Mullet Over
BY JAMES K. WHITE | JUNE 1, 2011
Recent bite estimates
There is some debate as to which animal on earth can deliver the most powerful bite. Some recent bite estimates: American alligator (3,000 lbs.), great white shark (4,000 lbs.), and African lion (1200 lbs.). However, a cute extinct fish labeled the megalodon grew to 50 ft. and had a bite thought to be in the 40,000 pound range. In terms of bite = pressure per area, the common rat is a contender with the capability to exert 7,000 pounds per square inch. In numerous instances, rats have chewed through electrical wiring and sheet metal.
Some clever folks at Cal Tech in partnership with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have mixed some palladium, phosphorous, silicon (not to be confused with serious con), germanium and silver together and heated the alloy to 2700 degrees Fahrenheit. The result has been a metal so strong a cylindrical rod 3 inches long and one-third inch thick can support a weight of 10,000 pounds.
In 1789 George Washington met Washington Irving in New York City. The president was informed that the lad was named after him. President Washington reportedly patted the head of the six year old boy. Years later Irving passed “the head pat” on to his publisher. I mention the pat because a tradition of passing on “the Washington head pat” is alive today. The most recent recipient is a male (Daniel) in Los Angeles.
Exactly seven of the characters John Wayne portrayed died during the movies. Exactly seven is sort of eight because in 1931 Mr. Wayne portrayed a corpse (“The Deceiver”).
Several eye witness accounts support the claim that on March 4, 1865 Andrew Johnson was quite inebriated as he took his oath of office and attempted to deliver his inaugural address. The Tennessee man tried to repeat the words of his oath, but he often repeated himself with slurred speech. After the oath was administered, Johnson began to deliver an incomprehensible oratory. A few minutes into the verbosity, a Supreme Court Justice mercifully led the new vice president to a vacant seat. Johnson later explained that he was under the influence of medicinal whiskey because he had malaria.
Historians claim Genghis Khan (1162-1227) conquered and ruled over more land than any other man on earth. G.K. was sovereign over an estimated 4.8 million square miles. Alexander the Great ranked second by conquering about 2.1 million square miles.
Well, I urge you to be cautious when teasing sharks or alligators and do have a great week.
James White is a retired mathematics teacher who enjoys sharing fascinating trivia. He can be reached at [email protected].
I have often wondered why it is that Conservatives are called the 'right' and Liberals are called the 'left.'
All along I thought it had to do something with the seating chart in Congress, but by chance I stumbled upon this verse in the Bible …
"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2
Can I get an Amen!
In God we trust.
The only way to pull off a Sunday afternoon "quickie" with their 8-year old son in the apartment was to send him out on the balcony with a Popsicle and tell him to report on all the neighborhood activities.
He began his commentary as his parents put their plan into operation:
"There's a car being towed from the parking lot," he shouted.
"An ambulance just drove by!"
"Looks like the Andersons have company," he called out.
"Matt's riding a new bike!"
"Looks like the Sanders are moving!"
"Jason is on his skate board!"
After a few moments he announced, "The Coopers are having sex!"
Startled, his mother and dad shot up in bed! Dad cautiously called out, "How do you know they're having sex?"
"Jimmy Cooper is standing on his balcony with a Popsicle."
A cowboy, who just moved to Wyoming from Texas, walks into a bar and orders three mugs of Bud. He sits in the back of the room, drinking a sip out of each one in turn. When he finishes them, he comes back to the bar and orders three more.
The bartender approaches and tells the cowboy, "You know, a mug goes flat after I draw it. It would taste better if you bought one at a time."
The cowboy replies, "Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in Arizona, the other is in Colorado. When we all left our home in Texas, we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the days when we drank together. So I'm drinking one beer for each of my brothers and one for myself."
The bartender admits this is a nice custom, and leaves it there.
The cowboy becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way. He orders three mugs and drinks them in turn.
One day, he comes in and only orders two mugs. All the regulars take notice and fall silent. When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says, "I don't want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on your loss."
The cowboy looks quite puzzled for a moment, then a light dawns in his eyes and he laughs.
"Oh, no, everybody's just fine," he explains, "It's just that my wife and I joined the Baptist Church and I had to quit drinking."
"Hasn't affected my brothers though."
Puzzle Solutions
June 1 –June 7, 2011