Strange BUT TRUE

• Now, here’s a good reason not to neglect checking your spam email folder from time to time: A Michigan woman bought a lottery ticket online but forgot about it until, opening said folder days later in search of a missing message, discovered that she’d won $3 million.

• In 1985, a sting operation dubbed Operation Flagship mailed letters offering free tickets for Washington Redskins games to fugitive criminals. More than 100 arrests resulted, including two of America’s top 10 most wanted.

• Domino’s Pizza Group has its own registered Tartan in its brand hues of red, white and blue.

• In 2007, Ben Carpenter got the most terrifying ride of his life when his wheelchair’s handles were caught in the grill of a semi-trailer. Carpenter was pushed for several miles at a speed of over 60 mph before a pair of police officers followed the truck to its place of business and informed the stunned driver. The chair’s wheels had to be replaced, but Ben survived without injury.

• FedEx’s founder nearly bankrupted his company with a Las Vegas trip, in which he used the corporation’s last $5,000 to play blackjack. Fortunately, he managed to turn the sum into $27,000 and keep things running until he obtained more funding.

• The movie “Babe” required one animatronic and 48 real pigs, due to their rapid growth rate.

• Remember playing “Simon Says” in your youth? In France, it’s “Jack Says”; in Norway “The King Commands”; in Japan “Teacher Says” and in Ireland “O’Grady Says.”

• In 1920, Anoka, Minnesota, became the first U.S. city to put on a Halloween celebration, in an effort to distract kids from playing Halloween pranks.

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Thought for the Day: “Winning doesn’t always mean being first. Winning means you’re doing better than you’ve done before.” — Speedskater Bonnie Blair