Spoods

 Arachnophobes are finding a way to deal with their fear of spiders and that is by getting pet jumping spiders. They are most popular with women who were trying to conquer their fear of spiders and were captivated by the cuteness and personality of these little guys, or girls. There are many places to acquire a jumping spider and several different varieties and they are fairly low maintenance. They don't build capture webs but pounce on their prey, many owners compare the spiders behavior with that of cats. They only  require a small box to live in, food and water, the food part can be problematic as they have to have live prey like tiny mealworms, cockroaches and fruit flies. They cost between $30-$100 and the affectionate term for them as coined by the internet is "spoods". 

Kiddy Art

 Most everyone is familiar with kindergarten art whether finger painting, stick figures or just colors that must have had a meaning at the time, though they're often keepsakes and sometimes kept to show the adult child their early attempts at art. What would you be willing to pay for your child's artwork? An Australian kindergarten decided $2000 would be the price for a folder including the art produced and pictures of the child making the pieces, the school was cash strapped and thought it might be a good fundraising plan though the parents were quick to point out that they had signed consent forms that entitled them to their children's portfolios and any pictures of them. The center ended up closing after their last ditch effort to pay expenses failed. 

Bear Jail

 In the past when polar bears started getting into peoples buildings they were shot before they had a chance to cause fatalities, but with the population of the bears steadily declining conservationists have developed other methods of dealing with the bears. In the winter they're not a problem as they are out on the ice eating seals but with less ice every year they have less time to build up their fat stores for the lean summer months and once they associate humans with a food source they need an attitude adjustment, which is where the bear jail comes into play. First the problem bear is tranquilized and tagged then hauled to the facility where it will be kept for the next 2 weeks, They are only given water or snow while they serve their time as they don't want the bear to associate food with humans, plus if they were outside they would be fasting anyway. It doesn't sound ideal but it's better than the alternative. 

Are We There Yet?

 Another rapture or end time has came and went and here we are...or did some of you leave?  This time a South African pastor said Jesus came to him in a vision and told him the date of the rapture, September 23rd-24th. Some of the believers sold all their worldly goods in preparation though I'm not sure why, did they want to take the money with them or am I missing something? So far none of the doomsday predictions have come to pass though there's no doubt we are in trying times which is supposed to be a precursor for the rapture. Even though the Bible never mentions the rapture some people interpret certain Bible passages as indications plus constellations aligning are also signposts. The pastor was a billion percent sure of his prediction...I wonder what his next sermon will have to say about the non-event? 

3rd Day of Critters

 Today's post is the third in a row on animals but it seems important to present the Fat Bears before the end of the competition on the 30th. This is an annual event highlighting the importance of the bears gaining weight for their long sleep through the winter, the pictures show how they looked this spring on the left to how they currently look on the right, so without further ado I present the Fat Bears. 

 

If you wish to cast a vote for your favorite just search Fat Bear Week then click on your favorite. 

Attack Squirrel

 Today's post is another example of why it's not a good idea to feed wild animals, other than birds and even with birds people should not be their sole source of food or they will lose the ability to fend for themselves. Deer can be particularly dangerous plus once they lose their fear of humans they become more vulnerable to being hit by cars, but in a California neighborhood people are being attacked by a squirrel who has sent two people to the ER with injuries. Wildlife experts claim squirrels are naturally shy but when they have been fed or raised by humans and that food source dries up they have no idea how to feed on their own so they turn on people to try to get the food supply in order again. Not to mention many people think bread is a good food for wild animals which it isn't as they can't digest it so it just takes up space in their stomach and they eventually can waste away. Keep the phrase, "balance of nature" in mind.

Fish Tail

Fans of redfish believe the fish are trying to communicate and that the message is they want them to be happy. Redfish are known for their fight which makes them  popular among fisherman, they are also known for the markings on their tails. Several fishermen have seem letters, smiley faces, hearts and sometimes short words like go. Of course as word got out about the odd markings the doubting Thomas' believed they had been altered so now Ripley's Believe It or Not is on the case and we'll have to await their verdict to determine the veracity of the claims. 

Three, Four or Five?

Most everyone has noticed that cartoon characters only have 4 fingers, actually it's 3 fingers and a thumb but that's kind of splitting hairs so we'll just go with the 4 finger idea. The reasoning behind the 4 finger deal goes way back to the first cartoons that were drawn by hand so in an effort to expedite the drawing process they went with 4 fingers and rationalized the decision by saying 5 fingers on a rounded character made their hands look like a bunch of bananas. Now for the exceptions to the 4 finger rule...in Japan the number 4 means death and missing digits also have other meanings so if western cartoons are exported to Japan they need to have all 5 fingers, there goes the cost savings! Then there are the 3 finger types which are meant to denote either an alien or a mutant like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now you probably know more about cartoon character's fingers that you ever wanted to know. 

Is the Mac Dead?

 Does anyone even remember McIntosh apples? They are a rarity today, but in the late 20th century they were one of the most popular apples with a long shelf life and an ideal balance of tart and sweet but with designer apples taking over their space from promotional efforts glorifying them, the Mac lost traction as it was only an apple, not sweet like a Fuji, nor particularly crisp like the Honeycrisp. Their only market now are farmstands belonging to farmers who are reluctant to tear out their old orchards and replant with a patented apple, and nostalgic customers who come to buy them.

Monkey Business

 Is it just me or does it seem like there are a whole lot of studies on animals and alcohol? This time the researchers were at University of California, Berkley who determined that chimps consume the equivalent of two alcoholic drinks a day by eating fermented fruit in their native habitat. They arrived at this finding by analyzing 21 different fruits for their alcohol content. Since fruit makes up about 75% of the chimps diet that amounted to 14 grams of  pure ethanol, then they figured the chimps weight as compared to humans to come up with the two drinks. The researchers also figured it might explain where humans attraction to alcohol originated, plus they found footage of chimps sharing the fermented fruit much like a social activity...think going to the bar and buying a round! 

Stripes, Pizza and Courage

 It's that time again for the Ig Nobel Prizes which are a parody on the Nobel Prizes though even if they're laughable some of them still make you think. With that said, on with the Iggy's. Anyone who's been around cows knows that flies can be extremely bothersome to the bovines even to the point of them giving less milk or in the case of beef cows losing weight, so a Japanese group got the idea to paint zebra stripes on cows since zebras don't seem to be bothered with flies...and it worked! 

Next was a study of rainbow lizards to determine what kind of pizza topping they preferred since they were known for stealing unguarded cheese pizza. When given the choice between 4 cheese pizza or 4 seasons pizza they chose the cheese pizza, leaving the 4 seasons pizza untouched. 

Last on today's list was a study on whether alcohol made people more fluent in a foreign language. The study had 50 German speaker with half imbibing and half remaining sober speak to native Dutch speaker, and yes the "Dutch courage" did make them more fluent. They supposed it was something to do with confidence. Gotta love those Iggy's! 

Suckers

 Just when you think you've heard it all something new pops up, this time it's adult pacifiers or whatever name you want to call them. From what's out there about the craze the users claim they are using them to relieve stress though there are several reasons to question that explanation. First is doctors warn that even as an adult pacifiers can cause teeth to misalign, they can also be a choking hazard especially if the person uses it to go to sleep, doctors also warn that even if they seem to help with stress they still aren't treating the source of the stress, not to mention how foolish it looks. Imagine if you will, driving on a freeway and glancing at the car next to you and seeing and adult with a pacifier in their mouth...that scenario alone could cause a hazard! Oh well, different strokes and all that. 

Toys in the Attic

 "Toys in the Attic" was the third studio album by Aerosmith though that's not what today's post is about. The finalists for the 2025 National Toy Hall of Fame have been announced and since some of them are oldies it seemed like an appropriate title. After pictures of the finalists which for the most part need to verbal description I will include the address of the site where you can vote for your favorite. 

Snow? 

Lightsaber 

Vote for your favorite between now and September 24th at toyhalloffame.org.