Week of August 25

Does it hurt to get bitten by a rattlesnake?

Bill Wheeler, 73, of Pennsylvania has been bitten 22 times, with no lasting effects. The former president of the Keystone Reptile Club told a writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer: "Ever been kicked in the testicles? That's what (the pain) feels like - only it won't go away for days."

As reported in The Globe & Mail

 

Week of August 18

How hot does it get in Death Valley?

"It's so hot," says the Orange County Register, "that the mechanic at the Furnace Creek Standard station, before crawling under a car to repair a blown muffler, lays down four blankets and immerses his tools in a bucket of water. With ground temperatures topping 160 degrees (70 C), a wrench on the asphalt is too hot to pick up, even in the shade."

As reported in The Globe & Mail

 

Week of August 11

In the days when the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency developed plans for such things as trying to kill Castro with a poisoned wet suit, it also experimented with high-tech notions such as wiring a cat with microphones and an antenna for use as a mobile eavesdropping unit. In a field test, the cat was run over by a taxi.

The New York Times

 

Week of August 4

An estimated one person in 2,000 has perfect pitch and realizes that, for instance, toilets flush in E-flat.

As reported in the San Francisco Examiner

 

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