Strange But True: Cure the Black Plague

By Lucie Winborne

• In 1960, the average life expectancy of a person with Down syndrome was 10 years. By 2007, the average had risen to 47 years.

• The world's oldest emergency phone number is the U.K's 999 number, introduced on June 30, 1937.

• Snakes evolved from a four-legged reptilian ancestor, probably a small, burrowing, land-bound lizard, approximately 100 million years ago. Some, such as pythons and boas, still have traces of back legs.

• Jupiter contracts by about 2 centimeters per year as it radiates internal heat into space.

• The Zimbabwean dollar bank note holds the record for the greatest number of zeros shown (100,000,000,000,000).

• During the Middle Ages, people tried a number of ways to cure the black plague, including avoiding bad thoughts, eating and drinking in moderation, and not abusing the poor.

• The five-second rule is, sadly, a myth, since bacteria can live after four weeks on carpet.

• In 1946, two partners in a leading pest control company were tried by a British military court, convicted and hanged on genocide charges, the argument being that they must have realized the amount of Zyklon B they provided to concentration camps far exceeded that needed for delousing.

• The Greek dramatist Menander once wrote that, "No chaste woman ought to make her hair yellow." Guess he preferred brunettes.

• If the U.S. Army were a city, it would be the 10th largest in the country, having more people than popular cities such as San Francisco; Jacksonville, Florida; and Austin, Texas.

• Warm Dr Pepper was once a popular Christmas drink and even thought to aid colds and other ailments.

• The Statue of Liberty is made of more than 300 layers of copper.

Thought for the Day: "There are three constants in life ... change, choice and principles." -- Stephen Covey

(c) 2026 King Features Synd., Inc.