by Scot Morris
Raymond Burr used to be a nightclub singer. Stan Laurel was once Charlie Chaplin's understudy. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson set the world record for running the 100-yard dash backward (13.5 seconds). The French writer Rabelais wrote in his will: "I have nothing. I owe much. All the rest I give to the poor." You can't sink in quicksand, George Washington grew marijuana, Henry David Thoreau invented raisin bread and Mozart wrote the tune for Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (at age 5). Enterprise, Ala. has a monument to the boll weevil. Frankie Avalon recorded Dee Dee Dinah while holding his nose. See—it is all strange, useless and irresistible. (Doubleday/Dolphin, $5.95)
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