In Latin, pencil means “little tail.”

One of the more bizarre activities the Stasi (East German State Security) was found to have engaged in was the collection of Geruchsproben – smell samples – for the benefit of the East German smell hounds.

In October 1995, the potato became the first vegetable to be grown in outer space.

Sylvester Stallone has a fear of heights and also claustrophobia. Oddly, he did the movies Cliffhanger, where he played a rock climber, and Daylight, where he was stuck in a closed tunnel. Stallone has said he did the films to get over his phobias, yet he never really did get over them.

Western-style handsaws are push. Japanese style are pull.

This article appears in June 15 • 2007.

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