What I learned in the New York Times during the month of May....
5/1: David Letterman called Jay Leno "a bit of a knockwurst." 5/2: Christopher Buckley thought that Tom Rachman's first novel, The Imperfectionists, was so good that he read it twice. 5/3: A California congressman who went to investigate the Jonestown cult was shot by cult members (as were three journalists). Plus: People in Guyana speak English. 5/4: Flights in and out of Ireland have been grounded because of volcano ash from Iceland. 5/5: Grant Achatz's new restaurant in Chicago will sell tickets instead of taking reservations, and tickets will be cheaper on slower nights. 5/6: "Take off your panties," Norman Mailer said to his soon-to-be mistress, Carole Mallory, according to her new memoir. "I want to see your soul." 5/7: Internet cafés are functioning as casinos by allowing patrons to play computer games that resemble slot machines but are technically sweepstakes. Plus; Leona Helmsley's middle name was Mindy. 5/8: In 2009, the most popular names for newborns were Isabella and Jacob, presumably influenced by the Twilight books. 5/9: Beanie Baby magnate Ty Warner also owns the Four Seasons Hotel in New York. 5/10: Only 19 perfect games have been pitched in the history of major league baseball. Plus: The Obama administration wants to restrict Miranda rules for people suspected of terrorism. Plus: Some New York CIty subway signs are porcelain. 5/11: A Brooklyn tattoo artist has "If you see something, say something" tattooed on her leg. 5/12: The redesigned U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services green card will be green (after being white, pink, blue, and beige). 5/13: To opt out of full disclosure of most information on Facebook, users have to click through more than 50 privacy buttons and choose among a total of more than 170 options. 5/14: Portugal is expected to become the sixth country to allow same-sex marriage, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Norway, and Sweden. 5/15: New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo is romantically involved with "Semi-Homemade" TV personality Sandra Lee. 5/16: The American military continues to hire private spies to work in Pakistan and Afghanistan. 5/17: The most commonly used incandescent light bulb is 60 watts. 5/18: Rats prey on mice. 5/19: Queen Elizabeth II plans on attending Wimbledon for the first time since 1977. 5/20: Beyoncé performed at the Obamas' second state dinner. 5/21: China enforces a law against "crowd licentiousness"—a.k.a. swinging. 5/22: The only time that Roger Federer lost 6-0, 6-0 was in his first tournament, when he was 10 years old. 5/23: A company called PaperG has software that can automatically create ads for local businesses. 5/24: In a sting operation, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, was caught offering access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, for £500,000. Plus: There's a shortage of traffic paint. 5/25: Dengue fever has established itself on Key West. 5/26: After it constructs a new museum downtown, the Whitney may end up sharing its Madison Avenue building with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 5/27: Apple now has a larger market cap than Microsoft. 5/28: From 1932 until this year, applicants to All Souls college at Oxford University had to write essays on one-word themes such as innocence, style, and mercy. 5/29: Author Joe McGinniss, who is writing a book about Sarah Palin, has rented the house next to hers. 5/30: In 1959, ballerina Margot Fonteyn and her husband plotted to overthrow the Panamanian government. Plus: Aston Martin is making a sedan for the first time. 5/31: Women may play professional baseball.
Comments