Born in Kinderhook, New York, in 1782, Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the United States, was the first president to be born a citizen of the United States and not a subject of Great Britain. He's also notable as the only president for whom English was a second language. His parents were of Dutch heritage and spoke Dutch at home, as many Dutch founding families in New York State did.

With 130 singer/dancer members, AKB48 qualifies as the world's largest pop group according to Guinness World Records. And speaking of records, AKB48 has released a lot of them: eight studio albums, 32 live albums and nearly 60 singles (as of this writing) since its formation in 2006. The group has its own dedicated theater in Tokyo's Akihabara district (hence the AKB) and has been depicted in everything from manga, anime and video games to postage stamps.

There's a scene in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" in which Egyptian princess Nefretiri (Nefertari) plays a board game with her father-in-law, the pharaoh Sethi (Seti I). That board game is historically accurate. Called Hounds and Jackals, it's a game of chance in which players move hound- or jackal-shaped pieces toward a goal on the board. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a Hounds and Jackals board in its collection dating to the reign of Amenemhat IV, hundreds of years before Seti I ruled Egypt.

In 1966, three years after Julia Child arrived on PBS stations to teach Americans about French cooking, chef-restaurateur Joyce Chen introduced the nation to Chinese cuisine on "Joyce Chen Cooks." She taught viewers to prepare everything from Egg Foo Yung to Peking duck — even how to grow their own bean sprouts - sometimes substituting accessible ingredients such as ketchup for Chinese ingredients that were hard to find at the time. The two TV cooking show pioneers even shared a studio set at WGBH in Boston.

When an elephant encounters an elephant pal he hasn't seen in a while, they greet each other by entwining their trunks in an affectionate elephant-style handshake. Highly intelligent, with a huge capacity for logic, learning and emotion, elephants are famous for their prodigious memories. (That's not a myth!) An elephant never forgets an old friend.

Albrecht Durer was the most celebrated artist/printmaker of the early 1500s, whose works include "Feldhase," a watercolor of a hare, and the drawing "Praying Hands." Artists of Durer's time expected their work to be imitated, but plagiarism was another matter entirely. When Marcantonio Raimondi started copying his work, right down to his distinctive AD monogram, Durer filed and won a lawsuit to protect his artistic trademark. The case is among the earliest intellectual property disputes in modern legal history.

TRIVIA

1. Which Dutch beer brand is named for a river in the Netherlands?

A) Amstel

B) Brand

C) Grolsch

D) Heineken

2. The fictional character Usagi Tsukino transforms into which superheroine?

A) Pink Power Ranger

B) Sailor Moon

C) Spider-Girl

D) Storm

3. What do Lake Kariba, Lake Mead and Lake Nasser have in common?

A) Deepest lakes on their continents

B) Highest concentration of fish per square mile

C) Manmade lakes

D) Saltwater lakes

4. Ketchup originated in Asia, where it was made not with tomatoes but with what main ingredient?

A) Fermented fish

B) Green plums

C) Pickled ginger

D) Rose petals

5. Before "Horton Hears a Who," Dr. Seuss wrote a book in which Horton the elephant does what?

A) Hatches the egg

B) Helps the trees

C) Hibernates

D) Hides a treasure

6. Artist Cindy Sherman is known for her photographs of what?

A) Architecture

B) Crime scenes

C) Flowers

D) Herself

ANSWERS

1) Amstel beer is named for the Amstel River, which flows through Amsterdam.

2) Usagi Tsukino is the ordinary schoolgirl who transforms into Sailor Moon.

3) Lake Kariba, Lake Mead and Lake Nasser are manmade lakes formed by dams.

4) Ketchup derives from ke-tsiap, a savory fermented fish sauce.

5) Dr. Seuss wrote "Horton Hatches the Egg" before "Horton Hears a Who."

6) Cindy Sherman is known for photographing herself in various costumes and environments.

WEEK OF SEPT. 14

Before he founded the automobile company that bears his name, David Dunbar Buick invented a process for coating cast iron with porcelain enamel, which he used to make bathtubs and sinks. Without him, we wouldn't have the smooth, white bathroom fixtures we know today. Think about that next time you're soaking in the tub.

The oldest known math textbook is the "Treviso Arithmetic," published in 1478 in Treviso, Italy, near Venice. Also known as "L'arte dell'abbaco," or "The Art of Abacus," it teaches math skills for merchants and traders. So, its word problems are all business-related: "Piero, Polo and Zuanne each invest a different number of ducats in a business partnership. Calculate each investor's share of the profits." And so on. Copies of the nearly 540-year-old book are quite rare. There's one in the library special collections at Columbia University.

The largest audience in attendance for a tennis match in the United States was the crowd of 30,472 that poured into the Astrodome to watch the "Battle of the Sexes" match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs on Sept. 20, 1973. Fifty-five-year-old Riggs was a former world champ and inveterate "male chauvinist pig." Twenty-nine-year-old King was the top-ranked female player at the time and a "women's libber." The match, played somewhat in jest, boosted the profile of women's tennis — especially when King beat Riggs in straight sets and took home the $100,000 prize money.

Only one character is on the American Film Institute's list of the 50 greatest movie heroes and its list of the 50 greatest movie villains. That character is the Terminator, portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. His "wickedness of mind, selfishness of character and will to power" in "The Terminator" earned him 22nd place on the villains list. As a reformed character who "prevails in extreme circumstances and dramatizes a sense of morality, courage and purpose" in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," he placed 48th on the heroes list.

After the French Revolution, everything in France started fresh, including the calendar, which began Sept. 22, 1792, the official start of the first French Republic. Its 12 months had poetic, nature-inspired names such as Brumaire (from the French for "fog") and Nivose (from the Latin for "snowy"). Each month had three 10-day weeks, and five or six days were left over for festivals at the year's end. Napoleon abolished the French Republican calendar in September 1805, and France reverted to the Gregorian calendar in January 1806.

Pigeon parents produce a substance called crop milk to feed their hatchlings. High in fat and protein, it's more like clumpy cottage cheese than liquid milk, and it contains nutrients and antibodies to nourish the young. Flamingoes and emperor penguins feed their young on a similar substance. What makes crop milk most unusual is that it's produced by male as well as female birds.

TRIVIA

1. A 1964 Buick Skylark convertible plays an important role in which film?

A) "The Big Lebowski"

B) "My Cousin Vinny"

C) "Smokey and the Bandit"

D) "Thelma and Louise"

2. What bridge in Venice connected the Doge's Palace to the prison?

A) Bridge of Sighs

B) Ponte dell'Accademia

C) Ponte Vecchio

D) Rialto Bridge

3. With a seating capacity of more than 23,000, the world's largest dedicated tennis stadium is named for which tennis great?

A) Arthur Ashe

B) Billie Jean King

C) Rod Laver

D) Stan Smith

4. The American Film Institute's list of 50 greatest movie heroes includes Alvin York, Lou Gehrig and Will Kane — all roles played by what actor?

A) Gary Cooper

B) Henry Fonda

C) Gregory Peck

D) James Stewart

5. For whom is the Gregorian calendar named?

A) Gregor Mendel

B) Pope Gregory XIII

C) Gregory of Nazianzus, archbishop of Constantinople

D) Grigori Rasputin

6. Flamingoes are used for what unusual purpose in "Alice in Wonderland"?

A) Chairs

B) Chess pieces

C) Croquet mallets

D) Umbrellas

ANSWERS

1) A 1964 Buick Skylark convertible plays an important role in "My Cousin Vinny."

2) Convicted criminals in Venice crossed the Bridge of Sighs from the Doge's Palace to prison.

3) Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York is the world's largest tennis stadium.

4) Gary Cooper played Alvin York in "Sergeant York," Lou Gehrig in "Pride of the Yankees" and Will Kane in "High Noon."

5) In the 1570s, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the "Gregorian" calendar used today.

6) Flamingoes are used as croquet mallets in "Alice in Wonderland."

WEEK OF SEPT. 21

The modern triathlon — swimming, biking, running — originated in France in 1920, where it was known as Les Trois Sports (The Three Sports). It consisted of a 3 kilometer run, a 12 kilometer bike ride and a swim across the River Marne. (A 1900s version of Les Trois Sports involved running, biking and rowing.) Fast-forward to Sept. 25, 1974, in California, where the San Diego Track Club dusted off the old idea and staged the first "modern" triathlon, with a 5K run, 15K bike race and 500-meter swim. In 1978, organizers in Hawaii upped the stakes with a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a full 26.22-mile marathon run, aptly named the Ironman Triathlon.

Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick" sold just 3,715 copies in the U.S. and U.K. combined during Melville's lifetime. By comparison, his first two novels, "Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life" and "Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas," sold more than 16,000 and 13,000 copies, respectively. Critics of the day called "Moby-Dick" "dull and dreary" and full of "bad rhetoric, involved syntax, stilted sentiment and incoherent English." Today, it's counted among the great works of American literature.

It costs 1.99 cents to mint a U.S. penny and 7.62 cents to make a nickel, according to the most recent annual report from the United States Mint. The negative discrepancy between the coins' value and the cost of production — what Treasury officials would call negative seigniorage — has to do with the price of zinc used to make pennies and copper used to make nickels. (Pennies contain more zinc than copper; nickels contain more copper than nickel!)

The Cristal Baschet, a musical instrument invented by Bernard and Francois Baschet in 1952, consists of horizontal glass rods attached to vertical metal rods of various lengths and thicknesses. To play it, one draws his or her moistened fingers along the glass rods to create vibrations that travel through the metal and produce a distinctive sound. (It's the same principle as running your finger around the rim of a wine glass to make it hum.)

The world's smallest antelope is the royal antelope or Neotragus pygmaeus, found in western Africa. Full-grown adults stand about 10 to 12 inches tall, and a newborn will fit in the palm of your hand. These nocturnal relatives of gazelles live in forests and feed on vegetation. In some places, they're hunted for food. Other cultures consider it bad luck to kill them and let them live in peace.

People with synesthesia perceive sensory stimuli with more than one sense. Tasting a particular food may fill the mind with unusual colors and shapes. Music may conjure physical sensations such as tingling in the feet (different from chills you feel when you hear a monumental symphony). Words have flavors. Numbers on a page have colors. Music producer/songwriter Pharrell Williams, composer Franz Liszt, artist David Hockney, physicist Richard Feynman and actress Marilyn Monroe are among the better-known creative-thinking "synesthetes."

TRIVIA

1. Which nation has won the most gold medals in Olympic cycling events?

A) France

B) Great Britain

C) Italy

D) Netherlands

2. Sailors on whaling ships made scrimshaw from what part of a whale?

A) Blubber

B) Bones

C) Meat

D) Skin

3. Short films about an animated character named Penny were featured on what TV series?

A) "Captain Kangaroo"

B) "Lizzie McGuire"

C) "Pee-wee's Playhouse"

D) "Reading Rainbow"

4. Swarovski crystal was founded in 1895 in what country?

A) Austria

B) Germany

C) Poland

D) Switzerland

5. Which country's national rugby union team is known as the Springboks?

A) Australia

B) France

C) Scotland

D) South Africa

6. Why does the planet Neptune appear to be blue?

A) It's surrounded by methane gas.

B) It's covered with algae-filled water.

C) The rocks on its surface are blue.

D) The color is determined by its distance from the sun.

ANSWERS

1) France has won the most gold medals in Olympic cycling events.

2) Sailors did scrimshaw carving on the bones and teeth of whales and the tusks of walruses.

3) The animated character Penny was featured on "Pee-wee's Playhouse."

4) Swarovski was found in Austria in 1895.

5) South Africa's national rugby union team is known as the Springboks.

6) Methane gas surrounding Neptune absorbs red light and reflects blue light, which makes the planet appear blue.

WEEK OF SEPT. 28

In Jules Verne's "Around the World in Eighty Days," Phileas Fogg departs from London on Oct. 2 and plans to return on Dec. 21 "at a quarter before nine p.m." (There's a wager of 20,000 pounds at stake, so he'd better be right!) The 1956 movie version was filmed in 160 days and involved nearly 70,000 people, including members of the Royal Thailand Navy, Pakistani elephant herders and famous cameos from Frank Sinatra, John Gielgud and Marlene Dietrich.

In 1977, Lusia Harris-Stewart became the first woman officially selected in the NBA draft. A 6-foot-3 center, she averaged 25.9 points and 14.4 rebounds per game playing for Mississippi's Delta State University. But when the New Orleans Jazz made her their seventh-round draft pick, she was as surprised as anyone. She skipped the team tryout (she was pregnant at the time), went on to coach high school and college basketball and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.

Giraffes get about 30 minutes of deep sleep a day, usually in bursts of five minutes or less. For this REM sleep, they lie down, tuck up their legs and place their heads on their behinds. That position makes them vulnerable to predators because it's difficult for them to stand up in a hurry. So they supplement their rest by drowsing on their feet periodically throughout the day, upright and able to run if danger arises.

When 11th-century Crusaders returned to Europe from the Middle East, they brought Aleppo soap with them. Named for the city in Syria, Aleppo soap is made from olive oil and laurel (bay leaf) oil. Bars are aged for as long as a year, during which the soap hardens and its color changes from green to brown. Crusaders plundered everything from gold to holy relics (many of dubious provenance), but considering the hygiene of the Middle Ages, Aleppo soap might have been the most valuable treasure they found.

In 18th- and 19th-century Europe and America, social gatherings often included card playing and gambling — before dinner, after dinner, till all hours of the night. Abigail Adams found the activity tiresome and immoral. Describing a party in London, she recalled 200 guests and three rooms filled with card tables. She won quite a bit from a woman who insisted on playing for "half a guinea" a hand, but regretted it, saying, "I have not conquered the disagreeable feeling of receiving money for play."

You'd expect world-renowned architects to design skyscrapers, cathedrals, schools, libraries, museums — but gas stations? Yes, indeed. Gin Wong, who worked on the Transamerica pyramid in San Francisco and the Theme Building at LAX, also designed a modernist gas station in Beverly Hills. Denmark's most famous modernist architect, Arne Jacobsen, designed a station for Texaco in 1937 that's still operating near Copenhagen. And the R.W. Lindholm service station opened in 1958 in Cloquet, Minnesota, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

TRIVIA

1. The Suez Canal links the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in which country?

A) Egypt

B) Israel

C) Morocco

D) Saudi Arabia

2. Only six countries have hosted and won the FIFA World Cup in the same year. Which nation accomplished this most recently?

A) Brazil

B) France

C) Germany

D) Uruguay

3. The rock band R.E.M. formed when three of its members were students at what institution?

A) Bard College

B) Oberlin College

C) Texas A&M

D) University of Georgia

4. Early in their careers, Demi Moore and John Stamos were regulars on which daytime soap?

A) "All My Children"

B) "General Hospital"

C) "One Life to Live"

D) "The Young and the Restless"

5. In a standard deck, which card is known as the "man with the axe"?

A) Jack of clubs

B) Jack of spades

C) King of diamonds

D) King of hearts

6. HOG is the New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol of what company?

A) Halliburton

B) Harley-Davidson

C) Hewlett-Packard

D) Hormel

ANSWERS

1) The Suez Canal links the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt.

2) The most recent time a country hosted and won the FIFA World Cup was France in 1998.

3) R.E.M. formed while three of its members were students at the University of Georgia.

4) Demi Moore and John Stamos played Jackie Templeton and Blackie Parrish on "General Hospital."

5) In a standard deck, the king of diamonds is "the man with the axe."

6) HOG is the New York Stock Exchange symbol for Harley-Davidson.

TRIVIA FANS: Leslie Elman is the author of "Weird But True: 200 Astounding, Outrageous and Totally Off the Wall Facts." Contact her at [email protected].