STRANGE BUT TRUE - Sept. 2, 2010

* It was author, journalist and political consultant Vic Gold who made the following sage observation: “The squeaking wheel doesn’t always get the grease. Sometimes it gets replaced.”

* The record for the longest space flight in history is held by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov. In 1995 he completed a 438-day stay aboard the Mir space station.

* It’s commonly believed that Eskimos have 50 or more words for different types of snow but no word for just plain snow. In point of fact, that statement is misleading, as the Eskimo language is composed largely of roots and suffixes that can be combined in virtually unlimited ways.

* A traditional groom in Norway wears short pants, knee socks, and a silk shirt along with a vest and topcoat.

* Everyone knows that China is the most populous country on Earth today, with nearly 20 percent of the world’s population. But you might not realize that there are now more people living in China than lived on the entire planet 150 years ago.

* The IRS reportedly spends $2.45 for every $100 in taxes it collects.

Thought for the Day: “I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I’ll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.” — Isaac Asimov

(c) 2010 King Features Synd., Inc.