Strange But True: Chloramines

By Lucie Winborne

• An anonymous Middle Eastern prince donated $500,000 for Hurricane Sandy relief in exchange for a 15-minute meeting with actress Kristen Stewart.

• The creators of Dragon's Lair used Playboy magazines to create the princess.

• After more than six decades of separation, differences in the language have developed between South and North Korea. This leads to hardship for North Korean defectors after they escape, because they have to relearn their language.

• That distinctive odor of pool water usually described as the smell of chlorine is actually chloramines, which are released when chlorine reacts with human sweat, oil or urine.

• A snake's heart can move around its body to protect it from harm when the snake has eaten a large prey.

• When is a kiss not just a kiss? Ask the fellow who, in 2010, bypassed security at the Newark Airport to smooch his girlfriend goodbye. The entire terminal was shut down for seven hours and the gentleman became known as "Airport Romeo."

• Around 20 million years ago, 7-foot tall, 2,000-pound pigs roamed the earth.

• The 1963 movie "Charade" entered the public domain immediately upon its release because Universal Pictures published it with an invalid copyright notice.

• All the air in potato chip bags everyone complains about is actually nitrogen and serves a useful purpose: It preserves crispiness and provides a cushion for shipping.

• Former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg once went undercover as a taxi driver in Oslo because he wanted to "hear from real Norwegian voters and taxis were one of the few places where people shared their true views."

• Abolitionist Frederick Douglass was the most photographed American of the 19th century.

***

Thought for the Day: "The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails." -- John Maxwell

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.