Wisdom disconnect: Feb. 2, 2010

Some solid ideas: British Columbia is home to the Work Less Political Party. Their slogan is “Alarm Clocks Kill Dreams.” Other lesser-known political parties include the Donald Duck Party (Sweden) and the Rhinoceros Party (Canada).

I bet that made everyone happy: Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the U.S. His middle initial, S, doesn’t stand for anything. Rather, both of Harry’s grandfathers’ names started with the letter “S” and, when naming her son, Harry’s mother didn’t want to disappoint either of them. The mother of a true American president, she diplomatically chose the letter S.

Two in one: In 1911, China banned pigtails because they were viewed as a symbol of feudalism. Iceland is the world’s oldest functioning democracy.

Every 60 seconds: Lightning strikes the earth 350 times; Oprah makes $523; the average person living in the U.S. with an IT career makes $0.13; the average person with an IT career in India makes $0.025; two auto thefts are committed in the U.S.; 120,673 pounds of edible food is thrown away in the U.S.; 18 people die worldwide of starvation.

What’s left? Seven of the last 14 American presidents were left-handed (if you include Ronald Reagan and Harry S. Truman who were both ambidextrous). This is significantly higher than the approximate percentage of left-handed people worldwide, which is only 10 per cent.

A wise man once said: “Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made president should on no account be allowed to do the job.”
–Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy