STRANGE BUT TRUE - March 17, 2011

It was Kurt Vonnegut, one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, who made the following sage observation: “There is no reason why good cannot triumph over evil. The triumph of anything is a matter of organization. If there are such things as angels, I hope they are organized along the lines of the Mafia.”

That cork you pulled out of your wine bottle was made from the bark of a tree. The cork oak has to grow for 25 years before any cork is harvested, and then it’s stripped only every 10 years thereafter.

If you can predict the future by watching the flight patterns of birds, you are engaging in ornithomancy.

The coldest place on earth is a place known only as Ridge A in Antarctica. The average winter temperature there is -94 degrees F.

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, the average television screen in United States homes is growing by 1 inch every year.

It was Ambrose Bierce, in his “Devil’s Dictionary,” who defined “admiration” as “our polite recognition of another’s resemblance to ourselves.”

Ever wonder why magazine publisher Hugh Hefner chose a rabbit as the symbol of his Playboy magazine? Evidently, when the mogul was a small boy, one of his treasured possessions was a blanket with bunnies all over it.

Thought for the Day: “I’ve done the calculation, and your chances of winning the lottery are identical whether you play or not.” — Fran Lebowitz

2011 King Features Synd., Inc.