Strange
but
Impossibly
TRUE
60 february 2019
4
The current American flag was designed by a
high school student. Betsy Ross, make way for
Bob Heft. He sewed the prototype for a history
project in 1958, the year before Alaska and Hawaii
joined the Union. (His teacher gave him a B−
because no one knew for certain that the flag
would ever need updating.) Heavens to Betsy—
there’s no proof that Ms. Ross even had anything
to do with the original 13-star version of the flag.1
Dinosaurs had feathers. That’s what
archaeologists have found in the fossil
evidence of some species, including
velociraptors. Whether bigger species
such as Tyrannosaurus rex had them
is under debate, but some scientists believe
they had light feathering. In fact, researchers
have long noted that chickens and other
birds share skeletal similarities with T. r e x
and are its probable descendants.2
McDonald’s once
created bubble-
gum-flavored broccoli.
Not surprisingly, the
bizarre attempt to get
kids to eat healthier did
not go over well with
the child testers.3
You have a greater
chance of dying on
your birthday than on
any other day of the year.
In fact, the younger you
are, the more likely
you are to bite the bul-
let on your big day. So
go ahead and party—
but not too hard.Reader’s Digest
previous spread: linda bucklin/shutterstock (dinosaur). matthew cohen (pez) this page: pixel-shot/shutterstock (birthday). chananchida ch/shutterstock (flags)