Strange But True: Largest Bacterium

By Lucie Winborne

• Some Los Angeles businesses famous for their amusing names include the Spearmint Rhino strip club, the Oops! Sushi restaurant, the Trashy Lingerie store, and an emporium called Wacko/Soap Plant.

• The most accurate way to determine a bear's age is to count the rings in a cross section of its tooth root under a microscope.

• Uranus' 98 degree axial tilt causes it to spin completely on its side while orbiting the sun.

• Google did an experiment with M&Ms at their headquarters. When they put the candy in containers instead of out in the open, people ate 3 million fewer pieces within one month's time.

• Prior to the invention of baking soda, cooks used fresh snow to make their pancakes fluffy, as it contains small amounts of ammonia that react with batter to rise.

• Approximately 50 million people worldwide suffer from stuttering.

• In 1907, when Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman wore a one-piece suit in Boston that revealed her arms and legs, she was arrested for indecent exposure.

• One of the most deadly airplane accidents actually happened on the ground in 1977, when two fully loaded planes collided head-on in the middle of the runway on Tenerife Island, killing more than 500 people.

• Four out of 10 workplace dating relationships result in marriage.

• The largest bacterium in the world is about the size of an eyelash and can be picked up with a pair of tweezers.

• Richard Nixon won thousands of dollars in poker while stationed in Green Island during World War II, which he later used to fund his first run for political office.

(c) 2026 King Features Synd., Inc.