Wonder why Ph.D.s call themselves “doctors”? The word “doctor” comes from the Latin verb docere, meaning to teach.

Researcher Arlan Edgar once observed a pair of daddy longlegs mate 29 times in 2½ hours.

Refrigerators account for almost 15% of the average home’s electricity use.

When Ludwig van Beethoven was 7, his father put him on display in a concert and for good measure advertised him as age 6, the same as Mozart when he became famous. Nothing came of it, but this confused Beethoven about his age for the rest of his life.

In Maine, the new speaker of the House, the new president of the Senate, the new attorney general, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, two U.S. senators, and the newest U.S. House member are all women.

This article appears in 2008.

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