12 Smooth, Shiny, Totally Transfixing Pebbles of Trivia

Each one more perfect than the last

Tuck them in your coat pocket, and touch them when youre stressed!

The Weird, Backwards Origin of the Word ‘Soy’

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The English word “soy,” along with “soy sauce,” “soybeans” and so on, comes from Japanese. Weirdly, though, not the Japanese word for the beans themselves, but the word shoyu, used for soy sauce. Shoyu became saio, which became soy, and it ended up named for its own sauce.

The Perfect Source of the Figurative Term ‘Astroturfing’

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It’s a word used to refer to fake, manufactured grassroots support. Fake grassroots = Astroturf.

What Exactly Is Brandy, Anyways?

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It’s not a popular drink these days, so fewer people might know how brandy is actually made: by distilling wine.

Keira Knightley’s Easily Missed ‘Star Wars’ Role

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Most people remember Natalie Portman as Queen Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I, but less notice a future star who plays her body double: a 12-year-old Keira Knightley.

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