• It was noted American author Ambrose Bierce (sometimes known as “Bitter Bierce” for his acerbic wit) who made the following sage observation: “It is by the goodness of God that we have in our country three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience and the prudence never to practice either.”

• Did you ever wonder why pirates often had pierced ears? It seems that the belief at the time was that wearing an earring improved eyesight.

• You might be surprised to learn that there is a world record for the tallest recorded hairdo. Even more surprising is the fact that the record-holder’s beehive measured a whopping 6 feet, 6 inches tall.

• Food trucks are rapidly gaining popularity all over the country, both at fairs and at stand-alone food-truck bazaars. You might be surprised to learn that the origin of the food truck goes all the way back to 1872.

At that time, in Providence, R.I., all the restaurants closed at 8 every night, leaving factory workers who got off late without a place to eat. At the time, a man named Walter Scott (obviously not Sir Walter Scott) was working as a push-cart peddler, selling odds and ends out of a glorified wheelbarrow.

Like a true American entrepreneur, Scott saw a need and moved to fill it. He put a small stove in a horse-drawn wagon and began roaming the streets late at night, selling sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs and coffee. His success spurred imitators, and soon the city was teeming with the “after-hours lunchwagons.”

Thought for the Day: “I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.” — Umberto Eco