts and the generosity of volunteers. An average of one wish is granted every 35 minutes.
Take a look at 11 other facts that help illustrate how these donors and good samaritans can give an ailing child a reason to smile.
1. THE FIRST MAKE-A-WISH RECIPIENT GOT THREE WISHES.
Make-A-Wish began in the spring of 1980, when officers at Arizona’s Department of Public Safety learned that 7-year-old leukemia patient Chris Greicius longed to experience what it was like to be a police officer. After seeing how happy it made Greicius to wear a uniform and go on patrol, Arizona DPS officer Frank Shankwitz and his fellow officers started the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help others like him.
In 1981, Poncho “Bopsy” Salazar became the first child granted a wish under their banner. Like Greicius, he was a 7-year-old with leukemia; the Foundation arranged for Salazar to hop on a fire truck, visit Disneyland, and take a ride in a hot air balloon. The story received national coverage and led to a number of chapters opening up around the country.
2. SORRY, BUT THEY WON’T TAKE YOU HUNTING.
Make-A-Wish tries to do everything in its collective power to fulfill the dreams of kids with life-threatening illnesses, but they draw the line at one request: They can’t take anyone hunting. Since 2000, the company has prohibited their funds or volunteers from facilitating a hunting trip, citing safety concerns and protests from animal rights organizations. In 1996, the Foundation was criticized for helping a teenager realize his dream to shoot and kill a Kodiak bear in Alaska. The organization also draws the line at any wish involving firearms.
3. HALF OF ALL WISHES INVOLVE DISNEY.
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While children have a variety of wishes they’d like granted, the Mouse seems to take up a large part of their ambitions. According to Make-A-Wish, Disney’s theme parks, princesses, and other properties make up approximately half of all wishes granted. Through 2015, that means more than 100,000 Disney-related requests were fulfilled.
4. ONE KID WANTED TO STAR IN A GODZILLA MOVIE.
In 2014, a 5-year-old boy named Maddex came to the attention of the Chicago chapter of Make-A-Wish for wishing to destroy the city. To accommodate him, a film crew was assembled that allowed Maddex to dress up as Godzilla (or “Madzilla”) and stomp all over a tiny replica of the skyline. The five-minute film was estimated to cost roughly $1 million in expenses and donated time.
5. THEY SEND KIDS TO THE SUPER BOWL EVERY YEAR.
Seats for the Super Bowl can be nearly impossible to come by, but Make-A-Wish’s relationship with the NFL means many wishers get VIP access to the stadium. The organizations have collaborated every year since 1982 to make sure at least one is in attendance; 13 kids attended Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco last year.
6. SOME KIDS DONATE THEIR WISHES TO OTHERS.
There’s no binding legalese that says a Make-A-Wish recipient has to keep a wish to themselves. When 12-year-old Lucas Hobbs became eligible for a wish after being diagnosed with stage-3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, he decided to use it to pay back the Minnesota hospital that took care of him while he was undergoing chemotherapy. He had a food truck park outside the facility and took orders from patients who wanted something a little more tasty than the standard-issue hospital fare. He even named a hot dog after his favorite staff member, calling it a “Perkins dog”after his oncologist, Dr. Joanna Perkins.
7. ONE KID’S WISH GOT A LITTLE OUT OF HAND.
In 1989, 7-year-old Craig Shergold pleaded with Atlanta-based Wish Foundation International to assist him with his goal of breaking the Guinness World Record for most get well cards received. Within a year, he garnered over 16 million cards—and it never quite stopped. The flow of letters and correspondence continued unabated, with chain letters urging others to forward mail to Shergold expressing moral support for his struggle with a brain tumor. Make-A-Wish was forced to set up a special hotline to inform the public that they had no involvement in the movement, which went on to top 100 million cards. In 1999, a healthy Shergold asked people to stop. To this day, the Foundation has a page warning that any mail intended for Shergold is forwarded to a recycling center.
8. YOU CAN DONATE TO HELP FULFILL SPECIFIC WISHES.
For decades, Make-A-Wish accepted financial donations without necessarily earmarking the funds for any specific purpose; donors wouldn’t be sure which wish was funded by their generosity. In 2016, the Foundation introduced Wishmaker, an online fundraising portal that allows donors to read personalized stories about wishers and donate funds to help them meet their goal. The Foundation is hoping that individualized projects may help in covering the uptick in wish-related expenses, which now average $10,130, up 30 percent from 2010.
9. JOHN CENA IS A M-A-W LEGEND.
Rob Kim/Getty Images
It’s surprising professional wrestler John Cena has any time to train or take bumps in a World Wrestling Entertainment ring. The sports entertainer granted his 500th wish in 2015, becoming the first celebrity to cross that milestone in the Foundation’s history. (Justin Bieber comes in second, with over 250 wishes to meet him granted.)
10. MACY’S HAS DONATED OVER $100 MILLION.
Make-A-Wish relies heavily on the generosity of donors in order to keep the wishes coming. Retail giant Macy’s has done more than their share, donating over $100 million since 2003. Make-A-Wish estimates that their contributions have directly impacted more than 13,000 kids.
11. THERE’S ONE OTHER THING THEY JUST CAN’T DO.
Virtually anything a child can fantasize about is open for discussion, but Make-A-Wish draws one other hard line beyond their no-hunting-or-firearms mandate: You cannot make a wish for unlimited wishes.
If you’d like to learn more about Make-A-Wish or volunteer your time and support, visit Make-A-Wish.com.
Last fall, we were pleased to report that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had passed new regulations that prevented Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from sharing the private data of consumers unless the consumer gave express consent to disclose search histories and location data. The regulations also included a provision for protecting consumers from hackers. That win for privacy didn’t last.
According to WIRED, the FCC has suspended the data security rule (the portion that required ISPs to protect customers’ data from hacking and security breaches) before it ever took effect. The reason? The commission is concerned that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may soon implement rules regulating how much personal data individual websites like Google and Facebook can collect, and they don’t want to create a confusing and divergent list of restrictions for the providers themselves. (The FCC is charged with handling carriers, while the FTC’s purview includes specific sites.)
If you prefer not to wait for all this bureaucracy to decongest itself, there are still steps you can take to minimize your personal information being shared. To prevent Google from keeping tabs on your physical location via mobile devices, go to your Timeline and click “Pause Location History” as well as “Delete Location History.” Under Privacy, slide the “Location Reporting” button off.
You can also use a virtual private network, or VPN, to hide your IP address from your ISP. Most browsers also offer privacy settings that allow you to browse without saving cookies or your search history, although that won’t stop your ISP from being able to examine your data.
Penthouse—the most prominent authority on such matters—once called it “a sexual Disneyland.” It housed a gift shop containing adult novelty items. A stark-naked statue of Apollo greeted visitors in the lobby entrance. A “social director” was on hand to foster banter among couples and make off-color jokes to loosen their libidos. Its rooms were wall-carpeted and mirrored.
It was Cove Haven, and for decades it was the premier Poconos resort destination for newlyweds across the northeast. Its popularity was chiefly attributed to two things: the marketing acumen of co-founder Morris B. Wilkins, and the iconic, charmingly tacky hot tub he designed that was shaped like a heart.
Cove Haven Resorts
Born to Russian immigrants in 1925, Wilkins was an unlikely savior of the honeymoon hospitality industry. After a stint as a submariner in World War II, the Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania native started working as an electrician. Business went well until Hurricane Diane swept up his office space and equipment in 1955, leveling all of his material goods. Settling in as a freelancer, he and pal Harold “Obie” O’Brien were working on renovations for a Poconos-area hotel when they both noticed the accommodations were absolutely awful. The men believed they could do better, so they purchased an 18-room resort, the Hotel Pocopaupac in Lakeville, in 1958.
Since the end of the war, gas shortages had led to more and more newlyweds taking the shorter trip to the Poconos—a four-county area about the size of Delaware—rather than Niagara Falls. What was missing was a sense of levity or fun. Wilkins and O’Brien changed the name of the hotel to Cove Haven and promptly began renovating the property so that it might appeal to the increasingly provocative tastes of 1960s couples. Ostentatious accents replaced neutral colors; the room, he believed, would become the star attraction for those seeking a reservation.
But Wilkins needed time. When business was slow, he’d conserve electricity by holding business meetings in the dark. And despite his ability to recognize how hospitality would need to change, it took a few years for him to figure out exactly how.
According to “Honest” Phil Policare, Cove Haven’s “Chief Excitement Officer,” Wilkins and O’Brien had their epiphany one night in 1963, when the two were struggling to cart a round hot tub down a flight of stairs. In order to make the turn at the bottom, the men temporarily pushed in one side of the flexible material and noticed it resembled a heart. Other accounts mention that Wilkins dreamed up the notion in the middle of the night, sketching a heart over a concrete floor.
However he came to the idea, Wilkins poured concrete for the first six heart-shaped tubs himself, with dozens more added as Cove Haven continued to expand to its eventual size of 236 rooms.
The Sweetheart Tub was tiled in red, comfortable enough for two, and featured mirrors on the walls. Word of mouth quickly spread, as did Wilkins’s particular design aesthetic. Soon, Cove Haven was home to guests—couples only—who came to sightsee the attractions in their quarters: circular or heart-shaped beds, multi-level rooms, and private swimming pools.
Eager to expand, the partners sold Cove Haven to Caesars Resorts in 1969. (O’Brien passed away five years later in a plane crash.) Wilkins promptly opened two more Poconos-area resorts, just in time for an explosion of popularity after the heart-shaped tub was photographed for a 1971 Life magazine spread about the opening of Interstate 80. The exposure was so positive that Wilkins had to borrow $10,000 the following week just so that he had enough liquid cash to print more resort brochures.
That single photo in Life helped make the heart-shaped tub synonymous with honeymoon accommodations, encapsulating everything anyone would ever need to know about the atmosphere in the region. As Wilkins watched his Poconos empire grow through the next few decades, he became known as the innovator behind the beautifully kitschy newlywed experience.
Cove Haven Resorts
With the success of the heart-shaped tub driving business, Wilkins came up a more ambitious idea: He wanted to install a 7-foot-tall champagne glass in his suites that could double as a whirlpool. It would be novel, look terrific in advertising, and create a little bit of mystery: without a ladder, how could couples even get in?
Wilkins’s financiers at Caesars weren’t interested. They dismissed the idea as silly and let it percolate in the hotelier’s head for nearly a decade before giving in. Debuting in 1984, the champagne glass whirlpool became another Poconos and Cove Haven trademark, appearing to be balanced on a thin stem while couples marinated in the bubbly water. Rooms featuring the glass were booked as far as 18 months out. (The secret to getting in was simple: the living room where it was located was sunken, and guests would climb in from the second-floor bedroom.)
Business continued booming through the 1980s. Rooms went for $380 for two nights, and Wilkins was hailed as a hospitality legend. Heart-shaped everything seemed to pervade the Poconos, with a quarter of its 16,000 beds cut into the novelty design.
Then airline travel got cheaper, and Vegas got wiser. As airfares went down and rooms in other destination locations began to resemble the Wilkins model, attendance dropped. Several Poconos-area resorts were closed by 1999, the year Wilkins retired.
Today, roughly 437 heart-shaped hot tubs remain in the three Cove Haven resorts, with an untold number installed around the country. While Wilkins had managed to patent his champagne whirlpool, he was unsuccessful in obtaining the same protection for the tub. For $2395, anyone can have one ready to be installed in their own personal lover’s retreat.
Wilkins died at age 90 in 2015. Though he left behind four children, it could be argued he was responsible for many, many more.
“I don’t know how many babies we’ve conceived here,” Wilkins told TheWashington Post in 1988. “It must be an army.”
There is nothing quite like being humbled by the fitness regimen of an octogenarian, which is why you might want to proceed with caution. POLITICO reporter Ben Schreckinger recently got a glimpse into the workout of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and it’s entirely possible you’ll need to work your way up to it.
Political pundits have been focused on the health of the 83-year-old Ginsburg (who has a birthday coming up on March 15) due to her liberal leanings and the desire to see her remain on the bench for the duration of a Republican presidency. Part of what keeps her sharp is a twice-weekly exercise protocol developed by her personal trainer, a Sergeant First Class in the Army Reserves named Bryant Johnson.
While the hour-long workout can vary at times, Johnson explained that it more or less looks like this: After a five-minute warm-up on an elliptical bike, Ginsburg does some light stretching (toe touches, seated ankle-grabbing with legs extended) followed by a strength routine. Johnson uses weights that Ginsburg can heft for 10 to 13 reps, including a 70-pound bench press, chest flies, lat pulldowns, and leg presses, all using a machine. Ginsburg then performs one-legged squats by extending one leg and rising from a seated position 10 times per leg.
The latter effort seemed to give Schreckinger pause. “This was not easy,” he wrote. The squats are followed by two sets of 10 pushups and 30-second planks, which is a bit like holding a pushup posture on your forearms to work your core.
Next, Ginsburg uses an exercise ball to perform dynamic dumbbell presses and curls before moving to an 18-inch platform that promotes knee stability. That’s followed by more leg exercises and squats on a Bosu ball. Finally, Ginsburg catches a medicine ball from a seated position, stands, and tosses it back to Johnson. The effort is meant to replicate getting up from a toilet unassisted, an important skill for any age.
Despite being a good half-century younger than Ginsburg, Schreckinger said the workout left him “sore, disoriented, and cranky.” If you haven’t hit the gym in awhile, it might be prudent to consult with a doctor before attempting the Ginsburg protocol.
In a move that might remind gamers of Sony’s Playstation Now online subscription service, Microsoft has announced that Xbox One users will soon be able to browse and borrow from a library of more than 100 games, Engadget reports. It’s called the Xbox Game Pass, and it promises to kill more of your time than ever before.
The Pass works like this: Owners of the Xbox One console pay $10 a month to access a rotating catalog of back titles from the Xbox 360 and the One. If you see a title you like, you can download and install it on the One, eliminating any potential internet lag issues. (Playstation Now is a streaming service.) If you really like a title, you’ll have the option of buying it at a 20 percent discount.
The move has been seen by some video game analysts as an attempt to bolster sales of the Xbox One, which have been lagging behind Sony’s Playstation 4 console. Microsoft hasn’t announced which titles will be included, but listed publishers such as 2K, Bandai Namco, Capcom, and THQ as participating developers, with Halo 5 and NBA 2K16 being teased on their landing page. The Xbox Game Pass will be available to Xbox Insiders shortly, with a full rollout expected this spring.
Science hasn’t yet confirmed any benefits of binge-watching streaming television. In fact, some early reports have indicated mainlining video can often correlate with obesity, fatigue, and antisocial behavior.
If you plan on curbing your habits, March wouldn’t be a good time to do it. Netflix has just deployed nearly 100 new and catalog films and television shows for consumption. If you’d rather do more watching than researching, check out these five titles that are likely to make you feel fatter and more introverted.
1. IMPOSSIBLE DREAMERS (2016)
Documentary director Eric Goldfarb spent three years chronicling the lives of several senior athletes ranging in age from 60 to 94, including 81-year-old golfer Gary Player. Player became one of the first putters to embrace physical fitness, squatting 325 pounds before a 1963 U.S. Open at a time when golfers weren’t expected to be that devoted to the weight room. Player joins several other AARP-eligible athletes who could probably break your Millennial neck. (3/1)
2. THE STUDENT BODY (2016)
As an increasing number of schools begin to struggle with legislation that would evaluate a student’s body mass index (BMI) at regular intervals and send caution letters home about weight, The Student Body examines the issue from all sides, speaking with lawmakers, educators, and enrollees about the impact of being graded on your appearance. (3/25)
3. IRON FIST (2017)
The fourth of Marvel’s initial run of Netflix shows shifts focus to Danny Rand, a man presumed dead who returns to New York fueled by the wisdom and mysticism of Eastern martial arts. Iron Fist’s 13 episodes precede The Defenders, the Netflix team-up show coming later in the year. (3/17)
4. THE DISCOVERY (2017)
Netflix continues to raise the bar for acquiring original films that bypass theaters with this sci-fi story about a man (Robert Redford) who is able to provide unequivocal proof of an afterlife. As people worldwide choose an early exit, his son (Jason Segel) tries to navigate a world where the end isn’t really the end. (3/31)
5. USS INDIANAPOLIS: MEN OF COURAGE (2016)
Nicolas Cage fights shark in this true tale of the World War II battleship overrun by carnivores of the deep. (3/25)
In its 70-year history, Sony has made some big splashes. Take the 1979 launch of the Walkman, which created millions of headphone-sporting pedestrians living in their own private music video. Or the 1994 debut of the PlayStation, which shook up the Nintendo-dominated gaming scene.
Now, the company may have found its next major chapter with Xperia Touch, a mobile projector that takes the bold step of allowing users to interact with the image being projected on a screen, wall, or other flat surface. Think of it as the world’s biggest smart-touch interface.
Here’s how Xperia works: Housed in a small, subwoofer-sized console (5.6 inches high) is a projection lens, speaker, and Android software. Adjust the lens and you can project up to an 80-inch, 1366 by 768 resolution image on the surface of your choice. You now have a portable home theater, but the Android capability is where the Xperia gets really interesting.
When displaying your Android menu on a surface—including tables or even the floor—cameras in the Xperia are able to pick up gestures and respond to commands given by your hand, similar to the typical smartphone. It also supports gaming activities and other virtual exchanges. One Engadget journalist was able to play virtual piano keys onscreen.
The catch? Like many of Sony’s first-generation products, the Xperia doesn’t come cheap; while its price and release date are still TBD in the U.S., it’s set to go on sale shortly in Europe for €1599, or roughly $1645.
Though it continues to air new episodes five days a week in syndication, most everyone nostalgic for The People’s Court remembers its glory days in the 1980s. Presenting real small claims cases with binding rulings, former Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Wapner, his trusty bailiff Rusty, and court reporter Doug Llewelyn became daytime television celebrities.
Premiering in 1981, The People’s Court effectively launched the on-air reality trial genre that gave us Judge Judy, Judge Mathis, and Judge Mills Lane. (The latter was previously a boxing referee.) If you still have the show’s theme stuck in your head, you’ll probably enjoy some trivia about Wapner’s history, Rusty’s ties to Charles Manson, and why one Mr. America decided to sue the show.
1. NO ONE WANTED TO AIR IT.
In the 1970s, it was not yet common practice to see cameras installed in real courtrooms. That didn’t stop producer John Masterson from approaching Let’s Make a Deal host Monty Hall in 1975 with the idea to record legal proceedings and air them on television. While the idea was well-received by Hall, networks weren’t interested. It wasn’t until a Masterson associate named Stu Billett thought to tweak the idea by replicating a courtroom and staging a kind of mock trial that the format began to show promise.
Billett’s notion to take a portion of small claims cases in Los Angeles and offer the parties arbitration in exchange for television coverage found a receptive audience at NBC. But the network didn’t want a real judge to preside: They preferred a comic—Nipsey Russell was one name floated—that would listen to the cases and make jokes while being coached off-screen by a legal expert. When Billett got television station KTLA interested, they asked him to make two pilots: one played straight and one played for laughs. Billett refused, taping only the “straight” version with retired LA County judge Joseph Wapner. After being passed up by networks—again—Billett took it directly to syndication in 1981, where it became an immediate hit.
3. WAPNER NEVER USED THE GAVEL.
Wapner had gotten a call from Billett and partner Ralph Edwards about appearing on the series as the judge. When he arrived to their offices for an audition with a real case, he found it amusing that it had been set up with a gavel—the prop was something he had never used in 20 years of law and never once picked up on the show.
An aspiring professional baseball player, Rusty Burrell came to Los Angeles in the 1950s and wound up working in the sheriff’s department. After becoming a bailiff, producers spotted him and invited him to appear on Divorce Court, a series that staged mock trials using a mix of actors and real legal professionals. (Burrell also moonlit as an actor, appearing on General Hospital.) One of the attorneys who made frequent appearances on the show was Joe Wapner, Sr.—Joe Wapner’s father. Later, when Billett began insisting they use a “sexy” female bailiff on the air, Wapner refused and told him to hire Burrell instead.
5. RUSTY WAS A BUTTERFINGERS.
In one moment from the series that got a lot of repeated play on blooper specials, Rusty was asked to show Wapner a clock that was at the center of a repair dispute between the plaintiff and defendant. When he got to Wapner’s bench, Burrell dropped the clock, damaging it. Wapner joked that it was a “cheap clock” anyway.
6. SOME CASES WERE OVER PEANUTS.
Bill Perron via YouTube
The show’s producers culled from real small claims filings in Los Angeles, enticing parties to drop out of the judicial system to come on the air and have Wapner settle their dispute in what amounted to arbitration. The appeal: The show would pay the damages, which at the time was limited to $1500 (and eventually $2000) in Los Angeles court. While that was the maximum, producers frequently got away with spending far less: Wapner once ruled on a moldy cake, awarding the plaintiff $9 for having her daughter’s birthday ruined.
7. WAPNER ONLY WORKED ONE DAY A WEEK.
Good work if you can get it. Owing to the shooting schedule of People’s Court, Judge Wapner was only needed on the bench for one day out of the work week. The production would shoot 10 cases—making for five episodes—in a single shift, leaving the rest of the week free and clear for the on-camera talent. In 2000, Wapner told Salon.com that despite his condensed schedule, he made far more as a television judge than he did while on the bench in Los Angeles County.
8. WAPNER MEDIATED A CONFLICT BETWEEN JOHNNY CARSON AND DAVID LETTERMAN.
At one point, it was reputed that Wapner was recognized by more people than Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist. In acknowledgment of his popularity, The Tonight Show host Johnny Carson invited Wapner to mediate a “dispute” between Carson and Late Night host David Letterman in 1986 for Carson’s show: Carson once hauled away an old truck of Letterman’s, causing damage. While the hosts wanted to play it as a comedy sketch, Wapner refused to appear unless his ruling was binding. He awarded Letterman $24.95 for a new headlight.
9. RUSTY ONCE GUARDED CHARLES MANSON.
After the “Helter Skelter” murders of 1969, cult leader Charles Manson became one of the most infamous figures in American culture. During his trial in Los Angeles, Burrell was charged with guarding him on a daily basis. Burrell recalled that Manson, who sat right beside him, would say, “You know, I could get up and walk out of here any time I want.” Burrell advised him that it wouldn’t be a good idea.
With 7.5 million viewers tuning in every week during its heyday, The People’s Court offered more than just entertainment: It acted as an educational tool for people who had never before considered small claims litigation. According to a 1989 New York Times report, the series led to an increase in the number of cases filed and even had some plaintiffs citing the television cases as if they were a proper precedent. And although the show offered an immediate financial reward, “real” litigants were often surprised to discover that many defendants preferred not to pay judgments. “If Judge Wapner were here,” one was heard to lament, “he’d see that I was paid.”
11. THE SHOW’S PRODUCERS WERE SUED BY MR. AMERICA.
Not all resolutions were respected by the litigating parties. In 1988, former Mr. America Rex Ravelle sued the show’s producers for $1 million owing to Wapner’s ruling. Ravelle alleged Wapner had made him look like a “bully and a buffoon” during the proceedings, which saw him attempt to reclaim back rent owed by an evicted tenant. Wapner ruled in the defendant’s favor, prompting Ravelle to file the substantial lawsuit after the show ignored his request for his episode to not be broadcast. He settled for $2500.
After 12 years and more than 2400 episodes, producers decided that The People’s Court had run its course in 1993. According to Wapner, he was the last to know: His brother-in-law had read of the show’s cancelation in a local San Francisco newspaper. “It irritated me to no end for a long time,” he said. “I don’t know if it was my age. I think I had all my marbles.” (The show returned in 1997, with former New York City mayor Ed Koch presiding.)
13. WAPNER WAS NO FAN OF JUDGE JUDY.
In 2002, after 20 years on the bench and 13 on television, the then-82-year-old Wapner ruled on Judge Judy Sheindlin, his heir apparent and a presiding television judge who acted in sharp contrast to Wapner’s own even temperament. “She’s discourteous and she’s abrasive,” he told the New York Post. “She’s not slightly insulting. She’s insulting in capital letters.” Sheindlin retorted she wouldn’t engage in “mudslinging.”
Animal cases were a staple of the original People’s Court, which once had Wapner ruling on whether a cat that was supposed to be dyed blue and came out pink was worthy of financial restitution. (It was.) In 1998, Animal Planet enlisted the semi-retired judge to oversee Judge Wapner’s Animal Court, a series that pitted pet owners in disputes over grooming, vet bills, and furry custody issues. The show, which lasted two seasons, featured Rusty Burrell but not court reporter Doug Llewelyn; during the original Court, he was bitten in the knee by a plaintiff’s dog. Llewelyn got a tetanus shot.
