Trivia

Italy’s Venice is not as sizable a city as most think. It covers three square miles with only about 70,000 people. You get a better head count at a lot of football games.

People marvel at the speed of the computer revolution, but it’s not unique. In 1856, the country had only 132 Western Union telegraph offices, and 10 years later there were 4,000. In 1879, Thomas Edison patented his light bulb, and three years later New York City had the first electric power plant. And the worldwide incandescent revolution flared up.

In the Middle East during the biblical ages, the brother of a husband who left no sons had first refusal rights to the widow.

Best party snack of the season - “Killer Krackers” - is easy to make: In a large bowl, mix a cup of corn oil, a heaping teaspoon of dill weed, a heaping teaspoon of onion powder, a pinch of garlic, and a package of dry ranch salad dressing mix. Pour in two pounds of oyster crackers. Stir carefully with a wooden spoon every 10 minutes - during TV commercials maybe until the crackers are well coated. That’s it.

Comedienne Rita Rudner uses this line: “Whenever I date a guy, I think, ‘Is this the man I want my children to spend their weekends with?”’

What also makes the Amazon River extraordinary, considering the size of it, is it’s neither dammed nor dredged.