STRANGE BUT TRUE - Aug. 5, 2010

* It was librarian and essayist Frederick Saunders who made the following sage observation: “Pride, like laudanum and other poisonous medicines, is beneficial in small, though injurious in large, quantities. No man who is not pleased with himself, even in a personal sense, can please others.”

* Earthquakes occur at a rate of roughly one every minute around the world. About eight of those every year are considered to be major, registering above 7.0 on the Richter Scale.

* Statistics show that the average 5-year-old boy today weighs about 10 percent more and the average 5-year-old girl about 8 percent more than children of the same age in the 1980s.

* Those who study such things say that the word “daisy” started out as “day’s eye” and was shortened over the years. Similarly, “God be with you” became “goodbye” and “whole be thou” became “hello.”

Thought for the Day: “To avoid situations in which you might make mistakes may be the biggest mistake of all.” — Peter McWilliams

(c) 2010 King Features Synd., Inc.