What I learned in the New York Times during the month of August....
8/1: "I can't self-destruct if I'm vain." —Grace Jones, during a New York City concert. 8/2: The Army is investigating a claim that one of its employees spent more than two years infiltrating antiwar groups. 8/3: Former tennis star Andrea Jaeger is an Anglican Dominican nun. 8/4: Scientists have discovered that the spleen is a reservoir for huge numbers of immune cells called monocytes, which get disgorged in the event of a serious trauma to the body. 8/5: Russian president Dmitri Medvedev called Barack Obama to wish him a happy birthday. 8/6: Don Imus is treating his Stage 2 prostate cancer holistically, with habanero peppers and Japanese soy supplements. Plus: Squeaky Fromme escaped prison for 36 hours in 1987. 8/7: The drug propofol—a white liquid that doctors call "milk of amnesia"—is not classified as a controlled substance. 8/8: Archaeologists have uncovered a 150,000-square-foot country villa that they believe to be the birthplace of Vespasian, the Roman emperor who built the Colosseum. 8/9: A top Iranian judiciary official acknowledged that some detainees arrested after post-election protests had been tortured while in prison. 8/10: Two hundred and fifty prisoners were hurt during an 11-hour riot in Chino, Calif. 8/11: Brioni is now making a T-shirt; it costs $250. 8/12: Padrón peppers aren't spicy unless they're grown near jalapeños or other hot peppers—cross-pollination produces the occasional hot padrón. Also: Meteor showers are really comet dust. 8/13: An Arizona man was sentenced to pick up trash for 300 hours after he was caught leaving jugs of water for illegal immigrants. 8/14: The Philadelphia Eagles signed Michael Vick, who was convicted after his role in a dogfighting ring. 8/15: In July, average temperatures of water at the ocean's surface were the highest ever recorded. 8/16: The U.S. Army allows women to lead some male troops into combat as officers, but not to serve with them in battle. 8/17: In June, Fox Business Network was watched by an average of 21,000 people from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. 8/18: Pugs are "all the rage" in India. 8/19: Friedrich Engels once listed his motto as "take it easy." 8/20: "Palliative care" is what the medical industry called end-of-life treatment. 8/21: The U.S. and Cuba share hurricane-related information. Plus: For the first time in 30 years, the rich are not getting richer. 8/22: Leaders of the country's largest Lutheran denomination voted to allow gay people in committed relationships to serve as clergy (celibate gays were already allowed). 8/23: Women in India have a 1-in-70 chance of dying in childbirth; the risk in the U.S. is 1 in 4,800; in Ireland, it's 1 in 47,600. 8/24: Public health officials are considering promoting routine circumcision for all babies born in the U.S. to reduce the spread of H.I.V. 8/25: Some airlines are enforcing the F.A.A. rule that personal items may not be stored in seatback pockets during takeoff and landing. 8/26: Lincoln Center's redevelopment is costing $1.2 billion. 8/27: Bob Dylan is releasing a Christmas album. 8/28: According to antivirus software maker McAfee, 40 percent of search results for "Jennifer Aniston screen saver" contained viruses. 8/29: Fruit stands have opened at the Yankees' and Mets' stadiums. 8/30: When she started out, Sophie Tucker sang in blackface, removing her black wig and gloves when she took her bows. 8/31: Roger Federer has no middle name.