ODDS, ENDS & INSPIRATION

z Artist Salvador Dali believed he was the reincarnation of his dead brother, also named Salvador, who died almost nine months to the day before Dali was born. z Forget flowers and chocolates – in Fiji, a tradition known as “tabu-as” is the practice of giving a woman a tooth from a sperm whale as the ultimate token of love and commitment. z Inventor Nikola Tesla was a genius, but he was also dirt-poor. When faced with an overdue hotel bill, he responded by giving the employees a “death beam” in a box. He told employees not to open the box due to the danger, so it was forgotten about. When it was eventually rediscovered and opened, it was found to contain only old, harmless electrical parts. z On average, a person accidentally eats about 430 bugs in each year of his or her life.

z Denise Mueller-korenek clocked the fastest speed ever by a cyclist in 2018, setting a new world record of 296 km/h.

z Are you afflicted with nomophobia? That’s the term for a fear of being without mobile phone coverage. Surveys have indicated that more than half of U.K. residents suffer from it. This phobia is triggered by the fear of losing signal, running out of battery or even losing sight of a mobile phone.

z Queen lead singer Freddy Mercury had a degree in graphic design and came up with the logo for his band himself. It consisted of the zodiac symbols for the four band members.

z Freddy Mercury also liked to call his cats while he was on tour –

“to chat”. z Only 0.006 per cent of the Korean population have the ABCC11 gene, which is the cause of armpit odour. As a result, deodorant is rarely sold in Korea. z Items in the freezer are more likely to get freezer burn if there’s water present, so make sure you pat down or otherwise carefully drain meats, fruits and veggies before popping them in the freezer. z “Nothing is more soothing – and delicious – than plain yogurt on a sunburn. Slather it on thickly to sunburned skin, wait for about 15 minutes, and rinse off in roomtemperature water. It feels much better afterward, and it gives immediate relief when it goes on cold.” – C.L.

z Save your tuna cans. You can use them to cook an egg over a campfire, or you can put one under the legs of your camp table and add water. Ants won’t be able to climb up the legs of the table to get to your food.

z If barbecue is on the menu, try putting out a few small bowls of water with a lemon slice. You can use it to rinse off your fingers as you eat or when you are done eating. It leaves hands with a nice smell, not a sticky smoky mess!

z “I love to spice up a simple dip by serving it in a green pepper. I just wash it and cut off the top. Then, I core it and spoon in the dip. The top can be set next to it and filled with extra dip, or just used as a garnish. It’s fun and makes an attractive presentation.” – J.L.