Word of the week: "factoid," which you may have noticed hasn't appeared before in this space. Although some take its meaning to be a tidbit of trivia, the word was coined by Norman Mailer for his 1973 biography of Marilyn Monroe, to be a statement of dubious authenticity. (Thanks to Alex Vaughn of Old Lyme, Conn.)

Coincidence? We have no idea. The characters of the 1948 Cole Porter musical "Kiss Me Kate" include Lois Lane, who plays Bianca in Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew." We could find no evidence of any connection to the Superman character of the same name (who debuted in Action Comics #1 in 1938). If you have any information on this, please let us know.

What famous American wrote the book "African Game Trails?"
A) Theodore Roosevelt
B) Mark Twain
C) Charlton Heston
D) Erica Jong

Previous answer: The world's largest inhabited castle as well as the world's oldest in continuous operation is England's Windsor Castle. Dating back to the days of William the Conqueror, the castle's floor space is about 500,000 square feet.

TRIVIA FANS: Send the trivia questions you've always wanted answered, or original TriviaBits ideas of your own, with your full name and hometown, to Stan Newman at StanTrivia@aol.com or on a postcard to P.O. Box 69, Massapequa Park, NY 11762.

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