MULLET OVER BY JAMES K. WHITE | APRIL 22, 2015
Locals were certainly eating something
People in the Indian village of Assam got a rude awakening during a recent night. It seems that a herd of elephants found a large vat of beer nearby and became fighting drunk after consuming most of the alcoholic beverage. The Elephas maximus injured several residents and terrified everyone they encountered while participating in what is being described as “a drunken rampage.” Dozens of buildings were destroyed. Assam brewers have promised to better secure beer storage facilities from now on.
Not as terrifying, but perhaps more mystifying, was the event some folks in the Greek village of Korona experienced. It rained fish – thousands of them (mostly alive). Scientists conjecture a strong wind might have blown the fish from a nearby lake up into the sky and gravity did the rest. I suspect space aliens, but hardly anyone one listens.
It’s just as well we humans never co-existed with the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex. Scientists estimate the huge reptile had to gain between four and five pounds a day for approximately four years in order to attain its adult size. That would imply an average consumption of between eighty and one hundred pounds of flesh per day. What do you weigh?
I thought most of Australia was home to lots of edible game. However, in 1861 Robert Burke and William Wills might have heartily disagreed. The two men led the first European expedition across that land mass and could find almost nothing to eat. Burke starved to death and Wills barely survived. Both could have used some advice from Aborigines as the locals were certainly eating something.
Scientists now claim they can date some ancient paintings by reading the magnetohydrodynamic currents in the red iron oxide used in many early colorings. Good old magnetohydrodynamics – how could we have overlooked them so long?
On a sweeter note, a Dr. Pirk of Germany has supposedly discovered how honey bees make the numerous hexagon cells in honey combs. It seems the bees actually make cylinder shaped cells and then heat the cells using bee metabolism. As the cells slightly melt, the flake-like shapes of wax molecules sag to re-shape the cylinders into hexagons.
Keep that positive outlook. A recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology indicates that people who have a positive outlook on life live eight years longer (on average) than people classified as “pessimistic.”
Check with an expert before investing heavily. A man hoping to cash in on the Pope’s visit to Miami in 1987 had thousands of T-shirts printed up that said “I saw the Pope” in Spanish. Unfortunately instead of “el Papa” (the Pope) he printed “la Papa” which means “the potato.” The shirts sold poorly. Well, be careful when trekking across The Outback – and have a first-rate week.
James White is a retired mathematics teacher who enjoys sharing fascinating trivia. He can be reached at [email protected].
