DAILY DIRT: You would need a few extra chairs around the holiday dinner table for these families

Daily Dirt for Monday, Oct. 21, 2024

If you’re like me, the first time you read “210 children” you will likely gasp … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,091 of The Daily Dirt.

1. There are big families, and then there are BIG families.

Next time you look around the living room and see three or four kids, or start planning for Christmas presents for maybe seven or eight sons and daughters, consider the following individuals and just say a quiet “thank you”.

Here are some medal-worthy recipients when it comes to large families: 

Gold medal: Acentus Akuku, who died at age 94 in 2010, was known as Kenya’s prince of of polygamy. He had about 130 wives and fathered 210 children. He married his first wife at age 25 and his last at age 79. His final wife was 18.
Akuku was legendary in Kenya, according to ABC News. There were so many children in his family that Akuku established two elementary schools solely to educate his children, plus a church for his growing family to attend.In past interviews, Akuku told journalists he was responsible for naming all of his children — as way to bond with them.

Silver medal: Valentina Vassilyeva of Russia gave birth to 69 children, including 16 pairs of twins, four sets of quadruplets and seven sets of triplets. Her last birth(s) were in 1765, and remarkably, for the time, 67 of the 69 kids survived infancy. (Allegedly, her husband, Feodor, had six sets of twins and two sets of triplets with a second woman. So in all, Feodor fathered 87 children.)

Bronze medal: Yakov Kirilov of Russia gave birth to 57 children. She had four sets of quadruplets, seven sets of triplets four sets of quadruplets, seven sets of triplets and 10 sets of twins. The last child was born in 1765.

Honorable mention: Miriam Nabatanzi of Uganda, who was born in 1980, gave birth to 44 children (43 survived infancy) — by the age of 36.  In 2019, at the age of 40, she underwent a medical procedure to prevent any further pregnancies.

2. Did you know (Part 160)

• That three of Hershey’s new ice cream bar flavors are now appearing: Cookies and Cream, Salted Caramel and Strawberries and Creme.
• That Bush’s new Hot Honey Grillin’ Beans might be this year’s hottest ticket come Thanksgiving dinner side dishes.
• That the new Krispy Kreme Barbie-themed doughnuts will soon be available in many supermarkets, so keep an eye out. There are also all sorts of Barbie-related giveaways tied to the doughnuts. 
• That Peach Cobbler Pop Tarts have been re-launched.
• That there are now Pumpkin Spice Cheerios, Pumpkin Spice Special K and Pumpkin Spice AND Pumpkin Pie Frosted Mini-Wheats for the fall cereal season. Just stop it. Now.

3. Do you realize the following hit songs were actually covers?

• “Twist and Shout,” by the Beatles (1963): The original belonged to the Isley Brothers. (This is the only one I was familiar with, largely because the Isleys’ 1962 version still gets frequent air time.)
• “I Love Rock and Roll,” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (1981): The Arrows recorded the song in 1975, and it was … ummm … not very good.
• “Tainted Love,” by Soft Cell (1981): Seventeen years earlier, Gloria Jones recorded the song … to not much response.
• “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” by Cyndi Lauper (1983): The best part of Lauper’s video was pro wrestling manager Capt. Lou Albano’s performance. Lauper’s effort was a remake of a non-hit by Robert Hazard in 1979.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — The Yankees’ Aaron Judge is closing in on a rather unusual MLB record. Among players who homered in their first big-league at-bat, Judge sits second with 315 career dingers. Who’s first, you ask? None other than Gary Gaetti with 360.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. I know most folks around here will groan, but I actually think it’s pretty cool when the Yankees and Dodgers meet in the World Series. I wouldn’t want it EVERY year, but occasionally, it feels nostalgic.