Trivia

Written marital contracts go back centuries, but they’ve changed. The ancient agreements usually stipulated how much wealth the bride was to bring into the marriage. The new paperwork specifies what wealth must remain with the original owner in the event of divorce.

In captivity, the male ostrich, even as the male elephant, is far more dangerous than the female.

The language of the law is said to disturb some people in what’s now called the Religious Right. They decry that hurricanes and herpes are identified in legalese as “acts of God,” but rainbows and apple blossoms are called “natural phenomena.”

Ship captains have never had authority to officiate wedding ceremonies at sea. No more than any other witness. Not unless said captains were also justices of the peace or ministers or some such. But fiction has promoted a false notion that they are so authorized, and it’s still widely believed.

A well-fed cricket eats as much every day as it weighs.