Strange But True: Nov. 29, 2018

* It was Hungarian psychiatrist Thomas Stephen Szasz who made the following sage observation: “If you talk to God, you are praying. If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia.”

* You might be surprised to learn that David Duchovny, best known for his role as Agent Fox Mulder in “The X-Files,” was just a dissertation away from being awarded a doctorate in English literature.

* Did you know that the world’s most popular fruit is the banana? It’s true: In the United States, people consume more bananas than apples and oranges put together.

* In 2009, a Saudi couple who had spent their honeymoon in Malaysia encountered difficulty on the return flight home. It seems that the groom felt the bride was taking too long in the airport restroom, so he boarded the flight back to Saudi Arabia before she did. When he allowed the plane to leave without her, she insisted on an immediate divorce.

* Most people don’t realize that in 1938, Time magazine featured Adolph Hitler on the cover as its Man of the Year.

* Removing one’s wedding ring is considered to be a no-no by many. However, one superstition holds that doing so is perfectly acceptable — as long as the ring is being used to ward off a witch.

* 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 myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.”

--Rebecca West, author and journalist

(c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.