HOW OLD? HOW YOUNG?
• Child actor Jackie Coogan was already a millionaire by the time he was seven, after appearing in 1921’s The Kid, opposite Charlie Chaplin. Coogan earned an estimated $3 to $5 million ($48 to $65 million in today’s dollars) as a child, with the majority of the money squandered by his mother and stepfather on furs, diamonds, and expensive automobiles. At age 24, Coogan sued his parents, but received only $126,000 after paying legal expenses. In later years, we knew Coogan as Uncle Fester on the 1960s sitcom The Addams Family.
There was an elderly couple who in their old age Tidbits Laughs noticed that they were getting a lot more forgetful, so they decided to go to the doctor. The doctor told them that they should start writing things down so they don't forget. They went home and the old lady told her husband to get her a bowl of ice cream. "You might want to write it down," she said. The husband said, "No, I can remember that you want a bowl of ice cream." She then told her husband she wanted a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream. "Write it down," she told him, and again he said, "No, no, I can remember: you want a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream." Then the old lady said she wants a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry on top. "Write it down," she told her husband and again he said, "No, I got it. You want a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry on top." So he goes to get the ice cream and spends an unusually long time in the kitchen, over 30 minutes. He comes out to his wife and hands her a plate of eggs and bacon. The old wife stares at the plate for a moment, then looks at her husband and asks, "Where's the toast?"
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• It took 11-year-old Thomas Gregory 11 hours and 54 minutes to swim across the English Channel in 1988. He will remain the youngest on record, as there is now a minimum age of 16 to attempt the feat. Roger Allsopp is the record holder as the oldest to make the swim, an achievement that took 17 hours and 51 minutes when he was 70 years old. • Dr. Balammurali Ambati holds the record of being the world’s youngest doctor. He was already doing calculus at age four, and co-authored a research book on AIDS at age 11. Ambati graduated from medical school at age 17. Today, in his early 30s, this ophthalmologist, educator, and researcher works at the University of Utah. • Kentucky country singer Loretta Lynn was 15 when she wed Oliver Lynn and had four children by the time she turned 20. She was a grandmother for the first time at age 29. Over the course of her successful career, Loretta Lynn has written more than 160 songs and released 60 albums, with sales of 45 million records. She’s had 16 #1 singles and has won four Grammy Awards.