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Lessons Drawn
The ancient Nazca of Peru were terrific artists, best remembered now for creating their complex line drawings of animals and geometric objects that can only be fully appreciated from the air. Nazca knowledge of their environment, however, seems to …Read more.
Man-eaters Not So Much
For more than 80 years, the man-eating Tsavo lions have been a fabulous story and crowd-pleaser. The two lions reportedly killed and ate as many as 135 people in the Tsavo River region of Kenya before being shot and killed in 1898. Their skinned and …Read more.
Counting Cardsharps Out
In the 1988 film "Rain Man," the lead characters hope to strike it rich gambling by "counting cards" at blackjack. That is, by precisely remembering which cards have been played, they would have a better of idea of which cards …Read more.
Cleaning Up, Using Ammonia
When Archaea, an ancient line of bacteria, were first discovered 30 years ago, it was thought they existed only in extreme environments like deep-sea hydrothermal vents or hot springs like the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park (…Read more.
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World's Fastest KettleIn case the news flashed by without you catching it: The land speed record for steam-powered cars has been broken for the first time in more than a century. OK, before you start laughing at images of ancient vehicles chugging at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, you should know those old cars could really pick up a head of, well, steam. The previous speed record, set in 1906 by American Fred Marriott in a modified Stanley Steamer, was 127 mph. The new record, set last month by Charles Burnett III at Edwards Air Force Base, is 151 mph. Burnett's British-built vehicle is a far cry from Marriott's Steamer. Dubbed "Inspiration," the rocket-like car burns liquid petroleum gas to heat water in 12 suitcase-sized boilers, producing steam heated to 752 degrees Fahrenheit. The steam then turns a two-stage turbine that spins at 13,000 revolutions per minute to power its wheels. No word on how well the car cleans carpets. BRAIN SWEAT Find a common English three-letter word, knowing that: — LEG has no common letter with it. — ERG has one common letter, not at the correct place. — SIR has one common letter, at the correct place. — SIC has one common letter, not at the correct place. — AIL has one common letter, not at the correct place. QUIRKS OF NATURE Lambs suffering from a stomach parasite have been found to eat more food low in nutrients but high in antiparasitic tannins than healthy lambs. The self- medicating sheep switch back to a normal diet once the parasite infection has cleared. BRAIN SWEAT ANSWER Since the word contains no E or G (as in LEG), the only good letter in ERG is R. Then the good letter of SIR is R, which is the third letter of the desired word. I and L are not in the desired word, so the good letter of AIL is A. ANTHROPOLOGY 101 To end droughts, Serbian villagers once clothed a local girl in leaves, flowers and grass, then, accompanied by a choir of young women, the girl would visit every house in the village. At each house, the homeowner would dutifully pour a bucket of water over her. PRIME NUMBERS 1.5 — Centimeters per year (roughly half an inch) the tilt of the Earth's axis is projected to change with global warming if atmospheric carbon dioxide levels double by 2100. Source: Geophysical Research Letters PATENTLY ABSURD In 1924, when the Lip Clip was patented, Cupid's Bow was all the rage. The bow is that small indentation in the middle of the upper lip. More formally, it's known as part of the philtrum or infranasal depression, which forms during mouth development in utero. In any event, a pronounced philtrum was considered groovy in the 1920s, and this spring-loaded device was designed to help folks reshape their lips. The inventor said the Lip Clip was an alternative to surgery, but doesn't say how long you needed to wear the thing. WHAT IS IT? ANSWER A scanning electron micrograph of a salt recrystallized from methanol.
To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM  
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