A cargo container measures 40 feet long, 8.5 or 9.5 feet high, and 8 feet wide, and can hold as much as 29 tons in its 2,000 cubic feet.

West Point cadets hold annual cyberwar games in full fatigues to simulate fighting the enemy online.

Thomas Harman, a 16th-century magistrate, wrote about thieves’ cant, a secret language used by criminals. In his book, A Caveat or Warning for Common Cursitors, Harman said the phrase, “Byng we to Rome vyle to nyp a bounge, so shall we have lower for the bowsing ken” means “Let’s go to London and cut a purse, so we shall have money for the alehouse.”

Lucille Ball was afraid of birds.

The Brooklyn Dodgers were so named in the 1890s because the team’s field in Eastern Park was bordered on two sides by trolley tracks. “Trolley dodger” was a pejorative term Manhattanites used for residents of Brooklyn.

This article appears in March 3 • 2017.

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