Weekend Open Thread

Indeed

… packaged baby food is not the most nutritious baby food out there? It’s actually only about half as nutritious as an equivalent meal made from scratch at home. (Yeah, that packaged baby food pork chop is a real doozy.)

… the Nazis tried to teach dogs to talk and read? In 2011, it was revealed that the Nazis had tried to teach dogs to speak, read and spell – and even conducted experimental research in man-to-dog telepathy. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was a well-known dog lover, and he instructed that the research be undertaken hoping that dogs would learn to communicate with their SS masters. According to an article in the Daily Mail, some dogs were said to have been able to imitate the human voice, with one apparently able to say, “Mein Führer.” (I have a line here, but it would close the show.)

… opossums do more than just “play dead” when confronted with danger? Sure, we all know where the expression “playing possum” came from. But these remarkable little critters, when cornered, also can foam at the mouth voluntarily to try to convince the predator that it is toxic or sick. If that fails, they can also produce a fluid that smells almost as bad as a skunk’s spray. (Amazing little ones, aren’t they?)

… four future presidents attended the inauguration of the 16th President? On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was sworn into office as the 16th President of the United States. Attending the inauguration were future presidents Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893), James A. Garfield (1831-1881), Chester A. Arthur (1829-1886), and Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901), the 19th, 20th, 21st and 23rd Presidents, respectively. (A rather august grouping, no?)

… an improvement on the bicycle was invented in 1932? Called the cyclomer and invented in Paris, the new bike was designed to operate on land and water. It had hollow wheels and attached floats, but didn’t work as planned. The cyclomer wasn’t able to get any kind of good traction on land, and in the water it would float but wouldn’t move very well, no matter how hard you pedaled. (Well, nobody said it was a good improvement.)

… a future First Lady wanted to be an astronaut? In 1961, when she was fourteen, Hillary Rodham Clinton (born 1947) wrote to NASA and asked about how to become an astronaut. The space agency replied, “Girls cannot become astronauts,” and her dreams were dashed. (I’d say she more than made up for it.)

… the Great Wall of China was once considered a source for building materials? During the period of the “Great Cultural Revolution” from 1966 to 1978, the Communist Party labeled the Great Wall a sign of despotism. People were urged to remove bricks from it to use in their farms and homes. (History? Who needs it?)

Now … you know!