Is That A Fact!?

Aubrey Beardsley’s “On This Day” fun facts and trivia 

On this day, in 1914, the Greyhound Lines bus company was founded.

It actually started out because the founder was a car salesman who couldn’t sell cars, Mr Carl Eric Wickman. When he couldn’t sell it he started driving the 7 seater Hupmobile back and forth from the iron ore mines, operating as a “bus” service for the miners. But by the end of World War I Mr Wickman had some buses, and so things were looking up.

As for the name, it’s a bit deceiving. Because as far as I can tell it is not driven by greyhounds and I’m not even sure it’s dog-friendly. But the legend is that the reflection of the passing 1920s bus in a store window looked like a greyhound. And so that’s how the buses got their name.

Despite being named after a dog, Greyhound buses are in fact very popular with cats. There’s a Greyhound bus in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which starred Cat (as Cat). And the movie, Harry and Tonto, is about Tonto the cat’s journey cross-country on a Greyhound bus (with his pal, a human called Harry). As for the bus ride, Tonto does eventually vote with his feet and Harry is forced to buy a car. Two cats actually played the role of Tonto. And both worked for liver pieces. And legend has it that this film turned Art Carney (the actor who played Harry the human) into a cat lover.

And that’s a fact!