Turtles Never Die Of Old Age

From "The Gullibility Test" at themuseumofhoaxes.com:

CLAIM: Turtles never die of old age.

ANSWER: TRUE. Turtles exhibit what is known as 'negligible senescence.' In other words, unlike humans, they do not continue to age once their bodies reach maturity. In theory, they might be able to live forever, though in practice this would never happen. Injury, predation, or disease eventually kill them. But turtles have been known to live beyond 150 years without exhibiting any signs of old age. Fish and amphibians also share this enviable characteristic.

That seems kind of impossible to me, but I'll take their word for it.

The Museum Of Hoaxes

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/
The museum of hoaxes is a GREAT way to kill some time. Full of bizarre information. The site is run by a fellow San Diegan.
I just picked up his book, "Elephants On Acid" which is about strange experiments and a fun read.

Give The Gift Of Real Hustlers

Got a grea Christmas present from my friend Anna.


1 bottle of this:



Hunid Racks:

The Energy Drink for the Real Hustlers.

Respect The Name. Respect The Game.

Fish only have a 3-second memory?

I always thought that was true, but apparently fish can remember up to 3 months (From The Fortean Times):

The myth
Goldfish have a three-second (or seven-second) memory span.

The "truth"
Keeping a fish in a small bowl is clearly an act of monstrous cruelty, and so a myth has arisen which allows pet owners to feel less guilty: that fish - in most versions, specifically goldfish - can't remember anything which happened more than a few seconds ago, and therefore never get bored with their tiny homes. (The precise number of seconds varies, but is generally seven or three - as usual in matters mythconceptional).

Ichthyologists have known for a long time that this isn't true, and in 2003 Dr Phil Gee, of the School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth, published research which blew it out of the water. Fish have a memory span of at least three months, and can distinguish between different shapes, colours and sounds.

In the Plymouth experiments, goldfish were trained to press a lever to gain a food reward; when the lever was fixed to work only for an hour a day, the fish soon learned to activate it at the correct time. A number of studies have shown that farmed fish can easily be trained to feed at particular times and places, in response to an audible signal.

WOLF BOY!!!!!!!!!!

From dailymail.co.uk:

'Werewolf boy' - who snarls and bites - on the run from police after escaping Moscow clinic

Russian police are hunting a "werewolf boy" - who snarls and bites - after he escaped from a Moscow clinic just a day after being rescued from the wild.
Doctors expressed shock saying he was found living with a pack of wolves in a remote forest in the Kaluga region of central Russia.

He's clearly dangerous to other people," said a police spokesman yesterday.
"He's got typical wolf-like habits and behaviour.

"He has very strong and sharp teeth, which could really endanger someone if he bites."
The boy looks about ten - but after tests conducted by Moscow medics, they believe he maybe much older.

They are puzzled because he appears intelligent but does not seem to speak Russian or any other language. It is suspected he has been running wild for many years.

Such cases are not uncommon in Russia where there have been regular reports of 'Mowgli' children abandoned by their parents who are cared for by animals.

The boy moves around with his legs half bent, said Tvoi Den newspaper. "He was running with wolves and searching for food with them."

Villagers found this "wild creature" in a lair made of leaves and sticks in freezing temperatures and told the police who named him Lyokha, though his real identity is not known.

"He's dirty, hungry, and looked to have had a hard time," said the police spokesman. "We brought him to a clinic in Moscow.

"It was simply unbelievable. He doesn't react when we call to him." Medics gave him clothes and said that he sprang down the corridor, bursting into his room and devouring his food like an animal.

His nails on his feet were like claws.

After 24 hours he had evaded security men at the clinic and escaped. He is now believed to be on the loose in Moscow region.

"We didn't even manage to complete the proper medical checks. We only succeeded in giving him a shower, cutting his nails and took some blood and other tests," said a doctor.

"It's quite possible he is a dangerous with psychological problems but also a source of viruses and infections."

__________________________

Wolf Boys Are Awesome.

Word Origin - Chowder

So I got myself a Word Origins day calendar for my desk at work. Today's word was "chowder".

"The French-speaking inhabitants of what was once called Lower Canada liked to eat hot stews to ward off the winter cold, and the cooked the stews in cast-iron pots called chaudieres. When neighboring English-speaking New Englanders received the term, the pronounced it "chowder". It's been a regional specialty ever since."


I love this kind of stuff.

Martin Van Buren, OK ESL

Van Buren was the first President who did not experience the American Revolution firsthand. He is also the only president not to have spoken English as a first language, having grown up speaking Dutch.


On February 21, 1807, he married Hannah Hoes, a maternal cousin. Hannah died in 1819, before her husband became President (and, therefore, never became First Lady of the United States).

During Van Buren's presidential campaign of 1840 supporters popularized his nickname "Old Kinderhook," which was abbreviated as "OK." "OK Clubs" were set up. It is possible that this helped popularize "OK" .