Vinegar lasts indefinitely in the pantry without refrigeration. Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, used vinegar to help clear boulders blocking the path of his elephants across the Alps. Titus Livius reported in The History of Rome that Hannibal's soldiers heated the rocks and applied vinegar to split them. According to the New Testament, Roman soldiers offered a sponge filled with vinegar to Jesus on the cross. While the act is considered cruel, vinegar actually shuts off the tastebuds, temporarily quenching thirst, suggesting that the Roman soldiers may have been acting out of kindness.
Copper is the best low-cost conductor of electricity.
Copper does not rust. In damp air, copper gets coated with a green film called a patina, which protects the metal against further corrosion. Pennies are actually made from zinc coated with less than 3 percent copper. Soaking pennies in Taco Bell hot sauce removes the tarnish. A penny will be tossed heads 49.5 percent of the time.