Strange But True: Dec. 21, 2017

STRANGE BUT TRUE

* It was 20th-century American professor and noted author Isaac Asimov who made the following sage observation: “A poor idea well-written is more likely to be accepted than a good idea poorly written.”

* According to a Scandinavian tradition, Christmas gifts aren’t delivered by Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas — a little gnome called Julenisse puts gifts under the tree. And instead of cookies and milk, children put out a bowl of porridge for him.

* It’s commonly believed that misery sometimes can beget genius — the stereotype of the tortured artist is ubiquitous. However, recent research suggests that there’s not as much truth to the trope as many think. According to a study titled “Death, Bereavement and Creativity,” recently published in the journal Management Science, works created by painters during the year following a loved one’s death were worth about 35 percent less that other works by the same artist. Those paintings also are significantly less likely to be included in the collection of a major museum.

* Those who enjoy making calculations have determined that Santa would have to visit nearly 900 homes every second to finish all his deliveries on Christmas Eve.

* The first time a news event was shown in a motion-picture film reel was in 1896, and the subject was the coronation of Russian Czar Nicholas II.

* Like many of us, those in the Netherlands celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25. However, the children there eagerly await the arrival of “Sinterklaas” on Dec. 5, when children receive their presents. The name Santa Claus supposedly derived from older Dutch “Sinte Klaas.”

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Thought for the Day: “We have to face the fact that either all of us are going to die together or we are going to learn to live together, and if we are to live together we have to talk.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

(c) 2017 King Features Synd., Inc.