Strange But True: Polar Bear Pregnancy

By Lucie Winborne

• John Wycliffe's first translation of the Bible from Latin Vulgate into English so angered the Catholic Church (because it bypassed priests) that it had his corpse exhumed and burned.

• A year on Neptune lasts approximately 165 Earth years.

• For six months, filmmakers Jenny Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin survived on food salvaged from dumpsters, finding so much that friends were invited to help them consume it, and recorded their experience in "Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story."

• The Hopi consider the Grand Canyon to be the gateway to the afterlife.

• Polar bear mamas gain around 400 pounds during pregnancy. If the mother doesn't double her weight, her body will simply reabsorb the fetus.

• Research has suggested that when a twin engages in criminal activity, it increases the likelihood that the other twin will do the same.

• The orbicularis oris muscle allows lips to pucker for a kiss.

• Words in tonal languages such as Mandarin and Hmong can have up to eight meanings, depending on their tone and pitch.

• Zeng Jinlian, of China, holds the world record for tallest woman in history, measuring an astounding 8 feet 1 3/4 inches tall -- more than a foot taller than basketball star Shaquille O'Neal.

• Globally, male babies are 25% more likely to die in infancy than girls.

• In December 1955, artist Salvador Dali borrowed a friend's Rolls Royce, filled it to the roof with cauliflower, and drove it to the Sorbonne in Paris, where he delivered a lecture titled "Phenomenological Aspects of the Paranoiac Critical Method."

• The Leaning Tower of Pisa was already sinking on one side when the second floor was added.

(c) 2026 King Features Synd., Inc.