Bibliography and Sources

The sources for many facts found on James' Interesting Facts, along with some of my comments about them, are listed below, along with some of my comments. The sources are listed approximately in order of how much the work as a whole (i.e. the entire book, website, encyclopedia, etc.) contributed to the facts on this site. For facts that used multiple sources, the sources are listed in whatever order makes sense. If you want to know specifically which source was used for which fact, click on the "(source)" link at the bottom of the fact; you will be taken to this page with the source in question highlighted.

I haven't always been as careful as I am now to record the source of all of the facts on this site, so, since I no longer remember from where some of the facts came, not all facts cite sources. Most of the facts on this site are not particularly obscure, however, and could probably be verified with a reasonable amount of effort. Many interesting facts, most likely including most of the ones on this site, can be found in sufficiently comprehensive reference works such as encyclopaedias or dictionaries, or are written up in newspapers, or, for that matter, can be found in any book.

However, the interesting gems can be few and far between, and not everyone has the time or energy to pore through entire encyclopaedia volumes or microfilm rolls to find every curious, surprising, or interesting fact contained within (I know I don't). Perhaps an easier way to find interesting facts is in the large number of books about oddities, curiosities, superlatives, fantastic/useless/amazing/interesting facts, trivia and other variations on that theme, but the quality of such books can vary. Some books appear to have been thrown together in a rather casual manner, don't cite or mention any sources whatsoever, and contain a lot of facts that are too vague to be verifiable; my experience is that such books are are fairly unreliable (probably at least 5% of their "facts" are wrong to some degree or another). Others seem to be better researched, provide more details, and list sources. Facts in these books are usually more likely to be correct than in the other type of facts book.

The purpose of listing sources for each individual fact is not necessarily to demonstrate that all of the facts on this site have been exhaustively researched and/or are almost certainly correct (I would appreciate any corrections; please e-mail me at the address at the bottom of the page). I haven't exhaustively researched many of them, and while I try to fix all problems I'm aware of, I'm sure there are problems with some fact or another that I'm not aware of. Rather, I've found that many people, for various reasons, are curious as to where I found certain facts, so I see the purpose of listing the sources as a means of helping you, the reader.

• Isaac Asimov (ed.), Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts (Hastings House, 1979). This book's place at the start of the list means that I think I've used this book in my research for this site more than any other book. Note that this book doesn't cite any sources and some of the facts in it are vague, so the warning I mentioned above about such books applies to this book to a certain extent.
• Isaac Asimov (ed.), Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts (Hastings House, 1979); Ed Zotti, Know It All! The Fun Stuff You Never Learned in School (Ballantyne Books, New York, New York, 1995).
• Irving Chernev and Kenneth Harkness, An Invitation to Chess (Simon & Schuster, New York, New York, 1945); Isaac Asimov (ed.), Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts (Hastings House, 1979).
• Isaac Asimov (ed.), Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts (Hastings House, 1979); Carl Sagan, Cosmos (Ballantyne Books, New York, New York, 1980).
• Will Pearson, Mangesh Hattikudur, and Elizabeth Hunt (eds.), mental_floss Presents: Condensed Knowledge: A deliciously irreverent guide to feeling smart again (HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 2004); Isaac Asimov (ed.), Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts (Hastings House, 1979).
• Isaac Asimov (ed.), Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts (Hastings House, 1979); other unknown sources.
• http://www.nasa.gov/facts/Earth/index.html. Note that, because NASA's works are not copyrighted since NASA is an arm of the U.S. federal government, I've mostly copied these facts verbatim instead of rewriting in my own words. This includes the next couple of sources as well.
• http://www.nasa.gov/facts/Earth/earth_facts_archives.html.
• http://www.nasa.gov/facts/Space/index.html.
• http://www.nasa.gov/facts/Space/space_facts_archives.html.
• http://www.nasa.gov/facts/Universe/index.html.
• http://www.nasa.gov/facts/Universe/universe_facts_archives.html.
• "NASA - Science", http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/information/science_faq.html (Retrieved January 8, 2008).
• John D. Barrow, The Artful Universe Expanded (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005); http://www.nasa.gov/facts/Universe/universe_facts_archives.html.
• Christa Pöppelmann, 1,000 Common Delusions and the real facts behind them (Firefly Books, Buffalo, New York, 2006).
• Christa Pöppelmann, 1,000 Common Delusions and the real facts behind them (Firefly Books, Buffalo, New York, 2006); Barbara Berliner with Melinda Corey and George Ochoa, The Book of Answers: The New York Public Library Telephone Reference Service's Most Unusual and Entertaining Questions (Fireside, New York, New York, 1990).
• David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace, The People's Almanac #2 (Bantam Books, New York, New York, 1978).
• Aylmer Sun (November 18, 1909, page 4); David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace, The People's Almanac #2 (Bantam Books, New York, New York, 1978).
• Robert and Celia Dearling with Brian Rust, The Guinness Book of Music Facts and Feats (Guinness Superlatives, Ltd., Enfield, Middlesex, 1976), as quoted in David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace, The People's Almanac #2 (Bantam Books, New York, New York, 1978).
• David Louis, Fascinating Facts (Ridge Press/Crown Publishers Inc., New York, New York, 1977), as quoted in David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace, The People's Almanac #2 (Bantam Books, New York, New York, 1978).
• David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace, The People's Almanac (Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1975).
• David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace, The People's Almanac (Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1975); other unknown sources.
• Jack Mingo and Erin Barrett, Just Curious, Jeeves: What are the 1001 most intriguing questions asked on the Internet? (Ask Jeeves Inc., Emeryville, California, 2000). A rather entertaining book, but see the next entry for a caveat.
• Jack Mingo and Erin Barrett, Just Curious, Jeeves: What are the 1001 most intriguing questions asked on the Internet? (Ask Jeeves Inc., Emeryville, California, 2000); spelling corrections thanks to Geoff Wilkins ("Finnegans") and Timwi ("Kleinkinderbeschäftigungsanstalt"). My one criticism of Just Curious, Jeeves is that it is rather incautious with regards to typography.
• Toronto World (Toronto, Ontario, February 10, 1881, page 4); Jack Mingo and Erin Barrett, Just Curious, Jeeves: What are the 1001 most intriguing questions asked on the Internet? (Ask Jeeves, Emeryville, California, 2000).
• Jack Mingo and Erin Barrett, Just Curious, Jeeves: What are the 1001 most intriguing questions asked on the Internet? (Ask Jeeves Inc., Emeryville, California, 2000); Barbara Berliner with Melinda Corey and George Ochoa, The Book of Answers: The New York Public Library Telephone Reference Service's Most Unusual and Entertaining Questions (Fireside, New York, New York, 1990).
• Bernard Siskin and Jerome Staller with David Rorvik, What Are the Chances? Risks, Odds, and Likelihood in Everyday Life (Signet, New York, NY, 1989); Jack Mingo and Erin Barrett, Just Curious, Jeeves: What are the 1001 most intriguing questions asked on the Internet? (Ask Jeeves Inc., Emeryville, California, 2000).
• Bruce Felton and Mark Fowler, Felton & Fowler's More Best, Worst, and Most Unusual (Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York, New York, 1976).
• Geoff Tibballs (ed.), The Ultimate Lists Book (Carlton Books, Bristol, 1998).
• Geoff Tibballs (ed.), The Ultimate Lists Book (Carlton Books, Bristol, 1998); Barbara Berliner with Melinda Corey and George Ochoa, The Book of Answers: The New York Public Library Telephone Reference Service's Most Unusual and Entertaining Questions (Fireside, New York, New York, 1990).
• Geoff Tibballs (ed.), The Ultimate Lists Book (Carlton Books, Bristol, 1998); personal research.
• M. Hirsh Goldberg, The Blunder Book: Colossal Errors, Minor Mistakes and Surprising Slipups That Have Changed the Course of History (William Morrow and Co., New York, NY, 1984).
• M. Hirsh Goldberg, The Blunder Book: Colossal Errors, Minor Mistakes and Surprising Slipups That Have Changed the Course of History (William Morrow and Co., New York, NY, 1984); Tad Tujela, Fabulous Fallacies: More Than 300 Popular Beliefs That Are Not True (The Stonesong Press, New York, New York, 1982).
• M. Hirsh Goldberg, The Blunder Book: Colossal Errors, Minor Mistakes and Surprising Slipups That Have Changed the Course of History (William Morrow and Co., New York, NY, 1984); Darrell Huff, How to Lie With Statistics (W. W. Norton & Company Inc., New York, New York, 1954).
• M. Hirsh Goldberg, The Blunder Book: Colossal Errors, Minor Mistakes and Surprising Slipups That Have Changed the Course of History (William Morrow and Co., New York, NY, 1984); other unknown sources.
• Ian Crofton, Brewer's Cabinet of Curiosities.
• Frank H. Stauffer, The Queer, The Quaint, The Quizzical: A Cabinet for the Curious (Robert A. Tripple, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 1882). Note that, since this work has entered the public domain, I've copied many of these facts verbatim instead of rewriting in my own words.
• Frank H. Stauffer, The Queer, The Quaint, The Quizzical: A Cabinet for the Curious (Robert A. Tripple, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 1882); David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace, and Amy Wallace, The Book of Lists (Bantam Books, New York, New York, 1977).
• Simon Adams and Lesley Riley (eds.), Reader's Digest Facts & Fallacies (Reader's Digest Association, Inc., Pleasantville, New York, 1988).
• http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/with; Simon Adams and Lesley Riley (eds.), Reader's Digest Facts & Fallacies (Reader's Digest Association, Inc., Pleasantville, New York, 1988).
• Will Pearson, Mangesh Hattikudur, and Elizabeth Hunt (eds.), mental_floss Presents: Condensed Knowledge: A deliciously irreverent guide to feeling smart again (HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 2004).
• Justin Pollard, The Interesting Bits: The History You Might Have Missed (John Murray (Publishers), London, 2007).
• Justin Pollard, The Interesting Bits: The History You Might Have Missed (John Murray (Publishers), London, 2007); Simon Adams and Lesley Riley (eds.), Reader's Digest Facts & Fallacies (Reader's Digest Association, Inc., Pleasantville, New York, 1988); "Benedict IX, Pope", in New Catholic Encyclopedia, second edition, volume 2 (Thomson-Gale, Detroit, Michigan, 2003).
• "The Crusades", in Encyclopædia Britannica, Fifteenth Edition, vol. 16 (Chicago, 2005). I've tried give around the same number of facts to for each of the topics on the site. However, it's a lot harder to find facts about, say, the Crusades than it is to find facts about, say, animals. In cases like this, I find encyclopedia articles to be quite helpful.
• "Slavery", in Encyclopædia Britannica, Fifteenth Edition, vol. 27 (Chicago, 2005).
• Tad Tujela, Fabulous Fallacies: More Than 300 Popular Beliefs That Are Not True (The Stonesong Press, New York, New York, 1982).
• Noel Botham & The Useless Information Society, The Best Book of Useless Information Ever (Perigree Group, New York, New York, 2008).
• Noel Botham & The Useless Information Society, The Ultimate Book of Useless Information (Perigree Group, New York, New York, 2007).
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7081038.stm.
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3330527.stm.
• "30 pieces of trivia about Star Wars", http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6679425.stm (Retrieved December 30, 2007).
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/1990859.stm (Retrieved January 13, 2008).
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/archaeology/excavations_techniques/king_stonehenge_03.shtml (Retrieved January 13, 2008).
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2746505.stm (Retrieved January 13, 2008).
• "Hubble sees 'most distant object'", http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3490657.stm (Retrieved January 15, 2008).
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/modern/oddities_modern.shtml (Retrieved January 21, 2008).
• Waterford Star (Waterford, Ontario, June 13, 1907, page 3). Note that, since this work has entered the public domain, I've copied many of these facts verbatim instead of rewriting in my own words.
• "Curiosities of Measurement", Waterford Star (Waterford, Ontario, July 4, 1907, page 3).
• "The Original New England", Waterford Star (Waterford, Ontario, August 29, 1907, page 4).
• Alan Vaughan, Incredible Coincidence: The Baffling World of Synchronicity (Lippincott, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1979).
• Allen M. Ward, Fritz M. Heichelheim, and Cedric A. Yeo, A History of the Roman People, Third Edition (Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 1999).
• Barbara Berliner with Melinda Corey and George Ochoa, The Book of Answers: The New York Public Library Telephone Reference Service's Most Unusual and Entertaining Questions (Fireside, New York, New York, 1990).
• William R. Corliss, Science Frontiers: Some Anomalies and Curiosities of Nature (The Sourcebook Project, Glen Arm, Maryland, 1994).
• B.J. Carr and M.J. Rees, "The Anthropic Principle and the Structure of the Physical World", Nature (278:605, 1979), as given in William R. Corliss, Science Frontiers: Some Anomalies and Curiosities of Nature (The Sourcebook Project, Glen Arm, Maryland, 1994).
• N. David Merin, "Is the Moon There When Nobody Looks? Reality and the Quantum Theory", Physics Today (38:38, April 1985), as given in William R. Corliss, Science Frontiers: Some Anomalies and Curiosities of Nature (The Sourcebook Project, Glen Arm, Maryland, 1994).
• Jean-Pierre Protzen, "Inca Stonemasonry", Scientific American (254:94, February 1986), as given in William R. Corliss, Science Frontiers: Some Anomalies and Curiosities of Nature (The Sourcebook Project, Glen Arm, Maryland, 1994).
• Franklin K. Paddock, "The Great Wall of the Inca", Archaeology (37:62, July/August 1984), as given in William R. Corliss, Science Frontiers: Some Anomalies and Curiosities of Nature (The Sourcebook Project, Glen Arm, Maryland, 1994).
• Bill Dietrich, "Water from Stones: Greeks found a Way", Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona, December 22, 1991, page AA1), as given in William R. Corliss, Science Frontiers: Some Anomalies and Curiosities of Nature (The Sourcebook Project, Glen Arm, Maryland, 1994).
• David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace, and Amy Wallace, The Book of Lists (Bantam Books, New York, New York, 1977).
• Irving Wallace, David Wallechinsky, Amy Wallace, and Sylvia Wallace, The Book of Lists #2 (William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, New York, 1980).
• David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace, The Book of Lists: The '90s Edition (Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 1995).
• James Burke, The Knowledge Web: From Electronic Agents to Stonehenge and Back—and Other Journeys Through Knowledge (Simon & Schuster, New York, New York, 1999).
• Darrell Huff, How to Lie With Statistics (W. W. Norton & Company Inc., New York, New York, 1954).
• Gerald Messadié, Great Inventions through History (W & R Chambers Ltd., Edinburgh, 1991).
• Janet and Colin Bord, Ancient Mysteries of Britain (Grafton Books, London, 1986).
• Frank Joseph (ed.), Unearthing Ancient America: The Lost Sagas of Conquerors, Castaways, and Scoundrels (New Page Books, Franklin Lakes, NJ, 2009).
• Christopher Slee, The Chameleon Book of Lasts (Chameleon Publishing Limited, Huntingdon, Cambs, 1990).
• John D. Barrow, The Artful Universe Expanded (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005).
• Doug Lennox, Now You Know: The Book of Answers (The Dundurn Group, Toronto, Ontario, 2001).
• Doug Lennox, Now You Know More: The Book of Answers Vol. 2 (The Dundurn Group, Toronto, Ontario, 2004).
• Doug Lennox, Now You Know Almost Everything: The Book of Answers Vol. 3 (Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, 2005).
• Doug Lennox, Now You Know: Big Book of Answers (Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, 2007).
• Ed Zotti, Know It All! The Fun Stuff You Never Learned in School (Ballantyne Books, New York, New York, 1995).
• Bernard Siskin and Jerome Staller with David Rorvik, What Are the Chances? Risks, Odds, and Likelihood in Everyday Life (Signet, New York, NY, 1989).
• Charles Berlitz, Charles Berlitz's World of Strange Phenomena (Wynwood Press, New York, New York, 1988).
• John Lloyd and John Mitchinson, The Book of General Ignorance (Faber and Faber Limited, London, 2006).
• James F. Dunnigan, The Complete Wargames Handbook: How to Play, Design & Find Them, Revised Edition (William & Morrow Co., New York, New York, 1992).
• "Christmas and its Cycle", in New Catholic Encyclopedia, second edition, volume 3 (Thomson-Gale, Detroit, Michigan, 2003).
• "Crusaders' States", in in New Catholic Encyclopedia, second edition, volume 4 (Thomson-Gale, Detroit, Michigan, 2003).
• "Crusades", in in New Catholic Encyclopedia, second edition, volume 4 (Thomson-Gale, Detroit, Michigan, 2003).
• "Crusades", in in New Catholic Encyclopedia, second edition, volume 4 (Thomson-Gale, Detroit, Michigan, 2003); Erik Durschmied, The Hinge Factor: How Chance and Stupidity Have Changed History (Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1999).
• Patricia Hluchy, "When fiction becomes fact", Toronto Star (Toronto, Ontario, January 13, 2008, page ID3).
• telegraph.co.uk, as given in John Sakamoto, "10 Things We Learned This Week", Toronto Star (Toronto, Ontario, January 13, 2008, page ID9).
• "Interesting facts about India", http://india.gov.in/myindia/facts.php (Retrieved January 5, 2008).
• "300 Million", http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/007276.html (Retrieved January 5, 2008); "Forty-Four Million-Dollar Families", Simcoe Reformer (Simcoe, Ontario, September 9, 1915, page 7).
• "300 Million", http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/007276.html (Retrieved January 5, 2008).
• "The Holiday Season", http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/005870.html (Retrieved January 5, 2008).
• http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/orange?view=uk; personal research or recollection. The page cited lists "orange" and "silver". The word "month" in the fact is based on personal recollection and personal research using a rhyming dictionary (whose name I no longer recall offhand). Also, thanks to all of the people who have e-mailed me about this fact to help get the wording correct. As a side note, the words "curple" (pointed out to me by Steven Martin) and "hirple" rhyme with "purple".
• http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/dreamt?view=uk (retrieved November 18, 2007).
• http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/billion?view=uk (retrieved November 18, 2007).
• Richard R. Randall, Place Names: How They Define the World—and More (Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham, Maryland, 2001).
• Jonathan Clements, A Brief History of: The Vikings (Constable & Robinson Ltd., London, 2005).
• Erik Durschmied, The Hinge Factor: How Chance and Stupidity Have Changed History (Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1999).
• John Farman, A Suspiciously Simple History of Science & Invention: (without the boring bits) (Piccadilly Press, London, 1991).
• Richard Wiseman, Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives (Macmillan, London, 2007).
• Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, 365 Surprising Scientific Facts, Breakthroughs, and Discoveries (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1994).
• Marcus Chown, The Quantum Zoo: A Tourist's Guide to the Neverending Universe (Joseph Henry Press, Washington, D.C., 2006).
• Alan Russell (ed.), 1988 Guinness Book of World Records (Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., New York, NY, 1987).
• Alan Russell (ed.), 1988 Guinness Book of World Records (Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., New York, NY, 1987); http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/3807/features/language.html.
• Alan Russell (ed.), 1988 Guinness Book of World Records (Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., New York, NY, 1987); other unknown sources.
• Isaac Asimov, Asimov on Physics (Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1976).
• "Paul VI", in The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (Columbia University Press, New York, New York, 2001–07), http://www.bartleby.com/65/pa/Paul6.html (Retrieved December 26, 2007); "John Paul II", in The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (Columbia University Press, New York, New York, 2001–07), http://www.bartleby.com/65/jo/JohnPaul2.html (Retrieved December 26, 2007).
• "Richard I", in The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (Columbia University Press, New York, New York, 2001–07), http://www.bartleby.com/65/ri/Richard1.html (Retrieved December 26, 2007).
• Jeff's Almanac (software package).
• "Artillery Curiosities", Lock Haven Express (Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, November 16, 1908, page 7).
• Lock Haven Express (Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, November 16, 1908, page 7).
• Hamilton Spectator (Hamilton, Ontario, June 3, 2006, page B2).
• Jim Aylward, You're Dumber in the Summer: and over 100 other things no one ever told you (Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, New York, New York, 1980).
• Charles Panati, Panati's Extraordinary Endings of Practically Everything and Everybody (Harper & Row, New York, NY, 1989).
• http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Graunt/1.html.
• "An Epic Find", http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,916245,00.html (Retrieved February 24, 2008).
• http://www.ecrm5700.org/; http://www.elgintourist.com/.
• Pamela Wintraub (ed.), Omni's Catalog of the Bizarre (Doubleday & Company Inc., Garden City, New York, 1985).
• Carl Sagan, Cosmos (Ballantyne Books, New York, New York, 1980).
• Nick Yapp, Great Hoaxes of the World: And the Hoaxers Behind Them (Robson Books, London, 1995).
• Gerald Del Re, The Whole Truth: A Compendium of Myths, Mistakes, & Misconceptions (Random House, New York, NY, U.S.A., 2004).
• Frances & Joseph Gies, Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages (HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 1994).
• http://www.scrabble.4t.com/wordlist/novowel.htm.
• The Pioneer (Allahbad, India, January 31, 1913), as quoted in http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17113/17113-8.txt
• "The Giant's Staircase.", Lock Haven Express, August 15, 1905, page 5.
• "The World Factbook—Spratley Islands", https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pg.html.
• "Force is strong for Jedi police", http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8003067.stm (Retrieved April 18, 2009).
• Marc Abrahams, IgNobel Prizes (Orion Books, London, 2003).
• Henry Petroski, To Engineer is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design (Vintage Books, New York, NY, 1992).
• "Romance of Canes", Simcoe Reformer (Simcoe, Ontario, August 5, 1915, page 6). Note that, as the Simcoe Reformer articles are in the public domain, parts of them were copied verbatim.
• "Murdered 2,500 Years Ago.", Simcoe Reformer (Simcoe, Ontario, June 15, 1906, page 11).
• "Self Made Men In All Ages", Simcoe Reformer (Simcoe, Ontario, April 26, 1907, page 3).
• "Continuum", Omni (April 1992).
• "Continuum", Omni (October 1992).
• Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, "A Woman's Place: Outer Space", Discover (March 2004), page 78.
• Chuck Shepherd, John J. Kohut & Roland Sweet, More News of the Weird (Plume Books, New York, New York, 1990).
• "China, Christianity in", in New Catholic Encyclopedia, second edition, volume 3 (Thomson-Gale, Detroit, Michigan, 2003).
• "10 Things to Learn This Week", Toronto Star (Toronto, Ontario, Sunday, July 6, 2008, page ID1).
• Personal research; Oxford English Dictionary, Second edition, Volume XIV.
• Personal research; "stewardesses" was suggested by Simon Shine.
• Unknown source, with correction from Mark Totton.
• Personal research or recollection.