Titanic

Philadelphia's Billy Carter, a first-class passenger of the "Titanic," brought along his 35-horsepower Renault motorcar, packed away in the ship's hold. Carter also brought 24 polo sticks, 60 shirts and 15 pairs of shoes for the voyage.

Nose

Sixteenth-century Dutch humanist Erasmus offered this advice for blowing the nose: "to blow your nose on your hat or clothing is rustic . . . nor is it much more polite to use your hand . . . . It is proper to wipe the nostrils with a handkerchief and to do this while turning away, if more honorable people are present."

Anthem

One of the world's best known tunes is Britain's anthem "God Save the Queen." That's because the same melody is used for patriotic songs in Germany, Russia, Sweden, Lichtenstein and the U.S.

Flea

Under ideal conditions, a flea might live for as long as a year. But the typical flea survives for only two or three months. And without a reliable host for food, the flea may die after only a few days.

Truman

While running for his first political office in 1922, Harry Truman went through Ku Klux Klan initiation rites to help his chances of winning the county election. But it's reported that he refused to join the organization when he learned of its agenda, earning himself fierce political enemies.

Insects

Not everyone agrees on how an insect sounds. English speakers describe the sound a bee makes as bzzz. But the Japanese say it bunbun, and Germans prefer summ summ. Korean speakers insist that bees sound more like boong-boong.

Cotton

Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin, got his start, forging nails during the Revolutionary War. After the war, however, England flooded the American market with nails, bringing prices to record lows. Whitney switched to making hatpins and enjoyed a near-monopoly in his section of Massachusetts.