I recently read in a marketing report that apples sold as “fresh produce” in U.S. grocery stores have been in storage for as long as 14 months. Only a small percentage of the fruit remains on trees long enough to ripen. I had commented to my children that the apples I consume nowadays were not as tasty as those I ate when a child. My offspring were amazed that apples existed way back then. People addicted to gambling are more common than once believed. One extreme case was the unfortunate woman who was an heiress to $50 million bequeathed by her late husband. The addiction was so out of control that she lost almost all of her inheritance gambling, mostly video poker. That erstwhile mayor of San Diego is now practically destitute and lives with her sister.
A geophysicist named William Sager has discovered what is believed to be Earth’s biggest volcano. It is located between Hawaii and Japan and is approximately the size of Arizona. Of course, the volcano was long undiscovered because it is deep in the Pacific Ocean. Dr. Sager (from the University of Houston) named his discovery Tamu (Texas A & M University should be involved?) Massif.
Trypophobia is the fear of clusters of holes. No one seems to know how many people world-wide are afflicted by this phobia, but those who have severe trypophobia can be the victims of uncontrollable panic attacks whenever they encounter honeycombs, dried lotus pods, Swiss cheese, etc.
The common Sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) is the fastest fish in the sea with verified speeds exceeding 68 mph. Shazaam!
A bit of historical irony transpired when a large tree branch fell onto and snapped a power line. That event caused all electricity to be cut off to the courthouse in Nevada City, California. The case being tried at that very moment involved the Pacific Gas and Electric Company which had been charged with “failure to properly trim vegetation around power lines.” I assume the eventual verdict did not favor PG&EC.
In the 12th century Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy was sent by his father to rule the northern regions of a frontier territory. Yuri selected a likely settlement location in 1147 and by 1156 his men had built a fortress and dug a surrounding moat. The name of this fortress site was (and is) Moscow. Well, beware of untrimmed tree branches – and have a great week.