What I learned in the New York Times during the month of June....
6/1: Cuba's official communist newspaper is called Granma. 6/2: U.S. consulates and embassies may now invite local representatives from the Iranian government to their Independence Day celebrations. 6/3: Canada, France, and Germany recognize same-sex couples in immigration law; the U.S. does not. 6/4: Harvard will endow a chair in gay, lesbian, and transgender studies. 6/5: Fifteen Vermont farms are changing what they feed dairy cows to reduce the amount of methane that cows belch; results are encouraging. 6/6: To determine the number of jobs, the federal government surveys businesses; unemployment data, however, comes from canvassing households. 6/7: In Boston, June 17 (commemorating the Battle of Bunker Hill) and March 17 (Evacuation Day) are holidays for schoolchildren and state and local government employees. 6/8: Fleur Cowles, founder of Flair magazine, died on Friday at the age of 101. 6/9: Offspring of the echidna are called puggles. Plus: The male echidna has a four-headed penis. 6/10: The U.S. government will transfer up to 17 Chinese Muslim prisoners from Guantánamo Bay to the Pacific island of Palau. 6/11: Of the nearly 400 lounge chairs set out in the pedestrian-only areas of Times Square, only 15 have been stolen. 6/12: Madonna has been approved to adopt another child from Malawi, a girl who goes by the name of Mercy. 6/13: In Italian trials, witnesses testify under oath, but defendants do not. 6/14: A man who likes being stepped on earns $200 hour (plus tips) for being a "human carpet" at bars. 6/15: The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, endorsed for the first time the principle of a Palestinian state. 6/16: Reports of gastrointestinal illness from use of public pools and water parks have risen sharply in recent years, according to the CDC. Plus: An algae known as "rock snot" covers river bottoms, smothering organisms that live there. 6/17: President Obama plans to extend benefits—excluding health care—to same-sex partners of federal workers. 6/18: A German company, TG-Gold-Super-Markt, is making vending machines that sell gold; one gram currently costs €30. 6/19: NASA launched an orbiter to measure and map the moon. 6/20: The earliest vibrating beds predated the Industrial Revolution and were powered by household servants. 6/21: Beekeeping is illegal in New York City. 6/22: Greenlanders are now recognized under international law as separate people from Danes. 6/23: In an address to Parliament, President Nicolas Sarkozy said that burqas "will not be welcome in our country." 6/24: There's a tree in the Caribbean called the swizzle stick tree. Plus: Richard Nixon believed in abortion "when you have a black and a white [parent]." 6/25: The U.S. State Department made embassies and consulates rescind any Independence Day invitations extended to Iranian officials. Plus: Tiger Woods's niece, Cheyenne Woods, is making her L.P.G.A. debut. 6/26: Seven of the nine songs on Michael Jackson's Thriller were released as singles—and made Billboard's Top 10. 6/27: After nine centuries, Venice has a female gondolier. 6/28: Carlos Ruiz Zafón, author of The Shadow of the Wind, has a new novel, The Angel's Game. 6/29: David Paterson is the first governor of New York to serve as grand marshal of New York City's gay-pride parade. 6/30: Rhode Island is considering changing its name from Rhode Island and Providence Plantations to just Rhode Island.
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