F. Y. I.

Still on the Books
In Indiana, waitresses may not carry drinks into a restaurant or bar.

Celebratory First
America's first Mardi Gras took place in 1699 when French explorers landed near the Mississippi, 60 miles downriver from modern-day New Orleans.

Quotable
by  Erma Bombeck, American humorist (1927-1996) 
"I am not a glutton ----- I am an explorer of food."

State Stats
The world's first soft-serve ice cream machine was in an Olympia, Wash., Dairy Queen.

Stage Superstitions
In theater, an actor who finds a thread and winds it around a finger is believed to have better luck at securing a lengthy contract.

In Other Worlds
In the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, Fat Tuesday is called Pancake Day and involves, of course, eating pancakes.