Happy Zero-th Birthday!

It's a girl! Congratulations to Very Little Known Facts co-founder Britt Bergman and his lovely wife Nora. Their daughter Phoebe Jane Bergman was born today, June 26, at 7:40am. Not only is today Phoebe's birthday, but it is Britt's as well! To celebrate the happy occasion, we at Very Little Known Facts have put together a very special Puerperium Edition of facts and babycare tips. Enjoy!

• During World War II when water was rationed, people often kept bathwater in the tub for weeks at a time. Showers were only for special occasions, at times reserved for hospital patients who needed to be clean for surgery or childbirth. This was the origin of the phrase "baby shower."

• TALL TAILS: Over half of American babies are born with tails. In almost all cases, the tail falls off within minutes of birth, but approximately 1 out of 1,200 babies require surgery to remove the tail. (Note: insurance companies consider this cosmetic or plastic surgery and do not cover the cost of the operation.) Identical twins born with tails can have a condition known as codae congenitalis where the two tails have wound around each other in utero, fusing into one biomass that may share blood vessels and even nerve endings.

• Humans are the only primates capable of giving birth to live gorillas.

• THEY CALL IT IRISH COFFEE: One shot of espresso mixed with formula is an old Irish folk remedy for teething pains.

• Never try to "calm" a crying baby. This will only prolong the process.

• IT'S A GUY THING: Newborns regenerate cells at an exponential rate. This is why circumcision is always performed at least three years after birth; otherwise the foreskin would simply grow back!

• IF YOUR BABY WAS BORN TODAY: Babies born in 2006 are Pisces, making them even-tempered and fair-haired. In Chinese astrology, they are born in the year of the Human. They will be 82 by the time Haley's Comet returns. They will never know what a "land line" telephone is, much less a "VCR" or a "bicycle." They will graduate from college in the year 2020, except by then "college" will be a robot. By the time they are old enough to drive in 2018, gasoline will cost over $3.00 a gallon, but don't worry--cars will run on wind power. Houses will no longer be made of wood but of factory-made boards of industrial composites bonded with artificial adhesives under high-temperature, high-pressure conditions. Toilets will no longer use precious, precious water but will instead work with lasers. Dogs will be able to speak using implanted microchips. Television will be replaced by the World Wide Web, which in turn will become obsolete as the Internet gains in social acceptance. Marriage will be defined as the spiritual union between a man and a woman. Cars will still not fly, but birds will. Nobody in the world will speak French.