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itsaret sutthisiri/shutterstock (mosquito). matthew cohen (wasabi)

15

Citronella candles are the best way to keep

mosquitoes out of your yard. The smoke

from citronella candles is as effective as that from

regular candles—and neither helps much. If you

want an all-natural mosquito repellent, try plant-

ing some catnip. (Your cat will thank you too.)

14

Julius Caesar was

born via cesarean

section—and the proce-

dure was named for him.

In Caesar’s time, a ce-

sarean was performed

only on dying women,

and Caesar’s mother

likely lived long enough

to see him attack En-

gland. The origin of the

name is uncertain, but

it might have come

from the Latin caedare,

which means “to cut.”

16

The green paste served with your sushi is wasabi. Wasabi is expensive

and difficult to grow. Since it’s in the same family, most restaurants and

food companies use horseradish (with food coloring) instead. Real wasabi is

more complex and sweeter than what you get in a typical Japanese restaurant.

13

Eskimos have more words for snow than any

other culture. The Canadian Inuit in the Nunavik

region do have more than 50 words for it, and the

Central Siberian Yupik have 40. But the Scots

have the biggest snow vocabulary—421 words.

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