Two Interesting Men, Two Mermaids, and Two Health Nuts

As per Zed's suggestion, I'm going to attempt to start blogging my daily internet trains of thought. Today we begin with...

1. ... a fun short piece in this week's New Yorker on Jonathan Goldsmith (b. 1938), the interesting actor who plays the "most interesting man in the world" in Dos Equis's ad campaign. Goldsmith clues us in on the source of his inspiration...

2. ...Fernando Lamas (1915-1982), 50's matinee movie idol and father of Lorenzo, who is pretty charming in his appearance on "What's My Line?"

A choice quote from the original most interesting man in the world:

In one of his most memorable moments on The Tonight Show, Lamas
intimated that "sometimes other men said that he was gay, and nothing
pleased him more than proving them wrong with their own wives."

Speaking of wives...

3. ...one of Lamas's wives was Esther Williams (b. 1921), swimmer turned actress, dubbed the "Million Dollar Mermaid," because she once portrayed....

4. ...Annette Kellerman (1887-1975), the original "Million Dollar Mermaid," the first woman to attempt to cross the English Channel ("I had the endurance, but not the brute strength"). Kellerman was named "the perfect woman" by...

5. ...Dr. Dudley Allen Sargent (1849-1924) , of Harvard, who really liked to measure people. Sargent was keen on physical fitness, and claimed that Kellerman's measurements were the closest to the Venus de Milo of any woman he had measured. The Venus de Milo's proportions also figure prominently in the work of fellow health guru...

6. ...John Harvey Kellogg, inventor (along with his brother) of corn flakes cereal. In his book, The Living Temple, Kellogg, arguing against the use of corsets, says that the popular view that women have smaller waists (relative to their heights) than men is mistaken, citing measurements of non-corset wearing women around the world, and the measurements of the Venus de Milo.