Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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• It was celebrated physicist Albert Einstein who made the following sage observation: “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” • It was in 1917 when one Dr. Walter G. Walford wrote an article warning readers of the perils of tight collars and ties, claiming that such constricting neckwear caused illness by retarding the flow of blood to the brain. • It’s fairly well known that seahorses are monogamous, staying with the same mate until death. Many people don’t realize, however, that these fish are so devoted that...
• It was British mathematician, philosopher and social critic Bertrand Russell who made the following sage observation: “Every advance in civilization has been denounced as unnatural while it was recent.” • If you’re like most adults, you have approximately 1,000 hairs per square inch of your scalp. That might seem like a lot, but consider the otter: Its 1 million hairs per square inch of skin make it the owner of the densest fur in the world. • Before the 19th century, it was declasse to wear clothing with pockets. All the well-dresse...
• It was 17th-century French author Francois de la Rochefoucauld who made the following sage observation: “It is more often from pride than from ignorance that we are so obstinately opposed to current opinions; we find the first places taken, and we do not want to be the last.” • You probably know that Robert E. Lee was a general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and that he ultimately surrendered the war to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the courthouse at Appomattox, Va. You might not know, though, that Lee had a pet hen tha...
• It was Canadian author Saul Bellow who made the following sage observation: “You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” • More books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than about any other American president — more than 15,000 to date. • It is only to be assumed that Arabella Young, a Massachusetts woman who died in 1771, was considered to be a bit too talkative. Otherwise there would have been no need for the following epitaph: “Here lies as silent clay / Miss Arabella Young, / Who on the 21st of...
• It was British doctor and author Alec Bourne who made the following sage observation: “It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated.” • In 2007, a world record was set off the coast of Brazil when a single wave was caught by 84 surfers. • Have you ever heard of a book called “Never Again” by Doug Nufer? Probably not — it’s not on any bestseller lists and hasn’t been reviewed by any notable critics. It’s quite possibly unique in literary history, however; in its entire 192 pages, not a single word — e...
• It was beloved American humorist Will Rogers who made the following sage observation: “You can’t say civilization don’t advance, for in every war they kill you a new way.” • Elkhart, Ind., has the dubious distinction of being the RV capital of the world. • According to a survey by the magazine Vegetarian Times, if you’re a vegetarian, you have 3 percent of the U.S. population for company. Only half of 1 percent of Americans are vegans, consuming no animal products at all, while 10 percent say they follow a “vegetarian-inclined” diet. • Accord...
• It was Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw who made the following sage observation: “A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” • We’re all familiar with the act of CPR — we often see a film or television character come to the rescue and save a life using the technique. And on TV, according to a recent study, CPR is shown as being successful 75 percent of the time. The reality is not quite so rosy, though. A study conducted in 2010 found that when CPR is used in real life, only about 8 percent of...
It was noted American science fiction author Philip K. Dick who made the following sage observation: “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” The first chocolate factory in the United States was established even before the states were united. Back in 1765, two enterprising men named John Hanan and James Baker chose Dorchester, Mass., as the site for their factory, which they mechanized by using waterpower. If you’re like the average American, you eat 23 quarts of ice cream every year. You might be surpris...
• It’s still not known who made this sage observation: “Wisdom is divided into two parts: a) having a great deal to say, and b) not saying it.” • In 1931, the Newspaper Enterprise Association predicted that crime would be nearly gone in 20 years. • Do you subscribe to the adage “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”? Consider this: Would that teen heartthrob of an earlier day, Bobby Darin, have become so popular if he had been known by his given name, Walden Cassotto? • At one time, Canada’s CBC network banned the children’s cartoon...
It was American author James Thurber who made the following sage observation: “Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.” If you’re a fan of the original “Wizard of Oz” movie, you might be surprised to learn that the actress who played Glinda the Good Witch, Billie Burke, was 54 years old when the film was shot. The award for the most needless war in history could very well go to Paraguay, whose president, Francisco Solano Lopez, believed himself to be an excellent tactician. He was a great admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte and wished to...
• It was 20th-century American critic John Leonard who made the following sage observation: “To be capable of embarrassment is the beginning of moral consciousness. Honor grows from qualms.” • You’ve probably never heard of the Spanish village of Lijar, located in the south of that country. This village, though, was involved in a nearly 100-year war that lasted well into the 20th century. It seems that in 1883, Alfonso XII, the king of Spain, made a state visit to Paris and received a less-than-royal welcome. Led by mayor Don Miguel Garcia Sa...
• It was noted 20th-century poet T.S. Eliot who made the following sage observation: “Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.” • The United States’ first railroad was built in 1809 in Crown Creek, Pa., by a man named Thomas Leiper. It had wooden tracks. • When the now-classic television show “Gilligan’s Island” first aired in 1964, critics were not impressed. The review published in the San Francisco Chronicle said, “It is difficult to believe that this show was written, directed and produced by adults. It marks a new low in...
• During this election season, it might be good to keep in mind the following sage observation, made beloved humorist Will Rogers: “The American people are generous and will forgive almost any weakness with the exception of stupidity.” • Mountain goats aren’t actually goats; they’re antelopes. • Those who study such things say that a mosquito flaps its wings 1,000 times every second. • If you’ve ever been to London — or if you’ve seen a movie that was set there — you might remember the iconic black taxicabs that are ubiquitous in that city; the...
• It was 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who made the following sage observation: “One will rarely err if extreme actions be ascribed to vanity, ordinary actions to habit, and mean actions to fear.” • Are you an agelast or an abderian? If you never laugh, you’re the latter; if you laugh too much, you’re the former. • There is one species of frog, found in the Southeast Asian country of Indonesia, that has no lungs; it breathes entirely through its skin. • You might be surprised to learn that the largest employer in the...
• It was American journalist and satirist Ambrose Bierce who made the following sage observation: “There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don’t know.” • Those who study such things say that when a ladybug is frightened, it squirts a foul-smelling goo from its knees. • You might be surprised to learn that approximately 40 percent of the oxygen in the world’s atmosphere is provided by the verdant plant growth of South America’s Amazon River basin. • Mayan artwork dating back as far as 700 A.D. shows people prep...
• It was American inventor and businessman Thomas Alva Edison who made the following sage observation: “Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.” • If you’re planning a trip to Peru to ring in the new year, you might want to bring along some yellow underwear. In that country it’s considered lucky to wear it on the first day of the new year. • Another story to add to the file on clueless criminals: In 2010, two men in Portland, Ore., went to a supermarket and started removing price tags from...
• It was megalomaniacal French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte who made the following sage observation: “Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.” • Orchids are lovely flowers, and many people dedicate years to growing them and finding rare specimens. If you’re like most people, though, you probably don’t realize that the word orchid comes from the Greek word “orchis,” which means “testicle.” • Records show that the town of Helena, Montana, had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world — way back in...
• It was English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley who made the following sage observation: “Irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors.” • If you put your rubber bands in the refrigerator, they’ll last longer. • It’s not just the tiger’s fur that has stripes; its skin is striped, too. • You probably know that the iconic film “Rocky” starred Sylvester Stallone in the leading role, but you might not be aware of the fact that he wrote the script, as well. The sale of the rights to the script came just in time; he had a total...
STRANGE BUT TRUE • It was 19th-century American humorist Josh Billings who made the following sage observation: “Don’t mistake pleasure for happiness. They’re a different breed of dog.” • Those who study such things say that the immortal bard, William Shakespeare, used a grand total of 17,677 words in his works. (That must have been a tedious calculation.) They also say that fully one-tenth of those words had never been used in writing before. • If you’re like the average American, you eat approximately 10 pounds of chocolate every year. • Y...
STRANGE BUT TRUE • It was American artist and illustrator Florence Scovel Shinn who made the following observation: “The game of life is the game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy.” • In 1811 and again in 1812, earthquakes caused the Mississippi River to temporarily reverse course. • You might be surprised to learn that about a million Americans say they drink Coca-Cola for breakfast. • Dominique Bouhours, a Frenchman who lived in the 17th century, was a priest, an essayist an...
STRANGE BUT TRUE • It was 20th-century American novelist, poet and performer William S. Burroughs who made the following sage observation: “Most of the trouble in this world has been caused by folks who can’t mind their own business, because they have no business of their own to mind, any more than a smallpox virus has.” • The first traffic signal, which began operating in Cleveland in 1914, wasn’t much of a labor-saver. To operate it, a police officer had to sit in a nearby booth where he could oversee the traffic. • Those who study such th...
• It was Hungarian psychiatrist Thomas Stephen Szasz who made the following sage observation: “If you talk to God, you are praying. If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia.” • The world’s most popular fruit is the banana. In the United States, people consume more bananas than apples and oranges put together. • Thomas Jefferson was an inventor as well as a statesman, but he refused to take out patents on any of his ideas. He believed that inventions should benefit all of humanity, not just himself. • According to those who study such th...
STRANGE BUT TRUE • It was revered American comedian Bill Cosby who made the following sage observation: “Human beings are the only creatures that allow their children to come back home.” • Here’s a disturbing statistic for parents: If your child is like the average American youth, between the ages of 5 and 15 he or she will see approximately 13,500 people killed on television. • Most languages change dramatically over time. If we in modern America were to try to read “Beowulf” (which was written in Old English), for instance, only those who...
• It was way back in the 17th century when noted Scottish scholar Patrick Young made the following sage observation: “The trouble with weather forecasting is that it’s right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it.” • About once a week, a frog will shed its skin. Then eat it. • If you’ve watched many old Westerns, you’ve doubtless seen Native Americans scalping their enemies. You probably don’t realize, though, that the brutal practice didn’t originate with the Indians. When the Dutch and English settlers we...
STRANGE BUT TRUE • It was American ventriloquist and comedian Willie Tyler who made the following sage observation: “The reason lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place is that the same place isn’t there the second time.” • Even flight attendants have their own patron saint, as declared by Pope Paul XXIII in 1962: Saint Bona of Pisa. • Many people believe that the Gutenberg Bible, which came from the presses of Johannes Gutenberg in the 1450s, is the first example of a printed book, but that’s not true; it’s the first book printed usin...
