STRANGE BUT TRUE

• 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 of $106 in his bank account and was trying to sell his dog for lack of the means to feed it.

• In the winter of 1932, Niagara Falls froze solid.

• Madame Tussaud started creating her famous wax figures in 1777 and created many models during the French Revolution.

She traveled around Europe displaying wax figures (both the ones she created and ones she inherited from her mentor), and she opened her first museum in London in 1831.

Today there are branches located in the United Kingdom, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Vienna, Moscow, Bangkok, Dubai, Berlin and Hamburg, plus five U.S. locations.

It’s appropriate that there are more locations in America than in any other country, since so many Hollywood celebrities are recreated in the museums.

In fact, in 2006, Shiloh, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s baby, became the first infant to be memorialized in wax for Madame Tussauds.

• Those who study such things say that apples are more effective than caffeine at waking you up in the morning.

• It’s not clear why, but a duck’s quack doesn’t create echoes.

***

Thought for the Day: “The trouble with being punctual is that nobody’s there to appreciate it.” — Franklin P. Jones

(c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.