STRANGE BUT 9/8/11

• 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 things, the average American believes the ideal age — that is, the best year of his or her life — is 32. And when 30-somethings are asked when old age begins, the majority of men say it’s in the late 60s, while more women believe old age begins in the 70s.

• That iconic symbol of the Old West, the Pony Express, was based on the mail system used throughout the Mongol Empire in the 13th century. However, the Mongol riders often covered 125 miles in a single day, which was faster than the best record held by a Pony Express rider.

• In Nazi Germany, it was illegal to name a horse “Adolph.”

• Unless you’re from Central Florida, you’ve probably never heard of the small town of Ocoee. So you might be surprised to learn that during World War II, Ocoee earned the distinction of sending more men, per capita, to serve in the military than any other town in the United States.

Thought for the Day: “It ought to be plain / how little you gain / by getting excited / and vexed. / You’ll always be late / for the previous train, / and always in time / for the next.” — Piet Hein

(c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.