STRANGE BUT TRUE - July 8, 2010

* You might be surprised to learn that it was theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, one of the best-known scientists of all time, who made the following sage observation: “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”

* On average, a man’s beard grows about a half-inch every month.

* Do you suffer from coprolalia? I would hope not! If you’re a word deconstructionist and up on your Greek, you might be able to figure out that coprolalia means an uncontrollable use of obscene language, since “copro” means “dung” and “lalia” means “chatter” or “babble.”

* Marilyn Monroe’s iconic film “Some Like It Hot” (which in 2000 was named the greatest American comedy film of all time by the American Film Institute) was originally titled “Not Tonight Josephine!”

* The next time you have jury duty and want to get out of it, you might want to keep this in mind: A judge in Liverpool, England, dismissed a man from the jury when fellow jurors complained about the fleas in his beard.

* At one time, the Catholic Church considered it sinful to eat a hot dog.

* If you’re ever visiting Egypt and asking for directions, remember that in that country, “upstream” means south.

* It’s probably fair to say that people have been enjoying mixed alcoholic beverages for hundreds of years, but the word “cocktail” wasn’t in general use until 1888, when it was printed for the first time, in a bartender’s manual.

* In Connecticut in the 17th century, it was illegal to smoke more than one cigarette a day, and that one had to be smoked at home.

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Thought for the Day: “A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.” — Robert A. Heinlein

(c) 2010 King Features Synd., Inc.