Know more. Gloat responsibly.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 | 5-minute read

Good morning, intellectually overqualified person. Today, a potato patch nearly starts a war, a princess has better material than her screenwriters, and Halloween loses an argument to a turnip. Let's make you difficult to sit next to.

On June 15, 1859, an American settler named Lyman Cutlar found a pig eating his potatoes on San Juan Island. He shot it. The animal belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company, whose manager, Charles Griffin, considered Cutlar an illegal occupant. Cutlar considered himself an American defending his property. Both men believed they had geography on their side. This is rarely a promising start to a conversation.

Their disagreement had a much bigger problem underneath it. An 1846 treaty had drawn the U.S.–British boundary through a channel near Vancouver Island, without resolving which of two channels it meant. The San Juan Islands sat between them. So when British officials threatened Cutlar with arrest, American settlers requested military protection. U.S. troops arrived. British warships followed. Somewhere in this escalation, the potatoes stopped being the main issue.

By late August, 461 American troops were on the island, with artillery. Fortunately, British Rear Admiral Baynes resisted turning the standoff into a shooting war. President James Buchanan sent General Winfield Scott to defuse the crisis, and the two countries agreed to a joint military occupation while ownership remained unresolved. A neighbor dispute had acquired foreign policy, naval logistics, and an impressively long administrative tail.

The boundary question finally went to arbitration under Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm I. On October 21, 1872, the decision favored the United States. Thirteen years after the pig incident, the argument had a resolution. No humans had died in the confrontation. The episode became known as the Pig War, a reminder that diplomacy sometimes succeeds by persuading heavily armed adults to stop making things worse.

On October 21, 1959, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opened its Frank Lloyd Wright building in New York City. Its spiraling ramp made the architecture part of the attraction.

Wright had received the commission 16 years earlier. Apparently even a building designed around continuous movement can take its time.

Pocket fact: The famous spiral is the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Save that for the next person who confidently assigns every unusual building to Frank Gehry.

Carrie Fisher was born October 21, 1956. Before becoming Princess Leia, she appeared on Broadway alongside her mother, Debbie Reynolds, in Irene.

She also built a substantial writing career, including the novel Postcards from the Edge. Being an intergalactic icon was apparently insufficient use of the working day.

Birthday question: Fisher made her film debut in which 1975 comedy?

A. Shampoo
B. The Goodbye Girl
C. Private Benjamin

The Orionid meteor shower peaks tonight, October 21, into the morning of October 22. Under ideal conditions, it typically produces around 10–20 meteors an hour. This year's bright waxing gibbous Moon will interfere, so the darker period after moonset offers a better opportunity, weather permitting.

Find a dark location, get comfortable, and give the sky your attention. The universe has supplied the spectacle. You can supply a jacket.

Future trivia question: Which famous comet leaves the debris responsible for the Orionids?

A. Hale–Bopp
B. Halley
C. NEOWISE

Today's theme: Halloween facts you can deploy while everyone else is discussing their costume.

SMUG: Candy corn was once marketed as Chicken Feed. The agricultural imagery was a selling point. Someone successfully looked at a bag of sugar and thought, “What if we made this sound more like poultry supplies?”

SMUGGER: Smuggle this into the pumpkin-carving conversation: Irish Halloween traditions include carved turnip lanterns. The National Museum of Ireland preserves a particularly unsettling example. Your decorative gourd has ancestors, and they look like they know where you live.

SMUGGEST: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein appeared in 1818. The creator is Victor Frankenstein; his creature does not receive that surname in the novel. Use this correction sparingly. There is a fine line between winning the fact and losing the invitation.

Three questions. No Googling. Your browser has done enough for you.

1. Which of these animals is capable of true powered flight?

A. Flying squirrel
B. Bat
C. Flying lemur

*2. Who wrote Dracula, published in 1897?*

A. Bram Stoker
B. Edgar Allan Poe
C. H. G. Wells

*3. Complete the original subtitle: Frankenstein; or, The Modern _____.*

A. Icarus
B. Prometheus
C. Narcissus

Answers below. Take a moment to become unnecessarily confident.

*Birthday Bragging Rights: A. Shampoo. Fisher's first film appearance came in 1975, before Star Wars* made her internationally famous.

Future Trivia: B. Halley. Earth passes through debris shed by Halley's Comet. The comet itself does not need to be nearby for the shower.

Daily Smug Test

1. B. Bat. Bats are the only mammals capable of true powered flight. Flying squirrels glide, which is impressive but does not qualify.

2. A. Bram Stoker. His 1897 novel gave Count Dracula a remarkably durable career.

3. B. Prometheus. Shelley's full title is Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Even the subtitle came prepared for trivia night.

Your standing:
3/3: Smuggest. Try to remain employable.
2/3: Smug. A respectable amount of insufferable.
0–1/3: Still welcome. Please supervise the snacks.

You have accumulated facts. Time to see whether they earn their keep.

Play daily puzzles, tackle trivia, and explore Grand Rapids challenges at citygames.co. Play directly on the website. No download required.

Stay smug. You've done the reading.

Know more. Gloat responsibly.