Historical clue formulations

• "As ironic as it sounds …" — 2024-01-22
• "Funny you should say that ..." — 2023-04-29
• In an unusual way — 2023-01-09
• In an unusual manner — 2022-11-28
• In a strange way — 2022-03-28
• Not as expected — 2022-01-13
• "The funny thing is ..." — 2020-07-31
• "Strangely enough ..." — 2017-09-18
• "___ enough ..." — 2016-07-02
• Strange to say — 2006-04-19
• "You'd never have guessed, but ..." — 2004-11-21
• To everyone's surprise — 2003-09-03
• Askew — 2003-03-13
• How eccentrics behave — 2002-02-20
• "Contrary to popular belief ..." — 2000-09-17
• Contrary to expectation — 1999-10-28
• Not as expected — 1999-04-02
• In singular fashion — 1996-10-06
• Strange to say — 1994-06-01