THE LEFT LANE
The secret pictures on your $20 bill

Advertiser Staff and News Services

To try it yourself, first fold the bill in half lengthwise so the White House is on the outside. Hold it with the top half face up. Fold the right side of the bill under diagonally and flip it up (so the bill is L-shaped but on its side), aligning the edge with the flagpole on the White House on top. Repeat with the left side (creating a point at the bottom, like the nose of a paper airplane). View the plane from one side to see what looks like a flat smoldering Pentagon, the other side for what looks like the fiery twin towers.

Warren Dodd of Melbourne, Fla., has received more than 1.8 million hits on his Web site (www.allbrevard.net) since he posted pictures and folding instructions in May. He's tried in vain to find the trick's origin. "I think somebody was just trying to fold a $20 bill to make a paper airplane and happened to notice it," Dodd says. "It's just kind of a silly coincidence."

Initial designs for the new $20 bill were started in 1996, three years before the bill was released to the public, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

One of the most well-used sources of gardening guidance isn't a book or TV show. It hangs in the night sky. Countless generations of gardeners have timed their planting and gardening chores by the phases of the moon. It's a practice that's rooted in folklore and superstition, yet there's a scientific explanation, too: Proponents say the moon's gravitational pull affects the amount of moisture in the soil, which in turn determines whether a plant puts its energy into root or leaf growth. If you believe it, the soil moisture of today's new moon makes this one of the best days to plant.

Now there is a Web site www.gardeningbythemoon.com, that can help you plot your own planting schedule based on moon phases, astrology and your location. Or you can order a calendar that lays it all out for you.