BELLA VISTA — It was Ogden Nash, well-loved American author of humorous poetry, who made the following sage observation: "The door of a bigoted mind opens outwards so that the only result of the pressure of facts upon it is to close it more snugly."

• The modern dishwasher was invented all the way back in 1889, and it's no surprise that it was a woman, not a man, who came up with the labor-saving device. It is interesting to note, however, that it wasn't her own labor Josephine Cochrane was saving when she invented the device; Mrs. Cochrane had servants to do the washing up. In fact, she wasn't interested in saving labor at all -- she was simply tired of the servants chipping the fine china.

• You had more taste buds before you were born than you do now --more than you've had at any time in your life, in fact.

• The beloved children's book "Green Eggs and Ham" would not exist if it hadn't been for a bet. Bennett Cerf, Dr. Seuss' editor, bet the author $50 that he couldn't write a book using no more than 50 different words. Dr. Seuss used precisely 50 words, collecting the $50 and creating a classic at the same time.

• You might be surprised to learn that about 29 percent of people who go to beauty spas are men.

• If your family is like most American households, you waste approximately $600 every year by throwing away unspoiled food.

• The world's tallest tree can be found in Redwood National Park, in California. The tree, known as "Hyperion," stands nearly 380 feet tall.

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Thought for the Day: "I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell." -- Harry S. Truman

(c) 2009 King Features Synd., Inc.

Entertainment, Pages 18 on 11/04/2009

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