First Posted: 8/21/2014
By Samantha Weaver
* It was German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who made the following sage observation: “We have art to save ourselves from the truth.”
* If you live in Waukegan, Illinois, you might be surprised to learn that your property tax is 12 times higher than it would be if you lived in Honolulu.
* If you can’t remember the word you want to use, you’re suffering from lethologica. But you probably won’t remember that when it happens.
* A hummingbird weighs less than a penny.
* Have you ever made a bet when you’d been drinking too much, and later wondered what you’d been thinking? If so, it might make you feel better to consider the case of a pilot named Thomas Fitzpatrick. In 1956, he was drinking at a bar in New York City when a rather boisterous argument ensued regarding his flying ability. To prove his skills to his drinking buddies, Fitzpatrick went to New Jersey, stole a small plane and landed it on the street in front of the Manhattan bar — all while allegedly drunk. The story, remarkable as it is, doesn’t end there, however. A couple of years later he was boasting about the incident, but his story was met with disbelief. To prove himself once again, he repeated the stunt.
* The name of the state of Idaho comes from the Kiowa-Apache word “idaahe,” which means “enemy.”
8 Every spring, one of the world’s great migrations occurs. At the end of March, 500,000 cranes descend upon an 80-mile stretch of Nebraska land, representing about 80 percent of all the cranes on the planet.
***
Thought for the day: “I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.” — Sir Winston Churchill
(c) 2014 King Features Synd., Inc.
