Introduction to Phil's Fruitless Facts

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Fruitless . Fruitless , useless or failing to achieve the desired outcome . Fruitless . This is Phil's Fruitless Facts , a short , fun weekly podcast filling you up with entertaining but useless facts and information . Welcome to Phil's Fruitless Facts , and now your host , phil Meyer . Welcome to Phil's Fruitless Facts , where we're legally obligated to warn you this episode may trigger flashbacks to unpaid parking tickets and that time you claimed your cat . Welcome to Phil's Fruitless Facts , where we're legally obligated to warn you this episode may trigger flashbacks to unpaid parking tickets and that time you claimed your cat as a dependent .

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Today's chaos includes total tax BS stories , a squirrel who filed for bankruptcy , national Weed Day man no , not that kind . And the first ever NCAA basketball tournament . Plus , we're celebrating the birthday of the one and only meat dress wearing pop icon , lady Gaga . So come on in , sit back , relax , kick the shoes off and let's get

Income Tax Fruitless Facts

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into it . It was on this date in history that the 16th Amendment was ratified , which eventually led to the Revenue Act of 1913 , which eventually led to the first ever federal income tax . So I took a quick dive into some income tax fruitless facts . Did you know that the first tax rate was 1% ? So yeah , the initial tax was 1% tax on personal incomes greater than $3,000 and a 6% tax on incomes above $500,000 . Man , could you imagine making half a million dollars in 1913 ? That's rich , that's rich .

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Here's some other fruitless facts about taxes . The first IRS audit target was a farmer who claimed 14 cows as dependents . Early tax forms guess what ? One page long Now they're longer than War and Peace . 1920 , al Capone avoided paying taxes by bribing the politicians with spaghetti . Hmm , that'd still work . The IRS once seized a guy's pet goldfish for unpaid taxes . They could seize my cat .

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1950s , housewives deducted lipstick as a business expense . Boss move , the IRS accepts payment in gift cards . Boy , they've come back to that . Huh , yes , please go get some Target cards . In 1985 , a man paid taxes with 40,000 pennies . The IRS took them , but they made him roll them .

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70% of Americans would rather clean a public toilet than do taxes . Public toilet Hmm . The Vatican pays zero taxes . What do you call that ? God's loophole ? How you doing on your brackets

First NCAA Basketball Tournament History

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. You still hanging in there .

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It was on this week in history . The first ever NCAA basketball tournament was played . College basketball wasn't the multi-billion dollar beast it is today . In fact , the first NCAA tournament had just eight teams . That's right . No 64 team brackets , no Cinderella stories , no blown parlays ruining your wallet . Who won ? Well , the Oregon Webfoots , that's right , and that was their name before the Ducks . They took down Ohio State 46-33 in the final . Well , where was it played ? It was actually played in Northwestern's campus in Evanston , illinois . Not exactly a Vegas-level venue venue , but hey , we all start somewhere .

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The tournament slowly grew , expanding to 16 teams in 1951 , 32 teams in 1975 and the legendary 64 team format in 1985 . Today there's a 1 billion dollar industry with endless upsets , cinderella runs and fans yelling at their TVs because their 16th seed just ruined their entire bracket Not me , of course , man . So here's a wild fact the first tournament game were so low budget that teams had to pay their own travel expenses . Could you imagine telling teams today they have to buy their own plane tickets ? Hey , you made it . Pony up a bunch of money . The last fun fact I came across what do you think the lowest seed ever was ? To win it all you know number eight bilanova , 1985 . Wouldn't you love to see a 12 seed win sometime ? Talk about a Cinderella story . Celebrity birthdays

Lady Gaga's Birthday Celebration

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for today . Happy birthday to Lady Gaga .

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If you were alive in 2009 , you simply could not escape Lady Gaga . She came out of nowhere , wearing crazy outfits , making crazy music videos and turning the pop world on its head . Her real name's Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta . Can you imagine putting that on a Starbucks coffee cup Order ready for Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ? Her first big hit was in 2008, . Was Just Dance ? Many people thought it was just going to be a one-hit wonder , but man , were they wrong ? All right , and the weirdest outfit ever had to have been her infamous meat dress worn at the 2010 MTV Music Video Awards . Before fame , she played gigs in dive bars in New York . At one , she actually got booed and literally set hairspray on fire on stage in protest . In 2019 , she became the first female to win an Oscar , a Grammy , a BA , fta and a Golden Globe in the same year .

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So I guess it's National

National Appreciation Days

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. What it's ? National Weed Appreciation Day . So what's that all about ?

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National Weed Appreciation Day each year reminds us that some weeds are actually beneficial to us . Humans have used weeds for food and as herbs for much of recorded history . Some are edible , nutritious , while other weeds actually have medicinal value . Remember running around as a small child , the fun you'd have with dandelions Mama had a baby and her head popped off . Those bright yellow flowers actually serve a purpose . Dandelions are a source of food for insects and some birds . Humans eat young dandelion leaves to enjoy tea and wine made of leaves and flowers . The Native Americans use dandelions to treat specific ailments . Nutritionally , dandelions contain a source of vitamin A , c , calcium , iron and fiber .

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And it's National Eat Something on a Stick Day . Skewer your cravings with delicious foods impaled on a stick , from corn dogs to kebabs . It's a portable and fun way to snack and dine . So no , this day is not talking about mops or brooms , but celebrating foods that people eat on a stick . Because who doesn't love relaxed finger food that can be picked up by a stick and eaten right ? I mean , whether it's toffee apples , campfire sausage , cheese cubes on a toothpick , ice cream bar lollipops , feel free to indulge in them today .

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A couple quick hits dyk before we leave . Hey , did you know that bananas are berries and strawberries aren't ? Wrap your head around that one . And did you know that the inventor of the pringles can is buried

Final Quick Facts and Closing

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in one ? I hope they at least use the family size can . All right , that's a wrap for this week's phil's fruitless facts . This week we covered the first n first NCAA tournament that was played in a glorified high school gym . Lady Gaga may or may not still own a beef jerky dress , but before I go , here's something to ponder If I get buried in a Pringles can , what flavor should I be ? Think about it . I'll see you next time .