The Weekly Vista

Strange BUT TRUE

- By Samantha Weaver

• It was noted 20th-century American humorist and journalist Don Marquis who made the following sage observatio­n: “Procrastin­ation is the art of keeping up with yesterday.”

• Kangaroos can reach speeds of up to 44 mph, but they can't take a single step backward.

• As the holiday shopping season gets well under way, here's an interestin­g tidbit to keep in mind: According to the annual Coinstar Holiday Survey, 31% of Americans don't remember what gifts they received last year. Perhaps unsurprisi­ngly,

more women remember those details than men do.

• No less a notable than William Shakespear­e described Limburger cheese as “the rankest compound of villainous smell that ever offended nostril.”

• In the Shetland Islands you can find a breed of small, hardy cows that eat fish.

• Did you ever wonder why the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks — better known as the Elks Lodge — chose that particular animal as its symbol? Other animals were considered and rejected for a variety of reasons: Foxes were thought to be too cunning, beavers too destructiv­e and bears and too coarse and brutal.

• Before World War II, suspenders were more popular than belts, but the trend reversed after the war.

• You might be surprised to learn that in 1766, students at Harvard University protested against their living conditions; evidently, the butter they were served in the refectory left something to be desired. In what became known as the Great Butter Rebellion, students shouted, “Our butter stinketh!”

• Those who study such things say that if your dog has fleas, they don't actually live on your pet; they spend 90% of their time elsewhere.

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Thought for the Day:

“Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding in which you put your money in your pants pocket and give your coat to the creditors.” — Joey Adams

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