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Hey Guys,

There was a time when movies were a lot more modest. Violence was in short supply, and sexual situations were all about subtlety. But that wasn’t all. Because it was thought to be uncouth, the scandalous sound of a flushing toilet was never heard on the big screen. That is until one movie changed the rules in 1960.

“Psycho,” a movie so famous for so many reasons, was the first flick to show audiences a flushing toilet. I know this sounds like a silly thing to praise, but the flush was actually a big deal at the time. Director Alfred Hitchcock had set out to make a film that put audiences ill at ease from the get-go. He knew that by showing something early in the film that they had never seen before (i.e., a flushing toilet), it would send a signal that the audience was watching a movie in which anything was possible.

Filmsite.org calls the scene in which the main character, Marion, flushes evidence of her crime down the toilet a “a convention-breaking taboo.” Cinepad.com goes into more depth, writing that “just the sight of the flushing toilet was considered shocking enough to mildly unsettle and disorient audiences of the day.” Cinepad quotes the screenwriter, Joseph Stephano, as saying, “I thought if I could begin to unhinge audiences by showing a toilet flushing — we all suffer from peccadillos from toilet procedures — they’d be so out of it by the time of the shower murder, it would be an absolute killer.”

It was. The film, most famous for its classic “shower scene” that followed the flush, went on to become one of Hollywood’s greatest films and a template for future horror movies. I like to think the flush played a small part.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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Hey Guys,

I realized early in life that I’d never be a Major League baseball player. My tendency to close my eyes and wince rather than swing the bat insured me of that. Of course, not all kids are as hopeless. There are some big league ballplayers that don’t look much older than 15 or 16. Got me wondering — who is the youngest baseball player to ever make to the Major Leagues?

Well, if we’re talking in the “Modern Era,” meaning in the 20th century, then the answer is Joe Nuxhall. The former pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds came up to the Show when he was all of 15 years old. Imagine that, he couldn’t drink, vote, or drive a car, but he was playing baseball against the best players in the world.

In an interview, Nuxhall said, “Probably two weeks prior to that (his debut), I was pitching against seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders, kids 13 and 14 years old. All of a sudden, I look up and there’s Stan Musial and the likes. It was a very scary situation.”

So scary, in fact, that when he was called into the game, Nuxhall tripped on the dugout step and landed on his face in front of the entire stadium. Things didn’t get much better from there.

In his first game on June 10, 1944, Nuxall pitched just 2/3 of an inning, giving up five runs before being pulled. He was quickly sent back down to the minor leagues, but eventually returned to the Majors several years later.

Nuxhall went on to have an excellent career, both as a player and an announcer. He ended his playing days in 1966 with a lifetime 135–117 record. Soon after he retired, Nuxhall began his next job as announcer for the Reds. He stayed in that position for several decades before retiring in 2004. He passed away in 2007, due to complications from cancer.

What are some other impressive things people have done at a young age? For example, author Alex Garland wrote one of my favorite novels (“The Beach“) when he was all of 26. And Mozart was composing by the age of 5. Got some favorites of your own? Leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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We’re adding to the debate stirred up by Hana Rosin’s July cover story “The End of Men” for  Atlantic Monthly magazine and its counterpart column by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times, “Don’t Write Off Men Just Yet”.

Our Answers Team community managers have had some interesting discussions on the topic and Graziana (our Latin American community manager) and I thought it would be fun to bring the discussion to our virtual table. the sub category “Gender Studies.”

The main focus of this section is to exchange points of view and experiences concerning the roles of males and females, taking into consideration psychological, anthropologic, economic, and historic aspects. It is a place to discuss the meaning of “being male” and “being female” and their constant redefinitions. We encourage a healthy debate about the stereotypes and limits imposed by culture and biology. To quote one of my favorite  French philosophers Simone de Beauvoir (a pioneer in gender studies), “Gender is used to refer to the social and cultural constructions of masculinities and femininities, not to the state of being male or female”.

Curiously, “gender studies” has been focused from the beginning around the “feminine being” as a reaction against the complete absence of feminine perspectives in social sciences. The new social science was part of a bigger movement to claim equal participation for women in all spheres of social life.

Today, many feel that goal has been mostly achieved and there is arguably little need to devote a space exclusively to study the “female being”. On the contrary, many think there is a need to open the game to include the “male being” and the cultural shifts that have been taking place as a result of that equality—think stay-at-home dads and the like.

To the users who have been complaining about “feeling like laboratory specimens” or “being targeted by chauvinistic and degrading remarks,” we want to remind the community that this category wants to host a comprehensive and balanced debate. We don’t want to aim solely at women! Gender refers both to male and female.

Do you participate regularly on this category? What has been your experience with gender topics? Share your comments with us.

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Hey Guys,

Some people like to fly. These people are crazy. The sane majority (of which I count myself a member) loathes flying. Fortunately, the frequent flyer ticket helps take away some of the pain. Which airline came up with the concept and how has it changed over the years? Here’s the scoop.

The concept of rewarding passengers for flying a particular airline was created by American Airlines in 1981. A well-researched (and loooooong) article from InsideFlyer.com explains that Bill Bernbach, then the CEO of Doyle Dane Bernbach (the ad agency for American Airlines), may have been inspired by banks that were offering its customers free toasters. He thought, why not do something similar for airline customers?

Originally, the plan was to give the airline’s best customers lower fares. But execs concluded that those lower fares would likely be matched by competition. After some brainstorming, they came up with the miles concept.

At first, airlines thought to reward their frequent travelers free upgrades to First Class. InsideFlyer.com explains that the “cost” of a free upgrade was originally 11,000 miles. Why? “Because American’s longest city pair at that time was Boston to Los Angeles, and they didn’t want travelers to be able to get a free upgrade after only two transcontinental roundtrips (10,444 miles).”

Things have, of course, changed over the years. The programs still exist, but airlines, pressured to increase profits, have added fees, black out dates, and other annoyances. Time magazine hosts an entertaining list of “20 Reasons to Hate the Airlines.” Number 5: “Frequent-Flyer Gimmickry.”

So, a question for all the travelers out there. Are you loyal to one particular airline because of their frequent flyer program? Or, do you go with whoever has the lowest fare, no matter what? Please leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in Coach,

Mike

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My name is Layla and I am a new addition to the Answers community team, I am also the community manager for Groups and Delicious and hope to showcase some fun ways for you to benefit from tapping into those Yahoo! properties. As a long time Answers member, I am thrilled to be here as an official Yahoo.

Photo by historic.brussels

Given that I have chosen Belgium’s national holiday to post my first blog, I figured this small and fascinating country deserves some coverage. I started by posting a question on Answers to see what our community already knows about the land of chocolate, French fries, mussels, and waffles, and I’ve been having fun reading some of your answers to:

When you think of Belgium what comes to mind?

I could give you an overview with all the right figures — but isn’t that what Jimmy Donal Wales and Larry Sanger created Wikipedia for? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium

Instead, I’ll focus on one of my favorite topics: food.

Belgium produces 220,000 tons of chocolate per year—but looking at the average Belgian tells me they don’t eat it all. Brussels’ national airport is the world’s biggest chocolate-selling point. (That would be an airport I definitely would not mind a long layover at.)  A Belgian by the name of Adolphe Quetlet came up with the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is commonly used to determine a person’s ideal weight. (Probably his way of dealing with all the chocolate and beer intake.)

Photo by c3lsius_bb

Proportionally, Belgium has one of the lowest numbers of McDonald’s restaurants in the developed world. It has seven times fewer McDonald’s than the U.S. and two times fewer than France. Can we assume this is a health-conscious nation? Well, Brussels sprouts really do originate in Belgium and have grown there for over 400 years, but this doesn’t stop the Belgians from visiting their own fast food chain: Quick.

After hearing what the Answers Community had to say about Belgium, I was curious to see how the Groups community has embraced the topic.  I was surprised to see we currently have over 2,000 groups that show up in search results for Belgium-related groups.

Aclubbrussels

A good example of what many of the Belgian-based groups are about. With 1,117 members, they are a multicultural, international social club for people in their 20s and 30s living in Brussels, Belgium. They organize a wide range of events to cater to all interests. So if you are visiting Belgium, you might want to check them out.

The_best_Belgian_and_Dutch_music_group

Don’t have time for a visit but want to learn more about Belgium? This group, created seven years ago, has over 300 active members. This is a place for fans of Belgian music, no matter where they’re located in the world. With lots of pictures, wallpapers, music, video files, and newsletters, this is an ideal place to learn about Belgian music and artists, including the latest gossip on Ian Van Dah.

Are you intrigued yet? Keep in mind that Belgium is not only about good food, but home to many great artists: one of the world renowned surrealist painters Rene Magritte is Belgian and Adolphe Saxe, a native of Dinant in Wallonia, invented the saxophone.

Want to learn more about Belgium? Follow me on Delicious as I discover more fun articles about this small, fascinating country.

Thanks for reading!

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