First Posted: 2/6/2014

By Samantha Weaver

* It was novelist, poet and playwright Gertrude Stein who made the following sage observation: “Everybody knows if you are too careful, you are so occupied in being careful that you are sure to stumble over something.”

* Some people enjoy novelty when dining out, but restaurateurs take a big risk when adding new items to a menu; it seems that less than a third of diners will actually try a new menu item.

* Two-thirds of all Tony award-winning composers and lyricists have been Jewish.

* Everyone knows you should not drive while under the influence of alcohol, but riding a bike? A stationary bike? It seems that in Tennessee in 2007, a woman was arrested at her gym while riding an exercise bicycle while drunk. BUI, or simply disorderly conduct? The record isn’t clear.

* If insects give you the creepy-crawlies, you might not want to read the following tidbit: Researchers have discovered a kind of caterpillar that emits a sound eerily like a human scream. This particular species is often a victim of predatory wasps. When the wasps approach, the caterpillar rubs two special organs together to produce the sound. The “scream” calls a troop of ants that protect the caterpillar, and in return the caterpillar secretes an amino acid that the ants need.

* The name of the state of Vermont comes from the French “mont vert,” which means “green mountain.” (If the explorers who named the state saw green mountains, they obviously were not there in the winter.)

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Thought for thedDay: “I don’t trust a man who uses the word evil 18 times in 10 minutes. If you’re half evil, nothing soothes you more than to think the person you are opposed to is totally evil.” — Norman Mailer