Question: Here's something I'd like to settle. Where did the phrase "bigger than a bread box" come from? My mom says it's from an old show, but since she can't remember which one, I'm not sure if she's right or not. I figured you would know since you know everything. Thanks.
Answer: Always listen to your mother, Carrie. Well, except for when she's wrong, but this ain't one of those times. "Is it bigger than a bread box?" was made famous by the late Steve Allen during his appearances on the classic game show What's My Line?, which debuted on CBS in February 1950 and, at its zenith, was wildly popular among the privileged class and hoi polloi alike.
In case your mom can't give you a refresher, the show's premise was simple. A person with an interesting occupation was brought on and a panel of regulars tried to guess what the job was while asking only yes-or-n
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Question: In the final scenes of the 1931 James Cagney film The Public Enemy, there's a song playing on the phonograph. What's the name of the song and who's performing it?
Answer: The song used in The Public Enemy (1931) is "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," which was written in 1919 by James Kendis, James Brockman, Nat Vincent (they're credited collectively as "Jaan Kenbrovin," a pseudonym they made up by combining all of their names; the reason has something to do with individual contractual obligations to different publishers) and John William Kellette. It's been recorded repeatedly ever since, both as an instrumental piece and as a song; there's even a punk version by the Cockney Rejects. The song seems to have been strongly associated with Selvin's Novelty Orchestra, led by violini
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