The Manila Times

Strange BUT TRUE

- By Lucie Winborne © 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.

• While death by guillotine might seem like an ancient ritual, the practice was still in use in France up until 1977 — when the original “Star Wars” was in theaters.

• Sleeping through summer is called estivation.

• The Museum of Bad Art in Somerville, Massachuse­tts, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like — a collection of really bad art! But then again, who’s to judge?

• The American Psychiatri­c Associatio­n’s DSM-5 handbook classifies caffeine withdrawal as a mental disorder.

• Humans invented booze before the wheel.

• When swallowed by toads, bombardier beetles project hot, noxious chemicals from their anuses, which sometimes forces the predators to puke the beetle back up.

• The town of Baarle straddles the Dutch-Belgian border. In some places, the official borderline cuts through houses and cafes.

• There are approximat­ely 200 feral cats roaming the grounds of Disneyland, where they help control the park’s rodent population. All of them are spayed or neutered, and park staff provide them with both extra food and medical care.

• The second-half kickoff in Super Bowl I had to be done twice, as NBC didn’t cut back from a commercial break in time to catch the first one on camera.

• In Japan, instead of a “Man in the Moon,” people see a “Rabbit in the Moon.”

• The Mobile Phone Throwing World Championsh­ips are held in Finland. One winner said he prepared for the event by “mainly drinking.”

• Sometimes it snows on Mars, but the flakes are made out of carbon dioxide, not water.

• After the band OutKast sang “Shake it like a Polaroid picture,” Polaroid released a statement warning that “shaking or waving can actually damage the image.”

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Thought for the Day: “The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.” — Thomas Szasz

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