JUST ABOVE SUNSET offers, in special arrangement with Andrew J. Hewett and his site WEIRD, BIZARRE and UNUSUAL (chewednews.com), the best of the day’s weird, bizarre and unusual - each weekday, Monday through Friday. As noted there, he publishes, via e-mail, a growing archive of true events compiled from a variety of sources, covering “every conceivable subject.” You can submit your own favorite “strange story” - including a verifiable source, of course. He’s sent over 1,200 of these out to the distribution list, and you too can sign up to be on the list.
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Friday, July 4, 2008
HOLIDAY
Thursday, July 3, 2008
IT’S NOT WHAT WE HAVE, BUT HOW WE USE IT
Near the beginning of the twenty-first century researchers announced breakthrough uses for genetically altered tobacco cells. These cells, they said, could be used as bio factories to make proteins, which reduce the risk of tissue rejections in organ transplants. More amazingly, they said, tobacco cells have the potential to fight cancer.
WHEN CLEANLINESS WAS NOT NEXT TO GODLINESS
The River Thames running through medieval London was used for many things. For instance, not only did Londoners drink water from it, they also washed their clothing, while dumping raw sewage into it. By 1349, the death rate from numerous diseases, caused by poor sanitation, was so high bodies were thrown into common graves. (The worst, called the Black Death or Bubonic Plague, killed an estimated 25-50 million people in Europe, while 75 million died worldwide.)
WHY OPOSSUMS HAVE CHANGED SO LITTLE DURING THEIR EVOLUTION
For Virginia opossums (Didelpis virginiana) to breed, they must be in just the right position. This is because the male’s fifth appendage is forked, while the female has a two-channel vagina. Advantage is, this makes it impossible for them to crossbreed with other species, leaving them basically the same generation after generation.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
PROBABLY WASN’T INSURED, EITHER?
In his book, The Battle of Rome, historian Robert Katz tells of Allied troops entering that city during World War II, in 1944, while German troops retreated to the north. Katz said his most humorous observation came when an American GI, Thomas Garcia, saw the Roman Coliseum for the first time. Garcia’s memorable comment of disbelief being, “My God, they bombed that, too!”
HE DECIDED TO RISE ABOVE HIS LOWLY PREDICAMENT
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey (1818-1896), later known as Fredrick Douglass, was a slave who broke the law by teaching himself how to read and write. He escaped slavery in 1838 then went on to become a great speaker, an abolitionist and a newspaper publisher. He was also advisor to two presidents, Lincoln and Grant.
WHAT WORKS, WORKS
The viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) mimics the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) in its bright colors of orange and black wings. Birds won’t eat the monarch because it feeds on milkweed, which contain toxic elements. The viceroys were once thought to use their mimicry to avoid being eaten, but studies have shown it is also an unpalatable species. However, being distasteful look-a-likes doesn’t seem to hurt either. Many predators naturally by-pass these prey.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
THESE MOTHS TO A FLAME ARE SWEET TREATS… FOR SOME
Bogong moths (Agrostis infusa) migrate about 1000 km (621 miles) each year, flying only at night, sleeping in the day under shadows of what foliage is available. This is when Australian Aborigines feast on them. They find these bugs delicious, and, once ground into flour, they’re used for pies and cakes. Some environmentalists say, in time, worldwide starvation could drastically change the eating habits of those wishing to survive.
HE MADE SURE SHE COULD SIT EVEN PRETTIER
When screen actress Sophia Loren celebrated her 40th birthday in 1974, her husband, film producer Carlo Ponti (1912-2007), gave her a toilet seat… made of 14-karat gold.
THESE EXECUTIVES ENDED UP IN A CRUNCH THEMSELVES
The Oregon Health Department found, in 1972, that some of the chunks in Hoody Chunky Style Peanut Butter were not peanuts, but rat droppings, resulting in several executives of that company to be given ten days in jail.
Monday, June 30, 2008
DNA EVIDENCE PERHAPS RELATED TO STICKY-FINGERS?
Tiara M. Ellis, a writer for the Dallas Morning News, reported June 19, 2008, a Dallas County jury had convicted Calvin Walker of raping a woman during a 1999 robbery. The DNA sample he provided was received by McKinney police in 2004, clearing him as a suspect in a quadruple homicide. But, when this same DNA was compared to the evidence kept from a sexual assault victim’s rape kit, Bingo! The defendant, Mr. Walker, claimed police framed him with semen he tried to mail his girlfriend while he was in jail as a suspect in the homicide. (Inside a love letter … hopefully?)
WELL, IT CERTAINLY KEPT THOSE BEAVERS CHILDLESS
History indicates that at least 4,000 years ago women were already looking for oral types of birth control. Greek women drank water drained over copper ore, Chinese women drank mercury (now known to be toxic). But the most unusual attempted method came from Native Canadian Indian women, who consumed alcohol brewed with dried beaver testicles.
AN EXTRA EYE IN THEIR TAIL GUARANTEES SEX
The mating ritual of the peacock is both colorful and noisy. When several suitors are competing for the same female, ultimately, she seems to choose the male with the most “eyes” in his tail feathers. After mating season ends, males molt their tail feathers and begin to re-grow them, to be available when the next “opportunity” arises.
AN EXAMPLE OF ‘BIG BROTHER’?
According to Marilyn vos Savant (her I.Q., at age 10, measured 228), in her Parade magazine column (8-12-07), Ask Marilyn, the U.S. government owns about 85% of Nevada, 69% of Alaska, 57% of Utah, 53% of Oregon, 50% of Idaho, 48% of Arizona, 45% of California, 42% of Wyoming, 42% of New Mexico and 37% of Colorado. (We The People, huh?)
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WEIRD, BIZARRE and UNUSUAL is a copyrighted feature of Andrew J. Hewett, republished here by permission. Visit his site for much more.
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