Static Class Objects

How does a static object behave in C++? If you declare an object as static, is it instantiated only one time, like C? Can you return a static object by reference?

// File: ex4-14.cpp - Static objects
1     
2      #include <iostream>
3      using namespace std;
4     
5      class thing {
6        public:
7          thing() { cout<<"thing constructor called for "<<this<<endl; }
8          ~thing() { cout<<"thing destructor called for "<<this<<endl; }
9      };
10     
11      thing& funk() {
12        static thing T;
13        cout << "funk() called: &T=" << &T << endl;
14        return T;
15      }
16     
17      int main() {
18        cout << &(funk()) << endl;
19        cout << &(funk()) << endl;
20        cout << &(funk()) << endl;
21        return 0;
22      }

******* Program output  *******

thing constructor called for 0x22640
funk() called: &T=0x22640
0x22640
funk() called: &T=0x22640
0x22640
funk() called: &T=0x22640
0x22640
thing destructor called for 0x22640


How many different objects were created in this program?