Strange But True
BY SAMANTHAWEAVER

• Good news for the not-soneat among us: Making your bed could be bad for you. A study done in the United Kingdom at Kingston University showed that the linens of an unmade bed retain less moisture, therefore making them less attractive to dust mites.

• Those who measure such things claim that a champagne cork at Woodbury Vineyards in New York State once flew nearly 178 feet, making that the longest recorded flight of a champagne cork.

• It was American sciencefiction author John Sladek who made the following sage observation: "The future, according to some scientists, will be exactly like the past, only far more expensive."

• If you've ever lived on a farm, or even had a backyard garden, you've probably seen the delicate, feathery greens that sprout from the top of a carrot. Believe it or not, there was a time several hundred years ago when it was the fashion for women to wear those greens in their hair.

• Have you ever suffered from logorrhea? Don't worry; it's not as unpleasant as it may sound. The word "logorrhea" is used to describe incessant and often incoherent speech. It comes from the Greek roots "logo," meaning "word," and "rrhea," meaning "flow." (You may recognize the suffix "- rrhea" from another word, too.)

• When you think of fiberglass insulation, chances are you think pink, right? Ever wonder why that is? Here's the scoop: In 1987, industry leader Owens Corning trademarked its insulation's signature color. (Which, by the way, made it the first company to trademark a color.)

• In Sweden, it's not unusual to run across an apple that weighs two pounds.

(c) 2008 King Features Synd., Inc.