Week 706: Questionable Journalism

Worldwide, the leading cause of flight delays is goats on the runway. (Mike Fransella, Arlington)

The "bomp" in "bomp-sha-bomp-sha-bomp" and the "ram" in "ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong" were put in their respective phrases by Melvin R. Quisterberry of Chippewa Falls, Wis., and Alma Fruiterman of Albany, N.Y. (Bob Dalton)

The Internal Revenue Code contains 1,278,312 words, none of them ending in the letter "b." (Bob Dalton)

Eskimos have more words for "snot" than for "snow." (Kevin Dopart)

Sgt. Dudley S. Doright, a retired Canadian Mountie, filed a defamation suit against the makers of "Rocky and Bullwinkle" shortly before his death. (Russell Beland)

Veteran ballerinas do not need to wear special toeshoes, because the bones in their feet have become fused en pointe. (Paul Kocak, Syracuse, N.Y.)

Jimi Hendrix's first band in high school, the Li'l Stinkers, did polkas at weddings in the Seattle area. (Jeff Brechlin, Eagan, Minn.)

Director Chuck Jones based the Porky Pig character on a real stuttering pig his parents once owned. (Brendan Beary)

An Inker is exactly 319 Loser magnets tall (stacked flat) but weighs only as much as 127 magnets. -- R. Beland, Springfield (Eric Murphy, Ann Arbor, Mich.)

Next Week: Freak Trade Agreements, or Let's Fake a Deal