Overview

This book contains 250 anecdotes, including these: 1) Theatrical impresario Florenz Flo Ziegfeld knew how to get publicity. One of his first stars was French singer Anna Held. Word leaked out to the newspapers that Mr. Ziegfeld was being sued because he had failed to pay his milk bill. Word also leaked out that Mr. Ziegfeld was buying so much milk that it took six cows to provide his daily order. Enterprising reporters investigated, and they heard that Ms. Held was taking baths in the milk! This provided much publicity that helped make French star Anna Held a star in the United States. Of course, this was just a publicity stunt. Ms. Held did not take baths in milk-doing that would have made her sticky! Mr. Ziegfeld did not buy that much milk, and he paid a milk dealer to sue him. Playwright Max Marcin had read about ancient Roman milk baths, and Mr. Ziegfeld paid him $250 for the idea of the publicity stunt. 2) William R. Braddock, Esq., of Medford, New Jersey, was a Quaker and he disliked swearing. While he was writing a deed for two men, they began to argue, and as they argued, they swore at each other. Mr. Braddock told the men that he did not permit swearing in his establishment, and for a while the two men stopped swearing. But again they began to argue, and again they began to swear. Mr. Braddock stopped writing the deed, told his daughter to open the door, then he grabbed each man by the back of the neck and hurled them both into the street. The two men had not had time to get their hats, so they hired a neighborhood boy to go back and pick up their hats for them. 3) As a publicity stunt, Art Linkletter was supposed to broadcast on the CBS Radio Network the arrival of the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet at the 1935 San Diego Exhibition. Unfortunately, as the time drew near for the arrival of the fleet, heavy fog began to roll into the San Diego harbor, forcing the fleet to remain at anchor outside the harbor. Mr. Linkletter was faced with a problem. He had lots of time to fill on the radio, and he hated to lose such a good publicity stunt. So Mr. Linkletter simply pretended that the fleet was sailing into the harbor and described to his radio audience the destroyers and battleships that were actually nowhere to be seen.4) Susan B. Anthony was once mocked by abolitionist Samuel May because she spoke about marriage although she was unmarried. Ms. Anthony responded by asking, Mr. May, if you are not a slave why are you campaigning against slavery? 5) Sir Winston Churchill knew that he was a great orator. When he wrote his speeches, he wrote notes where he anticipated the crowd's responses; for example, he would write such notes as Cheers, Ovation, and Prolonged cheering. 6) A comedian was telling an off-color joke at an officers' club when he suddenly noticed that sitting at the table was a chaplain. For Christ's sake, he said. Are you a chaplain? The chaplain replied, For the sake of Christ, I am.

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