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STRANGE BUT TRUE

STRANGE BUT TRUE

By Samantha Weaver

• It was Chinese philosopher Confucius who made the following sage observation: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

• In 1875, a locust plague of epic proportions descended upon the Great Plains. Observers say it was 110 miles wide, and, at 1,800 miles long, stretched from Canada all the way down to Texas.

• If you ever travel to China, keep in mind that the menu item known colorfully as phoenix talons are actually just chicken feet.

• Farming is against the law in Washington, D.C.

• When business magnate Bill Gates was a student at Harvard, he probably wasn’t taken very seriously when he told his professors that he would be a millionaire by the time he was 30 years old. Imagine their surprise when, by the time he turned 31, he was a billionaire.

• Before entrepreneur Eddie Bauer founded his eponymous clothing line, he sold tennis and badminton equipment.

• In ancient Rome, an augur was someone who devoted his time to predicting the future based on the behavior of birds. Yep, birds.

• In honor of National Pizza Month (which is October, in case you didn’t know), here’s an interesting tidbit: The average American eats 23 pounds, or 46 slices of pizza each year.

• When “Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith” was released in 2005, hard-core fans went to great lengths to be among the first to see the film. One man spent 139 days camping out in front of a theater to ensure his spot, remaining connected to work via his cell phone and laptop.

Thought for the day: “As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and, as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.” - Albert Einstein