Asian elephants have smaller ears than African elephants.
Fizz leaks out of a plastic soda bottle faster than from a can, because polyethylene terephthalate (plastic) is a little bit more carbon dioxide-permeable than aluminum is.
According to author Alissa Hamilton, orange juice is infused with “flavor packs” – chemicals made from orange-derived substances that improve the flavor after the juice has been pasteurized and stripped of oxygen. The ingredients list never mentions the flavor-pack chemicals.
In 1839, Isaac Singer invented a machine to drill rock, which he sold for $2,000.
Not liking being an inventor, he became an actor for a few years, and then went back
to inventing. His patent for the sewing machine was issued Aug. 12, 1851.
The tankini – bottom half bikini, top half tank top – was invented in 1997.
This article appears in August 7 • 2009.