King Ludwig II, ruler of Bavaria from 1864 until 1886, is one of Germany’s more colorful characters. His reign coincided with huge political changes in Germany, including the push for unification of the German territories led by Prussia. However, Ludwig preferred designing and building elaborate castles to political maneuvering, and had a special fondness for the composer Richard Wagner and for his operatic works, which were a major influence on his construction projects.

1. Schloss Nymphenburg: Built in the 17th century by Ferdinand Maria, the Elector of Bavaria, Schloss (“castle”) Nymphenburg is now a popular tourist site in Munich. Ludwig was born in the castle in 1845.
2. Schloss Hohenschwangau: This castle was built by Ludwig’s father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria, from 1833 to 1837. Located near the town of Füssen in southwestern Bavaria, Schloss Hohenschwangau (“castle of the High Swan County”) was the childhood home of Ludwig II.
3. The King’s House on the Schachen: Technically not a castle, this mountain chalet built by Ludwig from 1869 to 1872, features a large room, the “Turkish Hall,” that incorporates design elements from the Orient, such as colored glass windows and richly embroidered textiles.
4. Schloss Neuschwanstein: Perhaps the most famous of Ludwig’s castles, Neuschwanstein (“new swan stone”) is located near Ludwig’s childhood home, Hohenschwangau. Although construction began in 1869, the castle was not completed in Ludwig’s lifetime. The design of the castle was heavily influenced by the 13th century Romanesque style, as well as the Wagner operas Tannhäuser and Lohengrin. Neuschwanstein is the model for the Sleeping Beauty castle in the Disney parks.
5. Linderhof: This castle began as a hunting lodge, but was remodeled extensively in the neo-Rococo style. Eventually the old hunting lodge was dismantled and rebuilt in the park surrounding the castle. This park also featured an underground grotto designed for opera performances.
6. Neues Schloss/Herrenchiemsee: The Neues Schloss (“new castle”), part of the Herrenchiemsee complex of buildings created on an island in Bavaria’s largest lake (the Chiemsee), is an homage to France’s Louis XIV. Inspired by Versailles, the castle was meant to be a full-size replica of that French castle, including the world-famous Hall of Mirrors. Ludwig only managed to stay in the castle for 10 days before his untimely death in 1886.
7. Falkenstein: Falkenstein (“falcon stone”) was planned, down to the interior design and frescoes, but was never built because Ludwig died before construction began. It was originally intended to be a castle in the Gothic style, but was later re-imagined as a robber baron’s castle, referring to the rulers who built castles built along the Rhine river in the 12th and 13th centuries.

As moviemaking technology gets more and more sophisticated, filmmakers are better able to create works that can scare viewers out of their seats. I provide the following list as a warning to those of you who may have specific fears likely to be triggered by these current blockbusters. I recommend that you find an alternate movie, unless you have Theatrophobia (fear of theaters) to begin with.

1. The Departed
   • Hoplophobia: Fear of firearms
   • Ballistophobia: Fear of bullets
   • Murophobia: Fear of rats
2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre—The Beginning
   • Mechanophobia: Fear of machines (like chainsaws)
   • Hemophobia: Fear of blood
   • Necrophobia: Fear of death or dead things
3. Open Season
   • Hylophobia: Fear of forests
   • Agrizoophobia: Fear of wild animals
   • Arctophobia, Ursaphobia: Fear of bears (Are you listening, Stephen Colbert?)
4. Employee of the Month
   • Ergophobia: Fear of work
   • Odontophobia – Fear of teeth (Jessica Simpson’s)
5. The Guardian
   • Thalassophobia: Fear of the sea
   • Cymophobia: Fear of waves
   • Aquaphobia, Hydrophobia: Fear of water
   • Floppaphobia: Fear of Waterworld
6. Jackass: Number Two
   • Dystychiphobia: Fear of accidents
   • Traumatophobia: Fear of injury
7. School for Scoundrels
   • Scolionophobia, Didaskaleinophobia: Fear of school
   • Sophophobia: Fear of learning
   • Testophobia: Fear of taking tests
   • Slingbladaphobia: Fear of Billy Bob Thornton (who has Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns)
8. Jet Li’s Fearless
   • Nihilophobia: Fear of (absolutely) nothing
   • Peladophobia: Fear of bald people
   • Sinophobia: Fear of the Chinese, Chinese culture, etc.
   • Consecotaleophobia: Fear of chopsticks
9. Gridiron Gang
   • Ephebiphobia: Fear of teenagers
   • Megalophobia: Fear of large objects (like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson)
10. The Illusionist
    • Rhabdophobia, Arcanophobia: Fear of magic
    • Pogonophobia, Pognophobia: Fear of beards (especially Edward Norton’s goatee)

Update: This post was featured in the October 13, 2006 edition of the Carnival of Cinema.

As I mention in my article on this topic at Interesting Thing of the Day, there are some plants that bloom so rarely that the appearance of their flowers is heralded as a major event. One such plant, the Titan Arum lily, draws huge crowds to botanical gardens whenever one is about ready to bloom; people come to see the enormous spike of flowers it produces, as well as to experience the foul smell it gives off to attract would-be pollinators. Here are a few other plants that take their time when it comes to blooming.

• Night-blooming Cereus cactus [1]—blooms for one night every year
• Titan Arum lily [2]—seldom blooms in the wild, even less frequently when in cultivation (on average every 4-10 years)
• Kurinji plant [3]—blooms every 12 years
• Certain species of bamboo (e.g., Bambusa tulda [4] and Melocana bachiphera [5])—bloom every 40 to 50 years
• Talipot palm [6]—blooms once in its 30–80 year lifespan

Humans have been fascinated with creating tall structures for most of their history; from the Tower of Babel to the Pyramids of Egypt, these grand scale building projects are symbols of power and achievement. It is no different today, as builders around the world vie to construct the tallest structures possible.

But towers are not just impressive for their height; like the famous leaning tower in Pisa, towers can offer novelty, history, and an amazing view to the traveler who seeks them out.

Africa

• Cairo Tower (Cairo, Egypt—187 metres/613 feet) Made out of granite, this tower was built to resemble a lotus plant.
• Hassan Tower (Rabat, Morocco—44 metres/144 feet) Designed to be the largest minaret in the world at the time of its construction in A.D. 1195, this tower has ramps instead of stairs, allowing the muezzin to ride his horse to the top to issue the call to prayer.
• Hillbrow Tower (Johannesburg, South Africa—270 metres/886 feet) This distinctive looking tower is part of Johannesburg’s official logo.

Asia & Oceania

• Kuala Lumpur Tower (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia—421 metres/1381 feet) Home to the Kuala Lumpur International Towerthon, where competitors run uphill for 800 metres before climbing 2,058 steps to an observation deck 288 metres above the city.
• Macau Tower (Macau, China—338 metres/1109 feet) The Macau Tower features high altitude activities to its visitors, including the SkyJump (similar to skydiving) and the SkyWalk X (visitors walk a narrow ledge tethered to an overhead rail system).
• N Seoul Tower (Seoul, South Korea—236.7 metres/777 feet) This tower, recently renovated in 2005, is built on a 262 metre (860 feet) peak overlooking Seoul.
• Oriental Pearl Tower (Shanghai, China—468 metres/1535 feet) This high-tech tower boasts a museum, a hotel, a rotating restaurant, various shops and an observation deck.
• Sky Tower (Auckland, New Zealand—328 metres/1076 feet) Sky Tower, the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere, has a variety of amenities, including a guided climb up the tower’s mast and the SkyJump experience (similar to skydiving).
• Sydney Tower (Sydney, Australia—305 metres/1001) At the top of the Sydney Tower, guests can visit OzTrek, a motion simulator ride showcasing Australia’s history and geography.
• Tokyo Tower (Tokyo, Japan—333 metres/1092 feet) Built to resemble the Eiffel Tower in Paris, this iron tower houses an aquarium, wax museum, and two observatory floors.
• Yellow Crane Tower (Wuhan, China—51.4 metres/169 feet) Symbol of the city of Wuhan, this tower was built in A.D. 223.

Europe

• Blackpool Tower (Blackpool, UK—158 metres/518 feet) Built to resemble the Eiffel Tower, the tower complex is home to a circus and a famous ballroom (the Blackpool Tower Ballroom) where guests can take high tea while listening to the strains of a Wurlitzer organ.
• Donauturm (Vienna, Austria—252 metres/827 feet) It’s possible to spend a romantic evening 152 metres (499 feet) in the air here; dinner, breakfast, and accommodation on the observation deck are all included.
• Fernsehturm (Berlin, Germany—360 metres/1181 feet) Literally, the “TV Tower,” a spherical portion of this Berlin landmark was painted to resemble a magenta and silver colored football in honor of the 2006 World Cup.
• La Tour Eiffel (Paris, France—324 metres/1063 feet) World-famous symbol of Paris, this much-imitated tower was designed by Gustave Eiffel for the centenary of the French Revolution in 1889.
• Näsinneula Tower (Tampere, Finland—168 metres/551 feet) The Näsinneula Tower is the tallest observation tower in Scandinavia.
• Rundetaarn (Copenhagen, Denmark—34.8 metres/114 feet) This “round tower,” completed in A.D. 1642, houses the oldest functioning observatory in Europe, where visitors can still view the night sky through a telescope.
• Tallinn TV Tower (Tallinn, Estonia—314 metres/1030 feet) Built for the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics, on clear days the tower affords visitors a view of Finland’s coast.
• Tour Montparnasse (Paris, France—210 metres/689 feet) The breathtaking view from the top of this tower in the historic neighborhood of Montparnasse is well worth the visit.
• Tower of London (London, UK) This “tower” is actually a royal fortress, formerly used to hold (and sometimes execute) political prisoners, but now boasts an exhibit of the royal Crown Jewels.

North America

• CN Tower (Toronto, Canada—553 metres/1814 feet) This Toronto landmark is the tallest building in the world.
• Montreal Tower Observatory (Montreal, Canada—175 metres/574 feet) The Montreal Tower, the highest inclined tower in the world, leans at an angle of 45 degrees (the Tower of Pisa leans at an angle of 5 degrees).
• Coit Tower (San Francisco, USA—64 metres/210 feet) Built by philanthropist Lillie Hitchcock Coit to honor the fire fighters of the 1906 earthquake, the tower houses murals completed under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) project of the 1930s.

Like most people, I always assume people are telling the truth and have my best interests at heart. So naturally, I have been delighted at the large number of highly enticing offers that appear in my inbox every day. People sometimes call these spam, which must mean they enjoy them as much as that delicious, all-purpose meat product from Hormel. Sometimes, though, when I respond to these messages, I get a different result from the one I was expecting. As a public service, I offer these surprising facts I’ve discovered:

1. I have not won a European lottery.
2. I can get a lousy logo designed for only $600.
3. My friend did not send me a postcard.
4. eBay, PayPal, Amazon.com, and my bank did not need me to update my account information.
5. The stock price that was guaranteed to skyrocket, tanked.
6. No check is waiting for me.
7. I have not been hired.
8. Rolex replicas don’t make me look rich or famous.
9. The U.S. government takes a dim view of people who import prescription drugs without a prescription.
10. Adobe and Microsoft take a dim view of people who import OEM CDs of Photoshop, Windows, and Office.
11. It’s awfully expensive to help that poor man/woman extract those millions of dollars from Nigeria.
12. That eBay Member didn’t really have a question regarding Item #190013300106.

To the best of my recollection, I’ve never been lost in the woods (or elsewhere away from civilization)—or at least not sufficiently lost that I didn’t have a general sense of which direction I needed to go. But if I were, I’d have many options for getting my bearings. I recall learning, as a kid, that moss always grows on the north side of a tree, and then learning later on that under the right conditions, moss can grow on any side of a tree. When there’s no moss, or when the moss steers you wrong, you can use any of numerous other tricks to find north. Some of these don’t work especially well in dense foliage, in all weather conditions, or in all parts of the globe, but in almost any situation one of these ideas should do the trick. This is by no means an exhaustive list; I have every confidence in readers to add comments with additional methods!

Most of the following suggestions were adapted and condensed from Navigate Without a Compass and Find True North Without a Compass (both at wikiHow), Worst-Case Scenarios: How to Find Your Way When Lost in the Woods at Popular Mechanics, and Wildwood Wisdom—Chapter 17: LOST at Shelter Online.

1. Look for moss; it usually grows on the north (i.e., least sunny) side of trees and rocks—or at least, grows most plentifully there.
2. Look for spider webs, which tend to appear on the south sides of trees.
3. Put a stick in the ground vertically, and note where the end of its shadow is. Wait a little while, and mark where the end is now. The line going between those two points should run approximately east–west; you can then tell by the direction of the sun’s movement which way is north.
4. Watch the sun, which rises (more or less) in the east and sets (more or less) in the west. But since the exact position of the sun varies by season and latitude, this is rather inaccurate.
5. In the northern hemisphere, if it’s night and the sky is clear, you can usually pick out the north star (Polaris) as the brightest one in the handle of the Little Dipper. If you’re facing that star, you’re pointing north.
6. In the southern hemisphere, find the Southern Cross. Note the direction of the long axis of the cross. Follow that imaginary line for a distance equal to five times the length of the cross and fact the point in space where it would end. You’re now facing directly south; spin around 180° to find north.
7. Hold an analog watch horizontally. In the northern hemisphere, point the hour hand toward the sun; in the southern hemisphere, point the 12 toward the sun. Either way, the north-south line runs halfway between the hour hand and the 12 (or 1, if Daylight Saving Time is in effect). To figure out which is which, note the sun’s direction of movement, or assume that the sun is in the southern half of the sky.
8. Note the direction in which the clouds move, which is generally west-to-east. (This can provide only a very rough approximation at best, and doesn’t work everywhere.)
9. If you’re in a part of the world where Traveler’s Palms grow, find one. Chances are the axis of the branches runs east-west; as usual, determine north from the direction of the sun or assume it’s in the southern part of the sky.
10. If you’re near a body of water where birds, fish, or amphibians are breeding, keep in mind that they often prefer to breed on the west side.
11. Use a compass. (You did bring a compass, right?)
12. Make a compass by carefully floating a magnetized needle on the surface of water that’s sitting in a very still container. (You did bring a needle, right?)
13. Use a GPS receiver. It’ll probably tell you the direction you’re facing without any effort, but even if it lacks an electronic compass (or the compass isn’t working), you can work out which way is north by taking two or more readings some distance apart and doing some very simple geometry. (You do remember your geometry, right?)

According to popular mythology, male celebrities (and especially leading men on the big screen) are supposed to be tall, dark, and handsome. But many a successful actor, filmmaker, and singer has risen to great heights in the industry without having his head in the clouds—including some larger-than-life action heroes. Speaking as someone who can see eye-to-eye with such diverse figures as Tom Cruise, Al Pacino, and Jon Stewart, I’m proud to count myself among the compact citizens who nevertheless stand tall for their art. It’s therefore my pleasure to honor 46 other celebrities no taller than myself. I look up to you all, even those I must look down at.

(Unsurprisingly, there is frequently conflicting information on the Internet about people’s actual heights; I’ve taken these numbers from the Internet Movie Database.)

1. Jason Alexander (5'5")
2. Woody Allen (5'5")
3. Ed Asner (5'7")
4. Sean Astin (5'6")
5. Richard Attenborough (5'7")
6. Roberto Benigni (5'5")
7. Gael Garcia Bernal (5'6½")
8. Jack Black (5'6")
9. Mel Brooks (5'7")
10. LeVar Burton (5'7")
11. Phil Collins (5'6")
12. Brian Cox (5'7")
13. Tom Cruise (5'7")
14. Billy Crystal (5'7")
15. Danny DeVito (5')
16. Richard Dreyfuss (5'5")
17. Emilio Estevez (5'7")
18. Peter Falk (5'6")
19. Michael J. Fox (5'4½")
20. Al Franken (5'5")
21. Edward Furlong (5'7")
22. Seth Green (5'4")
23. Dustin Hoffman (5'6¾")
24. Tom Hollander (5'5")
25. Ian Holm (5'6")
26. Bob Hoskins (5'6")
27. D.L. Hughley (5'7")
28. Peter Jackson (5'6½")
29. Billy Joel (5'6½")
30. Elton John (5'7")
31. Charlie Kaufman (5'4½")
32. Harvey Keitel (5'7")
33. Joe Kissell (5'7")
34. Nathan Lane (5'5")
35. George Lucas (5'6")
36. Mike Myers (5'7")
37. Al Pacino (5'7")
38. Kevin Pollak (5'5")
39. Prince (5'2")
40. Mickey Rooney (5'3")
41. Tim Roth (5'7")
42. Wallace Shawn (5'2")
43. Harry Shearer (5'7")
44. Martin Sheen (5'7")
45. Jon Stewart (5'7")
46. Henry Winkler (5'6½")
47. Elijah Wood (5'6")

A final note: I intend no slight toward the likes of Michael J. Anderson (3'7"), Gary Coleman (4'8"), Peter Dinklage (4'5"), and Verne Troyer (2'8") by omitting them from the list, but I felt that using such obvious candidates to pad an already lengthy roll would be a bit gratuitous.

When we first toured our current apartment, one of the delightful things we discovered is that it had a lemon tree in the backyard. Once we moved in, we tried to think of all the things we could make with lemons, and we found quite a few, including sugary lemon bars, freshly-squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest for baking, lemon cheesecake, and last but not least, lemonade. Four years on, the novelty of having our own lemon tree may have dimmed, but now and again we’ll be reminded of how lucky we are when we find yet another use for this amazing fruit.

So when life (or a friend with a lemon tree in the backyard) gives you lemons, try out some of these ideas.

Food & Beverages

• Grill fish on top of lemon slices to prevent the fish from sticking to the grill^[1]
• Try gremolata, a mixture of lemon zest and finely chopped garlic and parsley, as an alternative to salt and pepper^[2]
• Include lemon zest in marinades for pork and poultry^[2]
• Create a flavorful lemon butter to garnish seafood and fish^[2]
• Freeze lemon juice in ice cube trays to use in summer drinks^[2]
• Make preserved lemons for use in Moroccan recipes, such as tagine
• Add lemon juice to rice, cauliflower, or potatoes while cooking to enhance their white color ^[2][3]
• Prevent eggs from cracking while boiling by coating the shells with lemon juice^[3]
• Ensure easy peeling of cooked eggs by adding one teaspoon of lemon juice to the cooking water^[3]
• Use lemon juice to help homemade jam set without using pectin^[4]
• Dry lemon peel for use in flavoring baked goods^[4]

Cleaning & Home Improvement

• Remove garlic, onion, or fish odor from your hands by rubbing them with a piece of lemon coated in salt^[2][3]
• Rid your hands or clothes of stains from berries, beets, or ink with lemon and salt^[2][4]
• Clean copper pots or remove rust stains with half a lemon dipped in salt^[1][3]
• Mix lemon juice and baking soda for an effective stain remover^[3]
• Dry slices of lemon to use in holiday decorations such as wreaths or garlands, or to include in potpourri mixtures^[1]
• Fill bowls or vases with whole lemons to create elegant table centerpieces^[1]
• Keep insects away from stored clothing using dried lemon rind^[4]

Health & Beauty

• Use juiced lemon halves to moisten dry elbows^[1]
• Bite into a lemon to redden your lips (a common practice in the court of Louis XIV)^[2][3]
• Make a face mask using lemon and honey^[3]
• After shampooing, rinse your hair with water and lemon juice to prevent dandruff and to remove soap film^[3]
• Soothe sore throats with lemon juice, either by gargling or drinking in a hot beverage
• Take the sting out of insect bites with lemon juice^[3]
• Apply lemon juice to cuts to disinfect them and help them heal faster^[3]
• Treat a nose bleed with lemon juice^[3]
• Mix lemon juice with olive or almond oil to treat eczema^[3]
• Combine lemon juice with papaya juice to get rid of athlete’s foot^[3]

Sources:

^[1]HGTV
^[2]DIY Network
^[3]VISTA Magazine
^[4]Plants For A Future

Although the name William is very common, there does seem to be a preponderance of poets with that name, including many from my list of favorites. Did the parents of Blake, Wordsworth, and Yeats hope that their sons would grow up to be great poets in the same mold as their famous predecessor, William Shakespeare? Or did they just like the name?

• William Shakespeare (1564–1616) Playwright and poet par excellence; his sonnets are among the best known poems in the English language.
• William Cowper (1731–1800) Hymn-writer and poet; his major work was The Task, a poem inspired by his parlor sofa.
• William Blake (1757–1827) Master engraver and poet; combining poems and images, his illuminated works are justly famous.
• William Wordsworth (1770–1850) Leading figure in the Romantic poetry movement of the 19th Century; his joint venture with fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lyrical Ballads, was extremely influential.
• William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) Poet and Irish political leader; considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th Century, Yeats received the Nobel Prize in 1923 for his work.
• William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) Physician and poet; known for the brevity and unadorned language of his poems.
• William Stafford (1914–1993) Educator and poet; his first book of poems, Traveling Through the Dark, published when he was forty-eight, won the National Book Award in 1963.
• Billy (William) Collins (1941– ) Former U.S. Poet Laureate; his latest book of poems is The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems.

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

I have great affection for the wonderful epithets Shakespeare coined for his plays; his linguistic dexterity and wit seem to shine most brightly when he is putting these put-downs in the mouths of his characters. There are too many to list from his plays (see for example, Shakespeare’s Insults and Shakespearean Insulter) but here are my humble contributions to the tradition.

• Aspudden
  Old meaning: Wall cabinet
  New meaning: Lazy person
• Balser
  Old meaning: Chair
  New meaning: Adulterer
• Bastant
  Old meaning: Basket
  New meaning: Knave, of questionable parentage
• Didrick
  Old meaning: Storage unit on casters
  New meaning: Fool
• Flaj
  Old meaning: Box
  New meaning: Weakling
• Jerker
  Old meaning: Add-on shelf unit
  New meaning: Violent, brutish person
• Pamp
  Old meaning: Vase
  New meaning: Arrogant person

Since the pop song was invented, its’ creators have often relied on a common and limited vocabulary in both lyrics and title (e.g., “love,” “baby,” and “yeah”). This is probably a smart tactic, introducing a new song by using a familiar sentiment; rarely does a song with a very strange name or lyrics gain public attention (although “Horse with No Name” and “Muskrat Love” spring to mind).

Keeping with this idea of a common lyrical vocabulary, I found 11 songs that all use the word “magic” in their titles. This word seems to have conjured up luck for these songwriters and performers; all 11 songs made it into the Billboard Magazine Top 20 charts.

• That Old Black Magic—Written by: Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer; recorded by: Glen Miller, 1943 (1# on Billboard); Margaret Whiting and the Freddie Slack Orchestra, 1943 (#10); Sammy Davis Jr., 1955 (#16); Louis Prima & Keely Smith, 1958 (#18)
• This Magic Moment—Written by: D. Pomus/M. Shuman; recorded by: The Drifters, 1960 (#14), available on the album The Very Best of the Drifters
• Puff the Magic Dragon—Peter, Paul & Mary, 1963 (#2), from the album Moving
• Do You Believe in Magic—Lovin’ Spoonful, 1965 (#9), from the album Do You Believe in Magic
• Magic Carpet Ride—Steppenwolf, 1968 (#5), from the album Steppenwolf the Second
• Black Magic Woman—Santana, 1970 (#5), available on the album Black Magic Woman
• Strange Magic—ELO (Electric Light Orchestra), 1976 (#14), from the album Ole’ ELO
• Magic—Olivia Newton-John, 1980 (#1), from the album Xanadu
• Every Little Thing She Does is Magic—The Police, 1981 (#3), from the album Ghost in the Machine
• You Can Do Magic—America, 1982 (#8), available on the album You Can Do Magic
• Magic—The Cars, 1984 (#12), from the album Heartbeat City

Plus one magic-related song…

• Abracadabra—Steve Miller Band, 1982 (#1), from the album Abracadabra

Taking as a starting point my short list in Museums of Interesting Things at Interesting Thing of the Day, I set out to discover other small museums that specialize in just one specific (and typically rather odd) subject matter. I thought I’d find a few more; it turns out there are dozens. Here’s a mere sampling from around the world; for other lists, see Weird museums and America’s Weird Museums. And by the way, these are all brick-and-mortar museums; there are many more that exist only on the Web.

• Automata:
  • (1) Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum (Farmington Hills, Michigan)
  • (2) Musée Mécanique (San Francisco, California)—as mentioned in The Musée Mécanique at Interesting Thing of the Day
• Bakelite: (3) Bakelite Museum (Williton, Somerset, England)—as mentioned in Jackie Chappell’s article Bakelite at Interesting Thing of the Day
• Bananas: (4) The Washington Banana Museum (Auburn, Washington)
• Barbed Wire:
  • (5) Devil’s Rope Museum (McLean, Texas)
  • (6) Kansas Barbed Wire Museum (Lacrosse, Kansas)
• Bricks:
  • (7) Frank and Jane Clement Brick Museum (Orchard Park, New York)
  • (8) Haverstraw Brick Museum (Haverstraw, New York)
  • (9) World Brick Museum (Maizuru City, Japan)
• Cheese:
  • (10) Cheese Museum of the Netherlands (Het Hollands Kaasmuseum, Alkmaar, Netherlands)
  • (11) Cuba Cheese Museum (Cuba, New York)
• Lunchboxes: (12) Lunchbox Museum (Columbus, Georgia)
• Corkscrews: (13) The Corkscrew Museum (Le Musée du Tire-Bouchon, Ménerbes, France)
• Fans: (14) The Fan Museum (Greenwich, London, England)
• Hats:
  • (15) The Hat Museum (Portland, Oregon)
  • (16) Hat Works (Stockport, Cheshire, England)
• Lawnmowers: (17) British Lawnmower Museum (Southport, Lancashire, England)
• Lingerie: (18) Frederick’s of Hollywood Lingerie Museum (Los Angeles, California)
• Medical Paraphernalia:
  • (19) Glore Psychiatric Museum (St. Joseph, Missouri)
  • (20) The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices (St. Paul, Minnesota)
  • (21) The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum (New Orleans, Louisiana)
• Pencils: (22) The Cumberland Pencil Museum (Keswick, Cumbria, England)
• Pez Dispensers: (23) Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia (Burlingame, California)
• Rice:
  • (24) Muzium Padi (Rice Museum, Kedah, Malaysia)
  • (25) Rice Museum (Georgetown, South Carolina)
• Shoes:
  • (26) The Bata Shoe Museum (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
  • (27) Deutsches Ledermuseum (German Leather Museum/Shoe Museum, Offenbach, Germany)
  • (28) Giant Shoe Museum (Seattle, Washington)
  • (29) Museo del Calzado (Museum of Shoes, Elda, Spain)
  • (30) The Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine Shoe Museum (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Toilets: (31) Sulabh International Museum of Toilets (New Delhi, India)
• Water: (32) New York Museum of Water (New York, New York)

For some reason, hair salons, more than most other kinds of businesses, tend to come up with names involving bad puns. There’s the ever-popular Curl Up and Dye, which appears in numerous cities, and many other names involving plays on words like cut, snip, shear, and head. Here for your amusement are some actual salons in San Francisco (not an exhaustive list!):

1. Alley Cuts & Colors (3027 Fillmore; 415-929-1862)
2. Blade Runners Hair Studio (1792 Haight; 415-751-1723)
3. Blown Away Salon (583 Haight; 415-861-7075)
4. Chop Shop (1714 Hayes; 415-922-6846)
5. Cutting Corner (2216 Irving; 415-759-1799)
6. The Cutting Edge Salon (1000 Cortland Ave.; 415-970-3343)
7. Eclipse Hair Design & Beauty Supplies (2047 Polk; 415-776-1225)
8. Face It Hair & Skin Care (2343 Market; 415-431-7233)
9. Grateful Head (103 West Portal Ave.; 415-731-1641)
10. Hair Majesty (82 Holloway Ave.; 415-334-4247)
11. Hair Me Out (1929 Irving; 415-661-2323)
12. Hair Play (1599 Dolores; 415-550-1656)
13. Hair Today (4553 California; 415-752-0995)
14. Hannah & Her Scissors (415-440-6033)
15. Headlights Hair Studio: This is where I get my hair cut. The owner, Glenn De Mattia, is especially good. (494 Hayes; 415-252-9494)
16. Headquarters for Hair (338 Judah; 415-661-1220)
17. Heads Up Haircare (1233 Castro; 415-826-0222)
18. Hot Headz (4027 24th; 415-821-6556)
19. Mane Attraction (103 Carl; 415-753-5500)
20. Maneframe (1813 Polk; 415-441-4279)
21. Mary’s Ocean Waves Beauty Salon: A double pun, considering the shop’s location. (1712 Ocean Ave.; 415-584-7907)
22. Parsnips (2915 Sacramento; 415-409-0004)
23. She Bangz (1619 McAllister; 415-351-2264)
24. Shear Delight Hair Studio (3416 22nd; 415-206-9560)
25. Shear Elegance (3110 Octavia; 415-771-6557)
26. Shear Magic Beauty Salon & Spa (4615 Geary Blvd.; 415-387-6363)
27. Snippety Crickets (3562 Sacramento; 415-441-9363)
28. Urban Roots Hair Studio (165 10th; 415-252-9121)

You can find another excellent list of hair salon names containing puns at monkey blog, some commentary at Dave Young’s Branding Blog, and some photos of British businesses with puns in their names (some of which are hair salons) at Shop Horror.

Recently I read an article about the history of the San Francisco neighborhood I live in, Glen Park. In its early days it was known as “Little Switzerland” because of its hilly terrain and the presence of several Swiss-owned dairies in the area.

This inspired me to find other examples of Switzerland comparisons, and I found that there are many of them. Switzerland invites comparison in a variety of ways—primarily for its mountainous landscape, unique architecture, financial savvy, and political neutrality. The list below includes examples from each of these areas.

1. Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania—Dubbed “America’s Little Switzerland” by the Swiss Tourism board, this picturesque town in the Pocono Mountains has quaint architecture, narrow streets, and a scenic railway running through its center.
2. Ushuaia, Argentina—Sometimes called the “Argentine Switzerland” or “the Switzerland of South America.”
3. West Virginia, USA—This state has long been known as the “Switzerland of America.” At various times, Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, and New Jersey have also been known by this name.
4. Guinea, West Africa—A traveler to mountainous Guinea refers to the country as the “Switzerland of Africa.”
5. Little Switzerland, North Carolina—Named by early residents who saw a resemblance between the local landscape and the Swiss Jura mountains.
6. Doi Tung, Thailand—HRH Princess Srinagarindara of Thailand has built a villa in Doi Tung, the “Switzerland of Thailand,” which features elements of Thai and Swiss architecture.
7. Isle of Man, UK—An article on SpaceMart claims that the Isle of Man is positioning itself as the “Switzerland of Space” in its attempts to lure space companies to base their operations on the island.
8. Silicon Valley, California—The software company BEA aspires to be the “Switzerland of software” because of its user neutrality.

There seems to be a trend lately of parents choosing names for their children that may be considered more traditional. I think this may be a backlash against decades of popular baby names that were newly coined or given new spellings. It’s interesting to see that there are some names that remain popular from one century to another.

2005

1885

Source: Social Security Administration

Update: This post was featured in the October 6, 2006 edition of the Carnival of Pregnancy.

It seems like every time I go to buy toothpaste there are fifty new kinds to choose from. Offering endless combinations of properties (whitening, tartar control, breath-freshening, cavity protection, sensitive teeth formula) in a vast array of media (paste, gel, liquid gel, sparkle gel) and flavors, I usually opt for my old standby, plain mint paste.

Although I find it daunting to have so many choices, I am glad that our toothpaste technology is so advanced. People in other times didn’t have it so easy; they resorted to a lot of strange methods to keep their teeth clean and their breath fresh.

To Freshen the Breath:

• Goat’s milk; white wine; old urine (1st Century C.E.)
• Strawberries (19th Century)

To Protect Against Toothache:

• Pills made of grated garlic and saltpeter, inserted into the ear (3000 B.C.E)
• Wearing bones picked from wolf excrement (1st Century C.E.)
• Washing teeth with tortoise blood three times a year (1st Century C.E.)

To Heal the Gums:

• Ashes from burnt mice, rabbit or wolf heads, ox heels and goat feet (1st Century C.E.)

Items Used To Clean the Teeth:

• “Chew stick”—made from small twigs or tree roots (3000 B.C.E.)
• Linen towel (3rd Century B.C.E.)
• Paste made from burnt bread (18th Century)
• Paste made from dragon’s blood, cinnamon and burnt alum (18th Century)
• Charcoal (19th Century)
• Combination of myrrh, honey and sage (19th Century)
• Combination of cuttlefish bone, cream of tartar, drop lake and clover oil (19th Century)

Sources: The Wisdom Tooth Site and the Oral-B Learning Center

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 choose areas of human experience that are just waiting to be lovingly spoofed (dog shows, the folk music circuit, small-town theater), areas that highlight the all too human need for recognition and the lengths we go to get it.

This fall he returns to the screen (with many of his usual co-stars) with For Your Consideration, a look at the Hollywood awards season. I can’t wait to see this film, especially since Guest newbie Ricky Gervais (The Office) is on board.

Although I wouldn’t presume to give Baron Haden-Guest direction about what his next project should be, here are a few suggestions of what I’d enjoy seeing him tackle.

1. Competitive Figure Skating
2. Child Beauty Pageants
3. Eating Competitions
4. Las Vegas Magic Shows
5. Sci-Fi Conventions
6. Little League baseball
7. Celebrity Chef Culture
8. Professional Blogging

Update: This post was featured in The Carnival of Cinema #2.

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 for rough approximations if you don’t have a ruler or tape measure handy.

• cubit: This is the distance from a man’s elbow to the tip of his middle finger, which would be about 18 inches for the average man today. (Men, of course, did the building at the time the cubit was in regular use; a woman’s “cubit” would typically be shorter.)
• foot: It probably goes without saying that the unit foot was based on the length of a man’s foot.
• span: Stretch out the fingers of your hand so that the tip of your thumb is as far away as possible from the tip of your pinky. That distance is called a “span,” which for most people is almost exactly half a cubit.
• handbreadth: The width of your four fingers where they meet the palm—usually about 4 inches—is a handbreadth or sometimes just a “hand.” The height of horses is usually expressed in hands.
• digit: The width of a finger, which tends to be about 13/16 of an inch.
• thumb: The width of a thumb, which was later used as the basis for the inch.
• fathom: If you stretch out your arms to either side of your body as far as they’ll go, the distance between the tips of your middle fingers will be very close to your height, or about six feet—your own feet, that is—a length also known as a fathom.
• handful: Although we normally use the word handful in the informal sense of “just a little bit,” your hand can serve as a fairly repeatable measure of volume for dry goods such as grains, beans, and seeds.

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 the locals more apt to forgive your inevitable linguistic gaffes.

In that spirit, here are 11 ways to plead ignorance in a foreign language.

1. Catalan: Ho sento, no parlo el català.
2. Croatian: ≈Ωao mi je, ne govorim hrvatski.
3. Czech: Promi≈àte, nemluvím c[caron]esky.
4. Danish: Undskyld, jeg kan ikke tale dansk.
5. Finnish: Anteeksi, en puhu suomea.
6. Flemish: Het spijt me, ik spreek geen Vlaams.
7. Hungarian: Sajnos, nem beszélek magyarul.
8. Luxembourgish: Et deet mer leed, mä ech schwätchen nët Lëtzeburgesch.
9. Maltese: Ma nitkellimx bil-Malti.
10. Norwegian: Beklager, jeg snakker ikke norsk.
11. Polish: Przepraszam, nie mówiƒô po polsku.

Source: BBC

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 mentions that the list originally came from French novelist Marcel Proust (1871–1922). Proust did not actually create the questionnaire that frequently has his name attached, though he did famously answer two versions of it (once at age 13, and a second time at age 20), and thereby gave the lists a certain notoriety. Their original author is unknown.

As it turns out, Lipton’s list differs in three questions from Pivot’s, and neither of the lists has a single question in common with either of Proust’s! But here are all four lists (the last three being approximate French translations).

James Lipton’s Questionnaire

1. What is your favorite word?
2. What is your least favorite word?
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
4. What turns you off?
5. What is your favorite curse word?
6. What sound or noise do you love?
7. What sound or noise do you hate?
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
9. What profession would you not like to do?
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Bernard Pivot’s Questionnaire

1. What is your favorite word?
2. What is your least favorite word?
3. What is your favorite drug?
4. What sound or noise do you love?
5. What sound or noise do you hate?
6. What is your favorite curse word?
7. Who would you like to see on a new banknote?
8. What profession other than your own would you not like to attempt?
9. If you were reincarnated as some other plant or animal, what would it be?
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Marcel Proust’s Questionnaires

At age 13:

1. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
2. Where would you like to live?
3. What is your idea of earthly happiness?
4. To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
5. Who are your favorite fictional heroes?
6. Who are your favorite characters in history?
7. Who are your favorite heroines in real life?
8. Who are your favorite fictional heroines?
9. Who is your favorite painter?
10. Who is your favorite musician?
11. What quality do you most admire in a man?
12. What quality do you most admire in a woman?
13. What is your favorite virtue?
14. What is your favorite occupation?
15. Who would you have liked to be?

At age 20:

1. What is your most marked characteristic?
2. What quality do you most like in a man?
3. What quality do you most like in a woman?
4. What do you value most in your friends?
5. What is your principal defect?
6. What is your favorite occupation?
7. What is your dream of happiness?
8. What to your mind would be the greatest misfortune?
9. What would you like to be?
10. In what country would you like to live?
11. What is your favorite color?
12. What is your favorite flower?
13. What is your favorite bird?
14. Who are your favorite prose writers?
15. Who are your favoite poets?
16. Who are your favorite fictional heros?
17. Who are your favorite fictional heroines?
18. Who are your favorite composers?
19. Who are your favorite painters?
20. Who are your heroes in real life?
21. Who are your favorite heroines of history?
22. What are your favorite names?
23. What do you most dislike?
24. What historical figures do you most despise?
25. What event in military history do you most admire?
26. What reform do you most admire?
27. What natural gift would you most like to possess?
28. How would you like to die?
29. What is your present state of mind?
30. To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
31. What is your motto?