Facts You Probably D on’t Need

 For one week in 1994, Tim Allen had the number one movie at the box office (The Santa Claus), the number one TV show (Home Improvement), and the number one NY Times bestselling book (Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man).

 The Caesar Salad is named after Caesar Cardini, an Italian American hotel owner.

 Dung Beetles can navigate only when the Milky Way or clusters of bright stars are visible. They are the only insect known to orient itself by the galaxy.

 Chipotle peppers are just smoke-dried jalapeno peppers.

 Lego bricks are very consistent, with only 18 bricks out of every 1,000,000 made being considered defective. The bricks manufactured today can also still interlock with those that were manufactured as far back as 1958.

 Pringles are not technically potato chips but actually a slurry of rice, wheat, corn and some potato flakes.

 Roughly 76% of Vietnamese people share only six surnames, with nearly 40% of them having the surname "Nguyen."

 Bandit, critic, dwindle, lackluster, and swagger were all words invented by Shakespeare.

Facts by Sean McVeigh, factologist.

NY 11697

Dear Enchantress,

I am so stuck on focusing on the negative. I know I should be grateful, and I try, but I spend my days in mind suffering land, with too many people texting and calling and wanting things or asking things or checking in and it makes me want to run away. I use gratitude for my house, roof on my head, food on my table etc.

I have OK days, so I don't think I'm capital D depressed, but I ain't right. I used to go to a therapist, but that made it worse, and now I do yoga, and meditate and do all these things but it's like I do them to get away from my mind that races and tortures me. Got any insight on how I can use gratitude better?

By Shane Kulman

Dear Sister,

I see the suffering you’re in, and what a big deal for you to have the energy to take the action to write to me. This Dear Enchantress will help many, so I want you to know you are already headed in the right direction because there are many folks who couldn't muster up the energy or awareness to reach out. Good for doing all the yoga and meditation, those things are the RIGHT things. Next, let's play with the gratitude. The big things like gratitude for having a roof over your head and food on the table, are basic needs or rather survival type things. If you didn't have them, it would