Strange BUT TRUE

• In this time of bitter partisan rivalries, it would be well to remember the following sage observation: “Do not trust to the cheering, for those persons would cheer just as much if you and I were going to be hanged.” The man who first made that observation was Lord Protector of England Oliver Cromwell, considered by some to be a hero of liberty, by others to be a regicidal dictator. He died in 1658, probably from septicemia. He was so reviled that, three years later, his body was exhumed so that he could be posthumously executed, his body thrown into a pit and his head displayed on a pole outside Westminster Hall.

• Those who study such things say that if all the gold in the world were combined in one lump, it would result in a cube that measures 20 yards on each side.

• The acids in your digestive system are so corrosive that your stomach must produce an entirely new lining every three days.

• You might be surprised to learn that the mother of Sir Winston Churchill, that quintessential icon of Britishness, was actually born an American in Brooklyn, New York. Lady Randolph Spencer-Churchill, nee Jeanette Jerome, was a socialite, and it is through her that Winston Churchill is related to his wartime ally, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The prime minister and the president were seventh cousins, once removed.

• If you’re planning to travel to Washington state with nefarious plans, here’s an interesting law to keep in mind: Any motorist with criminal intent is required to stop before entering a town and inform the chief of police of his or her presence.

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Thought for the Day:

“The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.”