Strange But True

* It was 19th-century English naturalist and biologist Charles Darwin who made the following sage observation: “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

* In Nazi Germany it was illegal to name a horse Adolph.

* If you grew up with the Girl Scouts decades ago (as I did), you might be surprised to learn about a new badge they’re offering: cybersecurity. Yep, that’s right. The national organization worked with a security company to come up with a curriculum, and now Girl Scouts everywhere can earn a badge for learning about cyberattacks, online safety and computer networks.

* In 1950, 70 percent of all the cars, buses and trucks in the world could be found in the United States.

* Statisticians claim that the more money a man makes, the more likely he is to cheat on his spouse.

* On at least one early map of the New World you’ll see the name “Codfish Country” on the area now known as the United States.

* Between 1960 and 2006, the average American’s production of solid waste — including everything from paper packaging to lawn clippings — increased by 150 percent to 4.5 pounds every day.

* Those who study such things say that the tradition of a bride and groom exchanging wedding rings originated in the Middle East.

* Farmers in Turkey marched on both the American and Soviet embassies in 1967, demanding reparations for crops that they lost to floods. Why were the Americans and Soviets to blame for floods in Turkey? The farmers claimed that the flights of spacecraft created “holes in the sky.”

Thought for the Day

“The first symptom of love in a young man is timidity; in a girl, boldness.”

--Victor Hugo

(c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.