Chuck Norris is back and, no, this time he is not flashing his pearly whites next to Christie Brinkley. If you have seen Norris recently, it was probably on a late night infomercial for the Total Gym. In the years since Norris roundhouse kicked his way off of prime time television as “Walker, Texas Ranger,” new “facts” about the kung-fu kicker in cowboy boots have come to light.The 65-year-old Norris has recently become somewhat of a cult icon thanks in large part to the Random Chuck Norris Fact Generator, which can be found at www.4q.cc/chuck. Brainchild of Brown University freshman Ian Spector, the generator spits out a different Herculean fact about Norris every time the page is refreshed. The facts are blatantly exaggerated and often completely impossible, i.e., Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves.

The site was started last summer and has become exponentially popular, recording more than 40 million hits as of yet. Spector does not understand the interest in the site and credits its popularity to word-of-mouth. “I told maybe 10 people about the site,” Spector said.

Many Nicholls students have joined into the craze and check the site regularly for updates.

“I have a buddy that mentioned it to me in early November,” Matt LeBlanc, mass communication senior from Raceland, said. “I check it about two or three times a week. I like it because it is a good conversation piece, and it provides humor in my life. And, geez, it’s Chuck Norris.”

Brandon Allemand, psychology junior from Larose, said he and his friends have fun by making up their own facts.

“We recently got on this Chuck Norris kick,” Allemand said. “We just tell random jokes about him. I check it (the Web site) every other day or so.”

The site started off as a Vin Diesel fact generator after Spector noticed the popularity of Diesel posts on Somethingawful.com. His site received 20,000 hits on the first day. Spector said that after the novelty of the Diesel site wore off he asked users to choose a new celebrity to get the Diesel treatment, and, voila, Chuck Norris mania.

While Spector was building his mini Internet empire, the real life Norris was finishing up his latest book and creating his World Combat League. When he hit the road to promote both ventures, Norris became aware of his newfound fame among bloggers and net surfers.

Norris addressed the subject on his Web site, calling the facts “funny” and “far out.” He said he took no offense to the facts and did not take them too seriously. He also admits that he is “not quite sure what to make of it.”

Spector got a chance to meet Norris after Norris’ wife contacted him and invited him to attend a local martial arts contest Norris would be participating in.

“He said he liked the site and appreciated the attention, but I could tell he just did not get it,” Spector said.

The site and Spector have both received national attention from several media outlets. Stories on the site have appeared in E!Online and The Washington Post. He also had a chance to appear in a taped segment during Norris’ visit to CNBC’s “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch,” but was cut for time.

According to Spector, 90 percent of the facts are user-submitted. He receives so many he has had to employ the help of several friends to sort through them and choose the ones that make the cut. They have collected more than 10,000 facts so far, and the crew adds new facts everyday. “Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs,” is Spector’s personal favorite.

“It takes about four of us to keep the site up,” Spector said. “We are currently in the process of redesigning the whole thing. We should be done in about a month.”

Spector is capitalizing on his Internet popularity with help from Google.com, which advertises on his site. While he is enjoying the financial help, Spector said, “It is definitely not enough to live off of.”

The generator has received “Approved Best of the Web” status from the National Lampoon, been featured on AIM Today and was named About.com’s “Humor Site of the Day.”

Several copy sites have popped up trying to turn a profit by selling shirts, hats and other novelties. According to Spector, “between mine and Chuck’s lawyers, they won’t be around for long.”

Most recently, with the help of several NASA scientists, (that’s right, NASA) who were frequent visitors to the site, Spector has launched www.4q.cc/t: a homage to Mr. T. Spector is currently working on a book and a calendar to come out soon.

According to his publicist, Norris’ favorite fact is, “When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris,” just in case you were wondering.