By Sam Wein

Pinhead Chronicles

The Governor’s Palace in Santa Fe, New Mexico, built by the Spanish in 1609 is the oldest surviving building of non-Indian design in the U.S.

The British Journal of Botany, Vol. LXXIX, 1941 reported that “at present the supply of penicillin is small, so much so that the large amounts consumed by intravenous administration was partly retrieved from the urine of patients to be used again.”

Nail polish when stored in the refrigerator will have a longer life, and go on smoother.

Orchids are grown from seed so small that it would take 30,000 to weigh as much as one grain of wheat.

On July 31, 1994, Simon Sang Sung of Singapore turned a single piece of dough into 8,192 noodles in 59.29 seconds.

As many as nine out of 10 people are right-handed, and the word for that side, “right,” is derived from a variety of sources, all of which suggest strength. “Left,” on the other hand, comes from the Old English, “lyft,” for useless or weak.

In Idaho a citizen is forbidden by law to give another citizen a box of candy that weighs more than 50 pounds.

Between 25 percent to 33 percent of the population sneeze when they are exposed to light.

The giant cricket of Africa enjoys eating human hair.

The Chinese term “Shi” has 73 different meanings depending on how it is pronounced. Thus it is possible to construct a sentence such as, “The master is fond of licking lion spittle” just by using “Shi” again and again.

Mageiricophobia is the fear of having to cook.

The main library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill they used the whistle to get some service. This practice generated the phrase, “Wet your whistle.”

Pittsburgh is the only city where all the major sports teams have the same colors: black and gold.

In 1588 A.D., the potato was introduced to Ireland by way of wrecked ships of the Spanish Armada.

If you have three quarters, four dimes and four pennies, you have $1.19.

You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.

Wein is a Los Altos resident.