I did not know that yesterday!

It would be nice if anyone who wanted to be a ninja could simply fill out a form and mail in a check. Unfortunately, mastering ninjutsu isn't like becoming a minister in a church advertised in the back of "Rolling Stone." This is one tough job. The history of the ninja isn't as glam as you might imagine. Many believe ninjas were peasants who, by law, weren't allowed to study samurai techniques. Instead, the castoffs created a new martial art that utilized espionage, disguise, and weapons that they could carry without arousing suspicion.

Unlike samurai, ninja are largely mythical, having left behind little proof of their existence. Our modern perception (silent assassins dressed in black) is based largely on video games and movies. As far as we can tell, there's no present-day governing body to check your qualifications. You just gotta have the love.

That said, I did find several sites offering "ninja lessons." Who knows, you might learn a thing or two about the art of incapacitation. Also, the Iga-ryu Ninja Museum offers tips on living the "modern ninja life." If studying the pressure points in your ears and hands doesn't sound too fun, you could always live like these guys. Real ultimate power!

For most coffee beans, it begins with a nice, long soak. This submersion draws the caffeine from its beans, leaving us with a bushel of decaffeinated java seeds ready to be roasted, brewed, and slurped down. But hold that cup of joe. This tastes like sludge!

The caffeine isn't the only thing lured from the beans during their decaffeinating bath. The coffee's flavor also seizes that moment to beat a hasty escape. So brewers need to coax the coffee's good taste back. We'll lay out the three primary methods of maintaining taste while separating a bean from its caffeine...

In one practice, the beans' post-soak water is mixed with a solvent that separates the caffeine from the liquid. Alternatively, the caffeinated water can be forced through activated charcoal or carbon filters, which also separates the caffeine from the solution. After either method, the coffee beans are re-submerged in the now-totally-caffeine-free watery extract where (hopefully) they reabsorb their flavor.

Another method that immerses the beans in one heck of a strong steam bath, and then dunks them in carbon dioxide. The CO2 scares the caffeine away, but keeps the beans' taste intact.

So, how successful are these processes? To be called "decaffeinated," caffeine levels must remain below 2.5 percent. And that dictate has the long arm of the law behind it. So bring on the big mug of soy-mocha-latte-ccino -- and make it a decaf.

Anybody who's ever misdialed a phone number knows exactly whom we're talking about. She's the woman who pleasantly lets us know that our call cannot be completed as dialed. But who the heck is she? After a rather exhaustive hunt, we finally tracked down the woman behind the voice, the late Jane Barbe.

It's estimated that in the 1960s, Jane Barbe's friendly voice was heard by as many as 22 million confused callers a day. Too bad she wasn't paid on a per-call basis, eh? Though most famous for her reminders to "hang up and try again," Ms. Barbe was also a professional singer and lent her voice to many commercial jingles over the years.

The drama major and Florida native took her "anonymous fame" in stride, though we imagine it must have been tempting to abuse her vocal powers. After all, who wouldn't like to tell telemarketers to buzz off in her perfectly polite tone? For those longing to listen to the Telephone Lady's melodic announcements, this site offers many of her "greatest hits."

This question has inspired volumes of medical research dating back to the 19th century. People who are visually impaired from birth appear to lack visual imagery in their dreams. It's believed that the parts of their brains that register visual information remain dormant. According to this fascinating article by Diego Kaski in the International Medical Students' Journal, even people who lose their sight early in childhood retain visual imagery in their dreams well into adulthood. However, this imagery fades over time.

Nevertheless, blind people do dream and often describe their dreams in terms of places and surroundings. An article from the University of Santa Cruz notes that blind dreams feature a "very high percentage of gustatory, olfactory, and tactual sensory references," something very unusual for sighted dreamers to experience.

For some intriguing and descriptive quotes on the subject, read Richard Catlett Wilkerson's article "Dreams of the Blind."

Doctors, barbers, even clowns need some schoolin' before they're allowed to practice in their chosen field. But what about an up-and-coming wrestler who's looking to go pro? While you don't need a college degree to bonk somebody over the head with a folding chair, surely there must be some sort of training involved (not counting the potentially painful "on the job" training, of course). Hoping that perhaps the house that Hulk built could tell us what it takes to be king of the ring, we began our search at the official WWE web site. We found a list of job openings with the company, but sadly, none appeared to be for wrestlers.

Onward we marched to a British site entitled Hammerlock Wrestling. Specializing in "professional wrestling and submission wrestling styles," the organization offers wrestling camps for aspiring body-slammers and head-lockers. Apparently they know what they're talking about -- their news archive lists the exploits of former
students and the camp has hosted guests like the great Jake "The Snake" Roberts.

In general, athletes begin as amateurs and then, if they're good enough, move on to the pros. In its own over-the-top way, wresting is no different. If you think you have what it takes to tussle with the big boys (and girls), The Ring Post offers a list of schools from Massachusetts to California.

Monarchy follows its own rules, and the British monarchy is no exception. On a hunt for royal trivia, we sought out Yahoo!'s Elizabeth II category. There we found a FAQ page about Britain's current queen.

Created by the Queen Elizabeth II Library in Newfoundland, Canada, the page answers a lot of questions about the library's namesake. A common query centers on Queen Elizabeth II's husband, asking "Why is Prince Philip not King Philip?" Here's the answer:


In the British monarchy, the husband of a female monarch does not have any recognized special status, rank, or privileges. In actual fact Prince Philip does play a major role in royal affairs, but this is not recognized in terms of his title. Interestingly enough, the wife of a male monarch (e.g. the Queen Mother was the wife of King George VI) takes on her husband's rank and style upon marrying, becoming Queen.

The official British Monarchy web site offers more details about the royal spouse. Prince Philip is the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and was born Prince of Greece and Denmark. Upon his marriage to then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947, Philip was given the title "Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich," and was made a
Knight of the Garter. (He became a British citizen around this time and renounced his Greek and Danish titles). Elizabeth II was coronated in 1953, and in 1957, she granted Philip the title "Prince of the United Kingdom."

So, though his current princely title is a gift from his wife, he was really a prince from birth. But only his son, Prince Charles, has a shot at becoming king.