The nicotine patch

The creators of the nicotine patch could not get approval to conduct their research on human subjects so they performed the initial tests of the patch on themselves.

Herbert Matthews

Herbert Matthews was a reporter and editorialist for the New York Times who revealed that Fidel Castro was still alive, though the Cuban government had claimed that he was killed during the July 26 movement's landing.

Algae gas

Algae gas is a biofuel which many scientists and venture capitalists are considering.

Cornell Capa

Cornell Capa was a Hungarian-American photographer. He died on May 23, 2008.

Qin Dynasty

The Qin Dynasty (pronounced 'chin') was a dynasty in China that lasted from 221 BC to 210 BC under the emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. This is where we get the name 'China.'

Nairobi

The city of Nairobi, Kenya averages about 10 vehicle hijackings per day.

Jack Kemp

Jack Kemp was Bob Dole's running mate in 1996.

Bisphenol A

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a chemical used to make polycarbonate plastcs including in baby bottles. Its effects on humans are not entirely known but in lab animals, it has been known to cause breast and testicular cancer, diabetes, and hyperactivity.

Watch the video about BPA on Bill Moyers.

Art Bell

Art Bell is an American broadcaster known for his paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM.

Men's brains

Men's brains are 8-10% larger than women's brains.

Jack and Jill of America

Jack and Jill of America is a family organization that provides cultural, social, civic and recreational activities that stimulate and expand the mind to enhance life. It is primarily for middle and upper class black families.

Modern day slaves

There are currently 27 million slaves around the world.

Go to freetheslaves.net for more information.

Vesak

Vesak is the day in which Buddhists celebrate the birth of Buddha.

Leonel Fernandez

Leonel Fernandez is the current president of the Dominican Republic.

Bistro

A bistro is a "small informal restaurant."

Lou Walters

Lou Walters, Barbara Walters' dad, opened the first nightclub in the Latin Quarter.

The Big Hole

The Big Hole is a huge open-pit mine in Kimberley, South Africa and claimed to be the largest hole excavated by hand.

Japan's education system

Japan has year-round schooling.

Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

For forty years between 1932 and 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) conducted an experiment on 399 black men in the late stages of syphilis. These men, for the most part illiterate sharecroppers from one of the poorest counties in Alabama, were never told what disease they were suffering from or of its seriousness. Informed that they were being treated for "bad blood," their doctors had no intention of curing them of syphilis at all.

The data for the experiment was to be collected from autopsies of the men, and they were thus deliberately left to degenerate under the ravages of tertiary syphilis. "As I see it," one of the doctors involved explained, "we have no further interest in these patients until they die."

Suicide rate among older people

Americans 65 years of age or older are more likely to commit suicide than people of other age groups.

L. Ron Hubbard

L. Ron Hubbard was the founder of the Church of Scientology.

Ft. Wayne

Ft. Wayne, Indiana is believed to have the nation's highest concentration of Burmese refugees.

George Washington to John Adams

When George Washington transferred power to president-elect John Adams in 1797, it was the first time in recorded human history that leadership of a great nation was passed from one man to a non-relative without death, rebellion, or violence being the cause.

Maria Shriver

Maria Shriver is John Kennedy's niece.

Old Man of the Lake

The Old Man of the Lake is the name given to a tall stump of tree which has been bobbing vertically in Oregon's Crater Lake for more than a century.

California could be its own country

California is the world's 8th largest economy.

Cinco de Mayo

On May 5th, 1862, the French attacked the city of Puebla, Mexico, but under the leadership of Texas-born Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin, the Mexican Army was triumphant in the battle.

The first celebrations of Cinco de Mayo started a year later in California, which had just become part of the Union. The holiday is celebrated throughout the U.S. but is virtually ignored in Mexico.

Hiram Revels

Hiram Revels became the first black U.S. senator in 1870. He represented Mississippi.

Martin Cooper

Martin Cooper invented the world's first cell phone in 1973.

Minamata disease

Minamata disease, discovered in Minamata, Japan, is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning.

Granita Pact

The Granita Pact was a deal between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in which Blair was given the power to lead the Labour Party in 1997 and Brown was guaranteed the right to take over after Blair's resignation.