Strange But True: Mar. 8, 2018

* It was English theologian Edwin Abbott Abbott who made the following sage observation: “Men are divided in opinion as to the facts. And even granting the facts, they explain them in different ways.”

* You may be surprised to learn that hot and cold running water has been around for thousands of years. Members of the upper class in ancient Egypt used copper tubing to pipe it into their homes.

* If you take a close look at New Hampshire’s Constitution Bill of Rights, you’ll find “the right of revolution” enshrined therein.

* GPS is a powerful tool that has changed the way we navigate the world. Of course, it’s not without its problems. Take, for instance, the case of the 23-year-old Canadian woman driving through the Ontario town of Tobermory. She was a stranger there, so — as most of us would — she was using her GPS. Evidently, she was so intent on following the directions provided to her that she wasn’t paying attention to where those directions were taking her — that is, until she ended up in Georgian Bay. She made it to shore safely, but her car didn’t.

* It seems that artist Leonardo da Vinci pioneered the paint-by-numbers style of art. He would sketch a piece, then number certain sections for his assistants to paint.

* Before the middle of the 18th century, it was not unusual for members of a play’s audience to be seated onstage, just a few feet from the performance. If viewers thought an actor’s performance was particularly bad, they might even try to bump the performer off the stage.

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Thought for the Day: “It’s splendid to be a great writer, to put men into the frying pan of your imagination and make them pop like chestnuts.” — Gustave Flaubert

(c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.