Another Prince-related clip from the Strib archives, looking back at his hooping days at Bryant Junior High. pic.twitter.com/LrIQZ3LhSg

— Libor Jany (@StribJany) March 3, 2015

From the Strib archives: Chappelle was right. pic.twitter.com/icXBFGWkij

— Libor Jany (@StribJany) March 3, 2015

Charlie Murphy once told the story of how he met Prince in a bar and ended up playing a basketball game against the Revolution. Dave Chappelle portrayed Prince in a classic skit about it. Prince later confirmed the story, but said the part about playing in their stage clothes was an embellishment. Now we have evidence that Prince was a basketball standout even in junior high, which may be news to anyone under 50 who lives outside Minneapolis. Libor Jany pulled these clippings from the archives of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. -via Uproxx

(YouTube link)

The Make-A-Wish Foundation wants to fulfill a wish for 6-year-old Ella Schultz. Ella more than anything wants to beat cancer. Besides that, she wants her own playhouse in her backyard. The foundation lined up a construction crew to build it. The neighbors were all for it. But the family’s Home Owners Association said no. "The proposed plan they've given us is a violation of our covenants."

When the story hit the local news, backlash was immediate. Neighbors decorated their mailboxes in green to show their support for Ella. People took to Twitter and other social media sites to spread the word. At least one person has offered to pay any fines incurred if the playhouse is built. The HOA removed its board members names and email addresses from its website. Wednesday night, the HOA board issued a statement.  

The board has met for the better half of the day and at this time we would like to release the following statement.

Our hearts are with Ella Schultz and her family as they battle this terrible illness. Our homeowners' association board is committed to working with Make-A-Wish Foundation and J.E. Dunn to see if we can figure out a way to make Ella's wish come true. The initial request from Make-A-Wish to place a barn-style shed was not accepted because the board did not have enough information to grant an exception to the subdivision's covenants. In hopes of getting enough information, we are requesting an immediate meeting with Make-A-Wish and J.E. Dunn Construction to work out a solution in the most expeditious manner possible.

Meanwhile, Ella was taken to a hospital hospital with a fever and infection. Read the rest of the story at KCTV 5. -via Uproxx

Update: The HOA has reversed their decision.

(YouTube link)

It’s a game of cat and mouse, er, cat and tortoise. No, it’s more like tag. You’re it! Too bad the turtle is always the one tagged. He’s trying his best, though. He’s pretty fast for his species, but the cat, of course, has the upper hand. Or paw. -via Tastefully Offensive

(YouTube link)

When I was 16 months old, I got the jelly jar out of the refrigerator and sat on the floor and ate it with my hands. That’s the extent of my food preparation experience as a toddler. Tony Quarella and his wife included their 16-month-old daughter in their family cookie-making project. Well, they gave her the hat. Then that gave her an egg. What do you suppose happens when you give a toddler an egg? You might be surprised! -via reddit

Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook.

I thought the insanity defense was a relatively new thing. I mean, maybe it began in the 1940's or possibly the '30’s, what with all the psychobabble around in those times. But no. It was actually much earlier.

It all started with a guy named Dan Sickles.

Dan Sickles (1819-1914) was also a congressman who was known for a number of things. As a union general in the Civil War. As a U.S. minister to Spain. For being censured by the New York State Assembly for escorting Fanny White, a known prostitute, into its chambers.

And, not the least, for being the first person to use temporary insanity as a legal defense.

In 1859, Sickles was accused of murdering his wife's paramour, Phillip Barton Key. (Phillip was the son of Francis Scott Key- composer of “The Star Spangled Banner.") After the murder, Sickles confessed and surrendered himself to Attorney General Jeremiah Black at Black's home.

Sickles' stay in jail was quite unusual. All of Washington society turned out to visit him. Senators and congressmen came in and wished Sickles well. President James Buchanan did not personally visit, but he sent Sickles a personal note.

When you leave home after high school, seeing the world changes you. Then you go back home to visit your parents and you encounter your old friends -the ones who never left. Or possibly you’re there for a reunion weekend. Whatever, it’s an important time to try to let them know you’ve done well since you’ve been gone. Reconnecting can be fun, but just like high school, it’s all a matter of one-upmanship. J.F. Sargent has a list at Cracked about what you should do. Only it isn’t what you’d expect. As Ron Burgundy said, “Boy, that escalated quickly.” Be warned this is like no other Cracked list we’ve posted here before -but that’s all I will tell you.

(Image credit: Joseph Barillari)

(YouTube link)

There are millions of apps available for your digital umbilical cord, er, I mean phone. Some of them push the envelope into the ozone, but people use them anyway. Or do they? maybe they just download them for laughs. Even if I had a smart phone, I would find all these simple to do without. Mike Rugnetta guest-hosts the mental_floss List Show this week.

(YouTube link)

The Holderness Family (previously at Neatorama) took the opportunity of a few snow days in North Carolina to make a parody of the song “Colder Weather” by the Zac Brown Band. This version laments how inexperienced Southern people are about ice and snow. They use table salt and brooms instead of rock salt and snow shovels. And they had enough time to become obsessed with a certain colored dress. I hope they’ve gotten used to it by now -here in Kentucky, we are expecting another three inches of snow tonight.  -via Scott Kreidler

This photograph was Tweeted by St.Ambulance Wens (Ambulance Wish Foundation), an organization that fulfills the last wishes of bedridden terminal patients. The lady on the gurney wanted to visit the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam one last time. The painting is a Rembrandt self-portrait, part of an exhibition of his works on display through May 17.  -via reddit

Previously: A Last Goodbye.

(Image credit: Stichting Ambulance Wens Nederland)

A bus in Quang Ngai province, Vietnam, pulled over on the side of the road to allow the men to relieve themselves. There was a beehive nearby, and one man thought it would be funny to urinate on the beehive. He convinced several other men to do the same, all at the same time. The bees were not happy, and swarmed out of the hive to sting the first body parts they came to. They also swarmed onto the bus and attacked other riders. Medics attended to 22 people who had been stung on their faces, hands, and penises. One person was taken to a hospital with swelling and a high fever. No word on whether that was the instigator. -via Uproxx

What we know as rock ’n’ roll was not born, nor was it invented, in any particular place or time. It evolved out of different music genres that were played by all kinds of people early in the 20th century, most who never recorded their music. Author and photograph collector Jim Linderman wrote a book called The Birth of Rock and Roll that includes many found photographs of the types of musicians who contributed to what eventually became known as rock ’n’ roll music.     

“We have this notion that rock ’n’ roll started in Memphis in 1955, and it really didn’t,” Linderman says. “Bob Wills was playing in the ’30s and ’40s in Oklahoma, and Chuck Berry modeled ‘Maybellene’ on a Bob Wills song. The roots of rock go back a lot further than we realize. It came from the church, from vaudeville, from the music played in after-hours clubs, from juke joints. Some of it came from Ireland. It’s such a conglomeration, and that diversity is the real back story of rock ’n’ roll. Without any trouble at all, I was able to include people of all races in this book. I was able to show the melting pot in America, which came together to create this phenomenon.

“I was especially happy to be able to include so many women performers, because they never got their due,” he continues. “Which is why we don’t know who they are now. I love being able to illustrate how broad the music used to be, because now it’s so narrow and pigeonholed. It seems we’ve lost some of the breadth that used to be there.”

Linderman talked to Collectors Weekly about the dive bars, state fairs, churches, and back porches that were the collective incubators of music that crossed racial lines and led to the explosion of rock ’n’ roll in the 1950s and ’60s.

It’s been 50 years since The Sound of Music opened in theaters. You know the songs, you might recall the story, and now it’s time to learn a few things about the making of the film. Starring Julie Andrews, it is loosely based on the autobiography of the real Maria von Trapp. And it wasn’t an easy film shoot.

1. Julie Andrews Kept Falling Over During The Mountain Scene.

The opening scene of Andrews twirling on the mountaintop may look effortless, but it was anything but. Not only was it raining and cold throughout production, the helicopter kept knocking Andrews over. “This was a jet helicopter,” she said. “And the down draft from those jets was so strong that every time … the helicopter circled around me and the down draft just flattened me into the grass. And I mean flattened. It was fine for a couple of takes, but after that you begin to get just a little bit angry… And I really tried. I mean, I braced myself, I thought, ‘It’s not going to get me this time.’ And every single time, I bit the dust.”

7. Andrews Kept Giggling During The Love Scene.

When Maria and Captain von Trapp declare their love in the gazebo, Andrews and Plummer had to stand close together and sing “Something Good.” But the romance was interrupted when the lights above them made rude noises that caused Andrews to giggle. “Christopher would be looking into my eyes and saying 'Oh Maria I love you,' and there’d be this awful raspberry coming from the lights above us,” Andrews said.  Finally, director Robert Wise turned the lights off and filmed the scene in silhouette.

Just those two tidbits ought to give you something to think about the next time you watch those scenes. The children didn’t fare much better, between growth spurts, injuries, and trauma. Read the rest of the trivia list about The Sound of Music at mental_floss.

(YouTube link)

Not that I really want to run a free advertisement, but every once in a while the entertainment value is well worth it. This is just a GEICO ad -at least the first 12 seconds. But it appears that they felt the need to fill up a minute of time anyway, so after the ad is when the fun begins! Because that’s when the dog takes the stage -or the dining room, in this case. Therefore, you can consider this a cute dog video. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

(YouTube link)

Think of an extremely rich, well-connected, and handsome man who has a hidden other life, with a secret lair full of gadgets. A man who likes to dress up in black rubber and frighten people. A double life that no one in his day-to-day business suspects. Christian Grey or Bruce Wayne? They are one and the same in this mashup by Josh Meeter. If the movie Fifty Shades of Grey were more like this, they would have doubled or tripled the ticket sales. The Dark Knight made $351 million in its first two weeks; Fifty Shades of Grey, $137 million. -via Uproxx

The following is a Whodunit by Hy Conrad.  These mysteries are from The Little Giant® Book of Whodunits by Hy Conrad and Matt LaFleur. Can you solve the mystery before you read the solution?

Harriet Murmer was scheduled to testify against her ex-husband, a capo in the Domino crime family. The FBI had to keep their witness safe and they chose the Convent of Perpetual Solitude, a walled, all-women enclave in the heart of Manhattan. It was perfect. No self-respecting mobster would dare shoot up a community of nuns.

On the second week of Harriet's stay, the FBI's confidence was shattered—as was their case, as was Harriet's skull—by a shell from a .44 magnum. Just as the sisters were gathering for evening vespers, a gunshot echoed through the convent's stone archways. Sister Margaret Mary announced the news. Her tight, starched collar bobbed up and down as she gulped. "Ms. Murmer is dead."

The FBI found their witness in her room on the third floor. "I don't know how an assassin could have gotten in and out without anyone seeing him." Mother Superior shivered.

"Maybe he didn't get in and out," special agent McCormack replied. "Have any new sisters arrived recently?"

In fact, there were three new arrivals.