Strange BUT TRUE

• Italy was the only country to issue stamps specifically for mail traveling through bank tubes until the practice was discontinued in 1966.

• Kleenex tissues were originally developed as crepe paper and used for gas mask filters.

• Proof that human nature is the one thing that never really changes: The oldest “your mama” joke was discovered in 1976 on a 3,500-year-old Babylonian tablet in Iraq.

• The “Jesus Nut” on a helicopter fixes the rotor blades to the vehicle. It comes by its unusual moniker because, if it should fail, your only option is to pray to Jesus!

• Do you, like most people, normally skip reading the fine print? You might want to reconsider that. In 2017, 22,000 people who signed up for free public Wi-Fi from the UK-based technology firm Purple learned their lesson when they inadvertently agreed to 1,000 hours of community service that included cleaning toilets and “relieving sewer blockages.” The company said it inserted the clause in its contract “to illustrate the lack of consumer awareness of what they are signing up to when they access free Wi-Fi.”

• In 2014, a new species of vine was discovered in Chile that can mimic the leaves of many different host trees by changing the size, shape, color, orientation and even the vein patterns of its leaves to match the surrounding foliage. It is the only known plant that can do this.

• When asked how he was able to portray battle scenes so accurately, Stephen Crane, author of “The Red Badge of Courage,” replied that he learned all he needed to know about war from football.

• Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Thought for the Day: “Every child is an artist. The problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” —Pablo Picasso