STRANGE BUT TRUE - April 22, 2010

* It was beloved American comedian and actor Bob Hope who made the following extremely sage observation: “People who throw kisses are hopelessly lazy.”

* Next time you’re in Tinseltown, remember that it is unlawful to herd more than 3,000 sheep at a time down Hollywood Boulevard.

* In the naming of American states, there are quite a few that never quite made it.

It’s interesting to speculate about the possibilities, though.

For instance, if you currently reside in the state of Kentucky or parts of Tennessee, but for the whimsy of fate you could be a Transylvanian.

Some people once wanted to take parts of Texas and Oklahoma to create the great state of Texlahoma (perhaps displaying a slight lack of imagination).

When the Mormon church settled out west, Brigham Young petitioned to have the state of Deseret created, and the land he suggested make up the state included present-day Utah, almost all of Nevada and Arizona, a sizable chunk of California and bits of five other states.

Long Island, in New York, even had designs on statehood at one time.

* In the 19th century, ice accounted for more shipping than any other commodity except cotton.

* William Howard Taft, the 18th president of the United States, was a large man. Quite a large man. In fact, he was so large that his 300-pound bulk got stuck in a White House bathtub, and he had to summon help to extricate himself.

* The French town of Versailles was originally built solely to house the staff of the extravagant palace.

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Thought for the Day: “The telling of jokes is an art of its own, and it always rises from some emotional threat. The best jokes are dangerous, and dangerous because they are in some way truthful.” — Kurt Vonnegut

(c) 2010 King Features Synd., Inc.