The Now I Know Week in Review

Monday: The Case of George Washington Versus Pinocchio -- The cherry tree and the wooden boy are both parables about lying, at least to some degree. Which is more effective?

Tuesday: The Crows Didn’t Mind Dick Cheney, Though: I sent this under the wrong title originally -- this is the right one. This is a fun one (and really has very little to do with Dick Cheney).

Wednesday: When Bees Get Too Buzzed: They don't get to go home and they can't stay near. (Okay, maybe they can stay near, but that'd ruin the parody lyric I'm trying to make there.)

Thursday: The Physics Behind Planes With Flying Advertising Banners: This is one of the first Now I Knows I wrote, and by that, I mean probably number 300 or so. It's one of those things that, even now, I don't really believe it's so difficult to pull off -- I mean, it's just a banner, how hard could it be for an airplane to pull it around?

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And some other things you should check out:

Like many small towns across the country, Gerald, Mo. was struggling with a tiny police force and a big drug problem. Then a man, known as "Sgt. Bill," showed up.

Bill Jakob flashed a badge and announced his credentials: an undercover federal agent sent to clean up the town in a county with one of the highest number of methamphetamine labs in the country.

He quickly helped police round up dozens of suspects and was welcomed like a conquering hero. As Katie Couric first reported last November, it all seemed just a little too good to be true.