Strange But True: Jan. 25, 2018

STRANGE BUT TRUE

* It was noted educator and civil-rights activist W.E.B. DuBois who made the following sage observation: “The theory of democratic government is not that the will of the people is always right, but rather that normal human beings of average intelligence will, if given a chance, learn the right and best course by bitter experience.”

* Those who make the finest wigs from human hair typically avoid buying hair from Americans. Evidently, hair grown in the United States is more likely to have damage caused by hairspray, hairdryers, dyes and pollutants.

* You might be surprised to learn that the tiny nation of the Netherlands, located barely 1,000 miles from the Arctic Circle, is the world leader in yield for tomato production, producing 144,352 tons of tomatoes per square mile under cultivation.

* In 1900, a prairie dog colony was found in Texas. That’s not surprising — prairie dogs are fairly common out West — but this colony was unique. Researchers say it was the largest colony ever discovered, providing a home to 400 million prairie dogs and stretching over 25,000 square miles.

* If you’re planning a summer trip to Maine, be sure to visit Peaks Island; the town is home to what is quite possibly the world’s only museum devoted to umbrella covers.

* The first seven presidents of the United States were not born American citizens.

* Thanks to continental drift, the Atlantic Ocean is getting about a centimeter bigger every year, and the Pacific Ocean is shrinking by the same amount.

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Thought for the Day: “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.” — Frederick Saunders

(c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.