I grew up watching Johnny Carson — I think everybody in the ’60s and ’70s did. He was a beacon of comedic consistency in a sea of rather lukewarm TV humor — not the world’s funniest guy, but someone who could always make you laugh. A lot of the gags that Leno does now are shticks that Johnny started years ago. Leno doesn’t have a sidekick, but Carson had Ed McMahon, a pretty decent straight man. Whenever Carson would say something that surprised Ed, he would respond “I did not know that.”

Here’s some stuff that you might not have known but, for some bizarre reason, I do:

— Did you know that 65% of all the human beings who have lived past the age of 50 are still walking the earth?

— Why don’t UD students don’t get Columbus Day off this year? I made my first trip home to Massachusetts on the 3-day Columbus Day weekend 35 years ago, to pick up my car. 2 months of living at University Hall on the West Side without one was about 60 days too long.

— Chris Kaman, the 7 footer from Central Michigan who is projected to go early in the NBA Draft went from being a 6’2″ guard to a 6’8″ center in the space of one summer between his freshman and sophomore years of HS. Don’t know where Kaman got his height — his dad is only 5’11” and his mom 5’9″.

— Wilt Chamberlain did the same thing when he spent the summer at his uncle’s farm in New Jersey. When he came home, his mother didn’t recognize him and he had grown out of all of his clothes. I spent several weeks looking for that farm myself one summer.

— “Mary Had a Little Lamb” was written in Sterling, MA. There is a statue of a lamb in the town square, commemorating the occasion — which someone stole a few years back.

— There is a guy buried in my hometown of Leominster, MA who was executed for refusing to shave his beard. I forget the details, but it was against his religion or something like that. He was actually from the next town over — Fitchburg — but they wouldn’t allow him to be planted there.

— James Michael Curley was re-elected the Mayor of Boston while serving a term in jail. My mother wanted my middle name to be Michael in his honor, but my dad would have none of that, so they didn’t give me one. Dad wasn’t too excited when I selected Michael as my confirmation name.

— Did you know that Brian Gregory graduated from Oakland University here in MI as the Grizzlies all-time assist leader and with a 3.87 GPA?

— Maybe they ought to put these 2 videotapes on super special — a website called Onlinesports.com has the following hoops classics for sale in the UD section:

“Building Team Chemistry” (video) by Oliver Purnell – $29.95
“Developing Team Chemistry” (video) by Clemette Haskins – $29.95

— Did you know that Detroit is the only place where you have to head due south to enter Canada?

— Fellow Bostonian Bill Simmons AKA ESPN.com’s Sports Guy takes a shot at Bill Laimbeer in his latest column. Lam is currently the coach of the Detroit Shock of the NBA and is actually doing well — the Shock beat LA recently and they have the best record in the league. What SG probably did not realize is that Laimbeer is likewise a native Beantowner.

— Laimbeer is also the answer to the trivia question: “Who is the only NBA player who made less in salary than his dad?” The senior Laimbeer was a CEO of a company in Toledo when Bill played for the Pistons.

— Were you aware that facing a 60 MPH softball pitcher is the equivalent of a Randy Johnson fastball, in terms of reaction time necessary to hit the damned thing? Tell that to the Younger Swampette’s baseball-playing boyfriend who struck out swinging (twice!) in a recent softball/baseball scrimmage at their HS.

— Rumor has it that Matt Terwilliger from Troy HS wanted to go to UC and play with his AAU pal Jamar Butler. His folks preferred that he go to OSU. Just before he was ready to announce for the Bearcats, the Terwilligers went on a one week family vacation. Upon his return, Twig verballed with the Bucks.

— Speaking of Ohio State, former Bucks QB Art Sclichter was once quoted as saying that if he hadn’t signed to call signals in the Big Horse Shoe, his dream was to play hoops for the UD Flyers.

— Bet you didn’t know that the entire staff of the “The Smoking Gun” (http://www.thesmokinggun.com) is comprised of only 4 people.

— In all likelihood, if Jack Kennedy hadn’t been assassinated in 1963 he would have been dead within 2 years anyway, his health was that poor.