Not unlike Madonna, Lady Gaga, and other world-famous divas, Miss Piggy has never deigned to use her full name among us mere mortals. If she had, more of us might know that her first name is actually short for “Pigathius,” which comes from a Greek word supposedly meaning “river of passion.” Given her tumultuous love affair with a certain green frog, it’s more than fitting. Her last name, meanwhile, is Lee, which Muppets creator Jim Henson referenced in a 1974 note describing her as “delicate and lovely” (accurate). 

Miss Piggy is a New York Times bestselling author.

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“Miss Piggy’s Guide to Life” spent 29 weeks on the NYT bestseller list after it debuted in 1981. The 113-page book features self-help tips and pearls of wisdom as only the porcine prima donna could offer. (Among her pointers: If troubled by crows’ feet, wear scarecrow earrings.)

Said note also revealed her original love interest: Hamilton Pigg, who, despite belonging to the same species, is also “cigar smoking — the epitome of grossness,” according to Henson. It’s no wonder their romance didn’t last as long as that of Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog. The two have been the most famous Muppets for decades, appearing in all manner of TV shows, movies, and even theme park attractions together. 

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Although his name draws scant recognition from most today, John Duns Scotus was among the towering intellectual figures of medieval Europe. A Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, Scotus earned renown in the late 13th and early 14th centuries for his compelling arguments regarding the univocity of all creatures — i.e., humans are beings just as God is a being — and for his defense of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary. His academic achievements earned him the prestigious post of regent master of theology at the University of Paris, while his scrupulous reasoning yielded the nickname “Doctor Subtilis” — the Subtle Doctor.

National Dunce Day is celebrated on the anniversary of John Duns Scotus’ death.

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Grouped among other lesser-known commemorations such as National Sandwich Day and King Tut Day, National Dunce Day is indeed observed on the anniversary of Scotus’ accepted death date of November 8, 1308.

However, by the late 16th century, Europe’s rising humanist movement had taken aim at the old-fashioned rationale of the Scotists, and the Dunsmen (also known as the Duns), as his followers were known, were derided as outdated and overly pedantic. Eventually, the term “dunce” came to refer to someone who was slow or dim-witted. It’s not entirely clear exactly when dunce caps came on the scene, but they may have been modeled on the fools’ caps worn by jesters or clowns, and by 1791 they were being put on the heads of British schoolchildren who had made too many mistakes in class or otherwise misbehaved. (Some accounts say the Subtle Doctor and his followers actually wore such hats themselves because they believed the conical shape would capture free-flowing knowledge, but evidence is lacking.) 

Whether adorned with a telltale “D” or other embellishments like donkey ears, the dunce cap served as a common if crude form of punishment across European and American schools in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Although it largely disappeared from the American education system by the 1950s, the concept survives in popular culture as a visual shorthand for stupidity. But don’t feel too bad for Scotus. He was beatified by Pope John II in 1993, and renewed interest in his works in recent years has reaffirmed the decidedly non-dunce-like essence of his brain-twisting logic.

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If you’ve ever wondered what appears on Cookie Monster’s birth certificate, the answer isn’t “Cookie Monster” — it’s “Sid.” Sesame Street’s resident cookie-lover joins the likes of Cap’n Crunch (Horatio Magellan Crunch), Yoshi (T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas), and other fictional characters who have “real” names you might not know. (Speaking of Sesame Street, Snuffleupagus’ first name is actually Aloysius.) Cookie Monster revealed his actual name in the 2004 segment “The First Time Me Eat Cookie,” which includes the line, “In fact, back then, me think me name was Sid.” Despite this, many were still shocked when, in October 2022, the character tweeted, “Did you know me name is Sid? But me still like to be called Cookie Monster.”

Oscar the Grouch has always been green.

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In his original drawings of the character, Jim Henson designed Oscar the Grouch as a “spiky, grumpy-looking magenta monster.” But because early color TVs didn’t handle magenta well, Oscar’s color was changed to orange. He didn’t premiere his current look until the second season.

Though he made waves with the 2004 song “A Cookie Is a Sometimes Food,” Cookie Monster’s love of his namesake treat remains undiminished — and no, he isn’t going to change his name to Veggie Monster. Sid was designed by Jim Henson for an unaired General Foods Canada commercial in 1966, made his Sesame Street debut on the beloved show’s first episode three years later, and has remained a fan favorite in the more than half-century since.

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There are impressive filmographies, and then there’s John Cazale's. The actor only appeared in five films during his lifetime, all of which were nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards: The Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974), The Godfather Part II (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and The Deer Hunter (1978). Even more remarkably, three of them — both Godfathers and The Deer Hunter — won the top prize. The last of these was released after Cazale’s untimely death from bone cancer in March 1978, at which time the 42-year-old thespian was the romantic partner of fellow great Meryl Streep. (He was also in 1990's The Godfather Part III via archival footage, which didn’t break his streak — that sequel was also up for Best Picture.)

John Cazale was nominated for an Oscar himself.

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Despite receiving widespread praise for his performances, Cazale was never nominated for an Academy Award himself. He fared better during his stage career, winning an Obie for his performance in 1968’s “The Indian Wants the Bronx” — as did Pacino, with whom he shared the stage.

Described by no less an authority than his Godfather co-star Al Pacino as “one of the great actors of our time — that time, any time,” Cazale remains best known for playing the tragic Fredo Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s mafioso saga. Revered by everyone from contemporaries Gene Hackman and Robert De Niro to more recent admirers such as Michael Fassbender and Steve Buscemi, he was the subject of the 2009 documentary I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale. The film was well received upon its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and further cemented Cazale’s status as one of the most respected performers of his generation.

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