STRANGE BUT TRUE

• 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 the networks’ estimation of public intelligence.” The show went on to air for three seasons and spurred three TV movie sequels.

• Believing that beards and long hair were too easy for enemies to grab, Alexander the Great ordered his soldiers to shave their faces and heads before going into battle.

• You hear a lot about the isolationism of Switzerland — the country that’s always neutral in any conflict — but you might be surprised to learn how serious they are about it. The country’s system of roads is mined in 2,000 places and can be demolished in the space of 10 minutes.

• Are you doing your share? If you’ve had a beer today, you’ve contributed to the approximately 90 million cans of the brew that are consumed by Americans every day.

• When the territory that later became the state of Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867, the cost came out to about 2 cents per acre.

Thought for the Day: “My father taught me to work, but not to love it. I never did like to work, and I don’t deny it. I’d rather read, tell stories, crack jokes, talk, laugh — anything but work.” — Abraham Lincoln

(c) 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.