Did you know that Jews celebrated the new year 5768 this past week? Where do the millennia go?

Did you know the Chinese year we're enjoying until February is called The Year of The Pig? I suppose it's better than the Year of the Rat, but not by much. I much prefer the Year of the Tiger or the Dragon myself.

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy and John F. Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln? Let's see what the conspiracy theorists can do with that. And how did the History Channel miss making a boring hour long show on that meaningless fact?

Did you know that Paris Hilton is so named because she was conceived at the Paris Hilton? Good thing that's not a trend. There'd be a lot of us named Buickbackseat or Sleazymotel if it were.

Are you aware that the Moon creeps an inch or so further from the Earth every year? I guess it didn't think we'd notice, but our intrepid scientists sure did. So if you feel a little less manic with every full moon, that's the reason. I wonder where's it going in not such a big rush?

Did you know that Vincent Van Gogh actually did sell some paintings in his lifetime, contrary to earlier accounts that he sold none of his work? I'm sure he didn't get anything like the $96 million some Japanese guy paid for his "Sunflowers," but he made close to a hundred Francs on a few of them, a pretty penny in 1890's France. Enough to buy more oil paints, a decent easel and some ear muffs, anyway.

The largest land carnivore, the Polar Bear, lives in the most barren tracts of land and ice on Earth, the frozen north. He must be one industrious son of a gun.

The largest carnivore in Earth's oceans, the Killer Whale, also does a lot of hunting in the seas of the frozen north. So I suppose that seals and walrus ought to rethink their strategy of living in the frozen wastes to avoid predators. Doesn't seem to be working out when that strategy has produced the two largest meat-eaters of land and sea. This also tells me me that a seal must be one nutritious meal.

Speaking of diets, did you know that there's a radical new diet plan that calls for people to eat only food raised within thirty miles of their home? At one time on Earth that was pretty much everybody's diet, before we got around to inventing cities and roads and eighteen-wheelers and the like. Back in the day people's life spans averaged around forty measly years, and no wonder. They didn't get to eat shrimp or Mexican food. Not much to look forward to, so forty years seemed like plenty long enough to live. Boy, I'd be in trouble if I went with that plan. I live in Brooklyn, New York City and I can't think of much food at all being raised within thirty miles of here. How much pigeon can you eat?

Did you know that a woodchuck can't chuck any wood at all? Who named that animal, an aficionado of tongue- twisters?

Did it escape your careful scrutiny that not all Roses are red, and that Violets are actually purple and not blue? Hence the name Violet, a shade of purple. Well, I missed that one, that's for sure. My bad.

Did you know that VCR's, CD and DVD players, personal computers, coaxial cable and flat screen TV's were all invented in America but virtually none of them are actually built here? This I-Mac computer I'm typing on was built in Shanghai, China. Apparently we also forgot how to make sweatshirts, baseball caps and underwear and must rely on the Chinese to provide them for us as well.

Did you know that the human body replaces all its cells every seven years? Small wonder I don't feel like the man I used to be, I've been replaced almost eight times already (I'm 54. Do the math). My question for the human body would be: Why do you replace my perfectly good cells with old-guy cells? And also, why did you start skipping the part about replacing the hair on my head cells about ten years ago? Are you as lazy and haphazard as I am? Hope you don't start forgetting to replace something important on the next go-round, like my finger cells or kidney cells or something.

Did you know that State Governments all over the United States have muscled in on The Mob's business over the last thirty or so years? Well, they did, and without going to the mattresses or even having a sit-down to hash out territorial disputes. They took over the daily numbers racket and even lowered the payoff to winners from 600 to 1 to 500 to 1. Said governments used to put gangsters in jail for this activity, a time-consuming and expensive undertaking. To avoid all this nasty business they simply nationalized the industry. What's next, State-run truck hijacking rings and State loan shark offices in every town? Who would be the leg-breakers when you don't pay, city councilmen? Meter Maids?

Are you aware that ten percent of the people consumes ninety percent of all alcoholic beverages? Apparently there's a lot of over-achievers out there in the imbibing department.

Did you know that the Titanic had a sister ship? It was called the Invincible or some similarly ridiculous name and also sank on its maiden voyage. Not a triumph of naval engineering, those two.

Have you heard that Marc Ecko, the guy who bought Barry Bonds, 756th home run ball for three quarters of a million dollars isn't going to keep it? He's either going to donate it to the Baseball Hall of Fame as it is or to the Hall of Fame Museum with an asterisk branded onto it or (get this!); launch the baseball into space on a rocket ship. He's offering the public a chance to vote on the fate of the ball on a web site, www.vote756.com. This guy's got a rocket ship? My vote is for launching the ball to the stars, my only reason being to remind NASA how it's done. Here's another Did You Know?: Mr. Ecko (no , I never heard of him either) made his dough as a "hip-hop fashion mogul" according to the New York Post (so there's an outside chance that this could be true). Hip hop dudes have a fashion mogul other than Sean John (alias Puff Daddy alias P Diddy)? Dressing guys in sweat suits, jewelry, sneakers and baseball caps earns you a spare 750 grand and your own own space ship? Go figure. Must be all the dough he saved by having his stuff made In China.

ATTENTION READERS: Got any oddball facts floating around your skull not doing much of anything? Share them with this website and I'll publish them in the next "Did You Know?" blog, with full credit of course. Doesn't matter what the subject as long as it's true. Actually, the weirder and more obscure, the better. Just click on the contact section of this site and e-mail me your odd facts. -Bob Crespo