The symbol “#” was invented by the folks at the phone company. They called it an octothorpe.
Canadian food scientists have discovered that adding rosemary while cooking home fries and potato chips reduces the amount of acrylamide, a potential cancer-causing chemical.
John Newton wrote the lyrics to “Amazing Grace” in 1748 after he steered his ship through a violent storm in the Atlantic.
Turkmenistan dictator Turkmenbashi, the man formerly known as Saparmurat Niyazov, has renamed the month of April to “Mother” in honor of his mother, Gurbansoltan, who died in a 1948 earthquake.
On a typical day, there are about 30 power outages at the Pentagon.
This article appears in February 21 • 2003.