Doing the OK sign with your thumb and forefinger might be considered a curse in the Ukraine.

Negative decibel readings have been taken at Volcano National Park in Hawaii, meaning the ambient noise level is below the range of human hearing.

American colonists in the Revolutionary War era rarely went to church.

The expressions “cave in,” “dry up,” “that’s rough,” and “say what?” are uniquely American and date from at least the 1850s, when Walt Whitman heard them while strolling through lower Manhattan.

By 2050, according to the United Nations, Yemen will have more people than Russia.

This article appears in July 23 • 2004.

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