The Mazda MX-5 is called the Miata in the U.S., an archaic term for “reward.”

Actor Eddie Redmayne was so nervous about Theory of Everything that he couldn’t sleep the night before the first day of filming.

“Holland” once referred to the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands, but now is only two provinces. The Nether­lands officially stopped using “Holland” for the whole country in 2020. Its people are called “Dutch,” which historically also included people from Germany, explaining the German name for Germany, “Deutschland.”

The band REO Speedwagon, originally R.E.O. Speedwagon, got its name from the REO Speed Wagon, a light truck made by the REO Motor Company (pronounced “rio”), as named by its founder Ransom E. Olds, who had left his previous company, Oldsmobile.

The human temperature standard of 98.6 degrees was established 150 years ago; the actual average is lower.

This article appears in July 4 • 2025.

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