Spermaceti refers to the waxen oil found in sperm whale heads. An excellent lubricant, General Motors used it as transmission oil until the 1970s.

Sally Snowman will retire on Dec. 31, 2023, making her the last of the lighthouse keepers in the United States.

UK’s North Hertfordshire Museum recently reclassified Roman Emperor Elagabalus as transgender.

Posset, a creamy spiced beverage, is believed to have originated in medieval Britain. When the drink crossed to North America in the mid-1700s, it became known as “egg-n-grog.” American colonists shortened it to eggnog.

The character Muffit II from the original Battlestar Galactica TV series was played by a chimpanzee named Evie.

This article appears in Gift Guide 2023.

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