¥ It was Soviet-born American professor and science-fiction author Isaac Asimov who made the following sage observation: "The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom."

¥ If you ever travel to the British territory of Bermuda, you might want to stop off in Ely to see the world's smallest drawbridge. Somerset Bridge is less than 20 feet from one embankment to the other, and when the draws are raised, there's barely enough room for a single small sailboat to pass.

¥ Early in its history, the Catholic Church decreed that imbibing coffee was sinful. It was Pope Clement VIII who, in 1592, declared it to be a Christian drink.

¥ Early 20th-century ballet dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky is considered to be one of the most gifted dancers in history. Despite his talent and his fame, though, he was fired from the renowned Mariinsky Theater because one of his performances offended the Russian Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. It seems Nijinsky appeared onstage wearing tights, but without the so-called modesty trunks commonly worn by male dancers at the time.

¥ When George Eastman sold the patent to his Kodak camera, he received only $5,700.

¥ The world's best long-distance swimmers are Alaskan seals. In order to avoid the brutal northern winter, every fall these aquatic mammals leave their calving grounds on islands off the coast of Alaska and don't return until spring. For eight months they remain in the ocean, never touching land and sometimes traveling more than 6,000 miles before returning home as the weather warms.

¥ Ancient Egyptians believed that jackals would lead human souls to the afterlife.
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Thought for the Day: "My own business always bores me to death; I prefer other people's." -- Oscar Wilde

(c) 2009 King Features Synd., Inc.