Strange BUT TRUE

* It was Bulgarian-French philosopher Tzvetan Todorov who made the following sage observation: “We should not be simply fighting evil in the name of good, but struggling against the certainties of people who claim always to know where good and evil are to be found.”

* As Halloween approaches, it’s interesting to note that in 16 states, you won’t pay taxes on the candy you buy for trick-or-treaters; for tax purposes, candy is categorized as groceries. Of course, there’s room for debate over what qualifies as

candy; breath mints and gum are usually included, along with the obvious — chocolate bars, hard candies and such. The tax code can get even more detailed than that, though; for instance, in Florida (which taxes candy but not groceries), marshmallows are tax-exempt, but marshmallow candies are not.

* The seahorse is the only animal whose head is positioned at a right angle to its body.

* Recently retired sportscaster Vin Scully served 67 seasons as the play-by-play announcer for the Dodgers — starting in Brooklyn in 1950, then moving with the team to Los Angeles in 1958 — making him the longest-tenured broadcaster with with a single team in the history of professional sports. Over the years he’s had many fans, including Chris Carter, creator of the long-running TV series “The X Files.” One of the main characters, Dana Scully (played by actress Gillian Anderson), was named for the sportscaster.

* In William Shakespeare’s day, the sound of thunder often was described as a “rounce-robble-hobble.” •••

Thought for the Day:

“Patriotism, n. Combustible rubbish ready to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his name. In Dr. Johnson’s famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit it is the first.” — Ambrose Bierce