Trivia

The refrain of a song once was called the “wheel.”

Q. The mathematical genius Carl Gauss at age 10 needed only eight seconds to add up all the numbers from 1 to 100. How did he do it?

A. He knew that each pair of numbers - 1 plus 100, 2 plus 99, 3 plus 98, so on, down to 50 plus 51 - equaled 101. So he just figured 50 times 101 and came up with the answer: 5,050.

“Companionship” always comes out first in those surveys that ask large samplings of citizens what they most want out of marriage. Generally listed after that, notes our Love and War man, are reciprocated love, financial security and reliable sex. Client asks, “Isn’t intellectual stimulation ever mentioned?” Yes, sometimes. Wistfully.

Q. Who crossed North America to reach the Pacific first - the explorers Lewis and Clark or the fur trader Alexander Mackenzie?

A. Mackenzie - 1793. Lewis and Clark - 1805.

That William Booth founded the Salvation Army is common knowledge. Less well known is the fact that he pioneered the mass production of safety matches.