Trivia

Falconers feed their hawks the heads of ducks.

George Bernard Shaw solemnly decreed: “A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it; it would be hell on earth.” Maybe. Still, I’m game to take a shot at it. Some critics say he was less sage than sour, less deep than dour. A bit harsh. Shaw changed his name from George Bernard Gurly.

Maybe you didn’t know Dan Aykroyd once wrote a manual for penitentiary guards.

Q. What are “Bott’s dots”?

A. Raised reflectors in the middle of the highway.

The “volar” of your hand is its palm.

The Gaelic for “Margaret” is “Peigi,” whence “Peggy.”

Sunburn turns a turnip green.

Q. What’s a “mondegreen”?

A. A relatively recent coinage for “misheard song lyrics.” Comes from a folk tune popularized in the 1950s. The singer sang, “They slew the Earl of Morray and laid him on the green.” But listeners thought they heard, “They slew the Early of Morray and Lady Mondegreen.”

Not all mushrooms glow in the dark, but some do.