Sexual freedom and the elimination of sexual jealousy are a major theme of Stranger in a Strange Land (1961), in which the straitlaced nurse Jill acts as a dramatic foil for the less parochial characters Jubal Harshaw and Mike. Two negative references to homosexuality have been interpreted by some readers as being homophobic, but both deal with ...Read more

Ornithologists often use Scotch tape to cover cracks in the soft shells of fertilized pigeon eggs, allowing the eggs to hatch. Scotch tape has also been used as an anti-corrosive shield on the Goodyear Blimp.

A group of unicorns is called a blessing. A group of kangaroos is called a mob. A group of whales is called a pod. A group of geese is called a gaggle. A group of owls is called a parliament. A group of ravens is an unkindness. A group of crows is a murder. A group of bears is called a sleuth.

The earliest stories in The Adventures of Tintin have been criticised for racist and colonialist leanings, including caricatured portrayals of non-Europeans. However, Herge by his own admission was rather naive at the time and was largely informed by the then conventional views of his editor. Some of the early albums were later altered by Herge ...Read more

At the height of this popularity, absinthe was portrayed as a dangerously addictive, psychoactive drug; the chemical thujone was blamed for most of its deleterious effects. By 1915 it was banned in a number of European countries and the United States. Even though it was vilified, there is no evidence showing it to be any more dangerous than ...Read more

Nutella is a hazelnut spread made with skim milk and cocoa. It is virtually unknown in America, but European children have happily smeared it on breakfast croissants for decades.

Henry Ford was obsessed with soybeans. He once wore a suit and tie made from soy-based material, served a 16-course meal made entirely from soybeans, and ordered many Ford auto parts to be made from soy-derived plastic.

Horned lizards eat ants. They wait in areas where ants are working and when one passes by, they flick out their tongue, catch their prey, and swallow without chewing. Apparently their digestive tract is immune to bites and stings.

In an effort to solicit cash to pay for a charity Christmas dinner in 1891, a large crabpot was set down on a San Francisco street, becoming the first Salvation Army collection kettle.

Thirteen popes were named Leo, including Leo the Great, who prevented the Huns from sacking Rome. Six emperors of Constantinople were also called Leo. The continuing popularity of the name probably stems for it association with the lion, long considered the king of beasts.

The lungs of an average adult, unfolded and flattened out, would cover an area the size of a tennis court.

A walla-walla scene is one where extras pretend to be talking in the background -- when they say "walla-walla" it looks like they are actually talking.

George Washington spent Christmas night 1776 crossing the Delaware River in dreadful conditions. Christmas 1777 fared little better - at Valley Forge, Washington and his men had a miserable Christmas dinner of Fowl cooked in a broth of Turnips, cabbage and potatoes.

The Viking alphabet was called the Futhark. The letters, called "runes," were made from straight lines, making them easier to carve on stone or wood. Stones with writing on them are called runestones.

It was illegal for women to wear buttons in fifteenth-century Florence.

Ten percent of men are left-handed and eight percent of women are left-handed.

Tucked into a limestone recess high above the Verde Valley of Arizona stands Montezuma's Castle, one of the best preserved and most easily accessible cliff ruins in all of North America. This five-story, twenty-room cliff dwelling served as a "high-rise apartment building" for prehistoric Sinagua Indians more than 600 years ago. Early settlers ...Read more

The theme played at the beginning of the "Green Hornet" series was the "Flight of the Bumble Bee" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

"Fine turkey" and "honeycomb" are terms used for different qualities and textures of sponges.

Other than sleeping, men and women differ on what is their favorite thing to do in bed. Of the men polled, the top response was to have sex at 50 percent; for women, only 20 percent responded the same. Women would prefer to read (23 percent), whereas men put books at just 11 percent.