Trivia

Could be a woman called Mary descends from Ireland, the Scottish Highlands or the Isle of Man, if she spells her name Maire or Moira or Muire. Those are only three of the several Gaelic versions of Mary.

“Chocolate or vanilla?” That choice precedes the ice cream parlor and espresso bar. The Aztec Emperor Montezuma also was asked his preference, and he said, “Both.” Montezuma liked ground vanilla sprinkled on his chocolate. It was he who established the enduring pattern.

Psychiatric statistic: “Two out of every one person is schizophrenic.”

Q. Not counting William Shakespeare, who’s the most published playwright?

A. Neil Simon.

Rarely does an earthquake split open a fissure that gobbles up whatever’s above it. But one such did in the 1906 San Francisco catastrophe. The ground suddenly gaped. A cow tumbled in. The crack rolled shut, leaving only the cow’s tail sticking out. Reports of that one occurrence created the widespread impression it was a common danger in quakes.