Word of the week: "virga." Derived from the Latin for "rod," it's a meteorological term for a streak of precipitation that falls from a cloud, but evaporates before it reaches the ground. Virga is fairly common in desert climates. On the planet Venus it's the rule because of the immense heat near the surface.

Trivia Detective Alert: We don't know how, but Dennis Glauber of Seattle discovered that composers Ludwig van Beethoven and Noel Coward were both born on Dec. 16 and died on March 26. This is the first time we've ever seen a celebrity double-match like this, and we'd like to see more. So, if you can find any other reasonably famous pairs with matching birth and death days, please let us know.

According to Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, what did Sir Winston Churchill describe as "an admirable work, and I studied it intently"?
A) The "Mona Lisa"
B) The film "It's a Wonderful Life"
C) His own autobiography
D) Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

Previous answer: The 2005 biopic "The Aviator" is the most recent film to receive more than 10 Academy Award nominations. It received 11 nominations, winning five Oscars.

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.

 Stanley Newman is the editor of the Newsday Crossword and author/editor of more than 125 books on crosswords, word games and trivia, including "15,003 Answers: The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia" (Random House). To find out more about Stanley Newman visit StanXwords.com, or e-mail him at StanTrivia@aol.com.
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