Quotes from Amy Stewart

Epigraph "I got a revolver to protect us." said Miss Constance, "and I soon had use for it." --New York Times, June 3 1915

Perfume makers know that, owing to genetic differences in how we experience fragrances, about half the people who inhale jasmine will think of honey, and the other half, unfortunately, will think of urine. They're both right.

Never had a larger committee been convened to make a decision about the purchase of mustard powder and the replacement of a claw hammer whose handle had split from age and misuse.

give her one silent gift from a mother she didn't know she had—it would be this: the realization that we have to be a part of the world in which we live. We don't scurry away when we're in trouble, or when someone else is. We don't run and hide.

Angels' Share: In storage, a small amount of alcohol escapes the barrel through evaporation. Distillers call this lost alcohol the angels' share. Whiskey and brandy makers estimate that the angels get about 2 percent of the alcohol in a barrel each year, although that can vary depending on humidity and temperature. Fortunately, they can afford to lose some, as most spirits are aged at a higher proof than the final bottling.

can take over a week for a Venus flytrap to devour its prey, and it may only eat a few bugs in its life. Although people can force a trap to close by running a finger along it, carnivorous plant enthusiasts consider this rude.

Even today, we tend to think of sake as a miserable hot, sour, yeasty drink we once tasted at the urging of an aunt who took us to a Japanese restaurant in Kansas City.

Nobody likes my peas," I said. "But we like having you do them," she said.

Mango and cashew trees also produce the irritating resin known as urishol, as does the lacquer tree. In fact, people who are highly sensitive to poison ivy or one of its cousins may experience a cross-sensitivity to mango rind or a lacquer-covered box.