What Caught My Eye Today
Fred's Note: Yeah, yeah, I know. It's been a month since my last posting. I'd like to say that the job has been keeping me busy (which it has) or that the news hasn't been that inspiring (which it hasn't), but the truth of the matter is that I decided to take a break. Now then...what's been going on?
Babies - Ordinarily I'd publish this as a Question of the Week, but I have a backlog of those, plus this is an age old question that apparently can now be answered. Where do babies come from? According to the United Nations Development Proram and the Population Reference Bureau, more than 80% of all babies hail from Africa and Asia, thanks to shy-high fertility rates. Clearly, I'm stupid. I thought babies came from men and women having sex and one of those swimmers managing against all odds to fertilize an egg. Darn it, I knew I should have said Africa. The percentage of world population born in 2009 breaks down as follows:
- Asia - 57.4%
Seriously, Asia has both China and India. Who can compete with that? - Africa - 26%
In some nations the fertility rate tops 7 children per mother. That is a lot of diaper changing. - Americas - 11.5%
The U.S. leads rich nations in fertility at 2.1, due mostly to immigrants and unwed mothers. Hey, I'm all for doing whatever it takes to keep Social Security solvent long enough for me to some. - Europe - 4.6%
Things are so bad in Europe, governments are offering cash incentive for couples to get knocked up. - Oceania - 0.5%
- Six-Day War - 6 days (June 5 to June 10, 1967)
What a clever name! - Gulf War - 1 month, 13 days (January 19 to February 28, 1991)
- U.S. Civil War - 3 years, 11 months, 29 days (April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865)
- World War I - 4 years, 3 months, 15 days (July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918
And we all know how well that turned out. - World War II - 6 years, 2 days (September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945)
- Iraq War - 6 years, 7 months, 2 days (March 20, 2003 to present)
and counting... - War in Afghanistan - 8 years, 15 days (Oct 7, 2001 to present)
still counting... - American Revolution - 8 years, 4 months, 16 days (April 19, 1775 to September 3, 1783
- Vietnam War - 8 years, 5 months, 21 days (August 7, 1964 to January 27, 1973)
Personally, I would mind seeing Vietnam retain that title, but I don't see that happening
India - I love these guys--they are so material rich. Indoor plumbing is becoming more common in rural India thanks to the 2-year-old "No toilet, no bride" campaign. Honestly, who could make this stuff up? The government-run campaign, part of an initiative to improve sanitation and combat diseases, urges women to refuse to marry any man who can't offer them a home with a bathroom. Way to set the bar way up there, guys. More than 1 million toilets have been built in the rural north since the campaign was launched. Because of India's frowned upon but still practiced policy of selective abortion of female fetuses, brides are in short supply. So women can afford to be picky. Maybe, just maybe, if they didn't kill the girl babies, women wouldn't be in such short supply. But back to the topic at hand. I wonder you work the phase, "I have a toilet" into a pick-up line (or better yet, a proposal) and still make it sound romantic. I just don't see it.
Driver's Ed - Ozzy Osbourne fially passed his driving test after failing it 18 times. Lucky us. Osbourne credits his reversal of fortune to having successfully given up drinking. He says that on previous attempts to pass the test he would be "walking around the test center with a bottle of vodka in my pocket," and that testing officials always seemed afraid to get in a car with him. Again, lucky us.
2 comments:
where are the mystery maps, Fred?
I'm assuming you are referring to the short-lived "Where Am I" feature. Truth be told, that was one of my favorites, but I was starting to struggle to come up with geographic places with enough notoriety that folks would recognize them. When I can come up with 10 or 20 locations that meet that litmus test, I'll bring it back.
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