I have been a huge fan of Christopher Guest from the first time I saw This is Spinal Tap, and that affection has only grown with each movie he participates in. From Waiting for Guffman to A Mighty Wind, Guest keeps me laughing with the oddball worlds he creates in his films. He seems to [...]

Before we had precise, standardized units of measure such as meters and feet, lengths (and even, ocasionally volumes) were reckoned based on the average dimensions of human body parts. In Body-Based Units of Measurement at Interesting Thing of the Day, I listed a few such historical units of measure, which can still come in handy [...]

When traveling in foreign countries, it’s always helpful to know a few stock phrases and key words even (or especially) if you don’t speak the language fluently. One useful phrase is “I’m sorry, I don’t speak [insert language here].” Although it may be difficult to master even that much of the language, it may make [...]

Fans of Inside the Actor’s Studio are familiar with James Lipton’s list of questions, which he poses to each of his guests at the end of an interview. Lipton always gives credit for this list to French talk show host Bernard Pivot, who hosted Apostrophes from 1975–1990 and Bouillon de Culture from 1990–2001; he often [...]

In the last few decades there has been a sharp increase in the number of people who are allergic to peanuts. According to an article in the June 24, 2006 issue of New Scientist, “Allergenic foods are often things a population eats a lot of,” and “Today, the average American eats 3 kilograms of peanut [...]

This is the third entry in our series of IKEA lists.

Alhagen Name for: A basket Could be: A license plate for an ice cream fan Brallis Name for: A clothes-hanger Could be: A license plate for a “natural” woman Brygd Name for: A pitcher Could be: A license plate for a dentist Espnäs Name for: A knob Could be: A license plate for [...]