Archive of Weird, Bizarre and Unusual 2008

          Frank Perdue

When the third largest chicken processor in the U.S., Perdue Chicken Co., began expanding into Spanish speaking countries, they carried their slogan, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken" with them. After a Spanish translation, however, it stated, "It takes a hard man (sexually aroused) to make a chick affectionate."

               St Martin

In 2003, Rev. Stephen Earley of St. Martin's Church in Gloucestershire, England, announced an unusual way his church would raise money to aid women's groups in Rwanda. Their way? Sell 2004 calendars, featuring 13 female parishioners, posing in the nude. Jo Hofman, 50, who posed for the calendar said: "We wanted to celebrate womanhood, to heal a little of the pain suffered by our sisters in Rwanda."

                    Elephants doing the Dog Paddle

With an Indian elephant easily weighing 11,000 pounds, and an African one about 15,400 pounds, amazingly, they are able to swim for miles, even using their long snouts to snorkel if the water gets rough. At the same time, these huge pachyderms cannot jump, leap or gallop.

For centuries, champagne bottles were a nightmare for French glassblowers. The wine's pressure would reach about 90 pounds per square inch (about the same pressure as a small bicycle tire) and make the bottles unpredictable. Then, in 1828, weather conditions put extra sugar in the grapes, allowing pressure inside these bottles to go well over 90 PSI, causing 80% of them to explode. In fact, during that period, spending time in a wine cellar was considered more dangerous than going to war.

            P.J. O'Rourke      Brown, Black and Polar Bear     Mayflower Madam

(1) "Never steal anything so small that you'll have to go to an unpleasant city jail for it instead of a minimum-security federal tennis prison." P.J. O'Rourke (2) "Never drop your gun to hug a bear." H.E. Palmer, a member of the U.S. forces that settled the West in the later half of the 19th century (3) " Never say anything on the phone that you wouldn't want your mother to hear at your trial." Sydney Biddle Barrows, the Mayflower Madam.

    Rev. Samuel Parris

From February 1692 through May 1693, one of the oddest cases of mass hysteria was in Salem, Massachusetts. Newly appointed minister Samuel Parris told his congregation his daughter and niece were acting very strangely and were possessed by witchcraft. With fear of witches over-powering these simple people's common sense, the Salem Witch Trials soon began. Over the next several months, more than 150 people were arrested and imprisoned. Of the 29 convicted for witchcraft, 19 (14 women and 5 men) were exectuted by hanging.

Elliot's Gun Shop in Jefferson, Louisiana, was raided and shut down on May 16, 2007, by both the ATF (The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) and the Secret Service. Careful documentation showed Elliot's had sold more than 2,300 firearms in the past five years, which had all been tied to crimes in the New Orleans area. According to ATF agent Dave Harper, this included 125 guns linked to murder investigations and about 500 tied to illegal drug crimes.

     Joshua Mauldin            Ana Marie Mauldin

A wire service report on May 16, 2007, told of 19-year-old Joshau Mauldin, who had been arrested in Galveston for burning his 2-month-old daughter, Ana Marie,...... by heating her for several seconds inside a microwave oven. After the baby was rescued and examined at Shiners Burns Hospital, she was determined to have suffered third-degree burns on both face and hand.

 (Click on Picture to Enlarge)

If one page from an average book were measured, it would be about 1,000,000 atoms (Angstrom Units) thick. And from another perspective, if an apple were enlarged to the size of the planet Earth, each atom in the enlarged apple would be about the size of the original apple.

Outside Huntington Avenue Grounds and rooftop view of Game 3 in Boston

In 1903, in hopes of bringing the National and American Baseball Leagues closer together, the first World Series was held between the Boston Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The entire series lasted 13 days. And, even though Boston beat Pittsburgh in the series, 5 games to 3, the owner of the Pirates was so proud of his team, he let them all split the profits he'd collected, making their pay much higher than that paid the winning Boston team. (FYI: Best-of-seven has been used to determine the winner in all series games, except in 1903, 1919-1921 when it consisted of a best-of-nine playoff.)

     Kimberly Mays

When 9-year-old Arlene Twig died from a heart defect in 1988, tissue samples proved beyond doubt she was not the biological child of her parents, Earnest and Regina Twiggs. An investigation soon determined another child, Kimberly Mays, born at the same hospital, had been switched with Arlene. The Twiggs sued, and the case dragged on for five years, until a judge ruled the Twiggs had no parental rights at all. (The story did not stop here. See The New York Times Custody and Support articles.)

              Bob Cerv                         Casey Stengel

Bob Cerv played baseball for the New York Yankees off-and-on for 11 years. Once, when he was being traded away, manager Casey Stengel needed to come up with a "gentle" way to tell him. Stengel's answer was to corner Cerv in the dugout, smile, then quietly whisper, "Nobody knows this, but one of us has just been traded to Kansas City."

Rosie and Pete years earlier
at the Social Security office

The news media reported May 15, 2007, Rosie Costello, 46, had plead guilty to teaching her son how to act retarded, in order to collect Social Security benefits. She was sentenced to three years in prison, and ordered to repay the government $288,000. A few days before, her son, Pete Costello, 26, had been sentenced to 13 months in jail on the same offense.

  The two Pilings at the        Flooding Downtown
  Kinzie Street bridge           Basements

In 1991, contractors driving pilings (telephone poles bundled together) to prevent barges from bumping into the Kinzie Street bridge, penetrated a tunnel running underneath the river in downtown Chicago. The damage was discovered a few months later, but repairs were delayed, allowing a large hole to form in the tunnel's roof. On April 13, 1992, the water rushed in at a rate of 250 gallons per second, causing the flooding of basements in many buildings. This lasted for three days, and took several months before things were back to normal. The cost of this procrastination totaled $1.95 billion.

Lyndon Baines Johnson    The King and Queen

36th President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973), with his crude manners and social flaws, was an embarrassment to all those around him. While visiting Thailand, and being televised live sitting next to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, LBJ deliberately hitched his foot up over his thigh, and pointed his toe directly at the King. (In Thailand, that is equal to the American gesture of extending one's middle finger at another person in traffic.) Next, another faux pas, this crude "leader of the free world" grabbed the Queen of Thailand, said "hi, honey," and gave her a great big old Texas hug. (No one is ever allowed to touch the queen.)

 Pioneers Wearable Computer
                     YukiEL

In 2002, Japanese designer Michie Sone, in collaboration with Pioneer Electronics, created a wearable- computer jacket for people on the go. It had a flat panel Organic Electroluminescent Display (OELD) screen built into one sleeve, along with a keypad on the cuff, and speakers in the collar. It never caught on in the U.S.

        George Eastman                    Kodak Patent           U.S. stamp and Kodak Ad

His invention of the Kodak camera in the late 1880's made George Eastman (1854-1932) very rich. And, even though he feared death almost to a phobia, he traveled far-and-wide, hunting bears and tigers. At the age of 77, he sent a friend a note reading, "My work is done. Why wait?" With that, Eastman shot himself dead.

When Parker Pen Co. decided to expand sales into Mexico, they had their slogan "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you," translated into Spanish. The translator, however, decided to use the verb embarazar, which sounds like "to embarrass," but really means, "to impregnate."

     Casimir Funk

In 1912, a Polish chemist, Casimir Funk (1884-1967), found that amine, a substance found in unpolished rice (a type of nitrogen-containing compound) could prevent beri-beri. Funk, understanding amine was vital to proper body function, called it vitamine (for vital amine - later known as Vitamin B1).

                                   Marcus Aurelius

Around 167 Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121 -180) said it well: "Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away."

Honey Bee/Honeycomb           Yummy Honey

Just how busy is a bee? To fill its honey sack, a bee must visit between 1,000 and 1,500 blooms. To produce a thimbleful of honey, a bee must make about 60 of these nectar collecting trips. This means an average sized hive can produce about two pounds of honey daily, equal to about 5,000,000 nectar gathering journeys.

Upper Darby Police Dept.          Lou's Loans

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on May 20, 2007, that hundreds of guns, including illegal sawed-off shotguns and assault rifles, seized by the Upper Darby Police Department, were back in circulation. Two of the areas most notorious gun shops (Lou's Loans and Mac's Guns) offered many for sale the very day they had been confiscated. Under Pennsylvania law, police departments may resell collected guns, but not illegal guns. Also, there is some question about whether the proceeds went back to the township or into the pockets of the officers.

             Alex Fowler

In 2001, Alex Fowler of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, was trying to create a material for making clothing which could eat its own dirt and even sweat. This can be done, at least theoretically, by impregnating fabric fibers with different bacteria engineered to eat organic materials. Only problem, if that article of clothing is not worn very often, the bacteria will starve to death. Fowler added, "You could end up having to feed your shirt instead of washing it." (Contacted in January of 2008, Fowler said, "We have turned most of our attention to creating living bandages that would create drugs to promote healing, but the basic concept remains the same - fabrics that are alive.")

                            Wayne Gretzky

The world's greatest hockey player, Wayne Gretzky, followed the same routine during the warm-up before each game. He'd shoot his first puck way off to the right of the goal. Then, when he went back to the dressing room, he'd drink a Diet Coke, a glass of iced water, a Gatorade and another Diet Coke.

On May 21, 2007, a former Dallas Big Lots store manager, William Gary Garrard Jr., 38, was sentenced to five years in prison for setting fire, twice, to the store he managed. On September 23, 2003, court records show, Mr. Garrard used gasoline to start a fire in his office, which the sprinkler system extinguished before firefighters arrived. When Mr. Garrard was called and told to return to his office to secure loose cash found, he returned and started another fire, this time accidentally setting fire to a plaster-of-paris cast he wore over an injured arm. (He was also ordered to pay $256,455 in restitution.)

        Carl Sandburg

Here are 3 great quotes from celebrated poet and author Carl Sandburg (1878-1967): (1) "I want money in order to buy the time to get the things that money will not buy." (2) "Someday they'll give a war and nobody will come." (3) "Those who fear they may cast pearls before swine are often lacking in pearls."

       Hans Friedenthal                  Bearded Lady

In 1914, Hans Friedenthal (1870-1943), a University of Berlin professor, warned women that "brain work" could cause them to go bald, while increasing their masculinity, and even cause a beard to grow on their faces, adding "In the future, therefore, women will be bald and wear long moustaches and patriarchal beards."

A least one study indicates young male ducks have little or no interest in sex, even turning away females ready to mate. Some being observed went so far as to "make excuses" by taking a sudden unneeded bath, or chasing away imaginary enemies. This attitude is only temporary, however. Once they select a mate, these young males can't wait to enjoy fun-and-games.

  Old Bank Building      John Whittelsey                    The Whittelsey House

On January 25, 1876, John Whittelsey, chief cashier of the Northampton National Bank in Massachusetts, had his home taken over by a group of masked men, demanding the combinations to all 3 of the bank's safes. His unwanted house guests, combinations in hand, took a total of $1.6 million from that bank. (This remained U.S. history's largest bank heist, until the Brinks Robbery in 1950, when $1,218,211.19 in cash and over $1.5 million in checks, money orders, and other securities were stolen.)

In the 1500's, the sophisticated rich of Europe began buying pricey pewter dinner dishes. This created the "silent killer" of the Middle Ages. When food containing high acid was served on this pewter wear, it would leach lead onto the food, just before it was eaten. People noticed the poisonings appeared to occur more often when tomatoes were served. Until the 1800's, Europeans thought tomatoes were poison, and refused to eat them.

(1) A mouse's heart is smaller than an M&M candy piece. (2) All elephants, be they African or Asian, suffer from the same digestive "problem," excessive flatulence -- even more than man. (That'd be a weird way to have your hat blown off.) (3) What is a natal cleft? That is the medical term for your butt crack.

          Virginia Woolf                         River Ouse                   James Joyce - 1904                     Ulysses

British novelist Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) was a very harsh critic of Irish novelist James Joyce's literary masterpiece Ulysses. Woolf's critique, quoted: "It is a misfire. It is brackish. It is pretentious. It is under-bred, not only in the obvious sense, but in the literary sense. A first-rate writer, I mean, respects writing too much to be tricky." (Woolf committed suicide by drowning herself in the River Ouse near her home. Guess she didn't like herself either?)

             Nazi Rally

Six months before World War II began in Europe, the Rockefeller family's Chase National Bank offered a unique service to German Nazis. This bank volunteered to help raise money to promote Adolph Hitler, from Nazi sympathizers living inside the United States.

Truman knew of what he spoke. The Chicago Daily Tribune
ran this headline the morning after the 1948 election.

Perhaps the most sage U.S. President of the 20th century was Harry S. Truman (1884-1972). He did have a way with words. For Instance: (1) "These polls that the Republican candidate is putting out are like sleeping pills designed to lull the voters into sleeping on election day. You might call then sleeping polls." (2) "I really look with commiseration over the great body of my fellow citizens who, reading newspapers, live and die in the belief that they have known something of what has been passing in the world in their time." (3) "Men don't change. The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know."

    The Bambino with
George H.W. Bush at Yale

Profession baseball legend George Herman (Babe) Ruth, Jr. (1895-1948) was a heavy, two-fisted drinker. Once when a police officer found Ruth trying to start his car while drunk, he offered to help. This made the Babe angry, and he showed the policeman how much by knocking him to the ground. But, instead of arresting his hero, the officer started the slugger's car, then drove him home.

    Earnest Rutherford

Earnest Rutherford (1871-1937) was smart enough in 1908 to win the Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances. Yet, in 1933, this learned man said, quote: "The energy produced by the atom is a very poor kind of thing. Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine."

          Carl Sagan

Astronomer Carl Sagan (1934-1996), in his 62 years, said many profound things. An example: "In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know, that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987 CSICOP Keynote Address)

        Luftwaffe fighter aircraft                                     ITT Logo                                        ITT Capital Stock

Throughout World War II, International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) chose to invest heavily in the making of Hitler's war machines. Through its subsidiary, Lorenz Company, they owned 25% of Foeke-Wolfe, builder of Luftwaffe fighter aircraft used against U.S. troops and their allies, making ITT a healthy profit. They also supplied telephones, switchboards, alarm gongs, buoys, air raid warning devices and radar equipment to the Nazis, as well as 30,000 fuses per month for artillery shells (used to kill American and British troops), beginning soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

 Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American writer, poet, philosopher and naturalist. While lying on his death bed, he was asked by his aunt if he had made peace with God? To this, Thoreau, in eloquent innocence, replied, "I did not know that we had ever quarreled."

Jean-Dominique Bauby

Writer Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor in chief of Elle magazine in Paris, suffered a brain hemorrhage in 1995, at the age of 42, leaving him completely paralyzed, except to open and close his left eyelid. But, with that one eye lid, and a very patient friend to translate the code, Bauby blinked an estimated 200,000 times to complete his memoirs, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. (Bauby died only two days after the books publication.)

Leif Erikson 1968 stamp                                L’Anse Aux Meadows

Almost 500 years before Columbus discovered the Americas, around the year 1003, Viking Leif Erikson (Eiríksson) landed in North America. Erikson colonized a land called "Vinland", believed to be L’Anse Aux Meadows, on the island of Newfoundland.

                                                        King Francis's Royal Château of Fontainebleau                     Mona Lisa
                                                                               - view from the lake

King Francis I of France purchased the famous Mona Lisa from Leonardo da Vinci, around 1518. Where in his castle did the king hang this masterpiece? His bathroom.

On May 20, 1960 U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. accused the Soviet Union of hiding a microphone inside a wood carving of the Great Seal of the United States, which had been presented to the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

      Jim Thorpe - the athlete and the town

When Jim Thorpe, one of the world's best known athletics, died in 1953, he was totally broke. This caused his widow to ask his home state, Oklahoma, to pay for a memorial to her husband. When they refused, she offered to bury his remains in any U.S. town which would change its name to Jim Thorpe. A deal was struck with a small town desperately seeking to attract business, and the town that was once Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, became Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.

         Samuel Pepys

In the latter half of the 17th century, gentlemen of the English elite shaved their heads bald, then wore stylish wigs. But famous diarist Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) did them one better. He shaved his head, alright, but he then had his loose hair made into a wig, which he wore regularly.

Ever see an old pecan tree bent down to the ground, then turned upward? The Comanche were nomadic Plains Indians who marked their campsites by twisting over pecan saplings, then tying them to the ground. The last known specimen of this shaped tree died in 2003. (If you ever spot one, "the labelers" might name it after you?)

                        Mummy at British Museum

Between 3100 B.C. to 649 A.D., mummification was performed on Egyptian kings and high officials upon their deaths. This involved splitting open the body and removing most all the organs, which were then preserved in ceremonial jars. But these embalmers of excellence had little use for the human brain. It was shredded and removed with hooks inserted through the nostrils. Next they packed the entire corpse in oil of cedar and natron, because of its high salt content. The chemicals dried out the body for 40 to 70 days, leaving it shrunken and ready to have sawdust, cloth or other scraps stuffed into it to fill out its mouth, nose and chest cavity.

     Chauncey Depew

New York Senator (1899-1911) Chauncey Depew (1834-1928) attending a dinner party, was seated next to an attractive young lady, wearing a very low-cut, off-the-shoulder dress. This caused the aging politician to look over and ask her, "My dear, what is keeping that dress on you?" "Only your age, Mr. Depew," she laughed.

     Guilty As Charged!

In 2003, Octavia Williams, 44, was found guilty by a New York City jury of stealing $160 from a woman in Times Square. Because it was her first conviction, the judge told Williams she would probably get probation at her sentencing, then court was adjourned. But that's when things got out of hand. The defendant rushed over to a departing jury member, Geraldine Goldring, 53, screamed "So I'm guilty, bitch?" and punched her in the face. Williams then faced up to four years in jail.

                       The Alamo                     Clara Driscoll         Adina De Zavala           Restored Church Building

Probably Texas' most famous landmark, the Alamo, is where Davy Crocket and others fought and died in 1836. Bought and sold many times over the next 70 years, the structure was once turned into a grocery store and then almost torn down to erect a hotel. Thanks to Adina De Zavala (1861-1955), Clara Driscoll (1881-1945) and other members of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, it was preserved and eventually designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. (It is still the job of the DRT to keep and maintain the Alamo, at no charge to the state.)

 Lucius Licinius Lucullus

One of the wealthiest men in ancient Rome, Lucius Licinius Lucullus (118-56 B.C.), often threw elaborate dinner parties, complete with tickle slaves. What were tickle slaves? They were used so guests could enjoy the huge feasts until full, vomit, then eat again. The tickle slaves would help them vomit by forcing turkey feathers down their throats.

In August 2004, the Croatian government lowered auto drivers' legal blood-alcohol limit from 0.05% to zero. This struck a sour cord with Catholic church officials, who explained priests had to first drive to their parishioners' homes, then to their own homes, directly after drinking small amounts of ritualistic wine. (The priests had asked to be exempt from the new law, but their request was denied.)

After the invention of video close-ups, some political analysts took to counting the candidates' eye blinks per minute, in attempts to decipher inner thoughts. For instance, Richard Nixon doubled his number of eye blinks when discussing Watergate. While Bill Clinton's blinks went from 51 per minute, to 71 when discussing Monica Lewinsky.

In the countries of Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco and Sudan, barely half the female population is ever taught to read even basic words. And, the literacy rate for women in Bangladesh, Benin, Nepal, Pakistan and Senegal is even worse, with seven out of ten lucky if they can write their own names.

             Bill Maher

The host of the late-night television talk show "Politically Incorrect," Bill Maher, made this observation: "America is the only country in the world that's still in the business of making bombs that can end the world and TV shows that make it seem like a good idea."

        Franklin Pierce                  Ulysses. S. Grant

During the first year of his term as the 14th President of the United States (1853-1857), Franklin Pierce, was arrested for running down an elderly woman with his carriage. The case was dropped due to insufficient evidence. Also, the 18th President (1869-1877), Ulysses. S. Grant, was arrested and fined $20 for speeding in his horse carriage.

        Luis Gonzalez

After the wife of Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Gonzalez had triplets, he began tapping home plate three times with his bat, each time before stepping up. While playing for the Houston Astros, he sent his favorite bat to church. And, the last day of the 1993 season, his bat went to the chapel service in the clubhouse, while he prayed his batting average of .299 would increase to the magical .300 mark. Later that day, Gonzales knew God answered his prayers because he did hit .300.

Zeke Zzyzus was so determined to regain his name's last position in the Montreal city phone directory, he added another "z" to become Zeke Zzzyzus, beating out both Pol Zzyzzo and Zzzap Distribution.

     Antoine Lavoisier     With his wife / replica of his lab          Guillotine

The French chemist who recognized and named oxygen, Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794), was sentenced to beheading by the guillotine during the Reign of Terror. Always the scientist, Lavoisier told a friend he would continue blinking his eyes for as long as he could after his head was removed. His friend recorded the eyes in the bodiless head blinked up to 20 times.

At one time the U.S. Army sent soldiers to private colleges to study engineering. The bureaucrats assigned students to various schools in alphabetical order. That's how 298 of 300 sent to one school were all named Brown.

           Minnie Pearl                                                                            Brian Kiley

(1) Minnie Pearl: "Getting married is a lot like getting into a tub of hot water. After you get used to it, it ain't so hot." (2) Anita Milner: "In August, my husband, Morris, and I celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary. You know what I finally realized? If I had killed the man the first time I thought about it, I'd have been out of jail by now." (3) Brian Kiley: "I love being married. I was single for a long time, and I just got so sick of finishing my own sentences."

      Patrick Reynolds

Richard J. Reynolds Jr., tobacco heir of R.J. Reynolds , died of emphysema in 1964. Richard J. Reynolds III (Josh), his son, died of emphysema in 1994. As a result, Josh's half-brother, Patrick Reynolds, sold all his R.J. Reynolds stock, and became an anti smoking activist. (See www.tobaccofree.org/famobit.htm )

  Satellite View - Sahara          Relief Map - Gobi

What do the Sahara Desert and Gobi Desert have in common? "Sahara" in Arabic translates to "desert," and "Gobi" in Mongolian means something very large and dry, or "desert." In other words, they are Desert Desert and Desert Desert. (The Sahara is the second largest desert in the world and the Gobi is fourth.)

Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division, working in small boats in August of 2003, attached satellite-tracking devices to whales in order to study their habitats. The scientists also captured a photo, called a first ever "event" detected from a whale. In the photo, water patterns made from bubbles near one of these aquatic mammals indicated it had just released several cubic yards of flatulence. Researcher Nick Gales said he and others were lucky to escape the above water air turbulence just before it surfaced.

      Colonel Sanders

After Colonel Sanders sold Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1964, he remained its spokesman for many years, well paid to espouse his old products' continuing good quality and taste. In July 1975, however, the Colonel told a Bowling Green, Kentucky, newspaper, KFC's "Extra Crispy" was a "damned fried doughnut stuck on some chicken," and referred to the gravy as "sludge" and "pure wallpaper paste." Then, a year later, while visiting a New York City location, he declared the food "the worst fried chicken I've ever seen."

           Liszt - 1839                   - at the piano in 1885

After Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt (1811-1886) became popular in much of Europe, his fans far and wide began requesting locks of his hair. Unwilling to go around close to bald, Liszt began sending locks of fur from his dog. (Pressed between pages of diaries all across Europe, even today, the question remains, "Did he, or didn't he?")

In January 2004, those eating breakfast at a Denny's restaurant in Spokane, Washington, were surprised when 3 young men ran through the dining room wearing nothing but their shoes and hats. The real surprise came when the three streakers ran outside, looking for the car they had left with the motor running. It had been stolen, leaving them to hide in the bushes until police arrived. (Police spokesman Dick Cottam said "We always tell people to not leave their car running.")

Despite the depiction in many movies of murder investigators picking up a handgun by its trigger guard with a pencil to protect any fingerprints, fingerprints do not usually stick to the slick metal surfaces of firearms. In fact, one expert of many years said the odds of this occurring are close to one-thousand-to-one.

     Harriet Monroe

When poet Harriet Monroe was asked to compose a poem for the 1892 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, she had no idea what to charge, so she asked $1,000. The exposition committee had no idea of its worth, so they paid it. When the New York World newspaper printed her poem without permission, she sued and was awarded $5,000. Monroe used that $6,000 to travel Europe several years. Upon returning to Chicago, she rented a hall to give a poetry reading, but no one came to hear her. While she had been away in Europe, folks forgot. (Not one to give up, Harriet founded a small magazine called Poetry.)

Didn't she know there
is a size limit too?

The Pakistan Daily Times reported a woman, Gerda M., was walking her dog, Leonie, in Nuremberg, Germany, when a policeman noticed the condition of her animal, and had it immediately taken to an animal shelter. There, the large skinny dog was found to weigh only 12 kg (26 pounds), instead of a normal weight of 25 kg (55 pounds). The starving animal's owner explained, when traveling by plane she wished to take it on board as part of her carry-on luggage. And, for that, it could weigh no more than 5 kg (11 pounds), so she had it on a "diet."

         Tycho Brahe

Sixteenth century Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) often over drank when attending feasts, resulting in a big problem. During that time in history, it was considered rude to leave the banquet table before all others had finished. And, with time, Brahe's developed a bladder which needed frequent emptying. Unfortunately, one banquet lasted too long. It caused Brahe's bladder to burst, killing him very painfully over the next 11 days.

          Billy Werber                   Marilyn Monroe and                Charlie Keller
                                                    Joe DiMaggio - on
                                                    their wedding day

Infielder Billy Werber once asked Joe DiMaggio's teammate Charlie Keller what the great Yankee center fielder was really like. Keller's reply was, "I can't say. The man has never said a word to me." (DiMaggio and Keller played together for eight years.)

A contestant on the popular TV game show Wheel of Fortune, Will Wright, won a total of $48,400. Hoping to increase his winnings, a few days later he used some of the money to hire an attorney to sue the producers of the show for $2 million. Over what? Wright claimed when he stuck out his hand to be congratulated, host Pat Sajak assaulted him with a full weight embrace. The "hug" he received resulted in him having to undergo back surgery. (Last heard, the case was still pending.)

The Brown-throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) and other types of that species, have something in common with humans that few other land creatures do. Most of the time, the male and female face each other while mating. There's one thing very different, however. While sloth copulate, they hang from tree branches by their arms.

Entomologists think two-hundred years ago it took an awfully powerful air updraft to cause large swarms of grasshoppers to fly high enough to freeze to death over the mountains of Montana. These snow-covered peaks are covered with the frozen remains of millions of these crop destroyers. Occasionally, the sun will melt a layer of ice mixed with these bugs, giving local birds a two century old feast bonanza.

                Penguin                        Ellen DeGeneres

Penguins (Spheniscidae - includes all penguins, living and extinct) mate for life, and stand-up comedian Ellen DeGeneres explains why: "Penguins mate for life. Which doesn't really surprise me, 'cause they all look exactly alike. It's not like they're gonna meet a better-looking penguin someday."

                Old Photo of Ben                               Movie Poster of Bill                          Stamp with Ben's Face

          Stamp with Bill's Face               Legends of the West stamp pane

In December 1993, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled a new set of commemorative stamps named Legends of the West. One honored rodeo star Bill Picket, "the nations most outstanding black cowboy." His picture had been taken from a stack of old pictures, with his name inscribed on it. However, after millions of these stamps were released, a member of Bill's family came forward and said it was a picture of Ben, his brother, not Bill. The Postal Service made a decision to recall the stamps, at a cost of roughly $1 million. (Clerks had already sold some of the incorrect stamp panes, making it so rare and valuable that most collectors would not be able to afford one. So, the Postal Service made another great decision. They sold 150,000 of the faulty panes though a lottery, diminishing their value.)

                         Hampshire outline                                                         Lymington Harbour

When Samuel Baldwin of Hampshire, England, died on May 20th, in 1736, he left definite burial instruction for his body to be thrown from a ship in the sea at Lymington, Hants. Was this because he was once a sailor? Nope. Baldwin demanded he be buried at sea because his wife had mocked him constantly nagging "When you die, I'm going to dance on your grave," but he would not allow it.

                                                          Two Nigerian National Petroleum Companies

Graeme Kenneth Rutherford was an experienced, level-headed money manager and former executive at a Citibank in New Zealand, when he was offered a deal he could not resist; what he thought was a bona fide offer to help a Nigerian oil company manage proceeds from a $50 million contract. Only catch, he would have to pay several million in fees and shift the money to a European account. From that account he would be able to reclaim his expenses and receive 1% a year for his skills. Rutherford quickly became involved by first sending $600,000 of his own money, eventually borrowing from his father and trusting friends a total of $7 million, which he then wired to Nigeria. After that, Rutherford never heard from the scam artists again. (Rutherford was eventually sentenced to six-and-one-half years in prison on 23 counts of forgery and fraud.) See www.quatloos.com/scams/nigerian.htm for information about Nigerian fraud scams.

          W. C. Fields

W.C. Fields (1880-1946), Vaudeville juggler, radio funnyman, comic writer, and movie star, was a tightwad in many ways, especially when it came to his family. Upon his death, Fields only left his wife and son $10,000, with the rest of his roughly $800,000 going to build "The W.C. Fields Home for Orphan White Boys and Girls, where no religion of any type is to be taught." But his son, Claude, a successful lawyer by then, had the will overthrown.

In ancient Europe, if a clan decided to rid itself of a person, they would burn down his house as the final act. Today, we still say one losing their job is "fired."

Six of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World could last be seen in 224 B.C. It was never possible to see all seven during any one time period. The Seven Wonders of the Modern World are: the Empire State building, the Itaipu Dam, the CN Tower, the Panama Canal, the Channel Tunnel, the Delta Works, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

The phenomenon of the "fainting goats" is very real. Other than a genetic trait that causes them to stiffen up and fall over when frightened, these goats are no different than any others. First noticed in Tennessee in the 1800's, their inability to flee from predators left them almost extinct. Today the IFGA (International Fainting Goat Association) and its members breed and keep careful count of these four-legged oddities, making sure they flourish for future frightening.

  Steve Jobs, the iPod
  and iTunes

Steve Jobs is the CEO of Apple Inc., which he co-founded in 1976. Now, over 30 years later, Apple has gone beyond computer sales, with 100 million of its iPod portable music players sold, and over 2.5 billion songs legally downloaded from its iTunes online store.

    Austen Chamberlain         Party location - Polesden Lacey Villa

Esquire magazine tells of a party held one Sunday evening in 1921 by the legendary London hostess Mrs. Ronald Greville. During this socially important gathering, to her disgust, Mrs. Greville noticed her butler was drunk, and wrote him a note, "You are drunk. Leave the room at once." The blurry-eyed servant, without reading it, placed the note on a silver tray, and presented it to the guest of honor, British Foreign Secretary Austen Chamberlain.

(1) "LAWYERS GIVE POOR FREE LEGAL ADVICE" (2) "THANKS TO PRESIDENT CLINTON, STAFF SGT. FRUER NOW HAS A SON" (3) "L.A. VOTERS APPROVE URBAN RENEWAL BY LANDSLIDE"

          Mitch Williams                        John Kruk

When professional baseball players join another team, often their favorite uniform number is already taken. That's when negotiations usually begin between the two players involved. When pitcher Mitch Williams joined the Philadelphia Phillies in 1991, star slugger John Kruk already wore #28, his favorite. So, after some dickering, Kruk let Williams have 28 for two cases of beer. Williams later said of the overweight Kruk, "I knew it would take beer or Ding Dongs." Adding, "I just didn't know which."

 Goering 1932

Pope John Paul II and
President Reagan in Miami 1987

When Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) visited Miami in September 1987, vendors sold T-shirts reading "I saw the Pope," in Spanish (el Papa). Some, however, incorrectly translated, read "I saw the potato" (la papa).

Edison and phonograph

Even the great inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) made mistakes. Examples: (1) Speaking of his own invention, "the phonograph has no commercial value at all." - 1880's (2) He proclaimed, "The talking motion picture will NOT supplant the regular silent motion picture." - 1913 (3) Concerning electricity, Edison confidently said, "In five years more electricity will be sold for electric vehicles than for light." - 1910