USELESS INFO TUESDAY

~  In the world of cycling, a three hour tour is a ride that looks easy, but turns out to be harrowing.  The phrase is borrowed from the theme song of the 1960s TV sitcom Gilligan's Island.

~  In 1973, Joel Engel, research chief at AT&T's Bell Laboratories, received the first call ever made with a portable phone.  The call was from martin Cooper, his rival at Motorola, who let Engel know he had lost the race to produce the world's first portable wireless handset.

~  Europe's first mass produced car was the French Citroen, in 1919.  Its first model was the 10-horsepower Type A.

~  According to the bible, Queen Esther's Hebrew name was Hadassah.

~  Type II diabetes can be treated with a hormone found in the toxic saliva of the giant Gila monster.