Shanghai is slowly sinking.

When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say, “It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you.” However, due to a bad translation, the ads said that “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.”

The spiders living in five acres of land consume more than 200,000 pounds of prey each year.

The Latin term “nomina nuda” is not as fun as it sounds. It is plural for “nomen nudum,” which refers to a name that has been published or mentioned without a proper and complete description.

Abdul Nasser was the first ruler of Egypt to be a native Egyptian since the Pharaohs.

This article appears in December 15 • 2000.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US