THINGS DAVE BARRY HAS LEARNED IN 50 YEARS...


1.          The badness of a movie is directly proportional to the number of helicopters in it.
2.          You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight-saving time.
3.          The most valuable function performed by the federal government is entertainment.
4.          You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
5.          A penny saved is worthless.
6.          They can hold all the peace talks they want, but there will never be peace in the Middle East. Billions of years from now, when Earth is hurtling toward the sun, and there is nothing left alive on the planet except a few microorganisms, the microorganisms living in the Middle East will be bitter enemies.
7.          The most powerful force in the universe is: GOSSIP.
8.          The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers.
9.          There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is: 11.
10.          There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
11.          Nobody is normal.
12.          At least once per year, some group of scientists will become very excited and announce that: The universe is even bigger than they thought! ...and whatever they announced last year about global warming is wrong.
13.          If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be: MEETINGS.
14.          If the advertisement says, "This is not your father's Oldsmobile," the advertiser is desperately concerned that this Oldsmobile, like all other Oldsmobiles, appeals primarily to old farts like your father.
15.          If Coke and Pepsi spend billions of dollars to convince you that there are significant differences between these two products, both companies realize that Pepsi and Coke are virtually identical.
16.          If an advertisement shows a group of cool, attractive youngsters getting excited and high-fiving each other because the refrigerator contains Sunny Delight, the advertiser knows that any real youngster who reacted in this way to this beverage would be considered by his peers to be the world's biggest dork.
17.          On those rare occasions when advertising dares to poke fun at the product, it's because the advertiser actually thinks the product is pretty good. And if a politician ever ran for president under a slogan such as "Basically, He Wants Attention," I would quit my job to work for his campaign.
18.          You should not confuse your career with your life.
19.          A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.
20.          No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.
21.          When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that person is crazy.
22.          Your friends love you anyway.
23.          Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.