Trivia
The Anglo-Saxon “fane” meaning “wind flag” wound up as the “vane” in our word “weathervane.”
The modern spelling of “news” may indeed have been influenced by the oldtimey newspapers that ran the letters N,E,W,S on their mastheads to suggest their reports came from all directions. The word itself, however, is much older than any American newspaper. In 1423 it was spelled “newis.” In 1485 it was spelled “newys.” In 1523 it was spelled “newes.”
Q. How many teenagers nationwide own beepers?
A. Thirteen percent at this writing.
Q. When a man and woman divorce, which, if either, is more likely to try to get back together again?
A. The man. This finding is compiled from only 119 cases. But matrimonial researchers insist the sampling, though small, is indicative.
A house cat delivers a distinctive “meow” when it begs for food. Cats in the wild never make such a sound.
Used to be a little gold-mining town on this side of Nome called Iditarod. Heard of it?