Strange But True: Nov. 1, 2018

* It was civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. who made the following sage observation: “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

* Everyone knows that a sophomore is someone in his or her second year of high school or college. Most people don’t realize, though, that the word is derived from the Greek words “sophos,” which means “wise,” and “moros,” which means “stupid.”

* Have you ever tried to hum while holding your nose? It can’t be done.

* The creator of the ubiquitous smiley face earned a grand total of $45 for his creative effort.

* If you’re a pet owner, you probably know that the epidemic of obesity is not limited to humans; many pets are overweight, too. You might be surprised to learn, though, that some pet owners choose to deal with the problem in a way that we usually associate only with people: liposuction. Yes, you can get cosmetic surgery for your pets.

* If you hear the word “Bilbo” you might think of a famously adventurous hobbit, but a bilbo is also a finely tempered Spanish sword. 

* A recent study by scientist Karl Berg suggests that an adult green-rumped parrotlet, a tiny bird native to Venezuela, will “name” its babies, assigning each a particular series of peeps to identify it. Not only that, other parrotlets then learn to associate that exact series of peeps with that particular bird, and actually use the sounds to get that bird’s attention.

* In the original version of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale “Cinderella,” doves peck out the stepsisters’ eyes at Cinderella’s wedding.

Thought for the Day

“Life is not a spectacle or a feast; it is a predicament.”

--George Santayana

(c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.