Was Cleopatra the most important Egyptian queen?
Not really. She might be one of the most famous queens, but her
reign was not that historically important. She is most famous for
her marriage to Mark Antony, who played a significant role in
Roman and European history. Cleopatra was not actually Egyptian
by the way. She was part Greek and part Iranian.
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Was Cleopatra as beautiful as portrayed in film?
Probably not. The image that survives of Cleopatra, a depiction
of her visage on a coin, shows a woman with a hooked nose.
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Is there only one Egyptian queen called Cleopatra?
Actually, there were seven. The one we think of when we say
"Cleopatra" is Cleopatra VII, one of the Ptolemys, a family from
Macedonia that ruled Egypt for two and a half centuries.
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What does "M&M" stand for?
Those addictive little candies are named for the two big bosses
at M&M Candies in the 1940s - Victor Mars and his partner Mr.
Merrie.
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Why were red M&Ms discontinued in the 1970s?
They're back now, but in the mid '70s, red M&Ms were discontinued
due to fears that they contained Red Dye No. 2, a substance that
is carcinogenic (cancer-causing). The candies never did contain
the dye, but to assuage the fears of the public, the red M&Ms
were simply dropped for awhile.
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Which color M&M do most people prefer?
Surprisingly, it's the brown M&M (perhaps because it looks most
like chocolate?) Market research conducted by the company that
makes the candy has determined that brown is the favorite, so
that's what each bag contains the most of.
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Do identical twins have the same fingerprints?
No. They may be identical in every other way, but their
fingerprints are unique.
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What is a doppelganger?
A doppelganger is a double, the personification of another side
of a person or character's personality - usually a dark or
demonic side. Seeing your ghostly double may portend impending
death. The word is derived from the German words "doppel"
("double") and "ganger" ("goer").
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How are fraternal twins and identical twins different?
Fraternal twins come from two separate eggs and sperm and are no
more alike than regular siblings. The twins can be boys, girls,
or one of each. Identical twins, which are much more rare, come
from a single egg that splits in two early in pregnancy and
develops into two fetuses. Identical twins are always the same
sex and have the same blood type, hair color, and eye color. They
look very much alike.
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What is an "Achilles' heel"?
An "Achilles' heel" is a vulnerable spot. The phrase comes from
an ancient Greek myth about the hero Achilles. When Achilles was
born, his mother Thetis dipped him the sacred river Styx to make
him immortal. Unfortunately, his mother held him by the heel and
the waters never covered the heel. It was his only vulnerable
spot. He died in battle when an arrow (directed by the god
Apollo, who knew of his vulnerability) hit him in the heel.
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Courtesy of Verna Navarro
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