First Posted: 8/15/2014

By Samantha Weaver

* It was noted British wit Hector Hugh Monroe — better known by his pen name, Saki — who made the following sage observation: “A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation.”

* When Mozart was young, he traveled to Rome to hear Gregorio Allegri’s “Miserere” performed by the papal choir. This piece was performed only once a year, and the pope had forbidden its performance anywhere else in the world. There was only one copy of the score, and it was kept in a vault in the Vatican. According to a papal decree, anyone who reproduced the work in any way would be excommunicated from the Catholic Church. After Mozart heard the performance — only once — he transcribed the entire piece. When the pope heard of this feat of memory and musical genius, rather than excommunicating the prodigy, he awarded Mozart the Cross of the Order of the Golden Spur.

* The dog that played Toto in “The Wizard of Oz” was actually named Terry.

* It is a Moroccan man named Brahim Takioullah who has the dubious distinction of possessing the world’s largest feet. They measure 15 inches from heel to toe.

* A man is 10 times more likely to be color blind than a woman is.

* You’ve probably heard the phrase “long in the tooth” to describe someone who’s getting up there in years, but did you ever wonder where it originated? The term came from horse breeders. As equines age, their gums begin to recede; the teeth don’t actually get longer, but they appear to. Therefore, a horse whose teeth look long must be getting old.

* If you’re like 20 million other Americans, you read your horoscope on a daily basis.

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Thought for the day: “The nice thing about egotists is that they don’t talk about other people.” — Lucille S. Harper