Strange But True: Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree

By Lucie Winborne

• Forget "hair of the dog" -- a banana milkshake sweetened with honey is one of the best ways to cure a hangover. The banana helps calm the stomach while the honey builds up depleted blood sugar levels.

• If you sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry, anyone who places a sales call to your number can be fined up to $40,654 per call.

• Asian hair grows 30% faster than Caucasian hair.

• The rainbow eucalyptus tree sheds strips of bark as it grows, revealing a green inner layer that changes color over time, taking on vibrant blue, purple and orange hues.

• Java junkies, did you know that when coffee spread from Arabia to Europe, some people called it a "Muslim drink" and wanted it banned? Fortunately, it became widely accepted when the Pope tried a cup and liked it enough to declare it a Christian beverage.

• In much of the U.S. it is illegal to buy a new car directly from the manufacturer.

• Japanese scientists successfully created an MRI machine that can record dreams and reconstruct them for you to watch while you're awake.

• In 1818, the U.S. began building a fort near the New York-Quebec border to defend against invasions from Canada. After two years they realized the fort was actually on the Canadian side. The abandoned project was appropriately named Fort Blunder.

• Blue-eyed people have the highest rate of alcohol dependence.

• Ever wonder if you have a doppelganger? Head on over to Twinstrangers.com, where you can register to find your lookalike from anywhere in the world by uploading photos, selecting your facial features, and looking through matches.

Thought for the Day: "A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer." -- Bruce Lee

(c) 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.