Melbourne Olympics

At the 1954 Summer Olympics at Melbourne, track events were run clockwise.

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds baseball club was founded by American Communists in 1924, but was sold during the McCarthy era.

Rice University

Houston's Rice University began as an agricultural university and was named after its staple crop.

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins logo originally featured an apple and not a Native American.

Bar Code

The term "bar code" was first coined during the Prohibition era (long before the invention of the UPC) to refer to the password needed to enter a speakeasy.

Gum

The inability to chew gum and walk at the same time is an actual disability protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Big Brother

George Orwell based 1984's "Big Brother" on his own older brother, who was notoriously nosy.

Voodoo Chile

The Jimi Hendrix song "Voodoo Chile" refers to a Chilean black magic religion whose practitioners were rumored to have destroyed a mountain in the Andes using their bare hands.