Mental Floss one of my favorite websites. I mean seriously, where else can you be schooled in cockroach anatomy (Amazing Mental Floss Fact: The Cockroach can live up to two weeks without a head because its “brain” is spread throughout its body.); the history of NBC sitcoms (Amazing Fact: NBC executives originally wanted Paul Giamatti for the role of Michael Scott on The Office, but Giamatti wasn’t interested.); and intimate details about the lives of celebrities? (Amazing Fact: Donald Duck’s middle name is Fauntleroy.)

Which is why I’m so psyched that the good people at Mental Floss have decided to collaborate on a trivia throwdown to get people in the “spirit” for my upcoming Ultimate Halloween Pop Culture Night at The Bell House on October 29th.

Today’s Starbcks Alter Ego comes from a man named Anibal. He writes on Twitter:  Actually, I’m surprised it has taken this long. Maybe they just saw my inner muppet.

The Northern Lights are so intense this fall that they have been visible in northern US states. Normally we Canadians have an exclusive on this.

A funny thing happened on Twitter yesterday…Aileen Gallagher summed it up nicely: This morning @emilynussbaum was just discovering “In the Papers” and by bedtime was Twitter pals w/ @patkiernan. Only on the Internet.

I read a tiny blurb in the New York Post this morning about something called a fruit salad tree, which grows several different kinds of fruit, all on one tree. Part of me didn’t believe it, so I went investigating. And apparently, it’s legit.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal’s Ralph Gardner Jr. came down to the NY1 studios to research a column about NY1’s 20th anniversary. His column was included in my In the Papers round-up that morning, so naturally, I had him give his own synopsis on air. Gardner devotes much of his column to the uncomfortable experience of being put on the spot and hearing about it all day from those who watched.

You’ve got to check out this very cool behind-the-scenes explanation of how LA Times photographer Gary Friedman got this amazing shot of the space shuttle Endeavor. Friedman shows us his entire contact sheet and says “the juxtaposition between shuttle Endeavour and the Hollywood sign seemed fortuitous.”

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer put me to the test last night—the trivia test, that is—at an event last night. A huge crowd came out for TrivWorks trivia night including Stringer, who offered me a chance at “dual citizenship,” which would grant me the right to travel freely between Brooklyn and Manhattan if I could answer a few questions about the latter.

This made me realize how much I enjoyed watching “The West Wing.” The cast got back together to shoot a video urging people to learn about non-partisan races that will be on the ballot in November.