Free Republic

L.M. Boyd, the master gatherer of random facts whose Grab Bag column entertained generations of Sunday Chronicle readers, died on Monday at his Seattle home. He was 79. Louis Malcolm Boyd was known as "Mal" to his friends in Seattle, where he wrote a daily column that was syndicated in 400 papers until he retired in December 2000. The column was called Grab Bag only to readers of The Chronicle, which began carrying it in its Sunday Punch section in 1968. In other towns, it went by other names: Checking Up, Draw Up a Chair, or Fact or Fancy. For...

12 Things You Didn't Know About U.S. Presidents Not only were these men leaders of our country--they were multitalented, unique, and even downright quirky. We've heard a lot about their contribution to United States history. But would you have guessed the following...? 1. First U.S. president George Washington rejected a movement among army officers to make him king of the United States. 2. Andrew Jackson, 7th U.S. president, dueled with Charles Dickinson after he insulted Jackson's marriage. Jackson let his opponent fire first, giving himself time to take aim. Jackson took a bullet in the chest and, without flinching,...