Trivia

Q. Wasn’t Paris once the world’s biggest city?

A. Once is right. For a year only - in 1684.

Sumo wrestlers won’t start their bout until they’re breathing in unison.

Item No. 7316C in our Love and War man’s file is a remark by the poet Baudelaire: “What’s irritating about love is it’s a crime that requires an accomplice.”

Many 17th-century Londoners objected mightily to umbrellas. Wanted them outlawed. The historical footnotes say they were serious in their stated belief that “the purpose of rain is to make people wet.”

You go through lands of seven languages when you float from source to mouth of the Danube River.

At hand is a file labeled “Medical Mythology” containing this note from a client: “People who don’t relate well to other people are the ones with high blood pressure. I’m sure of it. No, I have no documented data. But as a lifelong nurse, I’ve taken countless blood pressure readings. The loners run high.”

The Palace of Versailles was built without any toilets. None. Likewise the Louvre.