Random Facts 4

Dave Barry
Humorist Dave Barry has retired his newspaper column after 30 years.
The Week, January 14, 2005, Vol. 5, Iss. 190, pp. 8

Downsizing
Employers eliminated more than 1 million jobs in 2004. It was the fourth year in a row, in 2004, that downsizing employers cut that many jobs.-Money
The Week, January 14, 2005, Vol. 5, Iss. 190, pp. 8

Bullfrogs
All bullfrogs close their eyes when they jump.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 333

Poop Dreams
In French folklore, dreaming about poop is an omen that good fortune is on the way.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 350

Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes can get athlete's foot.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 363

Elephants
Elephants love to drink alcohol.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 273

Getting Older
By age 60 you will have lost about 50 percent of your taste buds and 40 percent of your sense of smell.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 203

Turtles, Tortoises & Terrapines
Turtles live in the sea, tortoises live on land, and terrapines live in fresh water.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 204

Cats
One reason cats scratch furniture is because they have scent glands in their paws.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 165

February 30
February 30, 11 BC was the last February 30 ever.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 172

Margarine
In 1957, Americans ate more margarine than butter.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 173

Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut uses 80 million pounds of tomatoes each year.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 106

Snakes
Snakes can continue to bite after they're dead.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 123

Painting
A painting of a guide dog leading a blind man was found in Pompeii dating from 79 BC.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 486

Tree Symptom
Q. My back yard fruit tree still have leaves on them. The leaves dried up and died but didn't fall off. Is this normal?A. This usually occurs when the tree is under stress due to a disease or insect. The most common cause is verticillium wilt, which is a fungal disease, and scale, a small insect that feeds on the younger branches of the tree.
Tri-City Herald, Sat. Jan 1, 2005 pp. D1

North and South Korea DMZ
What Happened: The creation of the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea at the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Intended: The barbed wire-enclosed 2.5-by-150-mile strip of land would help preserve peace between two nations that, since 1953, have been officially at war.
Unintended: The DMZ is an environmental paradise. It's been virtually human-free for more than 50 years. According to scientists, nearly 3,000 species of plants and animals thrive in the zone today, many no longer exist in either country. That includes several severely endangered animals, such as Asiatic black bears, Siberian tigers, and two of the most endangered birds in the world, the white-naped crane and the red- crowned crane.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 165

AOL Word Ban
America Online banned the word "breast" from its service in 1995 with the intension of lessoning cybersmut. However, breast cancer patients lost the ability to communicate vital information online. One subscriber even had her personal file completely deleted. She tried to create a new one, but got a message from AOL saying she couldn’t use "vulgar" words on their service. After a deluge of angry e-mails, AOL quickly allowed the word back on.
Uncle John's 17th edition Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader pp. 164-5