October 18, 2016
The Neatest Little Paper Ever Read®
Issue 00292
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ELEPHANT FACTS
• Elephants have one of the largest brains in the animal kingdom and are highly intelligent. They have excellent memories and it is true that “elephants never forget.” • Elephants have complex emotions and pronounced personalities; they are able to reason and act logically; they are social and gregarious; and they have complex social rules, discipline, and customs. They display loyalty to members of their herd, and have been known to rescue their human trainers from threats. They have also been known to have committed mercy killings when one of their herd is beyond recovering. • Elephants belong to the family Pachydermia, which comes from the Greek words meaning “thick-skinned.” Elephants do have thick skins, around 1.5 inches thick, but it’s very sensitive. In fact, elephants will leave very good habitat in order to find a location with fewer mosquitoes. • They do not have a layer of fat under the skin to protect them from the cold, and so they cannot tolerate temperatures below freezing. They also have no sweat glands, so they get rid of excess body heat by fanning their ears, spraying themselves with water, and rolling in the mud. • In spite of their size, elephants can move almost without a sound, and can sprint at speeds up to 25 mph (40 km/hr). However, since their legs aren’t built for jumping, a ditch too wide to step across can be an impenetrable barrier. • They have poor eyesight, and can’t see behind them unless they turn around. They are also unable to see directly below them and use their
Q: What do you call an elephant that doesn’t matter? A: An irrelephant.
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1. HISTORY: Where did Lyndon Johnson take the oath of office following President Kennedy’s
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assassination? 2. LANGUAGE: What does the word “gesundheit” mean when it follows a sneeze? 3. MUSIC: What singer’s life was portrayed in the autobiography “Lady Sings the Blues”? 4. TELEVISION: Where was “The Untouchables” drama set? 5. ANATOMY: What is a more common name for the sternum? 6. SCIENCE: What is the unit that is used to measure sound level? 7. INVENTIONS: What was demonstrated for the first time on Dec. 31, 1879, in Menlo Park? 8. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What are the colors
trunks to locate obstacles that they must step over. • They are very good swimmers, and regulate their buoyancy in the water by swallowing air. A train of 79 elephants once crossed a tidal stretch of the Ganges River where they had to swim for six hours without touching the bottom. • Elephants are not clumsy. They can step on a coconut just hard enough to crack the shell without damaging the meat, and they can dig up sweet potatoes with their tusks without breaking the skin of the tuber. • The feet of an elephant have a combined surface area of 3.5 sq. ft., so that their weight is pretty evenly distributed and they hardly even leave any tracks. A lady’s stiletto heel has a greater pressure per square inch than an elephant’s foot. • The sleeping habits of a herd of 34 elephants in a zoo were studied. Every night, 29 of them would fall soundly asleep, snoring up a storm, while five others would remain on their feet in a light doze. After a few hours, several of the “sentries” would go to sleep after being replaced by a few of the elephants that had previously been sleeping. This changing of the guard went on every night. Elephants are some of the loudest snorers in the animal kingdom. Sleeping elephants will sometimes trumpet in their sleep, apparently dreaming of danger.
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of Israel’s flag? 9. MYTHOLOGY: In mythology, what do theriomorphic gods represent? 10. GEOGRAPHY: What is the only Northeastern U.S. state that borders Canada but not the Atlantic Ocean or a Great Lake? Answers 1. Aboard Air Force One 2. A wish in German for “good health” 3. Billie Holiday 4. Chicago 5. The breastbone 6. Decibel 7. Incandescent light 8. Blue and white 9. Animals 10. Vermont (c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.
• The gestation period is longer for elephants than for any other animal, lasting between 18 and 23 months, depending on species. Other female elephants will assist a mother before and during the birth of her young, standing by to help and chasing off any predators that come into the area during the birth. • A newborn elephant weighs 200 to 300 pounds (90-136 kg), and is covered with brown hair which slowly wears off during its lifetime. The young are not fully weaned until the age of five or six. Their milk tusks fall out at age two and are replaced by permanent tusks. Sexual maturity comes around 18 years of age, and they can live
® There are some 100,000 muscles in an elephant trunk, which has been called the most versatile appendage in nature. An elephant’s trunk is a combined nose and upper lip and can pick up a log weighing 600 lbs. (272 kg) or an object as small as a coin. They breathe, smell, and transfer things to their mouths with their trunks. Elephants also use their trunks to stroke their mates and offspring.
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1. How much did the largest known elephant tusk weigh? 2. A human brain weighs about 3 lbs. (1.3 kg) but how much does an elephant brain weigh? 3. Do elephants require more sleep or less sleep than humans? 4. Which can throw a baseball faster: a human, or an elephant? 5. How many gallons of water can an elephant trunk hold?
60 years. • A female elephant usually breeds once every three years, so it is common for a female to have several children of various ages. They can bear up to 12 offspring in their lives. A mother elephant calls to her young by slapping her ears against her head. • Mother elephants have been seen carrying their dead children around in their tusks, and have been known to have scraped graves and buried their dead offspring. • Elephants spend about 16 hours a day eating, and can consume a quarter ton of food a day. They are strictly vegetarian. Their usual fare is grass, twigs, tubers, and fruits, but they are also fond of bamboo, berries, coconuts, corn, dates, plums, and sugar cane. • Elephants are social creatures. They sometimes “hug” by wrapping their trunks together in displays of greeting and affection. They have greeting ceremonies when a friend that has been away for some time returns to the group. If a baby elephant complains, the entire family will go over to touch and caress it. Elephants purr like cats do, as a means of communication. They also display signs of grief, joy, anger and play. (cont’d next page) • Elephant ears can be five feet (1.5 km) wide, which aids their hearing. They can hear sounds up to two miles (3.2 km) away and can smell a human a mile (1.6 km) away. They can even hear the rustle of a mouse. • An elephant’s size is its best defense. Only giraffes are taller than elephants, and only some whales are bigger. A healthy adult elephant fears no enemy in nature’s normal chain. Only the young, the old, and the infirm need to worry about lions and tigers. Healthy elephants are easily able to stand up to any attacking animal. • Their primary enemy is mankind. One elephant herd may claim a territory of up to 2,000 square miles. Humans have destroyed elephant’s natural habitat through settlements and farms. When elephants wander into farm fields and gardens that used to be their territory, local villagers attack and kill them. The demand for ivory has also been responsible for decimating their numbers. The number of African elephants declines by eight percent each year, due in large part to poaching for the sake of the ivory.
WHITE ELEPHANTS • In Thailand and southeast Asia, elephants are considered to be sacred animals. White elephants are especially sacred. If a rich man knew someone he didn’t particularly like, he might purchase a white elephant and bestow it as a gift upon the person he didn’t like. The person who received the animal was honorbound to take excellent care of the sacred
white elephant for the rest of its life— and elephants live a very long time. That meant decades of feeding it a quarter-ton of food a day, and carrying off amazing amounts of manure. This was an expensive and time-consuming proposition. Today a “white elephant” gift is a gift we would be better off without.
Amazing Animals
OCTOPUS
• The world “octopus” comes from the Greek, “octopus” meaning “eight foot.” • The plural form of “octopus” is “octopuses.” • Octopuses have three hearts: one to keep blood in circulation around the organs and the other two to move blood past the gills. The heart that pumps blood to the organs ceases its beating when the octopus swims, which is why an octopus will usually choose crawling over swimming, which is less exhausting. • Octopuses are cephalopods. Cephalopods are a class of mollusk that includes squids, cuttlefish, and nautilus. Cephalopod means “head-
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EASELSHEY These are about three inches (7.6 cm) long on an elephant.
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footed” because their arms protrude directly from their head. Although it’s commonly thought that an octopus has eight tentacles, they are actually technically arms. Tentacles have suckers only near the ends, whereas arms have suckers their entire length. Tentacles are longer than arms. Octopuses have eight arms and no tentacles, while squid and cuttlefish have eight arms and two tentacles. Each octopus arm has up to 240 suckers. When threatened, an octopus will squirt a cloud of ink to hide itself. The ink also causes blinding irritation to the eyes, as well as interfering with the sense of smell and taste. If an octopus does not escape its own cloud of ink, it can die. The octopus is a master of camouflage and can change pigments in its skin to blend into the background within three-tenths of a second. If a predator grabs an octopus by its arm, the octopus can disconnect the arm and get away. It can then re-grow the arm. When held captive under stressful or boring conditions, they have been known to eat their own arms. Octopuses are invertabrates. Because they have no bones, they can squeeze through openings that are surprisingly small. The only hard structure on their body is their beak, which looks much like the beak of a parrot. They can change their body shape to mimic other animals. They use their bodies like bellows, taking in and releasing jets of water to propel them forward quickly. They are one of the few animals that have been observed using tools, such as carrying around a coconut shell to hide in. There are about 200 species of octopus. Those that live in cold water climates are larger than those in warm water environments. The largest types of octopus can grow to about 4.3 feet (1.3 meters) in length and weigh up to 22 pounds (10 kilograms).
• All members of the octopus family have venom, but the most harmful is the venom of the tiny blue-ringed octopus of Australia. Although it’s only 5 to 8 inches in size (1320 cm), a single blue-ringed octopus carries enough venom to kill up to 26 adult humans. Their bites are often nearly painless so some victims may not realize they’ve been bitten until paralysis and respiratory distress set in. If the victim receives speedy medical care including artificial respiration, the bite is survivable, but there is no known antivenom. Victims who survive the first 24 hours usually recover completely, but without artificial respiration or a ventilator, there is virtually no chance of surviving the bite. The toxin is nearly identical to the venom found in pufferfish and poison dart frogs, and it’s 1,200 times more toxic than cyanide. • Octopuses are very smart and able to solve problems. Researchers at the Seattle Aquarium put a favorite octopus snack inside a child-proof pill container. The resident octopus had the container open within five minutes.
WATER SKI • Ralph Samuelson was 18 years old in June of 1922 and living in Minnesota. He lived near Lake Pepin and spent much time there playing around. • He thought that a person who could ski on snow ought to be able to ski on water as well, and he set out to find the way to do that.
• Ralph strapped on his winter snow skis, hooked a rope up to the back of his brother’s powerboat, and gave the signal. He fell flat on his face in the water. So he tried again the next day using barrel staves instead of skis, which also didn’t work. The day after that, he used long pine boards curled up at the end. Then he tried using different kinds of rope tied to the boat. • He improvised a handle to hold onto. He tried stepping out of the moving boat onto his skis. Nothing worked. He always went face first into the water. • Then he had a brainstorm: what if, instead of starting out with his skis underwater, he started out with his skis poking up above the water? Eureka! On July 2, 1922, Ralph Samuelson became the first person in history to water ski. He turned 19 the next day. It had taken him five days to figure out the secret of water skiing. • He made steady improvements in the design of his water skis and practiced all summer long until he was able to put on stunning demonstrations that attracted huge crowds.
In some parts of Africa and India, the rock is colored red. This of course makes red dust and red mud. Elephants enjoy taking dust and mud baths to keep cool. The red dirt gives their skin a pink hue. Therefore, it IS possible to see pink elephants.
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1. How many teeth does an elephant have in use at any given time? 2. Do elephants like peanuts?
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Articles in newspapers brought thousands down to see his Sunday afternoon shows. By 1926 Ralph was able to do all kinds of tricks, including skiing on one foot, balancing on one ski in a headstand, and launching himself over ski jumps. He moved to Florida where he could ski yearround and became a professional showman, amazing tourists. In the 1930s he injured his back while doing some construction work on a boat house. No longer able to ski, he fell into obscurity. In 1963, a newspaper reporter on vacation happened to see Ralph Samuelson’s original water skis mounted on the wall of a bath house at Lake Pepin under a sign proclaiming, “World’s First Water Skis.” This tweaked her curiosity and she decided to do some investigating. After talking with the locals and reading old newspaper accounts, she wrote a column about Ralph Samuelson in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The article ended with a plea: “Where are you now, Mr. Samuelson?”
• It turned out Mr. Samuelson was living only 30 miles from Lake Pepin. He had retired there after being first a turkey farmer and then a state highway department worker. When a friend saw the article about him in the St. Paul newspaper and showed it to Ralph, he contacted the reporter and was interviewed for the paper. • In 1966 the American Water Ski Association named him the official Father of Water Skiing and Samuelson spent the final years of his life in great demand as guest of honor at water ski shows, competitions, and conventions. • When he died in 1977, Minnesota state officials put a memorial marker on the shores of Lake Pepin. His original skis are now on display at the Water Ski Hall of Fame in Winter Haven, Florida. His slightly-modified second pair are displayed at the Lake City Chamber of Commerce, in Lake City, Minnesota. • Ralph Samuelson never patented his invention. • In 2012 in Tasmania, Australia, a world record was set for the most skiers towed behind a single boat: 145.
“Nature’s great masterpiece, an elephant; the only harmless great thing.” -John Donne
Q: What does Tarzan say when he sees a herd of elephants in the distance? A: “Look, a herd of elephants in the distance!”
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Walking the Dog DEAR PAW’S CORNER: I’m trying to train my 6-monthold Lab, “Pepper,” to be wellbehaved on our walks around the neighborhood, especially when she meets other dogs. She’s very excited and tugs at her leash and barks; many of the other dogs do the same, but they’re not always friendly -- there’s a lot of growling sometimes. How can I keep the peace among the neighborhood dogs? -- Nervous Dad in Delaware DEAR DAD: You don’t have much control over how other owners train their dogs -- other than making sure they keep their dogs on a leash unless they’re in a designated free-run area like a fenced-in dog park -- but you can control Pepper’s experience and her behavior. Before walks and during the day, reinforce her basic behavioral training, particularly teaching her to sit and stay on command. This is helpful when meeting other dogs; keeping Pepper from leaping around excitedly can go a long way toward keeping other dogs calm as well. When walking Pepper, pick a route where fewer dogs will pass, or with dogs who are calmer and not aggressive. Start by walking Pepper across the street from approaching dogs; as you draw closer, stop and command Pepper to sit and stay while the other dog and owner pass. Repeat until Pepper stays seated and calm; then try the approach technique on the same side of the street. Send your questions or tips to ask@pawscorner.com. (c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.
* “To keep sneakers from smelling up a closet, tuck a sheet of fabric-softener into each one. Keep it in overnight, or just leave it there until you wear your shoes again.” -- D.F. in Texas * Now is the time to prep your outside pipes if you live in a cold-weather area. Cover exposed spigots with a foam wrapper, and be sure to drain any in-ground irrigation systems if you expect a freeze in your area. * If your brown sugar is too hard, just pop it in a bowl and into the microwave with a slice of bread. The bread will help soften it, and it will be ready to use in seconds! * “If you pack your lunch at night, but forget it in the morning, try putting your keys next to your lunchbox in the fridge. CanÕt leave without lunch now.” -- M.L. in Georgia * “When organizing a garage sale, get the kids involved. They can clean out their rooms and create a kids’ store to sell their stuff for extra cash. If they aren’t into selling the toys they have outgrown, maybe they can run a lemonade or hot chocolate stand, weather permitting.” -- E.S. in North Carolina * “With so many people getting deliveries these days, I always check with my neighbors when I need a box to mail something. They usually have something perfect.” -- S.W. in Tennessee Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803. (c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.
Apple of My Eye A revised old Norwegian recipe that anyone will enjoy eating!
NORWEGIAN APPLE CUSTARD PIE
3/4 cup Splenda Granular 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 egg or equivalent in egg substitute 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon table salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon apple pie spice 1 (20-ounce) can Lucky Leaf No Sugar Added Apple Pie Filling 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 3/4 cup Cool Whip Lite 1. Heat oven to 350 F. Spray an 8-inch pie plate with butterflavored cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine Splenda, flour and egg. Stir in baking powder, salt, vanilla extract and apple pie spice. Add apple pie filling and walnuts. Mix well to combine. 2. Pour mixture into prepared pie plate. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Place pie plate on a wire rack and let set for at least 30 minutes. Spread Cool Whip Lite evenly over top. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cut into 6 servings. * Each serving equals: 156 calories, 4g fat, 4g protein, 26g carb., 202mg sodium, 1g fiber. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 Fruit, 1 Starch, 1/2 Fat. (c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.
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by Samantha Weaver * It was 20th-century American journalist and author Sydney J. Harris who made the following sage observation: “Men make counterfeit money; in many more cases, money makes counterfeit men.” * The Hawaiian Islands didn’t have mosquitoes until the 1820s, when a ship evidently brought the pests along with the people. * Those who study such things claim that, generally speaking, the more money a man makes, the less alcohol he drinks. With women, though, the opposite holds true: The more money she makes, the more alcohol she drinks. * The name of the nation of India is derived from the name of the river Indus. It’s interesting to note, however, that the Indus doesn’t actually flow through any part of modern-day India; it’s in Pakistan and the disputed region of Kashmir. * The snapping turtle is the only modern reptile that can breathe underwater, and then only if it stays put on the bottom. If it starts to swim, it has to surface to breathe. * A researcher named Joel Achenbach says that the red in the occurrence of red eye in some photographs is actually blood. The color comes from the flash reflecting off the blood vessels in the back of the eyeball. * You might be surprised to learn that of the 6 million parts that make up a Boeing 747, half of them are categorized as fasteners. * It would take 34 days (and nights) to ride a horse around the world. If you didn’t stop for sleep, of course. Or bathroom breaks, or food. And if you were provided a fresh horse whenever the one you were riding began to tire. And if those horses could gallop across water. Thought for the Day: “I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” -- John Cage (c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.
The VJH Auxiliary Gift Shop has a great selection of Fall/Winter Tops, Ponchos, Capes, Hats and Gloves. Add style to any outfit with a lovely accent piece of jewellery or one of our scarves. We have cute Baby Wear and Cuddly Stuffies too. The Shop is totally run by auxiliary volunteers and all of our profit goes for needed hospital equipment and patient comfort. Thank you for your continued support.
BOOK WAREHOUSE #35, Alpine Centre 100 Kal Lake Road OPEN on WEDNESDAYS, THURSDAYS and SATURDAYS 9 AM TO 1 PM Quality used books & more, most priced $1 or less. Supporting Special Olympics, Vernon & other local charities. Phone 250-275-2676
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All your sharpening needs, and for your convenience, drop off and pickup at Vernon’s Water Store. 180, 4400 - 32 St (250)308-4866
Smartview Exteriors Providing Quality Service Since 2005 Special 20% Off Smart Energy Vinyl Windows and Doors Free Estimates Call Stan 250-317-4437 smartviewexteriors.ca
Wanted: Purchasing old Canadian & American coin collections & accumulations. Old gold & sterling! Private, Prompt & confidential. 250-548-3670 (Shuswap)
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1. The largest known elephant tusk weighed just under 300 lbs. (136 kg) 2. An elephant brain weighs about 13 lbs. (5.9 kg) 3. Elephants typically sleep about half as much as humans. 4. A trained elephant can pitch a baseball faster than a human. 5. An elephant’s trunk can hold a gallon and a half (5.7 l) of water.
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1. An elephant has only four teeth at any given time - two on top and two on bottom. 2. Elephants do not like peanuts.
EYELASHES
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