Born in Roswell, New Mexico in 1962, Moore's biological father didn't stick around, and the future actress assumed the surname of her stepfather, Guynes -- the name that also appears on her birth certificate.

The family moved numerous times until landing in Los Angeles in 1976. After dropping out of high school, she married songwriter Freddy Moore and assumed his surname. By the time they divorced in 1985, she had made a name for herself on General Hospital and in St. Elmo's Fire, and presumably chose to keep it.

Title 4, section 8 (a) of the United States Federal Code reads: "The flag should never be displayed with the union [the stars] facing down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property."

The flag code contains a number of federal laws designating how U.S. citizens are to treat the flag. However, there are no penalties for violating these codes, since penalties would violate the First Amendment of the Constitution guaranteeing free speech and freedom of expression.

Although the accusation has been leveled at everyone from Liz Taylor to Dolly Parton to Cher (especially Cher) and even Marilyn Manson, none of them has ever gone under the knife and been deboned of a set of ribs. It's a ridiculous but persistent rumor that crops up about various female celebrities now and again.

Cher has responded most aggressively to the false rumors, going so far as to sue Paris Match magazine for reporting it. She even asked to be examined by a doctor and had that doctor report her findings to the media (her ribs are intact), to no avail.

The legend -- that birds eat the rice and subsequently "explode" -- got a lot of mileage when it was mentioned by Ann Landers in a 1996 column of hers. The USA Rice Federation responded by saying that it was entirely unfounded, that it poses no danger to birds, and that many of them count on rice during their migration periods.

While we're at it, there's no truth to the myth that Alka-Seltzer will make seagulls explode, either.

According to the abstract on the patent, the apparatus uses "a torsion bar with an anchored end and a free end, and a fulcrum rod movably mounted above the torsion bar" to adjust resistance. The point is to stave off erectile problems by improving circulation to the area and "strengthening the muscles to improve and maintain sexual function."

The patent was issued to inventor Andre Szekely of Woodbourne, NY.