Bigfoot Too?

 With only rare undocumented sightings, much like Bigfoot in the western US, the ghjattu volpe or cat-fox has long been part of the island of Corsica's folklore, the mythology having them sneaking out of the forests to attack the udders of ewes and cattle. In 2008 one of the elusive critters was captured in a chicken coop which allowed scientists to take samples from the animal and trace their lineage. After the tests were completed they showed the animal was not directly related to the European wildcat but a unique species with highly developed canine teeth, shorter whiskers, wide set ears plus they measure 35 inches from head to tail with distinctive ringed tail with a black tip and short dense fur. The researchers are still collecting more data from sticks placed in the forest with feline essence on them in hopes that the animals will rub on them and leave more fur to be tested. So here's my idea...lets put up giant back scratchers in the Pacific NW and hope that Bigfoot has an itch he/she just can't scratch. 

Previous Lives

 Imagine if Google was called BackRub instead of Google so if you were going to look for something would you be Backrubbing it? BackRub was the original name for Google because the founders built a search engine using back links to determine the importance of pages on the web. With that said what about Relentless? That was the first choice for Amazon's founder and if you Google Relentless.com it will take you to Amazon. His next choice was Cadabra, short for Abracadabra but a lawyer misheard it as cadaver so Amazon became the name as a nod to the world's largest river by volume suggesting the scale of "Earth's Biggest Bookstore" not to mention since Amazon started with an A it would come up first in the search engines of the 90s. Time to Backrub the Cadaver! 

Hairy Stuff

 What's hair made of? Keratin? The short answer is yes but there's more to it than that, hair also contains: carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, water and trace minerals including gold, and if you think you shed your hair in the fall and again in the spring you would be right though it can be avoided by covering your head, otherwise about 100 hairs per day is the average loss and stress can literally turn your hair white but in some cases the color can return somewhat when the stress is relieved. I won't mention baldness today since today's post is about hair! 

Shoe In or Out?

 As if there isn't enough confusion just navigating on a day to day basis MSCHF has introduced a backward/forward sneaker (aka BWD shoe). So now not only does a person have to decide what to wear on any given day they also will need to decide whether to wear their shoes backwards or forwards or maybe one of each? They never really say if that is an option nor do they mention if your foot is exposed in the toe box area either way you wear the shoes. If these shoes are just what you've been looking for they are due to drop on April 11 at 2pm ET for $135. My suggestion for anyone wearing these is don't look down while you're walking. 

The Inspiration

 Some song lyrics seem to make more sense than others but even at that it might not be the meaning that the song writer was going for. A couple of interesting examples of this are "Total Eclipse of the Heart" which was written by lyricist John Steinman to be a vampire love song originally named, "Vampires in Love" for Nosferatu, a musical he was working on at the time. The Neil Diamond song, "Sweet Caroline" had everyone wondering who Caroline was which he managed to keep a secret until 2007 when he finally revealed it was Caroline Kennedy. Of course he had no relationship with Caroline since she was just a child but when he was writing the song about his wife Marsha and her name didn't fit the lyrics he saw the picture of Caroline riding a horse in a magazine and her named worked perfectly. 

 

Companion Items

 It's been proven that pets reduce stress and lower blood pressure along with other benefits that aren't always measured but plants have many of the same qualities and they are easier for people with limited mobility and time or allergies plus for the bonus round they clean your air and in turn give off fresh oxygen, all win-win. For all they give to you their needs are simple a little sunlight and water and feel free to converse with them as it couldn't hurt and it might help and remember trees are plants too and we need to cut way less of them, don't let the logging companies scare you with their stories of logging families starving and no money for schools, the human factor is the only thing that can change the outcome of the climate crisis.

 

Loathe Liars?

 Following 9/11 there have been several renditions taught to security staff on how to recognize a liar, at one time they were depending on security to memorize 92 different tells to look for which wasn't only a cumbersome task but also bordering on impossible to do in a short period of time. Enter University of Amsterdam's Lie Lab to come up with a researched simple solution. Details! Yes the more details a person can supply the more likely they're not lying, so as it turns out the devil really is in the details or is that thought backwards?  Keep these thoughts in mind when someone is spewing word salad your way. 

Somebunny

 So has there ever been an actual bunny as the Cadbury bunny? One would think that information would be easy to find but it was elusive when I was looking other than the mention of a rescue bunny being in the running for 2023 I was unable to locate any other actual rabbits who went on to become bunny of the year. The first Cadbury bunny was a chicken and this year saw the first time a kitty won the top bunny position. Crash is a rescue cat who was badly injured in a car accident and lost one eye. He get $5,000 for himself and a charity of his choosing and of course the starring role as this years bunny. Cadbury also donates $20,000 to the ASPCA to help prevent animal cruelty. 

Just Do It??

Surely Nike didn't anticipate anyone being so smitten with their brand that they would commit their feet to a lifetime of Nike adornment but that is exactly what a 44 year old UK man did. He loves all Nike trainers but decided to have his favorite Jordan's tattooed on his feet, that way he would never be without his beloved shoes again and he could even wear them to bed. This is clearly a case of excessive customer loyalty! 

 

In Other Words

 Today we're going to check out the origins of some common idioms, let's start with buttering up. Buttering up is quite literal in that Hindu tradition called for throwing butter at statues of Hindu deities hoping to be rewarded with a good harvest. Pardon my French evolved from "beg pardon" which was used for using French words in the 1800s as French was not widely spoken and the English were still miffed over the Napoleonic Wars. By the mid 1800s the phrase had changed to mean pardon my swear words and eventually morphed into meaning the speaker was only pretending to be sorry for what they had said. Now if you'll pardon my French I have some buttering up to do. 

Paranoid Much?

Of course it isn't paranoia if they're really out to get you, that said the  Rezvani Vengeance may be just what you need! Prices start at a mere $249,000 and can go to $499,000 but if they're out to get you it will be worth every cent! Along with 3 rows of seating there is also pepper spraying side mirrors, electrified door handles and 20 varying packages including: bulletproof military package, 360 degree camera, electromagnetic pulse protection and the ability to steer itself away from perceived danger. If you're thinking this sounds like something out of a video game you would be right as a game designer was tasked with creating a vehicle that wouldn't look out of place in a sci-fi video game. No words. 

 

Almost Names

 Today's post concerns what several US states were almost named, it is amusing (at least to me) to mentally replace the current names with the almost names, okay, I admit it, I'm easily entertained. The name Humboldt is common in the western states but the man behind the name never actually traveled in the west of the country. What we call Nevada today was almost Humboldt. Utah was almost Deseret after a name in the Book of Mormon. Kentucky was almost Transylvania, no not after the Dracula Transylvania. Oklahoma was almost Sequoyah. West Virginia was almost Kanawha. Colorado was almost Idaho!