Small-town celebrity birthplace of the week: Green Cove Springs, in northeast Florida (current population about 6,000). Charles Merrill, who with Edmund Lynch founded Merrill Lynch in 1914, was born there in 1885. Merrill's grandson Peter Magowan is the managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants.

The island of Surtsey, located just off the southwest coast of Iceland, has been part of that nation since 1963. Why not earlier? The island didn't exist before that, having been created by a volcanic eruption that began below sea level. Although erosion has decreased its size by about half of its square-mile area, scientists expect Surtsey to hang around for many more centuries.

According to the World Almanac, the letter of the alphabet that starts the most names of United Nations members is S, with 25.

What vowel starts the name of only one U.N. member?
A) E
B) I
C) O
D) U

Previous answer: Tupelo, Miss., was named for the tupelo trees that are abundant in the area.

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