The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

* It was Margaret Chase Smith, the first woman to serve in both houses of the U.S. Congress, who made the following sage observation: “Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism: The right to criticize; The right to hold unpopular beliefs; The right to protest; The right of independent thought.”

* According to historians, British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill slept on silk sheets and wore silk underwear. It seems he had very sensitive skin, and rough fabric made him break out in a rash.

* It probably won’t surprise you to learn that members of the Sampit tribe in Borneo eat bananas. What is surprising, though, is that they don’t remove the peels first.

* Everyone knows that a sophomore is someone in their second year of high school or college. Most people don’t realize, though, that the word is derived from the Greek words “sophos,” which means “wise,” and “moros,” which means “stupid.”