A tourist climbed out of his car in downtown Washington, D.C. He said to a man standing near the curb, “Listen, I’m going to be only a couple of minutes. Would you watch my car while I run into this store?” “What?” the man huffed. “Do you realize that I am a member of the […] More
Places, people, even animals end up with nicknames derived from things associated with them, or just from the whimsy of one person whose sense of humor appealed to others. Not so when it comes to the largest piece of fruit in America, the Big Apple that is New York City. The term came into common […] More
The passenger tapped the cab driver on the shoulder to ask him something. The driver screamed, lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, went up on the sidewalk, and stopped centimetres from a shop window. For a second everything went quiet in the cab, then the driver said, “Look mister, don’t ever do […] More
“A rose, by any other name” may smell as sweet, but a country relabeled from the original, is sometimes confusing. Did you ever wonder how some of the world’s countries came to be called by their present names? Spain – They were really splitting hares on this one. Phoenician settlers found such an abundance of […] More
“I hope you didn’t take it personally, Reverend,” an embarrassed woman said after a church service, “when my husband walked out during your sermon.” “I did find it rather disconcerting,” the preacher replied. “It’s not a reflection on you,” insisted the church goer. “Ralph has been been walking in his sleep since childhood.” More
Moths are more exciting than the little white things that flutter out of clothing that wasn’t stored properly. Some of them are incredibly fascinating creatures for their form, colors, size and odd features. One of the most interesting is the Hawk Moth, with more than 1200 species broken down into about 200 varieties and spread […] More
The owner of a drug store walks in to find a guy leaning heavily against a wall. The owner asks the clerk, “What’s with that guy over there by the wall?” The clerk says, “Well, he came in here this morning to get something for his cough. I couldn’t find the cough syrup, so I […] More
A lot of the lexicon and sayings in modern day conversation have cultural and even historical origins. And then there are those that are nowhere near as fascinating. In fact, their prosaic basis would be quite dull if it weren’t for the occasional quirky argument over who started using an expression…and even why. Take the […] More
A priest and a taxi driver both died and went to heaven. St. Peter was at the Pearly gates waiting for them. ‘Come with me’, said St. Peter to the taxi driver. The taxi driver did as he was told and followed St. Peter to a mansion. It had anything you could imagine from a […] More
Africa, the largest continent in the world, has a fascinating composition of the exotic and unusual, sometimes in places or forms that people least expect. The typical concept of the land is hot, arid, jungles, and wild animals. But there are many other features that surprise those interested enough in the land, to look beyond […] More
Having arrived at the edge of the river, the fisherman soon realized he had forgotten to bring any bait. Just then he happened to see a little snake passing by who had caught a worm. The fisherman snatched up the snake and robbed him of his worm. Feeling sorry for the little snake with no […] More
Valentine’s has its chocolate, Mother’s Day has its flowers, and now Super Bowl Sunday has its…pizza? According to surveys, frenzied fans, and their fed-up spouses/partners, would rather call, than cook. The biggest day of the football year has fans reaching for the phone to dial their favorite pizzeria. Could that be why, the day after […] More
Human reproductive technology has certainly stood the scientific world on its head over the last 30 years, but in Nature, some of the ways that life on Earth regenerates, is downright strange. Aphids are born pregnant. In fact, they are pregnant before they are born. The common aphid, of which there are 4400 species, produces […] More
My wife is an economist and I am an engineer. I was watching my wife make her breakfast one morning, and noticed that she made way too many trips to get each of the items she needed. So I said in my best engineer voice, “Hey sweetheart, why don’t you utilize the load maximization principle […] More
If there is a stereotypical image of Native Americans, it is as they prepared for war, by painting their faces and bodies. But in reality, the body decoration served many more purposes. Face painting was quite common on a daily basis, depending on the season or weather. Thick coats of bear grease served to protect […] More
A man meets his Tinder date at a carnival. “There’s so many games!” he said, “What do you wanna do?” “I wanna get weighed.” she says, shyly looking at the ground. They go to the GUESS-Your-WEIGHT booth and she wins a stuffed animal. “What next?” he asks. “I wanna get weighed.” she says, confidently looking […] More
Technically you could almost say they waft aloft on the wings of a bird, because the Queen Alexandra’s butterfly is the largest member of the order Lepidoptera, in the world. Discovered by Sir Alfred Meek in 1907, this beautiful denizen of Papua, New Guinea was named for her Royal Highness, Queen Alexandra, the Danish born […] More
Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I have been with a loose girl.” The priest asks, “Is that you, little Joey Pagano?” “Yes, Father, it is.” “And who was the girl you were with?” “I can’t tell you, Father. I don’t want to ruin her reputation.” “Well, Joey, I’m sure to find out her […] More
Although its barren desert-like conditions may have been traversed by the ill-fated Scott expedition in 1912, the Dry Valleys region of Antarctica were not formally discovered and recorded until the mid 1950s. Given the endless miles of snow and ice, where temperatures have gone as low as -89C, the stretch of barren territory came as […] More
