Strange BUT TRUE

• In 2015, a study found that having more than 10 trees on their block made folks feel as healthy as if they were seven years younger or made an additional $10,000 a year.

• In the NHL, if both the goalie and backup goalie are unable to play, the team can substitute any available goalie who isn’t bound by a professional contract with another team. To date, such replacements have included an accountant, a facilities manager and an equipment manager.

• A course called The Science of Batman was offered at the University of Victoria in Canada in 2016, with the design of examining “how the human body can be adapted and improved based on the metaphor of the caped crusader himself.”

• While still a teenager, Dasia Taylor used beet juice to develop surgical sutures that change color to indicate an infection.

• The ant-eating assassin bug piles its victims onto its body to scare predators.

• In 1829, some Victorians were gripped with pteridomania, or “fern fever,” and began eagerly collecting the plants after botanist George Loddiges spread the (quite unsubstantiated) claim that they could not only improve mood, but increase both intelligence and virility.

• Asia is bigger in surface area than the moon.

• Ever heard that old claim that watching scary movies will help you burn calories because they get your heart racing? Sorry, but the “study” that produced this finding was meant more for publicity than to be taken seriously. You’re more likely to burn the same amount just by lounging on your sofa … and watching something like, say, “Bambi.”

••• Thought for the Day: “Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.” — Mark Twain