Strange But True: Lawnmower or carpet-cutting

By Lucie Winborne

• Those having received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine were eligible for a free marijuana joint in New York City and Washington, D.C., thanks to "Joints for Jabs." The organization behind the 4/20 event hoped to help counter vaccine hesitancy.

• The first lawnmower was an adapted carpet-cutting machine.

• Theodore Seuss Geisel dropped out of Oxford before getting his Ph.D. and called himself Dr. Seuss as a nod to his father.

• The four-penny coffin was one of the first homeless shelters created for the people of central London by the Salvation Army during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For that amount, they received food and shelter, and could sleep in a coffin-shaped wooden box with a tarp.

• When you snap a whip, that sound you hear is the whip breaking the sound barrier.

• In 2015, a fan of the Australian band Peking Duk got backstage at their concert by adding himself as a family member on their Wiki page and showing it to security. The duo wasn't upset, however, noting that they "ended up having a bunch of beers with him and he was an absolute legend."

• Swedish wasn't the official language of Sweden until 2009.

• The phrase "take something with a grain of salt" refers to an ancient Roman recipe for an antidote that protects against poisons.

• Phobophobia is the fear of phobias, or the fear of fear.

• Lee Hadwin "sleepdraws" gorgeous works of art, of which he has no recollection afterward. He has been drawing in his sleep since he was 4 years old.

• The ancient Aztecs believed that Techichis, forerunners of today's Chihuahua, would absorb their owners' sins while escorting them to the afterlife.

Thought for the Day

"Quality is not an act. It is a habit." -- Aristotle

(c) 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.