Is "Morning's Here" a real song?

Search: morning's here

Why: Joey's neighbor sang it every morning. I swear I heard an instrumental version of it tonight in Nature Mart.

Answer: Oh my jesus, YES!!! Except not with those words. Not with any words, in fact. The tune is from a 1977 track called "Feels So Good" by Chuck Mangione, who plays the flugelhorn.

That record was nominated for a Grammy.

Source: Yahoo! Answers

The More You Know: Now I bet you're going, "Wait, I've also heard the name Chuck Mangione on 'Friends,'" and you're totally right. Phoebe's birthmom Phoebe had a picture of him on her refrigerator. She sold him a house last year.

Can damp or cold weather really make your joints hurt?

Search: joints arthritis damp weather

Why: When I was hauling Chandler's laundry all over the town today in the rain, my L4 vertebra - which I injured nary a fortnight ago - started to hurt like holy hell. It was like when Chandler (Bing) said, "The cold weather hurts my hip."

Answer: Maybe! Different experts say different things, of course. On the "no way" side, here are some facts:

• Decades of medical research have failed to establish an objective relationship between arthritis severity and weather patterns.
• Detailed interviews with specific patients have yielded mostly anecdotes, and those who move to drier climates do not report major relief.
• The skin surrounding joints is rather impervious to water.
• Most people stay dry indoors during rain anyway.
  
• Arthritis patients do not experience dramatic changes in their symptoms when immersed in water (such as during baths or swimming).
  
• Wet weather may also be associated with other climatic conditions, such as decreases in barometric pressures - but this connection also seems implausible, given that much greater pressure swings are tolerated easily during plane travel or mountain driving in a car.
• While atmospheric humidity might enter the body through the respiratory tract, this seems an unlikely contributor since hospitalized patients are often given humidified air to breathe, and this has little apparent effect on arthritis conditions.
• A long shower does not usually induce arthritis pain.

Compelling? Yes, but this article on eHow by a freelance writer who has no medical degree offers this evidence to the contrary:

• Our joints contain baro-receptors, sensory nerves that respond to changes in pressure in the atmosphere. When the barometric pressure (during low, rainy, damp weather) the receptors react to this, causing joint swelling, pain and aching.
• Barometric pressure is the weight of the air that surrounds us. Sometimes a decrease in temperature or an increase in barometric pressure can prompt joint pain.
  
• Barometric pressure generally falls right before the arrival of wet, damp weather. When this happens, your bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons have to adjust by expanding. When expansion occurs, sensitized nerves send out pain signals.
• Damp weather can detonate inflamed joints.

Source: Scientific American, eHow

The More You Know: What a lovely old couple.

Where have I seen Megan Bailey before?

Search: the one with the cheap wedding dress

Why: I haven't posted about "Friends" in a while, but believe you me, it's not because I haven't been watching. Megan Bailey threatens to sign the Swing Kings the weekend of Monica's wedding if she doesn't give her the dress they both want. Yipe!

Answer: "Seinfeld"! That actress's name is Andrea Bendewald, and she is Celia, George's convict in "The Little Jerry." She does the break-out/pop-in.

She is apparently old friends with Jennifer Aniston and was a bridesmaid in her wedding to Brad Pitt. They starred together in The Thin Pink Line in 1998.

Source: IMDb

The More You Know: BUT! the truth is that I was thinking she played Ashley Bartlett Bacon in While You Were Sleeping, which I have, for some reason, seen like 2 dozen times. Turns out that actress Ally Walker plays Pammy Pam Pam-ela in Singles, which I have seen like 6 dozen times (one of them just last week). Twins, no?

Not really.

Who played the bald doctor in "Knocked Up"?

Search: knocked up

Why: It was on earlier today, and I was like, "Hey, it's the dean from 'Community'!" (which I had watched even earlier today, because I still hadn't watched the one from last week).

Then I was watching the "Friends" episode 'The Last One,' and I saw that guy again sitting next to Rachel on the plane, all, "This plane doesn't even have a phalange."

And then I was like, "Wait, what are the odds? What are they."

Answer: J.P. Manoux! And the other guy is Jim Rash. Compare:

Which one's which, you ask? Exactly.

Source: IMDb

The More You Know: Do you remember when Dr. Gregory House sat next to Rachel when she was flyin to London? And why is that the second time I've mentioned him this week? I don't even watch that show.

What does the name Ursula mean?

Search: ursula name

Why: In Les Miserables (the book!), Cosette leaves behind a handkerchief marked "U.F." for Marius.

Ursula, thought he, what a sweet name!

What!

Answer: Little she-bear! Well, that is sweet. Maybe he would know that because "bear" in French is ours.

There's also a Saint Ursula who was a virgin martyr.

She travelled Europe in company of either 11 or 11,000 fellow maidens; the 11,000 number probably resulted from a misreading of the term “11M” which indicated 11 Martyrs, but which a copyist took for a Roman numeral. Ursula and her company were tortured to death to get them to renounce their faith, and old paintings of them show many of the women being killed in various painful ways. Namesake for the Ursuline Order, founded for the education of young Catholic girls and women.

Source: ThinkBabyNames

The More You Know: Other Ursulas:

Remember when Ursula was a porn "star" using Phoebe's name? I do.

What was Denise Richards's theme music on "Friends"?

Search: the one with the cousin

Why: I do that "buh-duh duh-duh-duh" thing a lot, but that episode just came on.

Answer: It's the first 20 seconds of "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" by Barry White!

Source: IMDb

The More You Know: Barry White married his wife Glodean in 1974. He died of high blood pressure / kidney failure / a stroke in 2003.

What is the Adam's apple?

Search: adam's apple

Why: Jon Favreau bruised his when he tried to become the Ultimate Fighting Champion. During a really boring meeting today, I stared at Reggie's for like 4 full minutes.

Answer: It's the larynx! Both boys' and girls' grow during puberty, but girls' don't stick out as much. According to KidsHealth:

Most girls don't have Adam's apples, but some do. It's no big deal either way.

Yeahok.

The larger larynx gives boys deeper voices (and makes them crack), and girls' voices get deeper as their larynxes get larger, too. Because boys' larynxes grow so much more, it makes their voices deeper than girls' voices.

Source: KidsHealth.org

The More You Know: The larynx is made of thyroid cartilage .

The laryngeal prominence is usually more prominent in adult males because the thyroid cartilage elongates during puberty, protruding out the front of the neck more noticeably. The result is that the two laminae (thin cartilage) of the thyroid cartilage that form the protrusion meet at an average angle of 90° in males, and 120° in females, so there is less cartilage protruding out in females.

What does "beck" mean?

Search: beck and call

Why: At her bitchiest (she is always so mean to him because she thinks she's better than him - which she's not, BTW), Rachel tells Ross she wants him at her "constant beck and call."

Answer: According to Merriam-Webster:

A 'beck' is a silent signal, such as a nod of the head or a motion with the forefinger. The sense is apparent in the Earl of Worcester's Iulius Cesars Commentaryes (1470): 'It should be ready at a beck.' In summoning a servant one might have to resort to a 'call' as well as a 'beck' if the servant did not see the beck or failed to respond to it."

Source: Phrases.org.uk

The More You Know: Other Becks:

What's a sooner?

Search: what is a sooner

Why: In "The One Where Emma Cries":

Monica: Tulsa, Oklahoma?!
Chandler: The Sooner State! Whatever that is!

Answer: A sneaky lil cheater:

In 1899, the US government opened up 2 million acres of land to homesteaders. To claim a lot of land, prospective settlers had to participate in a land run. They lined up and waited for the blast of a shotgun to signal the beginning of the run, at which point they would race eagerly to claim a homestead. A "Sooner" was someone who snuck past the territory markers ahead of the shotgun to get an early start.

Source: Ask Yahoo!

The More You Know: Did you ever see Far and Away? It was one of the 3 movies that Tom Cruise did with Nicole Kidman as part of their 10-year marriage contract. Anyway, the movie is kind of crappy, but Tom Cruise's Irish accent is hilarious and they do this in it - during the Oklahoma Land Run of 1893. Jicydk.

What are some purple foods?

Search: purple foods

Why: My neighbors are growing these in their parking space / vertical garden. Based on what I've learned from Farmville, I have determined that they are baby eggplants:

Answer: These really range from navy to maroon, but whatever:

• Ayocote Morado beans
• beetroot
  
• black raspberries
  
• black rice
• blueberries
• blue corn
  
• eggplant
• figs
  
• plums
• prunes
• purple asparagus
  
• purple cabbage
• purple carrots
  
• purple cauliflower
• purple corn
  
• purple grapes
• purple kale
• purple onions
  
• purple peppers
  
• purple potatoes
• purple yams
  
• raddichio
  
• raisins
• Swiss chard
• taro

Source: ChowHound

The More You Know: That picture of cauliflower is by Becca Riley, if anyone cares. It links directly to her blog.

Was Missi Pyle in 2 different episodes of "Friends"?

Search: missi pyle; the one with the pediatrician

Why: I just spotted her as the date with the blacklight in "The One with Ross's Teeth."

Answer: OMG no! That is a completely different woman! I always thought they were the same person!!

Missi Pyle:

Elaine Hendrix:

Source: IMDb

The More You Know: This guy mixes up the same people. Maybe it's their aggressive eyebrows? Hendrix is the mean girl who becomes nice in Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion.

Was there ever a Brice on "All My Children"?

Search: brice all my children

Why: When Joey can't find a good job after "DOOL," Gunther says he used to be Brice on "All My Children."

Answer: Not onscreen! Sometime in 2002 (?), a fellow played the voice of a character named Brice Dickson. (There wasn't a Bryce, either, in case you thought maybe I don't know how to spell stupid names that no one should have.)

The IMDb pages for decades-long soap operas are just appalling. Someone clean them up plz, thx.

Source: IMDb

The More You Know: James Michael Tyler, originally a nameless extra, was cast as Gunther because he was the only extra who knew how to operate an espresso machine, having worked in several coffee shops before getting into acting. This led to a 10-year career with appearances in 131 of Friends' 238 episodes; he is the show's most-frequently-appearing guest star.

What does "on the QT" mean?

Search: on the qt

Why: Ross won't tell Monica & Chandler what he is planning for their wedding because he's keeping it "on the QT." As far as I know, QT only stands for "quality time," though the abbreviation term "on the DL" (down low) would be applicable here.

Answer: "On the quiet." There's no definitive source for the phrase, though it appears to be of 19th century British origin - not American. The longer phrase 'on the quiet' is also not especially old, but is first recorded somewhat before on the qt, in Otago: Goldfields & Resources, 1862:

"Unless men can work [the gold] on 'the quiet', they are not likely to make 'piles' so rapidly as Messrs. Hartley and Riley."

Source: Phrases.org.uk

The More You Know: On my drive home from work tonight, I cracked myself up thinking about a guy trying to make money for dental school by moonlighting as a rapper named Toof D.K.

What celebrities guest starred on Friends?

Search: friends guest stars

Why: I just watched one of the episodes with Elle Macpherson.

Answer: Here are the people you and I both know:

• Jason Alexander (1 episode)
• Christina Applegate (2 eps.)
• David Arquette (1)
• Hank Azaria (5)
  
• Alec Baldwin (2)
• Selma Blair (1)
  
• Eddie Cahill (7)
• George Clooney (1)
• Jennifer Coolidge (1)
• Kristin Davis (1)
• Danny DeVito (1)
  
• Tate Donovan (5)
  
• Morgan Fairchild (5)
• Dakota Fanning (1)
  
• Anna Faris (5)
  
• Jon Favreau (6)
• Soleil Moon Frye (1)
  
• Teri Garr (3)
• Adam Goldberg (3)
• Jeff Goldblum (1)
  
• Elliott Gould (20)
• Jennifer Grey (1)
• Charlton Heston (1)
  
• Helen Hunt (1)
• Chrissie Hynde (1)
• Chris Isaak (1)
• Penn Jillette (1)
• Greg Kinnear (1)
  
• Jay Leno (1)
• Hugh Laurie (1)
• Jon Lovitz (1)
  
• Elle Macpherson (5)
• Dermot Mulroney (3)
  
• Gary Oldman (1)
• Donny Osmond (1)
• Chris Parnell (1)
• Sean Penn (2)
• Brad Pitt (1)
• Freddie Prinze Jr. (1)
  
• Michael Rapaport (4)
• Leah Remini (1)
• Giovanni Ribisi (9)
  
• Denise Richards (1)
• Julia Roberts (1)
• Rebecca Romijn (1)
  
• Isabella Rossellini (1)
• Debra Jo Rupp (6)
• Winona Ryder (1)
• Susan Sarandon (1)
  
• Jennifer Saunders (2)
• Harry Schearer (1)
  
• Tom Selleck (10)
• Charlie Sheen (1)
• Brooke Shields (1)
  
• Sherri Shepherd (1)
• Jonathan Silverman (1)
  
• Cole Sprouse (5)
• John Stamos (1)
  
• Ben Stiller (1)
• Christine Taylor (3)
  
• Marlo Thomas (3)
• Lea Thompson (1)
  
• Kathleen Turner (3)
• Aisha Tyler (9)
• Jean-Claude Van Damme (1)
• Michael Vartan (1)
• Bruce Willis (3)
• Reese Witherspoon (1)
  
• Noah Wyle (1)
• Steve Zahn (1)

In that list, I count at least 7 Oscars and 18 nominations - not to mention all the other Emmys, Golden Globes, Aftonbladet TV Prizes, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards, etc.

Source: FanCast.

The More You Know: Here are other people you would probably recognize. I put them down here because they either weren't celebrities at the time, aren't famous now, had very small roles, or some other arbitrary reason:

Scott Adsit, Sasha Alexander, Eva Amurri, Alexis Arquette, Bob Balaban, Doug Benson, Shelley Berman, Alex Borstein, Richard Branson, Dan Castellaneta, Megan Cavanagh, Sarah Ferguson, Willie Garson, Kyle Gass, Beth Grant, Evan Handler, Melora Hardin, James Hong, Kyle Howard, Nicky Katt, James LeGros, Thomas Lennon, Alec Mapa, Debi Mazar, Eddie McClintock, Kevin McDonald, Michael McKean, Dina Meyer, Ivana Milicevic, Sarah Murdoch, George Newburn, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Emily Osment, Ellen Pompeo, Brian Posehn, Missi Pyle, Craig Robinson, Rena Sofer, Marla Sokoloff, Fisher Stevens, Allison Sweeney, Gabrielle Union, Fred Willard, Olivia Williams, Mae Whitman, Chris Young

I want to compare pictures of Chandler before and after he proposed to Monica

Search: chandler propose; chandler monica's thunder

Why: He is really fat when he proposes (in the season 6 finale) and then oddly skinny later that night (in the season 7 premiere).

Answer: Here he is proposing:

and here is a screen cap from what is supposed to be about half an hour later:

Looks like he got a haircut, too.

Source: Google Images, TheWB.com

The More You Know: Matthew Perry was born in Massachusetts, BUT his mother was the former press secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Perry has dual US/Canadian citizenship. And his dad, John Bennett Perry, was a former model. He played Joshua's dad in that episode when Rachel wore lingerie to dinner. Remember? He kept saying, "France sucks."

Also, that second episode aired in October 2000. Perry went to rehab for addiction to Vicodin in 1997 and kicked his habit sometime in 2001. I'm not sure if Vicodin would have made him fat or skinny.

How long did Monica date Richard?

Search: richard burke, the one where ross and rachel... you know, the one with barry and mindy's wedding

Why: In "The One with Chandler in a Box," she doesn't know what his son looks like.

Answer: Like 3 months. They started dating in an episode that aired Feb. 8th, 1996 (aka my 13th birthday!) and broke up in one that aired May 16th.

Source: IMDb

The More You Know: What his son looks like is Michael Vartan.

Where have I seen Dina Meyer before?

Search: dina meyer

Why: She plays Joey's bitchy co-star in that play with the spaceship. I saw her name in the credits and I recognize it!

Answer: OMG she was that annoying girl in my favorite movie Starship Troopers!! How did I never notice that before? Her character's name was Dizzy. Gag me. Of course she showed her hooters. Multiple times.


(WTF is that picture [besides hilarious]?)

Source: IMDb

The More You Know: Lol, the director of that episode was Peter Bonerz.

Sorry this whole post was PG-13 :(

What are "the trots"?

Search: trots

Why: "Tea gives Phoebe the trots." I thought that was like having to pee all the time, but now I'm not so sure.

Answer: Diarrhea. I don't really like to talk about ... waste.

Source: TheFreeDictionary

The More You Know: Another definition (that I'm pretty sure is an accident) says:

jargon, lingo, patois, argot, vernacular, slang, cant - a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves); "they don't speak our lingo"

Who played the Bings' houseboy on "Friends"?

Search: the one with the thanksgiving flashbacks

Why: He looks familiar.

Answer: Alec Mapa, aka OMG it's "Ugly Betty"'s Suzuki St. Pierre!


Source: IMDb

The More You Know: More turkey, Mr. Chandler?

Did the Brown Bird whose leg Ross broke ever act again?

Search: the one where rachel quits

Why: That kid looks familiar, but she's so young and tiny.

Answer: It's Mae Whitman, TV's Ann Veal!


Source: IMDb

The More You Know: Shelley Berman is also in this episode. He teaches the LOLs in my program!