By R.U. Steinberg

JUNE 1, 1999: 

The cylinder firing order of a VW Beetle is 1-4-3-2.

A very ancient and rare South African species of plant, the cyad, has become so prized by poachers that authorities are implanting all remaining specimens with microchips as tracking devices in order to chart their existence and movement.

The number of home-schooled children in the United States has increased 20-fold since 1980.

The French novelist M. Houellebecq's first novel, Extension du Domaine de la Lutte (literally Expansion of the Arena of the Struggle) was recently published in English by Serpent's Tail Press under the title Whatever.

David Seville of Chipmunks fame is cousin of playwright William Saroyan, and the two recorded a 78rpm record of the song, "Come On-a My House."

The above is information which Mr. Smarty Pants read in a book, a magazine, or the newspaper; heard on the radio; saw on television; or overheard at a party. Got facts? E-mail Mr. Smarty Pants at: mrpants@auschron.com.

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