STRANGE BUT TRUE

• It was American humorist and columnist Josh Billings who made the following sage observation: “Reason often makes mistakes, but conscience never does.”

• You think there are a lot of lawsuits being heard in the courts these days? Statistics show that half of the suits filed never even make it to court.

• In France in the 1700s, capital punishment was not uncommon, and criminals thus condemned were decapitated by the country’s Chief Executioner.

This position was hereditary, which posed a problem when, in 1726, the holder of that title, Charles-Jean-Baptiste Sanson, suffered an early death, l...