FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT AL FRANKEN

1 Franken scored a perfect 800 on the math section of his SAT boards at Blake School in Hopkins. He attributes his math aptitude to long hours spent playing canasta with his mother, Phoebe.

2 In 2007, the first year of his run for the Senate, Franken earned $17,500 in salary from Alan Franken Inc., his personal corporation. His earnings the previous year: more than $1 million.

3 In junior high, Franken got good grades and an occasional reprimand from teachers who failed to appreciate caustic truth-telling in a 13-year-old. He masterminded a parody of what he now calls an "insipid" production of "I'm a Little Teapot" by some classmates.

4 Fat cats were always a target for Franken's broadsides, even when they were his employers. While at Saturday Night Live, Franken took aim at NBC President Fred Silverman's door-to-door limousine service at a time when viewership was tumbling. The bit was called "Limo for the Lamo."

5 Franken doesn't drink or smoke.