Dr. Seuss Wrote “Green Eggs and Ham” On A Dare (Video)

Today is Dr. Seuss Day, a full twenty-four hours to make a mess with the Cat in the Hat, dance around with the Fox in Sox, hear a Who with Horton, count the red and blue fish, help the Grinch see the error of his ways, and listen to Sam I Am’s friend complain about his dish of green eggs and ham, the ungrateful hairball!

Theodor Seuss Geisel, commonly known by his pen name Dr. Seuss, was a writer, poet and cartoonist. Though best known as a children’s author (he released a whopping forty-six books for tykes), his career also saw him work as an illustrator for advertising campaigns and a political cartoonist during the Second World War. He was also a true perfectionist, known to discard 95% of his material before settling on a theme for a new book, sometimes spending up to a year writing a single story, and preferring payment upon completion, rather than in advance.

March 2nd is a celebration of his life and works, as it was on this day in 1904 that he entered the world. Having lived eighty-seven years and made an incredible impact on numerous generations, he died in 1991 at his home in La Jolla, California. His many bizarre, colourful and zany tales are still cherished by young and old alike, and, having been translated into more than twenty languages, are read all across the world every single day.

1. During World War II, Seuss served as the commander of the Animation Department of the First Motion Picture Unit of the United States Army Air Forces.
2. Seuss’ first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected by publishers 27 times.
3. He was not a doctor. He added the title “doctor” before Seuss (his mother’s maiden name) while in college to lend credibility to his writings and characters, and in reaction to his father’s wish that his son would get a doctorate.
4. He wrote Green Eggs and Ham on a dare. Ted Geisel’s publisher bet that Geisel couldn’t write a book using only 50 different words. In an effort to make learning to read more exciting for kids, he wrote a silly tale about a picky eater (a common complaint of many parents) and a fellow who won’t take “No” for an answer. The result? Green Eggs and Ham.
5. Seuss’ first foray into children’s literature was with “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” in 1937. Before then, he had a successful career in advertising. He wrote copy and drew advertisements for companies such as Standard Oil and Flit bug spray, which, in particular, became his most lucrative work.
6. He wrote two adult books, one with nude drawings. “The Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History’s Barest Family” was a flop when it came out in 1939. The book featured the unclothed sisters throughout the book in a decidedly unsexy story. His other adult book was the picture book “You’re Only Old Once,” published in 1986 about the indignities of growing older.
7. Dr. Seuss was an author, poet, screenwriter, illustrator, film producer, television producer, songwriter, animator and visual artist.
8. Dr. Seuss is credited for the first person using the word Nerd.  He used the word in his book If I Ran the Zoo in 1950.
9. The 50 words used to create Green Ham and Eggs: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you

Video by YouTube user hooray0008

https://youtu.be/2KRkR8HaR9c

Sources:

Days of the Year

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Early Moments

PBS

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