Word of the week: "nudiustertian," pronounced "noo-dee-uh-STIR-shun." You've probably never heard of it, but we think it ought to be brought back from its undeserved obscurity. Derived from the Latin phrase "nunc dies tertius est" ("it is now the third day"), it's an adjective meaning "of the day before yesterday," or, by extension, "the latest."

Which weighs more: an ounce of bread or an ounce of water? It's not a silly question, since fluid ounces measure volume, not weight. A gallon of water (128 fluid ounces) weighs about 8 pounds, 5.5 ounces, which works out to a weight of 1.04 ounces for an ounce of water. It can't be a coincidence, for water at least, that the two measures are nearly identical. If you can explain how the definition of a fluid ounce was developed, please let us know.

Which of these cities is closest (in "as the crow flies" miles) to Chicago, Ill.?
A) Anchorage, Alaska
B) Havana, Cuba
C) Mexico City, Mexico
D) San Diego, California

Previous answer: May 1st is celebrated in Hawaii as Lei Day, honoring the floral garland that is a symbol of the state.

TRIVIA FANS: Send the trivia questions you've always wanted answered, or original TriviaBits ideas of your own, with your full name and hometown, to Stan Newman at StanTrivia@aol.com or on a postcard to P.O. Box 69, Massapequa Park, NY 11762.

Stanley Newman is the editor of the Newsday Crossword and author/editor of more than 125 books on crosswords, word games and trivia, including "15,003 Answers: The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia" (Random House). To find out more about Stanley Newman visit StanXwords.com, or e-mail him at StanTrivia@aol.com.
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