By Kimberly D. Weaver, paralegal, Knoxville

I’m a lover of fun, strange, and weird facts. And when it relates to history, even better. I’m kind of like postman Cliff Clavin from Cheers. Remember as he would saunter up to the bar, order his drink, and out would come a strange fact from the depths of his brain?

For example, did you know that an over-the-counter medication called pervitin was used by the Nazis during World War II? This was an anti-depressant-type stimulant given to soldiers to dull their emotions. When a bottle of pervitin was discovered by an archaeologist, lab testing showed that its ingredients are now in modern day methamphetamine. (This is not encouragement to do any type of drugs or stimulants.)

Did you also know that the first biohazard war weapon was the mosquito? Again, journeying down into the history of World War II, the Nazis conquered a small coastal town in Spain with mosquitoes. How so, you say? Due to the marshy area of this small coastal town and the need to overtake it to gain access, Nazi scientists bred malaria-infected mosquitoes to non-infected mosquitoes for release to kill the residents. Talk about mad scientists!

Now time for some fun facts: did you know that grapes will light on fire in the microwave? For people who have young children, do not let them do this!

Or that chewing gum is banned in Singapore? Seriously?

Lobsters have clear blood. When it hits oxygen, it turns blue. Kind of like humans. Our blood is blue, but when it hits oxygen, it turns red.

My favorite, bubble wrap, was originally invented to use as wallpaper. Oh, what fun that would be! I believe we all turn into kids when it comes to bubble wrap.

And the final fun fact to share with your littles! Santa Claus was given an official pilot’s license in 1927 by Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics William P. MacCracken.

You’re probably wondering why I’m sharing some of these fun and strange facts. Well, grab some of that bubble wrap and be patient with me, as I share a few fun facts about our Court.

Did you know that we have an old but new template called a hearing request? This form was revised in August 2021 to allow more options such as requesting a status hearing, scheduling hearing or expedited hearing. It’s a fillable template that you can save to your personal computer. To avoid your 60-day deadline and a mandatory show cause hearing, go on over to the to get your form.

Remember, under Rule 0800-02-21-.15(1)(a), you must file an affidavit or Rule 72 declaration with it. Under this same rule, either party can file the hearing request. That means before the 60 days pass, the employee or employer can file the request. So as Court calendars fill up, don’t wait, because you may not get a date or time that you prefer.

Did you know that when filing a motion to withdraw, you must also file an affidavit? Per Rule 0800-02-21-04(3), an affidavit from the attorney must accompany the motion and contain the last-known mailing address, email address, telephone number and a declaration that the attorney notified the client of both the effects of the attorney’s withdrawal from the case and of any deadlines or scheduled proceedings. By filing the affidavit with the motion, your motion will be placed on the docket quickly.

And finally, one last fact for you. Did you know that once the petition for benefit determination has been filed, you don’t have to wait on the dispute certification notice to begin discovery? Once you know the case isn’t going to settle, send out the discovery requests/responses, schedule those depositions, and get an idea who you want lined up for an expert. This will help the Court staff schedule the preferred hearing that you want, especially if an expedited hearing is needed.

Okay, I lied! This is FINALLY the last fact for you! Did you know that even when a dispute certification notice is issued, the case still gets assigned to a judge, even if the case settles shortly afterward? If this happens, please advise the appropriate Court staff so we can make sure the settlement approval is placed on the correct judge’s docket. I’m not certain how many times the Court has issued a show cause order, only to turn around to issue another order canceling the hearing.

I hope you enjoyed these fun facts as much I did. Next time you see me, you can call me Cliff! My family certainly does!