Strange but true: Jan. 4, 2018

STRANGE BUT TRUE

* The unknown soul who made the following sage observation must have been a keen observer of events: “A politician can appear to have his nose to the grindstone while straddling a fence and keeping both ears to the ground.”

* In the 17th century, a Frenchman opened a coffee shop in London and sold chocolate, newly imported from the Americas, for 10 to 15 shillings a pound. That may not sound like much until you learn that at the time, the going price of a pound gold was 20 to 30 shillings.

* Are you interested in pogonotrophy? If you’re a woman, the answer is probably no. The word, derived from the Greek word “pogon,” or “beard,” and the suffix “trophy,” or nourishment, refers to the growing of a beard.

* Most people realize that many places in the United States were once known by different names. Here’s a sampling: the Potomac River was originally called Conococheague Creek, Camp David was named Shangri-La, and the USA itself was once known as the United States of Congress Assembled.

* Good news for the not-so-neat among us: Making your bed could be bad for you. A study done in the United Kingdom at Kingston University showed that the linens of an unmade bed retain less moisture, therefore making them less attractive to dust mites.

* Evidently it’s not just humans who associate a deeper voice with maturity (and desirability) in males. It seems that male owls try to appear more macho and attract females by lowering the tone of their hoots.

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Thought for the Day: “The cult of individual personalities is always, in my view, unjustified. To be sure, nature distributes her gifts variously among her children. But there are plenty of the well-endowed ones too, thank God, and I am firmly convinced that most of them live quiet, unregarded lives.” — Albert Einstein

(c) 2017 King Features Synd., Inc.