Strange but true 9/29/11

STRANGE BUT TRUE

• It was 20th-century American novelist, poet and performer William S. Burroughs who made the following sage observation: “Most of the trouble in this world has been caused by folks who can’t mind their own business, because they have no business of their own to mind, any more than a smallpox virus has.”

• The first traffic signal, which began operating in Cleveland in 1914, wasn’t much of a labor-saver. To operate it, a police officer had to sit in a nearby booth where he could oversee the traffic.

• Those who study such things claim that at any given moment, there are 850,000 people inside a Walmart store. And that’s just in the United States – there’s no telling how many people are shopping at Walmarts abroad.

• California Tech conducted a study in which consumers were offered two samples of the same wine, but each sample was labeled at a different price point. Unaware that the wines they were drinking were identical, most participants said they preferred the more expensive sample.

• If you’re planning a trip to Turkey, be sure to book a stay at the Marmara Antalya on the country’s southern coast. This unique hotel revolves, offering ever-changing views of the Mediterranean Sea to its guests.

• Are you a phonophile? If so, you might be finding it hard to pursue your passion in this digital age — a phonophile (also known as a gramophile) is a collector of phonograph records.

• Between 70 percent and 80 percent of all the Earth’s fresh water is stored in glaciers, 99 percent of which are found in the Arctic and in Antarctica.

Thought for the Day: “You know you’re getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you’re down there.” — George Burns

(c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.