What do you call broken rice? In Vietnam, it’s com tam, and in the Southern U.S. it’s called rice middlins or rice grits.

The first version of the Pullman sleeper car was invented in 1859.

Mount Rushmore is named for Charles E. Rushmore, a New York attorney who was visiting South Dakota to check on the legal titles of properties. He never lived to see the completion of Gutzon Borglum’s sculpture on the mountain, but he did donate $5,000 toward its completion.

Prince Charles used to play the cello.

The abyssal zone extends in the oceans from about 10,000 to about 20,000 feet. It encompasses about 83% of the ocean floor and animals feed on “marine snow” – scraps of dead fish and plants from the upper layers falling gently to the ocean floor.

This article appears in May 29 • 2020.

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