That’s Odd

According to Rystad Energy, over 4% of the world’s supply of oil is provided by Russia, and sanctions on Russian oil may bring crude oil prices to above $200 per barrel within the year.

On Wednesday, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told a room full of energy company executives at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, “The question for us all, I think, is, ‘What else can we do in this fight?’ We are on war footing. We are in an emergency. And we have to responsibly increase short-term supply where we can right now to stabilize the market and to minimize harm to American families.”

In an interview, Granholm said she is meeting with BP PLC, Shell PLC and Chevron Corp., among others.

Speaking to a full conference room, she said, “I am here to extend a hand for partnership, because we’re only going to be able to meet these challenges – the challenges of oil and gas supply and the challenges of climate change – by working together.”

Meanwhile, some Democrats are pressuring Biden to suspend the federal gasoline tax in order to help keep prices down.

Senate Passes $13.6M in Aid

The U.S. Congress on Thursday night took the final step in approving $13.6 billion in military, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

The bill now goes to U.S. President Joe Biden for his signature. It includes money to help Ukraine defend itself, including against cyberattacks. It also offers new support for federal programs allowing the U.S. to respond to food insecurity, help refugees resettle, and address other humanitarian issues, as well as enforce the sanctions on Russia.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said, “This is an area where the American people overwhelmingly support the people of Ukraine. This is not a Democratic and a Republican issue. This is a human rights issue.”

At the same time, U.S. lawmakers did not succeed in providing $15 billion for the battle against COVID-19. That money had been intended for testing initiatives, as well as therapeutics and vaccines. It was dropped at the last minute due to questions of how to pay for it.

Prior to the vote, Senate Majority Leader Charles. E. Schumer (D-NY) emphasized, “We must, we absolutely must, secure more Covid money. We’re going to keep working on this. It’s too important to ignore.”

High Time for Tea

When climbing Mount Everest it’s best to keep your priorities straight: make sure to take time out from your summit-scaling to drink some tea.

That’s what Andrew Hughes did last year – and he’s now earning accolades for his tea-riffic idea.

The endurance athlete and adventurer from Seattle officially hosted the world’s highest tea party when he and his team sat down for hot beverages at a height of 21,312 feet above sea level on Mount Everest on May 5, 2021.

The idea came to Hughes when he was preparing to scale the Nepal mountain during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hughes, who successfully reached the summit on May 23, 2021, served tea to team members Ronan Murphy, Kristin Bennett, Garrett Madison, Sid Pattison, Robert Smith, Art Muir, Helen Cokie Berenyi, Krisli Melesk, Ben Veres, Kevin Walsh, Kristin Harila, Mark Pattison, Rick Irvine, and James Walker.

But you can’t just have a tea party with just tea. Of course, cookies need to be served. And for that, Hughes lugged a selection of Girl Scout Cookies from the States so fellow climbers could enjoy a taste of home so high up in the clouds.

That’s one smart cookie.

Parrot Picasso

Who says that painters need to have fingers to paint? A few feathers could be just perfect.

That’s what the Maryland Zoo has discovered. An African grey parrot named Echo at the zoo is being taught how to paint.

“Will she be the next bird-casso?” the zoo quipped. “Our Embassy care team is training African grey parrot Echo to paint. Painting is a great enrichment activity that keeps Echo mentally stimulated and allows her to use her natural adaptations. She sure is creating quite a masterpiece!”

Echo paints by grabbing a sponge dipped in paint with her beak. She then takes the sponge to a sheet of paper and moves it in all directions.

Echo also receives treats for taking part in the activity.

“Painting is a great enrichment activity that keeps Echo mentally stimulated and allows her to use her natural adaptations. She sure is creating quite a masterpiece!” the zoo continued.

Sounds like she’s taking to it like a duck to water.

If I Only Had a Heart

A California-based auction house said it is selling a rare piece of memorabilia: the Tin Man’s oil can from The Wizard of Oz.

The oil can, one of five used during filming of the 1939 movie, was presented to Tin Man actor Jack Haley after the film wrapped.

“This piece has excellent investment potential, as items from or made for this legendary film almost never surface, including the Tin Man costume which is said to be lost,” the auction listing states.

Bidding starts at $50,000 but is expected to soar to $200,000.

The oil can was a pivotal prop in the beloved movie, used as a centerpiece just before the Tin Man’s introductory song “If I Only Had A Heart.” It gave him the vital oil he needed to free his body and joints from the rusted state in which he was found by Dorothy in Oz.

Last year, one of the classic blue gingham dresses that Dorothy wore in the movie was found after years of having been missing. The dress was accidentally found when someone saw a garbage bag at the top of a closet in the drama department of Catholic University and decided to look inside.

“I was curious what was inside and opened the trash bag and inside was a shoebox and inside the shoe box was the dress! I couldn’t believe it,” Matt Ripa, who found the missing dress, explained.

Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.

World’s Longest Car

Think there were too many long vehicles blocking the roads this Purim? Be happy that Jay Ohrberg didn’t bring his super limousine to the Five Towns.

Ohrberg, a car customizer, built the “American Dream” car in 1986. At the time, it measured 60 feet long. But then, Ohrberg went for broke. He restored the vehicle, and it now measures a whopping 100 feet and 1.5 inches long, nabbing the Guinness World Record for the longest car.

For several years, the world’s longest car appeared in several films and then ended up in a New Jersey warehouse. Recently, Michael Man-

ning, owner of the Autoseum technical teaching museum, decided to take on the monumental task of restoring the American Dream, which had rusted during its time in storage to the point where many of its components were unsalvageable.

“I first found the car at an autobody show in New Jersey and it was garbage. It was covered in graffiti, the windows were broken, the tires were flat, but I fell in love with it anyway. I said, ‘I’m going to get this car and I’m going to bring it back and restore it,’” Manning said.

But Manning encountered many problems with the restoration. Eventually, he ended up listing the car on eBay, where it was purchased in 2019 by Michael Dezer, owner of the Dezerland Park Car Museum and Tourist Attractions in Orlando, Florida.

The restored American Dream features a helipad, a swimming pool, a hot tub, a putting green, and a large waterbed. The car is being displayed at the Dezerland Park Car Museum.

“You really couldn’t put it on the road because it’s too long,” Manning said. “It was built to be put on display.”

Manning says that around 75 people can fit into the car. In terms of how much it weighs, well, it was never officially weighed but he guesses it’s around 25,000 pounds.

It took him around 2 ½ years to restore the vehicle.

“People said we were crazy. But we did it,” he shrugs.

“And we’re going to redo it, we’re going to make it longer. The sky’s the limit. I mean, the road’s the limit.”

Think about all that traffic.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Paul Revere is famous for his rocky ride throughout the Colonies warning that the British are coming. Now, a bronze bell that was cast in 1834 by Revere’s son has finally come home.

The 1,000-pound bell had been hauled by oxcart to churches in Ohio and then languished in a garage in California for decades. On Friday, the bell was ceremoniously brought to the Paul Revere Heritage Site in Canton, just south of Boston.

Jeannene Shanks became owner of the bell in 1984 when she helped to broker the sale of a church in Ohio to a fitness center. The gym didn’t need the bell and Shanks felt an obligation to take care of it. A $1,000 donation cemented the ownership, and Shanks became the owner of Revere’s bell. When she retired and moved to California, she brought the bell with her.

“It became the joke of the family,” said Shanks’ daughter, Amy Miller, 66. “They’d open the doors to the garage and ring the bell every Fourth of July. People would look at it and say, ‘What is that?’”

After their parents’ deaths, Miller and her 69-year-old brother moved the bell to Miller’s garage, where it’s sat since 2009.

Finally, Miller discovered where the bell was forged and decided to bring it to its rightful home.

“I don’t need a bell in my garage, and this bell has a story of its own,” she said. “It represents what our history and our country are all about. I wanted it to go beyond us — to go back to where it started. We’re the keepers of our history.”

One if by land, and two if by sea...

Did you know? Haman’s son Parshandasa had gifted his father a beam from Noach’s teivah, which Haman used to build his house. It was that beam that ultimately became the gallows for Haman