"An auction bid is not always a rational decision."

Auction official Boyd Browning on a Feb. 28 bidding war for a 2-year-old colt that hasn't yet run a race. Demi O'Byrne purchased the colt for $16 million, a new record. The colt sold for $425,000 at an auction last year.

"God . . . doesn't like people to draw a lot."

St. Paul, Minn., second-grader Hawi Muhammed on her problems with an art class at Higher Ground Academy. Before a recent compromise, some Muslim parents had pulled their children out of art classes at the public charter school.

"I have got a child now that I wasn't planning to have and I believe the hospital should take some responsibility for that."

Stacy Dow of Perth, Scotland, on why she is suing the hospital where one of her twin daughters survived an abortion attempt four years ago.

"Teach people the right way to spit."

Zhang Huiguang, director of the Capital Ethics Development Office in Beijing, China, on the goal of a city advertising campaign leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the worldwide attention the games will bring. Mr. Zhang said rampant public spitting is the city's "most serious bad habit."