Strange But True

* It was Marquette University basketball coach and beloved national basketball commentator Al McGuire who made the following sage observation: "The world is run by C students."

* There were no armadillos in Texas until the 1840s.

* Many people think that adding cream to coffee makes it colder, but that's only partially correct. As it turns out, after cooling the coffee a little bit, the cream forms a layer of fat molecules across the surface, insulating the coffee and keeping it warmer longer.

* Those who study such things say that only about half the French-speaking people in the world actually live in France.

* After the Civil War, Varina Davis -- widow of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy -- and Julia Grant -- widow of Ulysses S. Grant, famed Union general and later president of the United States -- ended up living near each other. According to historians, they became very close friends.

* On average, twins arrive 24 days earlier than babies from single births.

* It's been claimed that it was customary in Austria at one time for women to wear small dogs draped about their shoulders for warmth.

* You might be surprised to learn that the hula hoop was banned in some Indonesian cities. Why, you might ask? According to officials, the toy "awakens sensuality."

* In China, it is traditional for men do the knitting.

* According to anthropologists, if you'd never worn shoes, there would be a larger gap between your big toe and the rest of your toes.

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Thought for the Day: "Four be the things I am wiser to know: idleness, sorrow, a friend and a foe. Four be the things I'd be better without: love, curiosity, freckles and doubt." -- Dorothy Parker

(c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.