Strange But True: January 30, 2020

* It was famed cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead who made the following sage observation: "One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don't come home at night."

* It's been estimated that a million pigeons live in New York City.

* When pop star Christina Aguilera is on tour, she insists on having a police escort. She hates to be stuck in traffic.

* Next time you're heading to Illinois, you can stop off in Metropolis and visit the self-declared birthplace of Superman. In honor of their hometown superhero, the citizens erected a 15-foot bronze statue of him on Main Street.

* It was Abraham Lincoln who signed into law the legislation that created the Secret Service. That very night, he was assassinated.

* Those who study such things say that on the 13th of every month, triskaidekaphobia causes a loss of $83 million to American business due to absenteeism from work and other disruptions.

* In the United States, more babies are born on Oct. 5 than on any other day of the year. If you do the math, you'll find that New Year's Eve is 9 months and 5 days before that.

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Thought for the Day: "Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald

(c) 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.