Disambiguations™ for February 20, 2011

I. "There are books up there that I can’t even remember whether I’ve read or not."
—Joshua Foer, "Secrets of a Mind Gamer," NYT Magazine

II. The hotel had all kinds of innovations and idiosyncrasies: Turkish baths, a squash court, boot and gun rooms, a bowling alley and billiard parlor. Thomas Edison installed the electricity and a stock ticker wired directly to Wall Street. The Italian workers, meanwhile, imparted their own old-world superstitions. The number of steps to the floors, for example, were varied — 33 to the second floor from the main registration area but only 31 steps in the south tower staircase. Why? To confuse ghosts." —Chris Colin, "In New Hampshire, Can Bretton Woods Get Gnarly?," NYT