Are You Exhausted Too?

Add this to your list of accomplishments for the past year:  You made a complete trip around the sun. That's about 584,000,000 miles. Good for you!

Grass Relieves Stress

No, not that grass! Stressed? Go mow the lawn. Newly cut grass releases a stress-reducing chemical according to researchers at the University of Queensland. 

A Lot of Words

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has more than 500,000 entries in its more than 21,000 pages spanning 20 volumes; some 137 pounds of books. Ammon Shea spent a year reading the OED—the whole thing. Reading the OED is his aptly titled book about the experience. After reading his entertaining and enlightening book we now feel, vicariously, a sense of great accomplishment without all the eyestrain.

Perfect Pitch

You're one in 10,000 if you have perfect pitch, that according to research presented earlier this year. The incidence is higher among speakers of tonal languages such as Chinese. No word yet on how special you are if the choir director has tried to get you interested in drama instead.

Your Cat's Opinion of You

Your cat may care about you but may not respect your intelligence. Those dead birds left on the doorstep are a sign that your cat wants you to have something to eat, but she doesn't think you're smart enough to catch your own food. Don't bother explaining that you're the one who knows how to open a can of tuna; she's not interested.

Historical Fact?

There are stories out there that when the pioneers were crossing the plains, a long wagon train might include a wagon loaded with whiskey "in case of snakebite." We are skeptical of the further claim that the whiskey wagon was closely followed by a wagon loaded with snakes.