Strange But True: August 22, 2019

* It was American poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay -- the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, by the way -- who made the following sage observation: "A person who publishes a book appears willfully in public with his pants down."

* It's often been said that necessity is the mother of invention -- and for good reason. Here's an example: The idea for the original pull-top can originated when the inventor was at a picnic; he had forgotten to bring a can opener, so he had to use a car bumper.

* If you live in Georgia, you need to watch that wagging tongue: In that state it's illegal to spread a false rumor.

* According to cetologists, an adult right whale requires 400,000 calories a day to survive. These scientists who specialize in whales also note that the mainstay of these mammals' diet is a flea-sized crustacean called a copepod.

* If you're right-handed, studies show that you tend to wash your left hand more thoroughly than your right hand. Reverse that if you're a leftie.

* A study of 28 women found that screaming has a therapeutic effect on the physiology of the body. After bouts of screaming, the test subjects showed slower heart rates, lower blood pressure and lower body temperature.

* Those who study such things -- and who, evidently, have way too much time on their hands -- claim that there are 108 stitches in a baseball.

* If you take into account all the sales in the world, there are approximately 50 Bibles sold every minute.

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Thought for the Day: "For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work." -- Doug Larson

(c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.