John Philip Sousa’s favorite meal was spaghetti and meatballs. He called the dish “pelotas á la Portuguese.”
Leeches have 32 brains.
Castoreum is a liquid extracted from the castor sac of a beaver. Although it was used as a medicine in the olden days, it was not a laxative. In the mid-18th century, oil from Ricinus communis seeds was discovered to produce a laxative effect and it became known as the castor oil plant.
María Izquierdo (1902-1955) was the first Mexican woman to have her artwork exhibited in the U.S. The exhibit took place in 1930 at the Art Center in New York.
Most copies of the Beatles’ album Yesterday and Today with the “butcher cover” art were dumped in a landfill in Needham, Mass.
This article appears in November 20 • 2020.