Strange But True: Amazon Cadabra

By Lucie Winborne

• Amazon founder Jeff Bezos originally wanted to name the company Cadabra, but thought better of it after people kept mishearing the moniker as "cadaver."

• The unenviable record for longest sneezing fit belongs to U.K. resident Donna Griffiths, who began "kerchooing" Jan. 13, 1981 and by July 26 broke the previous record of 194 days. Griffiths sneezed an estimated million times in the first 365 days and finally stopped on Sept. 16, 1983, after 977 days. The exact reason behind her ordeal is still not fully clear.

• Scientists believe Earth's core, made up primarily of iron and nickel, may be even hotter than the surface of the sun, with temperatures reaching up to 9,932 degrees F.

• Smoking a cigarette causes damage not in years, but minutes.

• Speaking of smoking, a Japanese company awards employees who don't indulge in the habit an extra six days of paid leave per year. The incentive was launched after it became clear that workers who took smoke breaks had more than 15 minutes of extra time away from their desks each day.

• Platypuses may be cute, but are also so odd-looking that when scientists first discovered them, they thought the animal was a hoax.

• People are 30 times more likely to laugh at something if they're with someone else.

• In the early 20th century, radium was commonly mixed with water, sold as an over-the-counter "energy" drink under the brand name Radithor, and marketed with the slogan "A Cure for the Living Dead," until the federal government stopped its production in 1932.

• Ancient Roman soldiers sometimes wore breastplates encrusted with diamonds in the belief that the gems offered them extra protection.

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Thought for the Day: "I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific." -Lily Tomlin

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.