Even parasitic worms have a divided society
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Even parasitic worms have a divided society
A fluke that lives in the bodies of marine snails has a caste system like that of social insects – the first such animal known to do so.
Even parasitic worms have a divided society
Even parasitic worms have a divided society
Stunning NASA infrared imagery of Hurricane Igor reveals a 170 degree temperature difference
NASA satellites provide infrared images to forecasters that show temperature, and today’s imagery of powerful Hurricane Igor showed the storm’s perfect form and the warm ocean waters around it that are keeping it fueled.
Twelve Greek Words You Should Know
Along with Latin, Greek is probably the language that most influenced other languages around the world. Many English words derive directly from Greek ones, and knowing their origin and meaning is important.
Here are 12 Greek words that are commonly used in our society. The next time you hear someone saying 'Kudos to you,' you will know where it comes from.
Here are 12 Greek words that are commonly used in our society. The next time you hear someone saying 'Kudos to you,' you will know where it comes from.
Six things to never reveal on Facebook
Believe it or not, some people don't think twice about sharing their birth date or home address.
Also: Ten Scene-Stealing Onscreen Pets
There's no denying that adorable animals are often cast in big- and small-screen productions as a sidekick to warm the audience's heart. However, there's a special subset of animal actors that have become fan favorites.
Whether they bark, meow, quack, scratch or dig, these 10 TV and movie pets stole the scene from their two-legged costars.
Ten Fun Facts about 'Bewitched'
Bewitched was an American television series that ran from 1964 to 1972. The premise was that a witch (Samantha Stephens) married an advertising executive (Darrin Stephens), but in order to blend in with “mortals”, Samantha had to keep her supernatural powers secret. However, neither she nor Darrin could control her wacky relatives -particularly Samantha’s magically meddling mother Endora! In most episodes their cover was nearly blown, but the couple explained away the most ridiculous situations as a “demonstration” of a creative new advertising campaign.1. The biggest controversy on Bewitched was the sudden switch in Darrins. Dick York played Darrin from 1964 to 1969, when Dick Sargent slipped into the role with no explanation. Dick York had suffered a back injury while filming a movie in 1959. Continued pain left him addicted to prescription painkillers, which damaged his health as years went by. By 1969, he was suffering blackouts on the set. In January York was rushed from the set to the hospital and never returned to Bewitched. After he left the show, he was flat on his back for a year. York also suffered financial losses from bad investments and he and his wife cleaned houses for a living at one point. By 1980 he kicked the drugs and began acting again. York died of emphysema in 1992.
(Image source: TV Trivia)3. A few new phrases were born from Bewitched. Darrin Syndrome is the term for replacing the actor of a main character with no explanation. This situation is sometimes called The Other Darrin. It happens a lot, but in the case of the character Becky in the series Roseanne, there were constant jokes about the switch. In one episode, the family watched Bewitched on TV and actress Lecy Goranson (the second Becky) remarked that she preferred the second Darrin. Of course.
4. Darrin was not the only character played by two actors in Bewitched. Among others, the neighbor Gladys Kravitz was portrayed by Alice Pearce at first, then by Sandra Gould. However, Gladys Kravitz Syndrome has nothing to do with TV casting. It’s a term used when people are just too nosy about the lives of their neighbors.
5. The characters on Bewitched drank so much alcohol that a fan website created a database of the drinking incidents with locations and episode numbers.
6. Elizabeth Montgomery, who played Samantha, also played her deliciously mischievous cousin Serena in several episodes. She was not credited for the role, as producers figured it would be obvious. The role was credited to “Pandora Spocks”, who didn’t exist but received fan mail from viewers who didn’t get the joke. Spocks eventually received her own biography from a fan site.
7. The real house used in the 1959 movie Gidget was copied, but reversed, to build the set for Bewitched. The patio and living rooms were copied from those used in the 1963 movie Gidget Goes to Rome. The exterior set used for the home of nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz later became the home of The Partridge Family.
8. The Stephens had two children during the run of the series, but they were not ratings gimmicks. Elizabeth Montgomery produced two children, her second and third, as she played Samantha in Bewitched, and both pregnancies were written into the show. Her son Robert Asher was born in 1965 as daughter Tabitha appeared in the series, and daughter Rebecca Asher was born in 1969 as Adam Stephens was born in the series.9. In the last year of the series, Bewitched was cursed with terrible time slots. Already showing its age, the series’ ratings fell faster than ever in 1971-72 when it was scheduled against the very popular Carol Burnett Show and then moved opposite the powerhouse series All in the Family.
10. Elizabeth Montgomery cherished her privacy, and felt no need to make her vital statistics public. When she died in 1995, her age was published as 57, although she was actually 62. She had married Robert Foxworth a couple of years before her death, but few knew about it, so some obituaries said she was single. Her death certificate said “Elizabeth A. Montgomery”, but her actual middle name was Victoria.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Daily Drift
The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:So you thought you were serious yesterday?
And totally unwilling to crack a grin, much less let anything slide?
Well then, batten down the hatches, because you ain't seen nothing yet.
Yesterday was just practice.
You're now fully prepared to do whatever it takes to grab hold of the steering wheel and hang on to it, especially if you believe that whoever is driving now isn't up for the challenge.
Go ahead and grab that wheel.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Rio De Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Santander, Cantabria, Spain
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, Australia
Klang, Selangor, Malaysia
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany
Swindon, England, United Kingdom
London, England, United Kingdom
Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa
Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Katowice, Slaskie, Poland
Rome, Lazio, Italy
as well as Scotland, China and in cities across the United States such as West Bend, Ashtabula, Kissimee, Pleasant Hill and more.
Today is:
Today is Tuesday, September 14, the 257th day of 2010.
There are 108 days left in the year.
Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:
There are none.
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!
Family reunited with dog seven years later
Jake was just a puppy when he was stolen from Brad Davis's family.
Also: President Obama's children's book to hit shelves
"Of Thee I Sing"—penned before the president's inauguration—is a "tender" letter to his daughters.
Also: Skateboarder stops Quran burning in Texas
Also, well done by the local Unitarian church as well for organizing a response to the religious extremist. The skateboarder really won the day though.
Teenager banned from US for barracking Obama
Another lesson in the "Drugs make you stupid" Department:
(In this case alcohol)
A British teenager has been banned from America for life for sending Barack Obama an abusive email. Luke Angel was reprimanded by police on both sides of the Atlantic after firing off a drunken message to the White House calling the president a "prick".
The FBI intercepted the message and contacted police in the UK who went to see the 17-year-old at his home in Silsoe, Bedfordshire. Luke, a college student, is now on a list of people who are banned from visiting the States. The teenager said that he had sent the email after watching a TV programme about September 11.
When asked about the ban, Luke said: "I don't really care. My parents aren't very happy about it. The police who came round took my picture and told me I was banned from America forever."
A Bedfordshire Police spokesman said: "The individual sent an email to the White House full of abusive and threatening language. We were informed by the Metropolitan Police and went to see him. He said, 'Oh dear, it was me'." Officers will take no criminal action.
(In this case alcohol)
A British teenager has been banned from America for life for sending Barack Obama an abusive email. Luke Angel was reprimanded by police on both sides of the Atlantic after firing off a drunken message to the White House calling the president a "prick".
The FBI intercepted the message and contacted police in the UK who went to see the 17-year-old at his home in Silsoe, Bedfordshire. Luke, a college student, is now on a list of people who are banned from visiting the States. The teenager said that he had sent the email after watching a TV programme about September 11.
When asked about the ban, Luke said: "I don't really care. My parents aren't very happy about it. The police who came round took my picture and told me I was banned from America forever."
A Bedfordshire Police spokesman said: "The individual sent an email to the White House full of abusive and threatening language. We were informed by the Metropolitan Police and went to see him. He said, 'Oh dear, it was me'." Officers will take no criminal action.
***
He may not care about it but being stupid is no way to go through life. We have more than enough morons of the 'homegrown' variety as it is stumbling through each day and tripping everyone unfortunate enough to be near them when they fall.
Iran frees American
Sarah Shourd has been released after more than a year of tense negotiations.
Also: Culinary DeLites
Culinary DeLites
Whole Foods' customers can use color codes to see the environmental impact of their picks.
Also: 
Garlic, fish sauce, and ginger add plenty of flavor to a quick Thai chicken stir-fry.
Also: Corn syrup gets a new name
The makers of high-fructose corn syrup battle a wave of bad publicity by calling the product something else.
Also: 
Ohio mom arrested for giving toddler pot
A southwest Ohio prosecutor says a woman has been arrested after video on her cell phone showed her teaching her 2-year-old daughter to smoke marijuana.
The man was a spy
The man who captured iconic images of Martin Luther King on the night he died also fed his secrets to the FBI.
Also: The Green Book
During the Jim Crow era in the United States, it was neither easy nor safe for African-Americans to travel from town to town. For three decades, The Negro Motorist Green Book: An International Travel Guide was an indispensable resource for finding a place to stay, eat, or buy gas in towns across America. Not necessarily the best places, but any place that would provide accommodations at all if you weren’t white.A Harlem postal employee and civic leader named Victor H. Green conceived the guide in response to one too many accounts of humiliation or violence where discrimination continued to hold strong. These were facts of life not only in the Jim Crow South, but in all parts of the country, where black travelers never knew where they would be welcome. Over time its full title — “The Negro Motorist Green Book: An International Travel Guide” — became abbreviated, simply, as the “Green Book.” Those who needed to know about it knew about it. To much of the rest of America it was invisible, and by 1964, when the last edition was published, it slipped through the cracks into history.The Green Book has been revived in a way, as a new play and a children’s book about the travel guide and those who used it are set to debut.
Human ancestors had cooties
Cooties, of course, are a colloquialism for lice. And our cooties, so says Smithsonian, have a lot to tell us.
For instance, a 2008 study of ancient Peruvian mummies found that lice were already making themselves at home in the Americas, long before the arrival of Europeans. And the DNA of those lice is identical to that of lice we know originated in Africa. If the lice moved to the New World from Africa, it's likely the people they lived on did, too.
Even more intriguing—there's actually a type of head louse that only lives in the Americas. And scientists think it's a remnant of interaction between Homo sapiens and our Asian cousins, Homo erectus.
They found two genetically distinct types of head louse, one found worldwide and another exclusive to the Americas. Strangely enough, this would be possible if the two groups of louse had been living on the heads of two different species on different continents, the scientists say. Reed argued that both modern and archaic humans had their own types of lice. As modern humans--Homo sapiens--began to move out of Africa, they would have intermingled with Homo erectus--Homo sapiens' evolutionary predecessors that were living in Asia and East Africa--picking up their archaic parasites along the way to the New World.Read more, and get links to the original research papers, at Smithsonian
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