To show his devotion, St. Simeon Stylites the Elder (c. 388-459) climbed onto a column and stayed there for 36 years.
Julius Caesar wrote, “Men willingly believe what they wish.”
Bon Apetit
A masochist’s lunch menu:
- Casu marzu is a Sardinian cheese riddled with live insect larvae that can jump up to 6 inches. Wear goggles.
- Kopi luwak, sometimes described as “cat poop coffee,” is a Sumatran beverage made from berries that have passed through a civet’s digestive tract.
- Lutefisk is a Nordic dish made by soaking whitefish in lye. It is the only food refused by Jeffrey Steingarten, author of The Man Who Ate Everything: “Lutefisk is not food, it is a weapon of mass destruction.”
- “Stinky tofu,” a favorite of Mao Zedong, is marinated for months in a brine of fermented vegetables. Reportedly it tastes like blue cheese, but its smell has been compared to sewage, horse manure, and “a used tampon baking in the desert.”
Mark Twain wrote, “Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.”
One Celestial Revolution
In the sixth century A.D., the Maya astronomers of Central America determined the length of the solar year to be 365.242 days.
The true length, established by modern astronomers, is 365.2422 days.
In a Word
epopoean
adj. befitting an epic poet
Bad Moon Rising
In 1979, K.T. Smith offered to buy a drink for anyone willing to moon the next train that passed the Mugs Away Saloon in Laguna Niguel, Calif.
Since then, the second Saturday in July has become “Moon Amtrak Day,” when hundreds of drinkers bare their bottoms at the 25 trains that pass through town.
The trains are reportedly booked solid for months in advance.
Have Gun, Will Travel
Letter received by William McKinley in April 1898, shortly before the outbreak of the Spanish-American War:
Dear Sir I for one feel Confident that your good judgment will carry America safely through without war —
But in case of such an event I am ready to place a Company of fifty Lady sharpshooters at your disposal. Every one of them will be an American and as they will furnish their own arms and ammunition will be little if any expense to the government.
Very truly
Annie Oakley
Hand Over Foot
Fingernails grow up to four times faster than toenails.
“Get Thee Behind Me”
Here’s one way to beat temptation: file a lawsuit. In 1971, Gerald Mayo sued “Satan and his staff” in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He alleged that “Satan has on numerous occasions caused plaintiff misery and unwarranted threats, against the will of plaintiff, that Satan has placed deliberate obstacles in his path and has caused plaintiff’s downfall” and had therefore “deprived him of his constitutional rights,” a violation of the U.S. Code.
The court noted that jurisdiction was uncertain; legally the devil might count as a foreign prince. Also, Mayo’s claim seemed appropriate for a class action suit, and it wasn’t clear that Mayo could represent all of humanity. Finally, no one was sure how the U.S. Marshal could serve process on Satan.
So the devil got away. Mayo’s case has been cited several times, and has never been overturned or contradicted.
Extreme Hospitality
Except for the beds, Sweden’s Ice Hotel is made completely of ice blocks — 60 rooms and suites, a bar, a reception area and a chapel, 30,000 square feet in all. Even the glasses in the bar are made of ice. You can book a room for about $400, but hurry — it melts in May.
Its alter ego is the Uyuni Salt Hotel, in Bolivia, where everything — including the beds — is made of salt. (Photo (c)2005 Tom Corser, www.tomcorser.com.)
Clinton and E-Mail
Bill Clinton sent only two e-mails during his entire eight-year term in office. One was to test the system; the other was to congratulate John Glenn on his return to space.
Both are archived in Clinton’s presidential library.