It’s estimated that, in the United States alone, businesses lose $800 million to $900 million each Friday the 13th because some people will not travel or go to work.
Early Training
The 1987 film Predator starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura.
Both went on to become United States governors.
Sea Monks
In his Annales, English antiquarian John Stow describes the capture of a sea monster in the shape of a man, in 1187:
“Neere unto Orforde in Suffolke, certaine Fishers of the sea tooke in their nettes a Fish having the shape of a man in all pointes, which Fish was kept by Barlemew de Glanville, Custos of the castle of Orforde, in the same castle, by the space of six monthes, and more, for a wonder: He spake not a word. All manner of meates he gladly did eate, but more greedilie raw fishe, after he had crushed out all the moisture. Oftentimes he was brought to the Church where he showed no tokens of adoration. At length, when he was not well looked to, he stale away to the sea and never after appeared.”
The creature was not fish-tailed, but had a bald head, the body of a man, a beard and a very hairy chest. What was it really? A giant squid? A walrus? An angel shark? We’ll never know.
In a Word
genethliac
adj. relating to a birthday or to the casting of horoscopes
One Up, One Down
In Britain during the 1700s, pickpocketing was punishable by death … but the public hangings became prime targets for pickpockets.
Oh, Terrific
Cockroaches are some of the hardiest insects on the planet. They can survive without food for a month, and can live without their heads for up to a week. They can hold their breath for 45 minutes, and they have a very high resistance to radiation.
And they make group decisions.
Who’s There?
The door to the gold vault in Fort Knox weighs 24.6 tons.
Mount St. Helens
National Geographic photographer Reid Blackburn’s car after the eruption of Mount St. Helens, May 18, 1980. The lava would have been about 680°F when it reached him.
In all, the eruption equaled 27,000 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs. It killed 57 people, 1,500 elk, 5,000 deer, and 11 million fish.
When a film crew was dropped by helicopter on the mountain five days later, its compasses spun in circles.
Oxymora
“Military intelligence,” said Groucho, “is a contradiction in terms.” Other examples:
- Almost exactly
- Detailed summary
- Dry lake
- Elevated subway
- Exact estimate
- Found missing
- Guest host
- Limited omniscience
- Liquid gas
- Local long distance
- Mandatory options
- Neoconservatism
- Only choice
- Open secret
- Original copy
- Virtual reality
- Wireless cable
Also: Dodge Ram.
An Indonesian Prophecy
A 12th-century Javanese king, Jayabaya, predicted that white men would conquer the Indonesian island one day and tyrannize the people for years, until the white men were driven out by yellow men from the north. The yellow men would remain for one crop cycle, he said, and then Java would be free.
Amazingly, these predictions were fulfilled almost perfectly 800 years later. White settlers from the Netherlands ruled the island until the Japanese invaded in 1942, and two years later they officially granted Indonesia its independence.
Since Javanese predictions are so accurate, we should note that Indonesia seems due for another messiah — prophecies said he’d arrive “when iron wagons drive without horses and ships sail through the sky.”