The idea for an electronic monitoring device was inspired by a story­line in a Spider-Man comic in which one of his enemies, Kingpin, put an electronic bracelet on the superhero to follow his movements. After seeing the comic, in 1983, a district court judge persuaded a computer salesperson to develop a system to monitor five offenders in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Brett Favre’s first completed pass as a Green Bay Packer
was to himself.

For all five seasons, the Breaking Bad series was shot on 35mm film.

Because he used a wheelchair, President Franklin D. Roosevelt needed a specially shaped room in the White House and he helped design a new room – the Oval Office.

A tenter is a frame for stretching cloth to dry, and tenterhooks are the hooks or nails placed in it to hold the cloth. The phrase “on tenterhooks” refers to being stretched, therefore strained and nervous.

This article appears in November 8 • 2013.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US