I Believe Two Things

In searching for tips on not killing poinsettia plants, I found The Poinsettia Pages from the University of Illinois.  They provide this helpful bit of trivia:

A study at Ohio State University showed that a 50 pound child who ate 500 [leaves] might have a slight tummy ache.

I’m glad someone finally researched that!  I’ve been asking for years.  However, how did the study show that, exactly?

I picked up a copy of Harry Potter et la Coupe de Feu from the library for a little practice reading French.  Only one sentence in I got nervous about the translation.  In the American English version, the first sentence reads:

The villagers of Little Hangleton still called it “the Riddle house,” even though it had been many years since the Riddle family had lived there.

This, of course, references Tom Marvolo Riddle, whom we met in The Chamber of Secrets two books ago.  Bien.  Maintenant en Français:

Les habitants de Little Hangleton l’appelaient toujours la maison des « Jeux du sort », même s’il y avait de nombreuses années que la famille Jedusor n’y vivait plus.

Translating roughly back to English, and adding emphasis, that reads:

The villagers of Little Hangleton still called it “the Riddle house,” even though it had been many years since the Jedusor family had lived there.

(Okay, putting “Riddle” back in is a stretch, but it’s the Jedusor that stands out most anyway.)

I didn’t read La Chambre des Secrets en Français, but according to Wikipédia the character we know and love to hate as Tom Marvolo Riddle is known en France as M. Tom Elvis Jedusor.

On the one hand… Elvis?  Really?  On the other hand, the anagram in Chamber of Secrets was one of the two silliest and least believable moments in the entire saga.  Introducing “Marvolo” to make the letters come out right never felt appropriate.

En Français, c’est seulement « Je Suis Voldemort »

The Harvard Pops, whom I just mentioned, and whose concerts I never miss, often make jokes about Harvard in their performances.  When something is gigantic, it might be “bigger than Harvard’s endowment.”  Get it?  Most of them I get.  Some are more esoteric.

Pops Risks it All had a line that went something like (and I paraphrase):

The Rules: You’d have to take the ultimate risk!
Marcus: What, like, Math 55?

I laughed at the time, ’cause I got the gist.  Then I Googled it when I got home to understand more fully.

The math department has a pamphlet to help Freshman choose which of four math courses they might want to take.  The first sentence describing each course is as follows:

• Math 21: A thorough treatment of multi-variable calculus and linear algebra with real-life applications.
• Math 23: A class that covers linear algebra and multivariable calculus while also teaching proof-writing, starting with the basics.
• Math 25: A rigorous treatment of multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and introductions to other topics in advanced mathematics.
• Math 55: This is probably the most difficult undergraduate math class in the country; a variety of advanced topics in mathematics are covered, and problem sets ask students to prove many fundamental theorems of analysis and linear algebra.

Wow.  That is the ultimate risk.

We have the 365 Amazing Trivia Facts calendar at my office, featuring a trivia question every day.  So far this year I have correctly answered two.  One was a Star Trek question.  The other asked what the word “mondegreen” means.

Today’s question read:

What was unique – and controversial – about the doll Growing Up Skipper introduced by Mattel in 1975?

Answer:

When her left arm was turned, she grew taller and developed small breasts and a narrower waistline. Her growth was reversed when her arm was turned in the opposite direction.

Sure it’s disturbing, but I bet more boys started playing with dolls in 1975 than any other year in history.