If they couldn’t obtain coffee, 19th-century Americans were known to experiment with brewing everything from sweet potatoes to carrots to cigar butts in an attempt to replicate its flavor. This was especially true during the American Civil War, when people in the South had little coffee but plenty of okra. So, they started roasting and grinding okra seeds and brewing them into a naturally caffeine-free beverage that they considered an acceptable coffee substitute — provided one added plenty of cream and sugar.
Computer scientist James Gosling is best known for developing which programming language released by Sun Microsystems in 1995?
A) COBOL
B) Fortran
C) Java
D) Python
Previous answer: After 15 years in service, Russian space station Mir reentered Earth’s atmosphere and broke into pieces over the Pacific Ocean in 2001.
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]
