Where I work, we get these little miniature newspapers called the "Tidbits". Likely, there's several other people here on BZPower who've at least heard of them if nothing else. Well, every couple weeks when a new issue comes in, I go straight to the back "cover" to look at my favorite article. "Strange But True". I enjoy these so much and I'm sure that you would too. Therefore, I shall start posting these interesting facts for you every week or two (or so). Since the new issue I just picked up last night is the most accessible one at the moment, we'll start there. I'll have to go through all the other ones I have saved on my shelf as time goes by...

• If your take-home pay leaves something to be desired, you probably won't be surprised to learn that the English word "salary" is derived from the Latin word for the allowance provided to Roman soldiers to buy salt.
• It was Academy Award-winning comedian and actor George Burns who made the following sage observation: "You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoes and wonder what else you can do while you're down there."
• Tablecloths today are lovely linens that enhance the appearane of a table, but that wasn't originally their sole use. At one time, tablecloths were meant to serve as towels; after dinner, guests would use it to wipe their hands and faces. (And nowadays, you get yelled at for doing this!)
• If you were to dine at an ancient Roman feast, you might find flamingo tongues on the menu -- they were considered a delicacy.
• In 1981, two minor-league baseball teams, the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox, played what might be the longest game in baseball history -- a full 32 innings. And after all that, there wasn't even a winner: The game ended in a 2-2 tie.
• If you needed more evidence that we live in a materialistic society, consider this: Statistics show that more people in America go to shopping malls every week than attend churches and synagogues. (Personally, I don't find this one strange at all.)
• The long tails that are spread out in the sky behind comets are vapor trails, but the vapor is spread pretty thin. In fact, if you condensed all the vapor in a 10,000-mile vapor trail, it would take up less than 1 cubic inch.
• Golfers beware: Don't chew on the tees. One golfer who was in the habit of gnawing while he played overdosed on pesticides after playing 36 holes in one day.
• Studies conducted in office environments show that women's desks have, on average, four times more germs than men's desks do. (And women have the nerve to call us men slobs?)
• And finally, the Thought For The Day: "There is wisdom in turning as often as possible from the familiar to the unfamiliar: it keeps the mind nimble, it kills prejudice, and it fosters humor." -- George Santayana