Monkees – "I'm a Believer" (1967)

Now I'm a believer

Not a trace

Of doubt in my mind

(I’ve been spending a lot of time this week on a really big-deal post, so I need to phone one in.  I’m sure you won’t mind – surely you’re used to that by now.)

Some of you have questioned things I’ve said on 2 or 3 lines in the past.  Big mistake!   

I would hope that by now all you doubting Thomases and Tamsins out there are now 2 or 3 lines believers, and that there is not a trace of doubt in your minds.

For example, if I were to tell you that “Tamsin” is the feminine equivalent of the name “Thomas,” there wouldn’t be a trace of doubt in your mind that I was right.  (Because I am.)

The following hard-to-believe facts are courtesy of Viralscape.com, a shameless purveyor of clickbait that presents irresistible online slide shows categorized as “Funny,” “Cute,” “Amazing,” “Inspiring,” “Creepy,” and “OMG!”

1.  Hippo sweat is red.  (A lot of people will tell you that hippo milk is pink – but it's not.)

2.  The Barbie doll has a name: Barbara Millicent Roberts.

3.  Vending machines kill twice as many people as sharks.

4.  Maine is the closest U.S. state to Africa.  

Betty White is older than sliced bread

5.  Betty White (who was born in 1922) is older than sliced bread (which was first sold in 1928).

6.  Technically, a strawberry isn’t a berry, but a banana is.  (So are avocados and watermelons.) 

7.  John Tyler, who was President of the United States from 1841 to 1845, has two living grandsons.  Tyler was 63 when his son Lyon was born – his wife was only 33.  Lyon was 71 and 75, respectively, when his sons Lyon, Jr., and Harrison were born – his wife was 36 years younger.  Today, Lyon, Jr., is 91 and Harrison is 87.  (Harrison Tyler lives in a house that his grandfather bought in 1842, and which had also been owned by William Henry Harrison, the President who Tyler succeeded.)

John Tyler and his grandsons

By the way, John Tyler fathered more children than any other U.S. president.  He had eight children by his first wife Letitia, who was the same age as Tyler.  After Letitia died of a stroke, Tyler married a woman who was 30 years younger than he was – he was 54, she was 24 – and fathered seven more children.  Subsequent presidents have had sex in the White House with women younger than Tyler's second wife, but didn't end up buying the cow. 

8.  For every human being now alive, there are over 1.5 million living ants.  (The weight of 1.5 million ants is about the same as the average human being.)

9.  You can’t hold your nose closed and hum at the same time.  (Just try it if you don’t believe me.)

10.  Certain turtles can breathe not only through their mouths, but also through their anuses.  

Box turtle

By the way, turtles don’t really have anuses – like other reptiles, birds amphibians, and certain fish, they have cloaca, which is a body cavity into which the intestinal, urinary, and genital tracts all open.  (Ewwwww!) 

I was originally going to feature a different Monkees song in this post.  “Hard to Believe” was released on the Monkees’ 1967 album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.  (The title of that album refers to the astrological signs of each Monkee: Mickey Dolenz was a Pisces, Peter Tork was an Aquarius, and both Michael Nesmith and Davy Jones were Capricorns.  I guess they didn’t want to name the album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Capricorn.)

“Hard to Believe” was written by Davy Jones and three guys you’ve never heard of.  It’s not one of the Monkees’ best efforts.  (I hope saying that doesn’t offend anyone.  Some of my readers are very quick to take offense.)

By contrast, “I’m a Believer” – which was penned by Neil Diamond – is a winner.  It held down the #1 spot on the Billboard “Hot 100” chart for seven weeks, and was the best-selling record of 1967.  

Here’s “I’m a Believer”:

Click below to buy the song from Amazon: