Amy Stewart

March 24. The Sweden Solar System is the world’s largest scale model of the solar system. A spherical building representing the sun is located in Stockholm; other planets and celestial bodies are represented by sculptures and exhibits placed at appropriate distances around Stockholm or along the coast of the Baltic Sea at a scale of […]

March 17. Tobacco plants have more sensitive receptors than dogs do, making it possible that they might someday be used to sniff for drugs or explosives. Their reaction time, thus far, is too slow, as it takes hours or days for their leaves to wilt or wrinkle or discolor in the face of such a […]

March 10. The birthdate, in 1709, of Georg Wilhelm Steller, the man for whom the Steller’s Jay is named. He joined the second expedition of Vitus Jonassen Bering, which was to explore the Siberian coast and the west coast of North America. A storm and ill health forced Bering to turn back; he perished on […]

March 1. Australians prefer not to begin their seasons when the equinox or solstice approaches; they’d rather start them right off at the beginning of the month so as to avoid confusion. Autumn, therefore, begins today in Australia, ready or not. The darkness approaches, the waning of the light, the drawing near of cold. As […]

Feb. 15. In either the Heavy Industrial or Agriculture-Exclusive zones of the city of Ferndale, it is permitted to operate a hog farm, turkey farm, fur farm or frog farm. No definition of “frog farm” is given. The children of that city are advised to consider seriously the career of frog farmer and to undertake […]

Feb. 1. The municipal code of the city of Trinidad numbers 565 pages in length, or roughly 1.8 pages per citizen. Much of it is delightful and gratifying reading, particularly the section entitled Expectoration, which states that no person shall expectorate upon any sidewalk, street or floor in public buildings or upon any other public […]

Jan. 16. January Men, you have made it halfway through the month. Do not, under any circumstances, start imagining your first bitterly, shockingly, bracingly cold drink quite yet. Jan. 17. On Nov. 2, 1983, a Republican president named Ronald Reagan signed into law a bill making today a federal holiday in honor of Martin Luther […]

Dec. 16. Birthdate, in 1775, of Jane Austen. You know what to do. Dec. 17. Many small greenhouses pay their bills in winter by filling their empty, sunlit spaces with poinsettias, making them a virtuous purchase for those who wish to make only virtuous purchases during the holiday season. Dec. 18. We are acquainted with […]

Dec. 1. Birthdate, in 1761, of Anna Maria Grosholtz, later known as Madame Tussaud. As a young woman during the French Revolution she found work at the Palais-Royal waxworks, where she helped create exhibits depicting the vain young Queen sitting in her boudoir. Such voyeuristic tableaux incited rage among the Parisians; the bloody revolution that […]

Nov. 18. Among the summer bulbs soon to be available, none is finer in our climate than the dahlia. Why it flourishes here is something of a mystery; one pictures it in warmer, nearly tropical settings, but somehow it has decided that the seaside works well enough and it thrives, putting out flowers larger than […]

Nov. 1. Tomorrow you will be asked to make a very interesting decision. The appeal of taking an illegal operation and bringing it into the bright light of legitimate commerce is what tempts many of us to vote in favor of it. One envisions clean, well-lit, ecologically sound greenhouses and coffeehouses, frequented by tourists and […]