Strange But True: Dec. 20, 2018

 

December 20, 2018



* It was beloved American comedian and film star Groucho Marx who made the following sage observation: “There’s one way to find out if a man is honest — ask him. If he says ‘Yes,’ you know he is a crook.”

* You might be surprised to learn that, in addition to his holiday duties, Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of children, coopers, sailors, fishermen, merchants, broadcasters, the falsely accused, repentant thieves, brewers, pharmacists, archers, pawnbrokers, Aberdeen, Galway, Russia, Greece, Hellenic Navy, Liverpool, the Italian town of Bari, the city of Siggiewi in Malta, Moscow, Amsterdam and the Lorraine region of France.

* The next time you’ve enjoyed a happy hour out with friends, you might want to consider the virtually unknown adjective “gambrinous,” which means “to be content and happy due to a stomach full of beer.”

* A pregnant goldfish is known as a “twit.”

* Sometimes looking at local ordinances can make you wonder what inspired lawmakers to pass such laws. For instance, in Florida it’s illegal to wear nothing but liquid latex while in a public place.

* If you make a serious study of Hungarian gypsies, you probably already know that you’re a “tziganologist.”

* Ever wonder how the statuette taken home by winners of the Academy Awards got its nickname? Evidently, in 1931 a secretary at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences saw the statuette for the first time and exclaimed, “Why, he reminds me of my Uncle Oscar!” The comment struck the fancy of a reporter who was present, and he put it in a story about the awards, and the name stuck.

Thought for the Day

“It is easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.”

--Felix Adler

(c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.

 

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