by Diana Filer
1. This year’s Governor General’s Saidye Bronfman Award, Canada’s highest distinction for fine craft artistry, goes to Lou Lynn, a glass sculptor and teacher of Winlaw, BC.
2. According to the Guinness Book of Records, The Katzenjammer Kids, featuring Hans and Fritz, is the longest running comic strip. It first appeared in 1897, and ran daily until 2006. It is still running, although in syndicated reprint form.
3. Ulama is the oldest sport, first recorded in 3,500 years ago in Mesoamerica. It was a very rough ball game played on a dirt field, the ball being hit by the hips or forearms.
4. The main ingredient of root beer, where its distinctive taste comes from, is the bark of the sassafras tree.
5. Ann Mortifee is the widow of the brilliant jazz saxophone and flute player Paul Horn, who died in 2014.