Australia follows British rather than American spelling conventions, with only one exception that we know of: The Labor Party, the current governing party of Australia. Why not "Labour?" In an effort to "modernise" the name, it was changed from Labour to Labor in 1912, influenced by the American labor movement. (Thanks to Byron Walden of Santa Clara, Calif.)

The book "Please Stand By," a history of early television, is riddled with errors. A few of the many: The surnames of TV announcer Johnny Olson and comedian Ole Olsen are interchanged, George Gershwin is listed as an attendee of the 1939 World's Fair (he died in 1937), and composer Burt Bacharach is mentioned as the host of a 1940s game show (it was his father).

The aptly named publisher of this woebegone book: Overlook Press.

You're all familiar, we're sure, with the word "ruthless," meaning "without pity." The "less" part means "without," as in many other English words, but who or what is the "ruth" in "ruthless?"
A) A sprite from Scandinavian folklore
B) A word meaning "pity"
C) A legendary pirate
D) A region of Eastern Europe

Previous answer: The set of waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls is part of the Niagara River.

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