Ticket to ride

Fly me to the moon: Having retired its shuttle fleet, NASA has booked up to three flights with a private commercial space carrier, suborbital flights with Virgin Galactic, during which it will conduct experiments aboard the privately built spac

ecraft.

NASA will be permitted 1,300 pounds of equipment for each flight, but to comply with Transportation Security Administration rules, it will be only be allowed to carry its shampoo in a 3-ounce bottle.

—

Wigged out: Hundreds of judges in Ireland have abandoned their white horsehair wigs for the first time since the practice began in the 17th century. The move was a cost-cutting measure as the wigs cost the economically distressed Ireland $3,000 each.

Fortunately, the jurists will be allowed to keep their black robes as they wear the same thing beneath their vestments that Scottish judges were beneath their kilts.

—

Don’t know much about history: On this day in 1860, 11-year-old Grace Bedell of Westfield, N.Y., wrote a letter to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, suggesting he grow a beard to improve his appearance.

Some 151 years later, a distant relative of Bedell’s wrote an email to every lawmaker in Washington, D.C., suggesting they could improve their appearance by pulling their heads out of their backsides.

—