MULLET OVER BY JAMES K. WHITE | APRIL 8, 2015
American male with exceptional tastes in décor
For the typical American male with exceptional tastes in décor: a major company has marketed full-strength transparent duct tape. Sort of “a dream come true.” Now we can clandestinely mend house windows, car windshields, headlights and even cracked cell phone screens – plus our handiwork would seem to be pretty much undetectable.
An ATV manufacturer noted that one of the severest problems for people traversing into true wilderness areas had been tire failure. Blowouts occurring several miles from help can be truly annoying. A remedy is now available. Non-pneumatic (airless) tires/wheels are now an option. These new steel-polymer “tires” have treads that provide remarkable traction, can be driven over 4 inch steel spikes and withstand blasts from a .30-06 rifle with no disabling effects. This advancement may not be up there with transparent duct tape, but it is worthy of note.
Botanists from Sweden have stunned a portion of the biology world with the claim that plants often contract STD’s. Yes, I mean sexually transmitted diseases. Infecting fungi can be blown by the wind or hitch rides on pollinating insects. And to exacerbate the situation, certain fungal parasites can dwell inside seeds and infect whatever plants emerge in subsequent generations. Is there a Hollywood horror-movie plot lurking here?
That famed artist Salvador Dali kept an ocelot as a pet, sort of. The spotted cat seldom appeared particularly tame or domesticated to many of Salvador’s houseguests.
One of my favorite books, Green Eggs and Ham, is famous because it is entertaining and because Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) used only 50 different words while composing the entire manuscript.
Saturday Night Live premiered October 11, 1975. The first guest host was George Carlin.
Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband Franklin Delano Roosevelt were (distant) cousins.
An item once (1993) widely available on the menus of McDonald’s was the McLobster. Generally, the offering was not popular – except in the Ontario, Canada regions where the McLobster has made several reappearances.
Actual headline “explaining” that it was now legal to leave unwanted Christmas trees at a designated dumping site: Lansing Residents Instructed to Drop Off Trees.
For some species of spiders, it is common for the cute little arachnids to shed their skins 15 times, should they live to adulthood. Well, be aware of local ordinances pertaining to dropping off trees – and have a great week.
James White is a retired mathematics teacher who enjoys sharing fascinating trivia. He can be reached at [email protected].
