First Posted: 4/3/2014

By Samantha Weaver

* It was Benjamin Franklin who made the following sage observation: “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.”

* If you’re like 87 percent of American adults, you use the Internet. The only thing I find surprising about this statistic is that there are 13 percent of adults who [SET ITAL]don’t[END ITAL] use it.

* In a recent survey, more Americans said they would have a hard time giving up the Internet than said they’d have a hard time giving up TV.

* Those interested in maritime history (and practically everyone else, for that matter) are familiar with the story of the Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank on the night of April 15, 1912. It’s interesting to note, though, that in 1898 a book called “Futility,” by Morgan Robertson, described an almost identical scenario: The ship in the novel was called Titan, and, like the Titanic, it was trying to break a speed record for crossing the Atlantic. The Titan was declared to be unsinkable, and it didn’t have enough lifeboats for all the passengers. On its fictional voyage in the month of April, it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean and sank, resulting in the deaths of almost all the passengers.

* In Ireland, the police do not carry firearms. Their only weapons are batons and pepper spray.

* In 1943, then-chairman of IBM, Thomas Watson, went on the record saying, “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”

* If you’re afraid of sharks, you might want to consider this tidbit: Every year, more people are killed by bees than by sharks.

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Thought for the day: “In this world, you must be a bit too kind to be kind enough.” – Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux