Strange but True

• It was American civil-rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., who made the following sage observation: “We all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free market capitalism for the poor.”

• If you go on a road trip to the Northwest Territories of Canada, keep an eye out for the unusual license plates — they’re shaped like polar bears.

• When he was 66 years old, American novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs — beloved creator of Tarzan and Mars explorer John Carter — served as a war correspondent, going along on bombing runs during World War II.

• Did you ever wonder what makes French vanilla different from other kinds of vanilla? Evidently, French vanilla contains egg yolk.

• If you’re like me, you have fond memories of a bookmobile visiting your neighborhood. For more out-of-the-way locales, though, there are other kinds of mobile libraries. For instance, residents of some parts of Norway look forward to the arrival of Epos, a library on a boat. In addition to space for 6,000 books, the boat has room for author readings and other literary events.

• In Vietnam, the conflict that Americans commonly call the Vietnam War is known as the Resistance War Against America, or just the American War.

• You might be surprised by the strength of the mantis shrimp. When it swings its claw at its prey, it doesn’t have to hit the creature — the shock wave from the attack is often enough to stun or kill the animal.

• Social scientists say that the first businesses to get set up in a new neighborhood — and the last ones to flee a dying community — are churches and liquor stores. •••

Thought for the Day:

“My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.”

— Thomas Paine