Strange But True: Mario Party

By Lucie Winborne

• The "Guinness World Records" holds the world record for being the most stolen book from public libraries.

• Some New York City taxis are actually undercover cop cars.

• Nintendo was sued and found guilty because kids were getting blisters from playing too much Mario Party.

• A cow named Cincinnati Freedom lived up to her name when she evaded police officers for 11 days after jumping a 6-foot fence to escape a slaughterhouse. Once caught, she was given the key to the city by Cincinnati's mayor and allowed to peacefully live out her remaining days in a New York sanctuary.

• Before he became the axman for Guns N' Roses, Slash auditioned for the band Poison but decided not to join when he was asked about wearing makeup.

• Persian King Agha Mohammad Khan ordered the execution of two servants for being too loud. Since it was a holy day, he postponed the event for 24 hours and made the servants return to their duties. It turned out to be an unfortunate decision, as they murdered the ruler in his sleep that very night.

• When George Washington died, Napoleon Bonaparte gave a personal eulogy and ordered a 10-day mourning period for France.

• By 1930, doping had become so prevalent and even accepted in the Tour de France that its organizers felt compelled to inform cyclists in the official rulebook that drugs would not be provided.

• Onions are the only commodity banned from futures trading in America.

• The man for whom Mount Everest was named, George Everest, didn't want the honor, pointing out that his name was difficult to write or pronounce in Hindi and that all previous Himalayan peaks were officially given indigenous names.

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Thought for the Day: "Live deep instead of fast." -- Henry Seidel Canby

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.