3 Facts/Stories of the Day

[Perdita]

1. In 2006, one car out of every 230 made was stolen.

2. A stolen crocodile in Australia was found sitting in a car passenger seat while the driver recovered from an epileptic fit. Schocked ambulance officers were forced to call the police after spotting the crocodile, which was later identified as a reptile that had been stolen from a children's education centre. Luckily the 21-year-old driver hadn't suffered any bites.

3. In 1999 Buckingham Palace revealed that the Queen's corgis were to be given rubber-soled, reinforced boots as the palace gravel was wearing away their paws.

[Abigail]

2. How did he fit a croc on his passenger seat?

3. Can you imagine the queen saying to her corgis, "you need to put your boots on before you go out love"

[Perdita]

2. How did he fit a croc on his passenger seat?

I think we are talking a little baby crocodile as it was stolen from a children's education centre. Would not think that it was a 6' salt water crock

[Perdita]

1. Forest fires move faster uphill than downhill.

2. Gondoliers in Venice stopped singing to their customers after a ruling that if they sang they would be classed as freelance musicians, and thus be liable for state pension contributions.

3. Dutch settler Peter Minuit bought the island of Manhattan from native Americans for goods worth about $25 (but it was in 1626 when that was a fair bit of money )

[Perdita]

1. In 1812 the waltz was introduced to Britain and was condemned as immoral

2. In 1927, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences was founded at the instigation of Louis B. Meyer. However, the first Oscars were not awarded until 2 years later. The first Oscars were partly an effort to dignify the tarnished reputation of the industry after the roaring 20s. Films winning the Best Picture Oscar have an estimated $33million added to their video rental value. To qualify for the Awards, a film haas to have been shown in LA for at least a week, between specific dates. The most nominated films to receive no awards were 'The Turning Point' and 'The Color Purple'.

3. Clinophobia is the fear of beds.

[Perdita]

1. The sloth moves so slowly that green algae can grow undisturbed on its fur.

2. Windmills always turn anti-clockwise, except for the windmills in Ireland.

3. In 2001, experts in Toronto claimed winning an Oscar could add years to your life. They said the average death for winners was 80 - compared to 76 for all the other nominees.

[Siobhan]

2. Windmills always turn anti-clockwise, except for the windmills in Ireland.

Yeah we don't do normal in Ireland

[Abigail]

3. Clinophobia is the fear of beds.

So do Clinophobics sleep on the floor then?

1. The sloth moves so slowly that green algae can grow undisturbed on its fur.

What's a sloth?

[Perdita]

3. Clinophobia is the fear of beds.

So do Clinophobics sleep on the floor then?

1. The sloth moves so slowly that green algae can grow undisturbed on its fur.

What's a sloth?

I presume they must sleep on the floor or maybe a sofa is not the same in their view as a bed.

Sloth: (from Wiki)

The living sloths comprise six species of medium-sized mammals that live in Central and South America belonging to the families Megalonychidae and Bradypodidae, part of the order Pilosa. Most scientists call the sloth suborder Folivora, while some call it Phyllophaga. Both names mean "leaf-eaters"; the first is derived from Latin, the second from ancient Greek. Tribal names include Ritto, Rit and Ridette, mostly forms of the word "sleep", "eat" and "dirty" from Tagaeri tribe of Huaorani.

Until geologically recent times, large ground sloths such as Megatherium lived in South America and parts of North America, but along with many other animals they disappeared immediately after the arrival of humans on the continent Much evidence suggests that human hunting contributed to the extinction of the American megafauna, like that of far northern Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Madagascar. Simultaneous climate change that came with the end of the last Ice age may have also played a role in some cases. However, the fact that ground sloths survived on the Antilles long after they had died out on the mainland points towards human activities as the agency of extinction.

[Abigail]

That's the strangest thing I have ever seen. Looks kinda like a human or a dog with floppy limbs.