Strange But True: December 26, 2019

* It was Nobel Prize-winning French poet, journalist and novelist Anatole France who gave the following sage advice: "Never lend books -- nobody ever returns them; the only books I have in my library are those which people have lent me."

* One-quarter of the city of Los Angeles is taken up by automobiles.

* Ancient Egyptian priests were bald. And not just on their heads -- they would pluck every hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.

* In many parts of Spain, Dec. 28 is traditionally observed as the Feast of the Holy Innocents. To celebrate, the young boys of a town gather together and light bonfires. One of them is designated as the mayor for the evening, and he goes about ordering citizens to do tasks such as sweeping the streets. Anyone who refuses is fined.

* The deluge of mail around the holidays has been an issue longer than you probably realize. In 1822, the postmaster of Washington, D.C., was disgruntled by the surge and complained about having to hire 16 extra mail carriers. He wanted a law to be passed limiting the number of cards a person could send.

* Have trouble remembering all the words to our national anthem? Be glad you're not Greek -- their national anthem has 158 verses.

* If all the blood vessels in one human body were stretched out end to end, they would stretch all the way around the world.

* The rivalry between those Ivy League giants, Harvard and Yale, is legendary. Not many people know, however, that Yale was founded by graduates of Harvard.

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Thought for the Day: "He who wants to grow rich in a year will be dead in a month." -- Spanish proverb

(c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.