Some biologists believe zebras developed stripes to protect them from the tsetse fly – oddly, the insect can’t see stripes.

Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s 1962 novelty hit “Monster Mash” was banned by the BBC for “offensive content” and was not heard on British radio for 11 years.

A shotgun’s gauge is determined by the number of round lead balls with the diameter of the bore that would be needed, when weighed collectively, to equal one pound. The higher the number of balls, the smaller the bore.

Warren G. Harding once gambled the White House China in a poker game and lost. The winner actually took the China home.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane was booked on one of the planes that was hijacked and was flown into the World Trade Center. He missed the plane because he was running late, and the time for the flight was listed incorrectly on his itinerary.

This article appears in March 17 • 2006.

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