Daily Dirt: The latest bobblehead for collectors? Would you believe a cicada?

Daily Dirt for Friday, June 21, 2024

This kind of thing drives me buggy … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 984 of The Daily Dirt.

1. It had to happen.

The first “Cicada Bobblehead” was scheduled to be unveiled today in Milwaukee, Wis., at the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum.

The bobblehead is celebrating the emergence of two broods of cicadas with overlapping life cycles. This is the first occurrence of this in more than 200 years.

Some of the largest cicada populations have — and will continue — to appear throughout the Midwest the remainder of June and into July.

The cicadas have commanded an extraordinary amount of publicity and overall buzz (no pun intended) in recent days, weeks and months. This announcement punctuates all of that fanfare. Many collectors have an impressive number of bobbleheads depicting heroes from Shohei Ohtani to John Wayne. Now many of those same collectors will be adding a bobbing bug.

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is devoted to bobblehead dolls, claiming to have 10,000 different bobbleheads — 6,500 of which are considered unique — from around the world. It is the only bobblehead-specific museum in the world. 

The history of the bobblehead dates to at the 1760s. Chinese nodding-head figures are documented in England and continental Europe as early as the 1760s. Johann Zoffany’s famous portrait depicting Queen Charlotte in her Dressing Room at Buckingham Palace, painted in 1765, shows two such figures in the background.

And now, one of those “nodding-head” figures is a cicada.

2. Did you know (Part 43), according to YouTuber Cody Tucker …

• Tom Hanks was the original choice for the role Bill Murray made famous in “Groundhog Day”.
• Charlton Heston’s role in “Ben Hur” was initially offered to Leslie Nielsen.
• Natalie Portman was the top pick for the lead role in “Almost Famous of Penny Lane,” not Kate Hudson.
• Al Pacino was targeted for the role of Carl Bernstein in “All the President’s Men,” not Dustin Hoffman.
• The first “Batman” movie was supposed to be directed by Wes Craven and would have had Batman and Robin played by Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy.

3. This week’s top celebrity birthdays include:

• Singer/actor Kris Kristofferson turns 88 on Saturday. Picking the best Kristofferson song is almost impossible, so I’m selecting four: “Why Me,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “Help Me Make It Through The Night” and “Me & Bobby McGee”.
• Drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac will be 82 on Monday. Did any group epitomize the ’70s rock/drug scene more than Fleetwood Mac?
• Actress Michele Lee also turns 82 on Monday. Let’s hear a cheer from all the old “Knots Landing” groupies.
• Singer Carly Simon turns 79, also on Tuesday. She’s so vain.
• Former Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter will be 50 on Wednesday. Was it just me, or did it just not seem right when Jeter was in the Marlins’ front office?

Steve Thought O’ The Day
For those wondering, National Bobblehead Day is Jan. 7.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. When will we see a Steve bobblehead?