MULLET OVER BY JAMES K. WHITE | April 13, 2016
Use real credentials
A basketball player has to be exceptionally talented in order to play in the NBA. Likewise, a baseball player must have outstanding skills to play major league baseball in America. It might be news to some folks to learn that 12 men have been so gifted as to have played at both levels during their careers. Perhaps the most famous would be Chuck Connors of The Rifleman fame. He played for both the Dodgers in baseball and the Celtics of the NBA.
Pallid Bats (Antrozous pallidus) have external ears that are half as long as their bodies. The species is so adept at hearing they often catch prey by listening to insects walking on bare ground. The Antrozous p. can fly directly to a yummy bug (or scorpion) by detecting audible movement and not using its echo-location capabilities at all. Borneo is home to a truly epic rain forest – or was home to such a forest. More than 90 percent of the forest has disappeared due to logging and farming infringements.
Borneo is a land that has 6 percent of all known distinct plant and animal species. However, extinction seems inevitable for many of the species before they can even be scientifically identified. Uncontrolled exploitation for financial gain currently trumps all environmental preservation efforts. I have no idea for a solution to the dilemma, but we should all be aware of the irreversible crisis transpiring in that secluded section of our planet.
Speaking of transpiring on a planet; Jupiter has a huge red spot that moves about and is larger than the total surface area of Earth. Scientists have identified the phenomenon as a wind/dust storm that has raged for at least 150 years with winds that exceed 475 mph. All local picnics are assumed to have been postponed or canceled.
This guy sounds like one of my kin: A man in Grapevine, Texas showed credentials identifying him as the municipal fire marshal and gained free access to a popular nightclub. The credentials were fake and the man was a fake with bad luck as the real fire marshal had just entered the establishment and had introduced himself to the club manager. The ersatz official was arrested and taken to jail.
Environmental scientists have teamed with zoologists and technology experts to place tiny sensors on the backs of 10 pigeons that live in London (a town in England). The sensors transmit real-time information in reference to ozone and nitrogen oxide levels in the metropolitan area. Well, use real credentials – and have a great week.
James White is a retired mathematics teacher who enjoys sharing fascinating trivia. He can be reached at [email protected].
