Strange BUT TRUE By Samantha Weaver

• It was American author and political activist Barbara Ehrenreich who made the following sage observation: “No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.”

• Coke has the honor of being the first soft drink in space. Members of the Space Shuttle Challenger drank the beverage from a specially designed “Coca-Cola Space Can.”

• Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, was one tough son of a gun. In his youth, his fighting prowess won him fame as a national hero for defeating the British at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 — and he never slowed down, it seemed. At the age of 67, he was at a speaking engagement when a member of the audience pulled out a gun and tried to shoot him. When the gun misfired, President Jackson used his walking stick to beat his attacker almost senseless.

• If you’re like the typical human, it takes your brain about 0.0004 seconds to retrieve any given memory.

• Even in these modern days, certain maritime traditions hold on. For instance, when a new ship is launched for the first time, the water that first touches the ship is caught in a bottle. Once sealed, that bottle stays with the ship; it’s typically displayed in the captain’s office, near the bridge.

• On a per-capita basis, residents of Mexico consume more carbonated drinks than people in any other country on Earth.

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Thought for the Day:

“I have always supported measures and principles, and not men. I have acted fearless and independent, and I never will regret my course. I would rather be politically buried than to be hypocritically immortalized.”

— Davy Crockett