The Austin Chronicle

https://www.austinchronicle.com/columns/2023-09-29/mr-smarty-pants-knows/

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

By Mr. Smarty Pants, September 29, 2023, Columns

The German word for towing a car is "abschleppen," but depending on the context, that can also refer to picking someone up in a bar.

A flavorless candy called "Tasteless? Candy." recently hit store shelves in Japan and is growing in popularity. Each piece has 3.1 kilocalories.

Clare Hollingworth, a junior war correspondent at The Daily Telegraph, was the first reporter to break the story about Germany's impending invasion of Poland, which began World War II.

Male palm cockatoos make and use drumming instruments as part of their mating ritual.

According to author Kalton C. Lahue, silent film actress Pearl White, star of the The Perils of Pauline serials, used the term "weenie" for whatever plot device compelled heroes and villains to pursue each other in a story. Her term did not catch on, however, and was later replaced with "MacGuffin."

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