The movie The Running Man opens with the Bakersfield Food Riots, where Arnold Schwarzenegger's character is framed as "The Butcher of Bakersfield."

Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks, has a porta-potty outhouse wall that says Bakersfield on the side.

Any reference to Bakersfield by the writer Stephen King usually does not end up in a positive light.

The rock artist Henry Rollins mentions Bakersfield in one of his spoken word pieces, titled "The Virtues of Black Sabbath"

Bakersfield is notorious for some of the worst fog throughout the entire West Coast region, with visibility sometimes dropping to ten feet. 

Male koala bears have a bifurcated penis (i.e. forked). Female koala bears have two lateral vaginas and two separate uteri.

My fact for you involves some American history and everyone's favorite past time: booze! Ever wonder where the phrase "The Real McCoy" came from? It dates back to Prohobition and to a strapping lad named Bill McCoy. Bill McCoy was a man famous around the east coast for his fantastic rum. When Prohibition was institued, McCoy was already a step ahead. He got a speedy boat, continued making his famously delicious rum and became a bootlegger for the thirsty men and women of America. He was also an elusive man; he always slipped by Coast Guard officials. Whenever someone pulled out a bottle of rum to sell, people naturally wanting the best for their money would ask.. "Is this the real McCoy?" As you can see, I'm a huge nerd about facts, history and tales of interest. I will not only be at your signing this weekend, but thank you for putting another book out there for people like me!

Random, little known fact about N.L. - He dressed up as King Henry VIII in high school for a play, project or maybe just for fun? hehe

The average human beings foot is as long as their forearm. Good Luck with the new book Nick!

Ok...here are my random factoids! a chameleons tongue is twice the length of its body (Maybe the chameleon and the pig...) 101 dalmations, peter pan,lady and the tramp and mulan are the only disney movies where both parents are present & dont die through the movie. American Airlines saved $40000 in 1987 by eliminating 1 olive from each salad served in 1stclass. The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet.

In Santa Cruz, there is a local legend. His name is Robert, but he is often called "The Umbrella Man", "Pink Man" or simply "Pinky". He began his career as a public figure in trash bags and signs soliciting votes for president. Then he disappeared and redesigned his stance. He came back wearing pink makeup and a pink dress, carrying his pink parasol. He is known for his perseverance, spending six days a week walking Pacific for years on end, and his relaxed stroll. He hasn't been on Pacific for over a year now, but has been spotted around Santa Cruz, though his unique outfit had been lost during a recent "eviction". A short video (not done by me) of him in his heyday can be found at and an article from his most recent appearance can be found at .

Paper money is not made from wood pulp but from cotton. This means that it will not disintegrate as fast if it is put in the laundry - which is a very good thing. I have washed my share of money!!

More than 50% of Americans fall asleep on their sides. ~I'm one of them!

No one really wants to know this one, but, To burn off one plain M&M candy, you need to walk the full length of a football field. Yikes!

Fortune cookies were actually invented in America, in 1918, by Charles Jung!

In California, it is illegal to sleep in the kitchen. In 1995 by a Hong Kong master named Mo Ka Wang, lifted over 250 lbs with his penis. Dr. Kellogg introduced Kellogg Corn Flakes in hopes that it would reduce masturbation.

Women products like the tampon and bikini were actually invented by men

Congrats on the new book! Heres one for ya! Charles Dickens always slept facing north, in an effort to battle insomnia – when he traveled, he would carry a compass with him and move his bed around so it was correctly aligned. He also liked to face north while writing, believing it aided his creativity.

There are 221,184 possible ways to order a Whopper at Burger King, but who's gonna order a Whopper & hold the beef patty, sesame seed bun, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, and sliced onion, & still pay for it?

The name of the Sorcerer in the sorcerer's apprentice sequence of Fantasia is Yensid. Disney spelled backwards. Walt did that in his own business within the Disney Corporation. Monorail Operators used to get their Paycheck from "Retlaw" Enterprises.

The music video to "Man in the Mirror" did not feature any footage of Jackson singing (though it did have some pictures in it). instead, it shows footage of historic events featured in the news starting with death and dispair and ending in hope. 

Sadly, none of these events include the invention of the first Twinkie.

Incidentally, the first Twinkie was originally filled with banana pudding. But because of the banana shortage during World War II they started filling it with the vanilla cream filling you see today.

Okay, one more and then back to work. :) One human hair can support 3 kg (6.6 lb).

If saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it.

Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you are standing still.

The average person's skin weighs twice as much as the brain.

Fact: 99% of musicians who break up with their girlfriends are homeless. :-P

Aww come on Swish! Have some fun. This book is great! Besides - Reading Is Fundamental! Go Nick!!

RANDOM FACT ABOUT A FIVE DOLLAR BILL AND PIZZA:

There are many ways that paper money—like one, five, ten, or twenty dollar bills—can be identified by blind people. Some blind people like to keep different bills in separate places in their wallets, especially if it is a larger bill that they perhaps do not often carry with them. The most common way to tell paper money apart is to fold the bills in different ways. Ie: fold the $10. once, the $5.00 twice, etc.

PIZZA: The world's largest pizza was made at Norwood Hypermarket in South Africa on December 8th 1990. It measured 122 ft. 8 in. in diameter. It didn't have any twinkies as a topping, but I'm sure it was still equally delicious.

I don't care about the book. But I'll take the $5 and the pizza.

57% of women would rather go on a shopping spree than have sex. I bet this wouldn't be true if we were as lucky as the pig.

The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life."

Some strange historical facts: -In 200 BC, when the Greek city of Sparta was at the height of its power there were 20 slaves for every citizen. -The first-known contraceptive was crocodile dung and was used by the Egyptians in 2000 BC. -The condom was invented in the early 1500's, and was originally made of linen. -In the Great Fire of London in 1666 half of London was burnt down, but only 6 people were injured. -In 1778, fashionable women of Paris never went out in blustery weather without a lightning rod attached to their hats. -Ancient Egyptians shaved off their eyebrows to mourn the death of their cats. -In ancient Rome, a runaway slave was considered a criminal because he had stolen himself. -Roman women especially enjoyed when their husbands went to war against Germany because the naturally-blond hair of Germans captured in battle would be used to make wigs!

If this doesn't get me the book, I don't know what will: Your jaw, eye, and tongue muscles are among the strongest in your body. The first food grown in outer space was potatoes. French was the official language of England for over 600 years. Babby rattlesnakes are born without rattles. Yellowstone is the world's first national park. The fear of going to bed is called clinophobia.50% of pizzas in North America are sold with pepperoni on them. The average person speaks about 5,000 words a day. A giant squid's eye is as big as a basketball. Ice hockey was first played by British soldiers in the late 1800s in Canada. Honey is the only food that doesn't spoil.When your stomach growls, it's actually "wambling" Ancient Rome was the first city to reach one million in population. The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. Snow leopards cannot roar. Tug-of-war was an official Olympic event until 1920. A group of crows is known as a "murder" of crows A jellyfish is 90% water. I should write a book, myself.

I'm digging them too. I'm waiting for more Michael Jackson trivia... See you at the radio station tomorrow...

These are really good early entries!

If you can't sneeze, stare at a light

True fact: Michael Jackson's name is mentioned at least once in Random Obsessions. Just sayin'... Thanks everyone so far for your factoids!

Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails! Sorry, that's all I got...

Even though rumor has it Twinkies have an infinite shelf life, we actually can only last about 25 days which is actually still WAY longer than those Ho'Ho's or Ding Dongs! ;)This is due to the lack of dairy in our ingredients.

Raise your index finger (as though you are pointing at the ceiling). Now lay your thumb flat against your index finger. The tip of your thumb should stop almost at the second knuckle of your index finger. The distance between the tip of your thumb and the tip of your index finger is also the length of your nose. Try it! With your index finger and thumb in this position, place the tip of your thumb right under the end of your nose--the tip of your index finger should stop at the top of your nose where it meets your face! Cool, huh? (I am such a nerd... I somehow figured this out when I was a kid.)

You can see stars from the bottom of a well, even in daylight.

A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find a mate. -How sad for all those female ferrets dying for love. :(

That was wrong!! lol

Only if you're giving it to me. The book, that is. :D

No wonder pigs can fly... Hey Matt, can I win my own book?? hahahaa

A pig's orgasm last up to 30 minutes! If this is true, I want to be a pig.

Ur eyes r the same size since birth,but ur nose never stops growing

Just for some giggles thought this would be appropriate for you: A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off - it dies from starvation!