What's a palatschinke?

Search: palatschinke

Why: On Suri Cruise Is Magic!:

“I’m not too old to be carried and I’m most not certainly not too old for a balloon. Now, let’s go find a palatschinke spot. I NEED A PALATSCHINKE immediately.”

Answer: A delicious crêpe! It is the Austrian / Bavarian name / version of the thin pancake. Search results also come back suggesting "palatschinken."

Source: Wikibooks

The More You Know: Get ready to gag:

From Hungarian palacsinta, from Romanian plăcintă (cake), from Latin placenta (cake)

What. It's true.

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Who were Estella Havisham's real parents?

Search: estella havisham

Why: On the Library Science Degree's list of the The 50 Most Hated Characters in Literary History:

20.) Estella Havisham

Great Expectations

Author: Charles Dickens

Raised by the cracked, bitter Miss Havisham, Estella mirrors her adopted mother’s spite towards the world (particularly men), taking sadistic delight in turning sweet protagonist Pip’s little infatuation against him.

I read that book 13 years ago.

Answer: Abel Magwitch (Pip's convict / benefactor) and Molly, Miss Havisham's maid!

In the 1998 film adaptation (which I have seen upwards of 1,000 times), the convict (called Lustig) is played by Robert De Niro and the maid isn't even in it - which is OK, because they sort of gloss over the fact that Estella isn't Miss Havisham (now Ms. Dinsmoor)'s real daughter anyway. Also, Pip (Finn) paints Gwyneth Paltrow nekkid (paying very careful attention to her nips) while listening to Pulp.

Source: SparkNotes

The More You Know: I was just thinking, "I should really 'read' another Charles Dickens book soon," but when I went to put one on my Simply Audiobooks queue, I saw this:

Exciting!

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How old are the children on "Jersey Shore"?

Search: jersey shore

Why: I am watching the heartbreaking Season 2 finale finally (jk, this is like the 3rd episode I've ever seen). All these kids are jerks.

Answer: Way too old:

• Angelina - 22 (b. 1988)
  
• Jenni / JWOWW - 24 (b. 2/86)
  
• Mike / The Situation - 28 (b. 6/29/82)
  
• Nicole / Snooki - 22 (b. 11/23/87)
  
• Pauly D - 30 (b. 7/5/80)
  
• Ronnie - 23 (b. 5/13/87?)
• Sammi / Sweetheart - 23 (b. 3/14/87)
  
• Vinny - 22 (b. 11/11/87?)
  

Also, a new personal person will join the cast in Season 3 (which just finished filming back in the Dirty Jerz). Snooki's intelligent and orange friend Deena is 23.

MTV Shows

Source: MTV.com, and I also searched for them separately. You're welcome.

The More You Know: My favorite is milquetoast Vinny. Who is yours?

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What's the origin of the word "muumuu"?

Search: muumuu

Why: I just saw someone else spell it "moo moo." On TresSugar "Group Therapy":

I hate clothes shopping because they don't make clothes for short fat women, unless it's a moo moo.

Answer: It's Hawaiian! And it's ca-razy!

The word mu'umu'u means "amputated" in Hawaiian, and relates to the effects of Hansen's Disease (aka leprosy) during the Hawaiian missionary period (1780s-1920s).

Originally it was a shorter, informal version of the more formal holokū., the original name for the Mother Hubbard dress introduced by missionaries to Hawaii in the 1820s. The holokū featured long sleeves and a floor-length unfitted dress falling from a high-necked yoke. Over the years, the holokū approximated more closely to European and American fashions. It might have a fitted waist, and even a train for evening. As the holokū became more elaborate, the muumuu, a shortened version, became popular for informal wear.

Source: Wikipedia

The More You Know:

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What's the origin of the word "ghetto"?

Search: ghetto etymology

Why: Elvis Presley's lovely "In the Ghetto" just came on my iPod Genius Mix - which, by the way, started with some Bright Eyes song that I accidentally clicked, later played "Fembot" by Robyn, and is now playing a live version of "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard."

Anyway, despite "In the Ghetto" being about poor folk in Chicago, I know ghettos were originally areas of concentrated Jewish population in Italy.

Answer: Nobody knows! It's mainly Italian. Theories of origin.

• Yiddish get, "deed of separation" (like what you have to get [get!] for a Jewish divorce)
  
• Venetian getto, "foundry" - there was one near the site of that city's ghetto in 1516)
• Egitto "Egypt," from L. Aegyptus (presumably in memory of the exile)
• Italian borghetto, "small section of a town" (borough + ghetto)
  
• Venetian ghetor or ghet, "slag" - not the slag you're thinking of, but "a partially vitreous by-product of smelting ore to separate the metal fraction from the unwanted fraction"

Source: EtymOnline, Wikipedia

The More You Know: Maybe you would like to hear Elvis's dynamite rendition of "Always on My Mind" (though I still prefer the one by Pet Shop Boys):

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How many kids did Ethel Kennedy have?

Search: ethel kennedy

Why: Glo posted this Matt Damon quote from Jezebel:

He has three now, is expecting another, and says of his wife: "Lucy's in her third trimester for the fourth time; I think that's about enough to ask of any woman. I don't want to turn her into Ethel Kennedy."

Wowzers:

Answer: 11! Holy! (She is RFK's widow, btw.) They are:

1. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (b. 1951)
2. Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (b. 1952)
3. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (b. 1954)
4. David Anthony Kennedy (1955–1984)
5. Mary Courtney Kennedy Hill (b. 1956)
6. Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (1958–1997)
7. Mary Kerry Kennedy (b. 1959)
8. Christopher George Kennedy (b. 1963)
9. Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy (b. 1965)
10. Douglas Harriman Kennedy (b. 1967)
11. Rory Kennedy Bailey (b. 1968)

Jicydnotice, 2 of them are named Mary. Here she is with 10 of them, including both Marys:

The 11th (Rory) was born 6 months after Robert was killed. Also, it was her wedding that John-John and Carolyn were flying to when they crashed in 1999, :(

Source: Wikipedia

The More You Know: In case you are in the mood to be totally bummed out, I just re-stumbled onto Matt Logelin's blog, which I saw the first time a few years ago when I was looking at apartments in his neighborhood. He's a single dad because - get this - his wife died of a pulmonary embolism 27 hours after giving birth. She collapsed on the way to the wheelchair she would ride in to touch her baby for the first time. Wtf. Read the totally horrible beginning of the story here.

OK, have a great weekend!

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I want to see a picture of a gnudi

Search: gnudi

Why: On "The 10 Types of Pasta You Should Know How to Pronounce" on Lemondrop:

One more related pasta, for extra credit: gnudi (nyOO-dee), which comes from the word for nude and means "nude dumpling." The pasta is a ricotta ravioli with no pasta on the outside. (This does beg the question of what, exactly, defines a pasta, but as we found out, that's a whole different blog post ...)

That sounds so good.

Answer: Omg.

Source: Google Images

The More You Know: Is it pasta? I don't think so:

pasta n. Any of a variety of edible unleavened doughey preparations made from flour, eggs and water, originating in Italy, and shaped into various forms, such as solid strings (as spaghetti), hollow tubes, or layered squares (ravioli). They may be mixed with various sauces, often having a tomato base, or filled with meat or cheese fillings.

Although according to this recipe, gnudi does have egg and a little flour in it. Make it tonight!

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What's the origin of the word "bellwether"?

Search: bellweather; bellwether

Why: Last night on "Which Way, LA?" they were talking about Jerry Brown and Mae Whitman, and someone said something about some group of people being a bellwether. (I got distracted thinking about bell curves and forgot to note details.)

Answer: It's bell + wether, a castrated male sheep!

A bellwether is a leader or chief. Lately it is used most often to mean indicator or predictor, as in "Vermont is a bellwether state." This usage arises from the idea that a majority of like individuals or groups follow the bellwether. Originally a bellwether was the lead sheep of a flock and wore a bell so the shepherd could more easily find him. Since Anglo-Saxon times, the bellwether was traditionally a castrated male.

Ding-a-ling

Source: Writer's Block

The More You Know: That page lists the histories a whole bunch of other interesting expressions related to music terms. Very quickly:

• "I'll be there with bells on" - American settlers put bronze bells on their wagons so that when they arrived at their destinations, the ringing would announce the arrival of a party with friendly intentions and not stealy or rapey intentions.
  
• "Marches to the beat of a different drummer" - Predating Thoreau and Walden (1850), each European army used a drummer to keep time as they marched and to signal various orders. Anyone marching to a different drummer was in some other army and, therefore, probs had different views.
• "Hell’s bells" - Shortened from "hell's bells and buckets of blood" (which is way better), it originated on 17th century pirate ships.
• "Blow your own horn" - Originally "blow your own trumpet," medieval heralds blew trumpets to announce the arrival of the king. Of course, any old Todd Merchant or other Ashley Commoner who wanted to announce his arrival had to blow his own horn like a chump.
  

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What's the difference between marsala and masala?

Search: chicken marsala masala

Why: Summer said she was eating Marsala Curry, but then she said it was from this jar:

Due to confusion about what the hell mar/sala is, I have avoided foods labeled with either word all my life.

Answer: One is Italian, and one is Indian!

• Chicken Marsala is Italian and made with wine that comes from the Sicilian city Marsala
  

• Chicken Masala is Indian, made with a masala, "mixture" of spices -n- shit.
  

Source: Yahoo! Answers

The More You Know: Marsala wine is also used in some rich Italian desserts, like shortcake, tiramisu, and zabaglione, which I will be eating as soon as possible. Guys, I love custard.

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What is Omri Katz up to?

Search: omri katz

Why: I was just thinking about how I haven't watched Hocus Pocus even once this month.

Answer: BFN! He was in one 1999 episode of "Freaks and Geeks" (which I will be watching tonight) and played a tattoo artist on "General Hospital" in 2000. Then he was in a 2002 short film called Journey into Night that has a 1.7/10 rating on IMDb.

Zizy on livejournal found this video of him in a short film called Perfect Girl, apparently from 2006. I haven't watched it yet, so don't get mad at me if it's the worst 10:28 you've ever spent:

I'm pretty sure that junt was filmed in Israel, where Katz's parents came from, btw.

Source: IMDb, LiveJournal

The More You Know: The only other person I've ever heard of being named Omri was the kid from The Indian in the Cupboard.

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What's with the names of Sallie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac?

Search: sallie mae

Why: I just saw this headline: "Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac bailouts could hit $363 billion." Boohoo. It just so happens that I was worrying about Sallie Mae ruining my life this very morning.

Answer: I can't believe I didn't know this.

• Sallie Mae - Student Loan Marketing (SLM Corporation)
• Fannie Mae - Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA)
• Freddie Mac - Federal Loan Home Mortgage Corporation (FLHMC)

Well, that one doesn't really work. But there's also:

• Ginnie Mae - Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA)
  

Did everyone know this except me? I feel like a buffoon.

Source: Wikipedia

The More You Know: Sallie Mae did not manage to ruin my life, by the way - not anymore than my graduate degree has managed to make my life better - but have you checked your credit score lately? Maybe give it a once-over before you apply for a super awesome apartment.

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Who played Derek Smeath in "Confessions of a Shopaholic"?

Search: derek smeath

Why: I am watching that movie for the first time. I accidentally read that book a few summers ago when I found it in our family's condo in Destin / Rosemary Beach. The guy who plays debt collector Derek Smeath looks like Corbett and Alissa's friend Craig.

Answer: Robert Stanton! Compare:

Source: IMDb

The More You Know: Craig is a member of Left Right Seven, who posted a brand new "Missed Connection" video just this morning! Feast your eyes on it here. Feast them!

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Who played the bald doctor in "Knocked Up"?

Search: knocked up

Why: It was on earlier today, and I was like, "Hey, it's the dean from 'Community'!" (which I had watched even earlier today, because I still hadn't watched the one from last week).

Then I was watching the "Friends" episode 'The Last One,' and I saw that guy again sitting next to Rachel on the plane, all, "This plane doesn't even have a phalange."

And then I was like, "Wait, what are the odds? What are they."

Answer: J.P. Manoux! And the other guy is Jim Rash. Compare:

Which one's which, you ask? Exactly.

Source: IMDb

The More You Know: Do you remember when Dr. Gregory House sat next to Rachel when she was flyin to London? And why is that the second time I've mentioned him this week? I don't even watch that show.

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What is a cousin once removed?

Search: cousin once removed

Why: Brad said he was in love with one of his. Yipe! It makes for a funny joke, but I'm not really sure what one is.

Answer: "Once removed" really means "one generation removed," so it's either your parent's first cousin (like my dad's cousin Iris) or the child of your first cousin (like my 1st cousin Jennifer's son Andrew). Look at this chart!

Here is another chart I may or may not understand:

Source: Wikipedia

The More You Know: When two siblings reproduce with two siblings from another family, those kids are called double cousins, and they should probably stay away from each other.

Winston Churchill's American grandfather Leonard Jerome (1818 - 1891) and great uncle Lawrence Jerome (1820 - 1888), brothers, married two sisters, Clara and Catherine Hall, respectively. Clara was the American grandmother of Winston. Thus, Jenny Jerome (1854 - 1921), Winston's mother, was the double first cousin of Lawrence's son William Travers Jerome (1859 - 1934), famous New York District Attorney.

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What's the difference between "prognosis" and "diagnosis"?

Search: diagnosis prognosis

Why: Dr. Gregory House is a diagnostician. Etheline Tenenbaum asks, "What's the prognosis?" It seems like pro means "first" and dia means "2," but I don't know Greek.

Answer: I am so wrong!

Diagnosis means a determination of what's wrong with you right now. Prognosis means an estimation or a projection of how your health will be in the future.

"Dia-" meaning through or across
"Pro-" meaning forward

So the diagnosis identifies the illness, and the prognosis predicts the outcome and the future for the patient. A prognosis could be grim or good.

Source: AnswerBag

The More You Know: Sometimes I am a Tenenbaum for Halloween, but not this year.

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Who sings that song that goes "I spent a week away from you last night"?

Search: "week away from you last night"

Why: I know that voice. I want to believe it's the highly anticipated comeback of The Verve Pipe, but it is probably someone dumb like Kings of Leon.

Answer: Oh ha, it's Lifehouse. It's called "All In." Buy it here on iTunes.

The lyrics go like:

And I'm all in, nothing left to hide
I'm falling harder than a landslide
I spent a week away from you last night
And now I'm calling, calling out your name
Even if I lose the game, I'm all in I'm all in tonight
Yeah I'm all in, I'm all in for life

Source: SongMeanings.net

The More You Know: Lifehouse's hits of yore include:

• "Hanging by a Moment" (2000)
• "Sick Cycle Carousel" (2001)
• "You and Me" (2005)
• "First Time" (2007)

and my personal favorite (and a fixture on 85% of my mixes),

• "Breathing" (2001)
  

featuring the hook from "Sunny Came Home" and lyrics about stalking:

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I want to hear the Superdrag song "Sucked Out"

Search: sucked out superdrag

Why: I have been listening to old "Morning Becomes Eclectic" shows all day (The Morning Benders were on yesterday; MGMT is on Monday [they were on World Cafe earlier today]), and there's one of Nada Surf from May. They toured with Superdrag in 1996, but I can't really recall their hit single.

Answer: Haha, oh yeah. Get that guy a lozenge:

Source: YouTube

The More You Know: I will be singing this for the next 24 hours. Go!

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What countries does the equator touch?

Search: equator

Why: Mike is going to Colombia in November. He described it as "South of the Border," which it totally is, but I was thinking "Southern Hemisphere." We got to talking about how far south the equator actually is and ended up pulling up a map. I'm still thinking about it.

Answer: It touches 13 countries!

1. Brazil
2. Colombia
3. Democratic Republic of the Congo
4. Ecuador
5. Gabon
6. Indonesia (on 5 different islands [out of 17,508])
   
7. Kenya
8. Kiribati (only water, not land)
   
9. Maldives (samesies)
   
10. Republic of the Congo
11. São Tomé and Príncipe
12. Somalia
13. Uganda

(Equator in red, prime meridian in blue)

Source: Wikipedia, infoplease

The More You Know: There are a bunch of these signs throughout Kenya along the thing. I have some pictures standing under one of them 10 years ago, but I don't know where they are.

Also, just in case you are ever in the Cash Cab, the Galapagos Islands are a part of Ecuador.

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What's a gamine?

Search: gamines

Why: In the article "Clinton Kelly of 'What Not to Wear' Shares the Top 10 Mistakes We Make" on Lemondrop:

1. The "I Give Up" Dress: Shudder. And yet, every once in a while we're struck by that delusional belief that we, too, can wear some shapeless, gamines-only garment not even Chloe Sevigny could pull off.

Answer: Well,

1. An often homeless girl who roams about the streets; an urchin
2. A girl or woman of impish appeal
3. A slim and boyish girl or young woman; an elfish tomboy

It's French, the feminine form of gamin, originally meaning urchin, waif or playful, naughty child.

The word was used in English from about the mid-19th century (for example, by William Makepeace Thackeray in 1840 in one of his Parisian sketches), but, in the 20th century, came to be applied in its more modern sense of a slim, often boyish, wide-eyed young woman who is, or is perceived to be, mischievous, teasing or sexually appealing.

And there's a picture of old whatsherface:

Source: The Free Dictionary, Wikipedia

The More You Know: Did you ever see Kids? That was Chloe Sevigny's first role (she was 19), and she showed her vag in it. I remember watching it on the TV when I was in middle school. It was a real bummer.

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What does the lead singer of Passion Pit look like?

Search: passion pit; Michael Angelakos

Why: I am listening to "Seaweed Song." That's a high-ass voice.

Answer: Oh, just like a guy. His name is Michael Angelakos and he is from Buffalo.

Source: Wikipedia, Google Images

The More You Know: Who else is going to see The Morning Benders tonight? Show of hands.

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Who is Terry Nazon?

Search: Terry Nazon

Why: In the Lemondrop article "Dating Disasters - What's Fixable, and What's Unforgivable" by [Redacted] Guy:

I'm going to assume as a gentle reader of this progressive-minded website that you aren't racist, homophobic, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-Canadian, or pro-Bieber. My guess is you, like me, may accidentally fall prey to more of the garden-variety verbal buffoonery, like casually mocking astrology to someone who goes suddenly ashen-faced because their mom is Terry Nazon (look her up).

Answer: Terry Nazon World Famous Celebrity Astrologer #1 Best Astrologer!

No really:

Let her read your natal birth chart!

Source: TerryNazon.com

The More You Know: Here is a convo I overheard the other night.

H: Yo mane, what's your sign?
G: Scorpio.
H: You got Pisces tendencies.
G: I don't know anything about astrology.

Well, me neither. All I know is that with the Moon in Capricorn influencing my solar 12th House of solitude and behind the scenes activities, today is my day to work hard and complete tasks, which I really feel is what I'm doing right now. Also, in 2010, a long distance relationship will heat up my cold winter nights. I look forward to it! Thanks, Terry!

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What's the song in the Subaru Legacy commercial?

Search: subaru "i wanted love"

Why: I'm pretty sure it's by The Black Keys.

Answer: It totally is! It's called "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys. Buy it on iTunes here.

Lyrics go like:

I wanted love, I needed love
Most of all, most of all
Someone said true love was dead
but I'm bound to fall
Bound to fall for you
Oh what can I do?

Source: YouTube

The More You Know: Do you know that song "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell & The Drells? I first heard it on the Soul Spectacular 4 disc set that I swiped from my dad. He sounds like Jimmy Fallon:

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Where does loofah come from?

Search: loufa; loofa; loofah

Why: I am editing an article about making your own spa, and the girl spelled loofah like "loufa." I think it comes out of the sea.

Answer: Well first, it's actually luffa. And second, get ready to have your mind blown: it's a plant that grows on a vine! WHAT! Cultivated in India and the Middle East, the fruit is a cucurbit, related to gourds, melons and cucumbers. You can also eat it, and you may have seen it on a menu listed as Chinese okra. Well, I never.

When mature, the fruit becomes a "tough mass of cellulose fibers." Use it whole or cut it up or put it in soap or put it on a stick or use it to wash your dishes. Anything goes!

Source: WiseGeek, Wikipedia, Luffa.info

The More You Know: When we first moved to Boston, Amy told me and Klepdog that she was glad neither of us filled up the bathtub with girly shit like loofahs and shower gel. The truth is that now I have a poufy sponge thing and some pomegranate body wash with moisturizing microbeads. I use it to scrub.

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Which came first: A&W Root Beer or restaurants?

Search: a&w

Why: We passed some restaurants on the way back from Las Vegas.

Answer: Root beer!

• 1919 - Roy Allen starts selling root beer for 5¢ at a stand in Lodi, CA. He opens another stand in Sacramento, believed to be the country's first drive-in.

• 1922 - Allen partners with Frank Wright. Get it? Allen & Wright.
• 1933 - The root beer is such a success that they have over 170 franchised outlets in the Midwest and West.

• 1950 - With over 450 restaurants operating nationwide, Allen retires and sells the business to Gene Hurtz, who forms the A&W Root Beer Company.
• 1971 - Cans and bottles of A&W root beer are sold on grocery shelves.

Source: AWRestaurants.com

The More You Know: A&W Root Beer and A&W Cream Soda were among the first flavors offered by Jelly Belly in 1976. (The others were Very Cherry, Tangerine, Lemon, Green Apple, Grape, and Licorice.) Buy me this:

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I want to watch the fourfour guy's "It Gets Better" video

Search: fourfour it gets better; fourfour twitter

Why: Morgan, Jason, and Abby all posted about the It Gets Better Project on Facebook:

"You gotta give 'em hope."

Nine out of 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment at school, and gay teens are four times likelier to attempt suicide. Many LGBT kids who do kill themselves live in rural areas, exurbs, and suburban areas, places with no gay organizations or services for queer kids.

"My heart breaks for the pain and torment you went through, Billy Lucas," a reader wrote after I posted about Billy Lucas to my blog. "I wish I could have told you that things get better."

I had the same reaction: I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.

But gay adults aren't allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don't bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models.

Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don't have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better. We can reach these kids.

Here's what you can do: Make a video. Tell them it gets better.

I've launched a channel on YouTube—www­.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject—to host these videos. My normally camera-shy husband and I already posted one. We both went to Christian schools and we were both bullied—he had it a lot worse than I did—and we are living proof that it gets better. We don't dwell too much on the past. Instead, we talk mostly about all the meaningful things in our lives now—our families, our friends (gay and straight), the places we've gone and things we've experienced—that we would've missed out on if we'd killed ourselves then.

"You gotta give 'em hope," Harvey Milk said.

Today we have the power to give these kids hope. We have the tools to reach out to them and tell our stories and let them know that it does get better. Online support groups are great, GLSEN does amazing work, the Trevor Project is invaluable. But many LGBT youth can't picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can't imagine a future for themselves. So let's show them what our lives are like, let's show them what the future may hold in store for them.

The video my husband and I made is up now—all by itself. I'd like to add submissions from other gay and lesbian adults—singles and couples, with kids or without, established in careers or just starting out, urban and rural, of all races and religious backgrounds. (Go to www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject to find instructions for submitting your video.) If you're gay or lesbian or bi or trans and you've ever read about a kid like Billy Lucas and thought, "Fuck, I wish I could've told him that it gets better," this is your chance. We can't help Billy, but there are lots of other Billys out there—other despairing LGBT kids who are being bullied and harassed, kids who don't think they have a future—and we can help them.

They need to know that it gets better. Submit a video. Give them hope.

I'm pretty sure I saw Rich (who writes the ANTM recaps that keep me watching that abomination) tweet tweet about it the other day, but I didn't watch because I don't have sound at work.

Answer: Oh, lol, everyone is a kidder. Rich is songstuck:

RT: orimental @songstuck This is my It Gets Better video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEggoXwoXEY

Source: fourfour, Tweeter

The More You Know: But srsly folks, people who have posted It Gets Better videos (for The Trevor Project) so far include Tim Gunn, Chris Colfer, Michael Urie, Zachary Quinto, Sarah Silverman, Adrianne Curry(?), Joel Madden(??), Ke$ha(???), and Jake Shears. Do you know who that is? Do you even know???

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How long is a jiffy?

Search: jiffy

Why: Kylie from 2Pz posted this, which I recognize as bein from "Learn Something New Every Day":

(except the original didn't say that thing at the bottom:)

and this retraction, maybe from a site called "Don't Believe Everything You Read, Darlings":

Anyway, when I went to investigate, I saw this:

Answer: It means different things in different circles!

• For most - 0.01 second
• In computer engineering - Length of time between successive microprocessor clock cycles

This interval gets shorter as clock speeds increase. In a computer with a 2- gigahertz microprocessor, the jiffy is 0.5 nanosecond or 5 x 10 ^-10 second. In a machine with a 3-gigahertz microprocessor, the jiffy is 0.333 nanosecond (3.33 x 10 ^-10 second).

• Length of time required for one alternating-current utility power cycle; in US and Canada - 1/60 second, in other countries - 1/50 second

Other possibilities!

• 0.001 seconds
• 1 nanosecond / Length of time it takes a beam of light to require 1 foot
• 3.3357 x 10 ^-11 seconds / Length of time it takes light to travel 1 cm
• 3.3357 x 10 ^-24 second / Length of time it takes a light particle to travel from one side of a nucleon to the other
  

Source: WhatIs.com

The More You Know: Those all seem like really really short amounts of time, right? But also:

It is thought to have first been used in England during the 1700s, and referred to a brief but indeterminate time. In some contexts, it is used as a put-off: the expression in a jiffy can mean "maybe now, maybe never."

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Why do onions make you cry?

Search: onions cry

Why: Last night while Chandler was stirring us some fry:

ME: Do onions not hurt your eyes?
HIM: Sometimes, but I cut the thing out.
ME: What thing?
HIM: The thing that makes your eyes water.
ME: Oh, I thought it was an enzyme. Anyway, mine are hurting bad.
HIM: Huh, they shouldn't.
ME: I don't know. I'm way over here.

They might still hurt. That or I'm supes tired.

Answer: Enzymes! Vindicated!

When you cut an onion, you break cells, releasing their contents. Amino acid sulfoxides form sulfenic acids. Enzymes that were kept separate now are free to mix with the sulfenic acids to produce propanethiol S-oxide, a volatile sulfur compound that wafts upward toward your eyes. This gas reacts with the water in your tears to form sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid burns, stimulating your eyes to release more tears to wash the irritant away.

FYI, you have 2 types of tears coming out of your face: basal (which lubricate your eyes) and reflexive (which are triggered when irritants like dust, smoke, and onion fumes touch the lachrymal glands in your iLidz).

Source: Chemistry.About.com, HowStuffWorks,

The More You Know: There are a few ways to prevent your weeping:

• Get a tearless onion
  
• Wear goggles while you cut
• Run a fan
• Refrigerate the onion before cutting to slow the chemical reactions
• Cut the onion under water
• Cook it (like into an Awesome Blossom [only 2,170 calories!])
  

Also, there is a gay romance novel named The Happy Onion, in case you are into that sort of thing.

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