IMAGINE THAT!
THE BUZZ OF THE BEE
The buzzing we hear
is merely the wings of the bee
flapping during flight.
When the bee is flying
its wings are usually cycling
more than 200 times per second.
Large bees produce a low pitch tone
generating a more audible sound.
Small bees produce a high pitch tone
that the human ear cannot hear.
Bees cannot hear as we do
because they do not have ears.
They must detect sound
by feeling various vibrations
through their antennae or feet.
A GENUINE 1999
THUMBSUCKER
Mark Hasting had part of his left thumb
detached in a table saw accident.
Surgeons managed to reattach the thumb
but were having trouble restoring
normal circulation to the digit.
They decided to order
a batch of leeches
from a laboratory in Atlanta
that raises them for medical purposes.
The leech is a blood sucker
and they proposed to allow one
to attach itself to Mark�s thumb,
drain off some excess blood
and get the blood flow
circulating properly again.
The leech secretes an anticoagulant
which prevents blood clotting
and pulls the blood through naturally.
The attending nurse checked
the dressing on Mark�s hand,
loosened a portion of it in order
to take a cap off a plastic tube
that encased his reattached thumb.
Picking up a leech with tweezers
from a small transporting cup,
she placed the wriggling leech
into the tube.
The leech got to work within seconds
and attached itself to the tip
of Mark�s reattached thumb.
After about 30 to 45 seconds
the leech is finished gorging itself
and detaches itself.
The nurse began
applying the leeches
every 30 minutes at first,
then every three hours
and finally every six hours.
The nurse confided that
once she got over
her initial squeamishness
at working with the leeches,
she realized the old-fashioned practice
was indeed effective,
because before the leeching
Mark�s thumb was blue in color,
but now it was pink and healthy.
Mark confided that he didn�t feel a thing.
They used each leech only once
and the reward for the leech
after a job well done
was to be flushed down a drain.
A definite lack of promise
for each efficient little creature,
appreciation notwithstanding,
but perhaps each found a way
back into the environment ~
providing they managed
to make it through the mysteries
of the sewer system.
So much for
mankind�s
expeditious ingenuity
and humane rationale.
The leech is a predatory, parasitic� annelid,
a small creature that can be amphibian
or terrestrial or both by nature.
The leech is endowed with
two terminal disklike mouths or suckers
at either end of its body which it uses
for nourishment and locomotion.
The head can be differentiated
from the tail by the manner
in which it moves each part.
The leech attaches itself to the host
with the head sucker,
in the center of which,
is a mouth with tiny teeth
that make a wound,
secreting a substance called hirudin
from its salivary glands,
a natural anticoagulant,
that prevents blood clotting,
making the blood flow easier.
The body of the leech is made up of
a series of ringlike segments
that can stretch or shorten its body
from approximately
one inch to eight inches.
Clusters of cells on its body called eyes
are sensitive to light, touch,
temperature and dryness.
The creatures are gifted with both
male and female reproduction organs
and come in beautiful shades of black,
brown, red and green.
They are found in all sources of fresh water
though usually in wet, warm climates.
A leech attaching itself to a person
makes one feel uncomfortable, but
no lasting harm is done; however,
they have been known to be consumed
unwittingly through drinking water
from springs and have attached themselves
to the membranes of nostrils
and the air passages of the unlucky drinker
causing grave complications.
Leeches were used extensively in medieval times
by the early doctors practicing in the infancy of
anatomical science to cure disease, heal bruises
and reduce temperature.
Although these early doctors probably never actually
understood what was happening, leeching certainly
must have worked favorably enough times to insure
its survival as a recommended treatment.
�The leech can use predatory and parasitic
to define mankind with equal accuracy.
WHY THE ONION MAKES US CRY
Cutting an onion alters its structure.
Sulfur compounds come in contact
with an enzyme that ultimately
produces thiopropanal S-oxide
an irritating gas with an acid base.
The gas moves upward,
is transported by the water in our eyes
to the ocular tissues
causing irritation and formation of tears.
HOW DO ASTRONAUTS
SCRATCH AN ITCH?
Astronauts wear street clothes
most of the time; however,
there are three times
an astronaut must wear a spacesuit
that makes scratching difficult:
on the launch
during re-entry
during extravehicular activity
such as a space walk.
The LES (launch-and-entry suit) spacesuits
are made of soft material,
so most itches can be scratched
through the suit material.
The EVA (extravehicular activity) spacesuit
is far bulkier, because it must be pressurized
and designed to stand the rigors of outer space.
Most astronauts are so enthralled
by the experience of the spacewalk
their minds do not wander.
The best way to scratch an itch
in an extravehicular activity spacesuit
is to try to rub against some part
of the suit that may be close by.
If you cannot manage that maneuver,
you just grin and bear it!
WHY DON�T LIZARDS GET SUNBURNED
We stay out in the sun too long
and our skin starts to peel and fall off.
The lizard can hang out
on a rock all day long
without worrying about the hot sun.
How come?
Reptiles keep the outer layer of dead cells
on their skin until the next layer is ready.
Then and only then is the first layer shed.
A lizard�s epidermis, both living and dead,
is thick and hard, making it more difficult
for the ultraviolet rays to penetrate.
As in humans, the pigment melanin
helps protect lizards from harmful rays.
Heavily pigmented animals are protected
from the sun, much as darker pigmented
humans are partially safeguarded.
WHY DID PIRATES WEAR EARRINGS?
Hollywood tried to make leading men
like Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks
look suave and exotic.
The real pirates pierced their ears
for a more practical purpose.
It was believed that piercing your ears
with precious metals improved eyesight.
Acupunture confirms an eye-ear connection.
A point on the ear called the eye point
corresponds the area on the ear lobe
where piercing might take place.
People report enjoying vision improvement
after having their ears pierced.
Permanent improvement is unlikely
after having your ears pierced
in that scar tissue forms around the hole
inhibiting further potential benefit.
WHY DO WE RARELY SEE
LEFT-HANDED STRING PLAYERS
IN MOST ORCHESTRAS?
Left-handed violinists
are few and far between
for a definite and practical reason.
The violin may be symmetrical on the outside,
but on the inside, it is not.
Restructuring high-quality violins
for left-handed artist is most difficult.
There is a bass bar
(a long vertical piece of wood)
glued to the inside top of the violin
that runs along the G-string side.
A sound post lies behind the bridge
along the E-string side.
These pieces must be moved
with great delicacy
to accommodate left-handers.
Sometimes it would amount
to several thousand dollars.
Left-handed bowing would alter
the visual symmetry that is part
of the concert going experience.
Imagine two violinists bowing furiously
during the crescendo of a symphony.
Moving in opposite directions, the bows
would appear to be engaged in a duel
rather than a musical performance.
THE FAMILY TREE
Sarah Edwards
gave her husband
Reverend Jonathan Edwards
eleven healthy children!
History shows
the heritage of this union
in succeeding generations
was to be responsible for:
� a vice president of the United States
� governors of three states
� a controller of the United States treasury
� mayors of three cities
� eighty in public office
� thirteen college presidents
� one hundred lawyers
� sixty-five professors
� a dean of a prominent law school
� thirty judges
� sixty-five physicians
� and a dean of a medical school!
According to Abraham Lincoln:
Most folks are about as happy
as they make up their minds to be!
Herbert Hoover tells us:
The meaning of our word
America
flows from one pure source.
Within the soul of America
is the freedom
of mind and spirit in man.
Here alone
are the open windows
through which pours
the sunlight of the human spirit.
Here alone
human dignity
is not a dream
but a major accomplishment.
