The Eyes Have It

 Like snowflakes and fingerprints no two eye colors are the same. Brown eyes are the most common color but there are varying shades, same with blue, green and other hues making no two irises alike even between identical twins. The irises have two layers and the back one almost always contains brown pigment, in the front layer the amount of pigment determines the color, a lot of brown pigment will result in brown eyes, blue eyes have no pigment in their front layer where green and hazel have very little pigment. Another thing that makes us all unique...like everyone else! 

heterochromia (different colored irises) 

Cash Cow

 Cattle are big business in Brazil, 80% of the cows are Zebus which oddly enough originate in India. In an attempt to grow bigger, meatier cows they've been doing some genetic engineering and have produced Viatina-19 a 2,400 lb. heifer who is also the world's most expensive cow at $4 million. Of course there are some problems with these huge cows since they aren't really suited to grazing and the cloning often produces birth defects resulting in the calves being euthanized but sure, let's mess with nature and try to make bigger cows with the intention of not making as much methane. Humans always seem to think they can make things better but when it comes to nature their record isn't anything to write home about. 

 

Coming Soon!

 Arachnophobes take note, there's soon to be a new big spider coming to most of North America. They are called Joro spiders and are an invasive species from Asia. So far they are only on the East Coast, they arrived in Georgia about a decade ago probably via a shipping container and are here to stay. The good news is they eat all the normal spider things, insects and such and even though they are huge they pose no threat to humans plus they don't like to be indoors. It is still unknown if they will impact the environment in any way.  

Holy Crap

 Though the scientific worth of petrified poop seems a stretch it doesn't mean there isn't a museum dedicated to coprolite. The owner of the museum first found fame in 2015 with a Guinness World Record for the largest collection of fossilized feces at 1,277 pieces. Next the collection was made into a virtual exhibit, then a touring show at different museums around the country. The collection now features 8,000 pieces and has its own home in Williams, Arizona called the Poozeum. If nothing else this guy must really know his shit!   Oh, and admission is free though of course there's a gift shop to offset cost of operation. 

Some Like It Hot

 The spicy trend has rapidly insinuated itself into most foods and beverages in the last couple of years, in fact a new word was coined to describe the sweet and spicy combo, that word is swicy. The trend pretty much covers all the food groups up to and including ice cream and of course all the chips and snack foods but the most recent development is in beverages, Coke has released a spiced version that is on their permanent roster and even though it is hard to imagine Starbucks has also jumped on the bandwagon. Spicy foods are great but again where is the space for all these new renditions supposed to come from? Are they going to remove regular flavors or short sheet some brands for available shelf space? 

Dark Stuff

Today's post is another example of the darkness behind seemingly innocent childhood counting out rhymes, this time Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe is on the chopping block. This rhyme is commonly used to determine the undesirable position in children's games such as "it" in hind and seek. Though the exact origin of the rhyme is unknown it is agreed that it was used as a way to decide on human sacrifices. There are variations of the rhyme in many languages and mostly the differences don't change the meaning though what gets caught by the toe varies from tiger, tinker and piggy not to mention other endings that don't have anything being caught but are still the same rhyme such as the Cornish version where the last two lines are: 

Eggs, butter, cheese, bread,
Stick, stack, stone dead.” 

  I also tacked on a few renditions from other language for your enjoyment. 

French	“Une, mine, mane, mo, Une, fine, fane, fo, Maticaire et matico, Mets la main derrière ton dos.”
German	“Ene mene miste, Es rappelt in der Kiste Ene Mene Meck Und Du bist weg.”
Danish	“Ene, mene, ming, mang, Kling klang, Osse bosse bakke disse, Eje, veje, vaek.”
Dutch	“Iene miene mutte Tien pond grutte Tien pond kaas Iene miene mutte

Half Over

How is this year already halfway over? Did I blink at the wrong time? 

6/1 National Olive Day 

6/2 National Animal Rights Day 

6/3 National Egg Day 

6/4 Old Maid's Day 

6/5 Hot Air Balloon Day 

6/6 Yoyo Day 

6/7 National Gun Violence Awareness Day 

6/8 Upsy Daisy Day 

6/9 Corn on the Cob Day 

6/10 National Egg Roll Day 

6/11 National Get Outdoors Day 

6/12 National Jerky Day 

6/13 Roller Coaster Day 

6/14 National Bourbon Day 

6/15 Mermaid Day 

6/16 World Sea Turtle Day 

6/17 National Garbage Man Day 

6/18 Wanna Get Away Day 

6/19 World Sauntering Day 

6/20 World Tapas Day 

6/21 World Giraffe Day 

6/22 Stupid Guy Thing Day 

6/23 Typing Day 

6/24 World UFO Day 

6/25 Global Beatles Day 

6/26 National Coconut Day 

6/27 National Onion Day 

6/28 National Food Truck Day 

6/29 International Mud Day 

6/30 Log Cabin Day 

Enjoy your month!