For the week of March 11, 2007

THIS FATHER FOUND HIS SON A REPLACEMENT FOR VIDEO GAMES

Doctor Leonard Wolin was suspended by the Michigan Board of Medicine for allowing his 14-year-old son to assist in a bladder operation on a 50-year-old female patient. The boy had inflated a catheter balloon inside the woman's abdomen, as well as sewn stitches to complete the procedure.

IN CASE YOU EVER WONDERED

Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) can reach a weight of 10,000 pounds and live up to 40 years. The name hippopotamus means "river horse". When overheated, excited or in pain, they exude red sweat.

THESE PROSTITUTES GOT SCREWED OUT OF REACHING OLD AGE

Delfina Gonzales and her sister were arrested by Mexico City police, after more than fifty bodies were dug up in their yard. It was learned upon investigation, the two women had run an illegal brothel for years, where they would "occasionally" murder and bury one of their prostitutes. When Gonzales took the stand, she was asked how and why so many women had died? She replied, "Maybe the food didn't agree with them?"

FIVE FUN FACTS

(1) Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand, while drawing with the other. (2) Fittingly, Frank Sinatra's last TV appearance was on "Who's the Boss." (3) England's Queen Ann (1685-1714) gave birth to seventeen children, all of which died before she did. (4) Mexico has more residents from the U.S.A. than any other country. (5) An estimated 30,000 people died when a volcano unleashed its fury on the Caribbean Island of Martinique in 1902. The only survivor was a prisoner in that town's jail.

AND YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD A BAD DAY

Joseph Briggs, 60, of West Philadelphia, slammed his car into two utility poles, plunged down a 20-foot embankment and crashed though a fence. Still, he was able to get out of his car and climb up onto the road to signal for help. Once on the road, however, unseen by an on-coming truck, Briggs was hit and killed instantly.

SOLID COURAGE TO THE VERY END

Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, alias Mata Hari, (1876-1917) was accused of being a double-spy for the Germans, by the French, who had just lost two-hundred-thousand soldiers at the Battle of Somme (1916). Found guilty, she was sentence to death. (In reality she was a scapegoat for the French and English militaries.) Standing before a firing squad, October 15, 1917, Zelle refused to be tied to the execution pole and refused the blindfold. Then, lastly, the famous Mata Hari winked at the firing squad as they raised their rifles and fired.

INSTEAD OF THE RUN, SHE GAVE THEM THE RUN-AROUND

In the 84th Boston Marathon on April 21, 1980, amateur runner Rosie Ruiz came from out of nowhere to win the women's race. Later she was stripped of that title when witnesses came forward saying they saw her "rejoin" the race during the last half mile.

THAT'S WHY THE INDIAN BRAVES NEVER HEARD "CH-CH-CH-CHARGE!"

The Apache Indian Geronimo, or Goyathlay ("one who yawns"), had a career linked with his brother-in-law, Juh, a Chiricahua chief. Although Geronimo was not the "real" leader, he appeared so to outsiders because he often acted as spokesman for Juh, who had a speech impediment. (Geronimo ended up supporting himself by selling his own photos for twenty-five-cents each.)

OH, CRAP!

On August 8, 2004 a Dave Matthews Band tour bus stopped on a bridge over the Chicago River, where the driver got out and opened a valve, dumping 800 pounds of raw sewage over the edge. Far below, a Chicago River Sightseeing boat had 120 people on its upper deck, who were all drenched in human waste.

ENOUGH TIME TO "DOUBLE-MOONLIGHT" TO AFFORD THE BASICS

In October of 1967, the New York Times predicted by the year 2000 workers would be on a 4-day week. Also, with legal holidays, and more lenient vacation time, the average employee would be on the job no more than 147 days a year, and off the other 218.

EVERY WAR HAS ITS HEROES... AND COWARDS

In 1990, just after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the U.S. Congress held public hearings to ascertain what the public felt the response should be. One young Kuwaiti girl came forward to tell horror stories of babies being slaughtered in her homeland's hospitals by the invading troops. Her story was so graphic, the large audience, as well as President George H. W. Bush, were enraged. But, later, after the U.S. entered the Gulf War, it was discovered the little girl had not been back home for several years, and her father was Kuwait's ambassador to the United States. (In truth, doctors in Kuwait abandoned the infants and left the country for their own safety.)

BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW?

(1) Hummingbirds (Family trochilidae) can fly right, left, up, down, backwards, even upside down. (2) More than half the population of Kenya is under age 16. (3) Time magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1938 was Adolph Hitler.

WONDER IF HE HAS TROUBLE CASHING CHECKS NOW?

Gary Eugene Duda, 35, received a positive ruling from Superior Court in De Kalb, Georgia, to officially change his first name to "Zippidy." Therefore, Mr. Duda is now legally known as Zippidy Duda.

NEWSPAPERS PULL "SOURED GRAPES" ON FAMILIES' REQUESTS

The obituary columns of some U.S. newspapers will no longer allow the families of the dead to post the words "Please omit flowers." Why? Florists' trade associations say it hurts business. The Pittsburgh Press stated that phrase is the same as boycotting a product, similar to "Don't buy grapes."

GUESS HE WAS JUST NOT MEANT FOR A LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP?

"Single gentleman, age 45, pound 400 per year, desires to marry homely lady of similar age and income." Ads like this were repeatedly placed in the personal columns of Paris newspapers from 1914 to 1919. The writer of these requests was Henri Landru, better known as "Bluebeard", who, in 1922, was guillotined for the murders of nine women. 

INGRATES!

German hairdresser Karl Ludwig (Charles) Nessler invented the "permanent hair wave" about 1905. These permanents early on required lots of heat, took 12 hours, and sometimes gave a frizzy effect. (Later the cold wave, with the use of chemicals, simplified the process.) Even though Nessler's creation began a process which evolved into an industry, when he died in 1951, only one hairdresser attended his funeral.

THEY CAN'T GO ON MEETING LIKE THIS

Nancy Wiggins, 41, of St. Clairsville, Ohio, was driving home from work, when an approaching car crossed the line, causing a collision which hospitalized the driver's of both cars. And who was the other driver? Kenneth Wiggins, 45, the husband of Nancy, on his way to work.

TIME ENOUGH TO DRINK TWO SPOTS OF TEA

The Cricket War of 1896, between Britain and Zanzibar, occurred because Adm. Sir Henry Rawson ordered the British fleet under his command into Zanzibar's harbor, so his officers and sailors could disembark to watch a cricket match. This unannounced arrival insulted Seyid Khalid bin Bargash, the Sultan of the islands, causing him to declare war on those "up-starts". Known as the shortest war in history, the Sultan's only ship, an old steamer, was quickly sunk, just before the British bombed his Royal Palace to dust. (The entire war lasted a total of 37 minutes, 23 seconds.)

PUT THAT IN YOUR CIGAR AND SMOKE IT

When Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (1926-) took full control of Cuba in January 1959, he assured U.S. diplomats: The (Cuban) movement is not a Communist movement. We have no intention of expropriating U.S. property, and any property we take we'll pay for." (That same year, Castro confiscated the oil refineries, sugar mills, and electric utilities, which belonged to the United States.)

A MAN AHEAD OF HIS TIME

A most prolific inventor (361 patents), George Westinghouse (1846-1914), was also a genius in business and a great humanitarian. In 1871, he was first to let his workers off at noon on Saturday, which eventually led to the 5-day-work-week. Later, he also began a pension fund for his workers, and initiated paid vacations.

FOR THOSE WHO ENJOY AN EVENING OUT, PERHAPS?

Even though a new $34 million jail built in Dade County, Florida, was totally state-of-the-art, just before opening, it was found some important attachments were missing. Michael Berg, county director of jails and prisons in Florida, said he could not explain why the 198 cells had no doors attached, but assured all present this could be fixed.

HIS SUPER PASSWORD WAS: J-A-I-L, JAIL

Kerry Ketcham appeared on the national TV show Super Password and won $55,000. Problem was, he'd used the name "Patrick Quinn" and, when the taped show aired in January 1988, the station received a call from a viewer saying "That's not Patrick Quinn". When Ketcham went to claim his prize, he was arrested by law enforcement officers for faking a $100,000 life insurance claim on his wife, who was not dead.

MORE HISTORY TRIVIA

Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) never set foot on what would be later named North America. He died believing he had discovered a westward route to Asia. The Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512), for whom the Americas are named, discovered the northern mainland in 1499.

HER XY CHROMOSOMES WERE SHOWING 

In the 1930s, Stella Walsh was considered one of the best (if not the best) female track and field runners in the world. She won one gold medal and one silver at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. Later retiring, Walsh moved to Cleveland, got married and devoted her time to teaching children athletic skills. In 1975, she was inducted into the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame. At age 69, in 1980, Walsh, a bystander in an armed robbery, was shot dead in a department store parking lot. During the autopsy it was discovered Stella Walsh was a man. He was born Stanisława Walasiewicz (1911) in Poland.

HE TRULY HAS MONEY AT HIS FINGERTIPS

Dennis John Alston was arrested by police in Van Nuys, California, on charges of forging checks. He was released on a $1,500 bond, which he paid with a cashier's check, also a forgery.

AND HE COULD ALSO SUE HIMSELF FOR INCOMPETENCE

After flunking out at the University of New Mexico Medical School, Kevin McGuiness sued for reinstatement under the Americans with Disabilities Act. McGuiness said his disability was he got anxious during exams, and didn't do well.

WONDER IF THAT DELAYED 'AFTERNOON TEA'?

The hour bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, better know as "Big Ben," was cast on April 10, 1858. It is 9-feet wide by 7 feet 6 inches tall, and weighs over 13 tons (13,760 Kg). The clock's four faces are set in an iron framework 21-feet in diameter. One day in 1945, so many starlings settled on one of the 14-feet long minute hands, the huge clock was slowed by almost 5 minutes.

EXCEPT FOR THOSE MILLIONS, OF COURSE

Soviet dictator Joseph Vissarionovich Djugashvili Stalin (1879-1953) said in a speech, "Of all the treasures a state can possess, the human lives of its citizens are for us the most precious."  (Between 1930 and 1938, Stalin ordered the slaughter of an estimated 20-40 million Soviet citizens.)

IF MEN GOT PREGNANT, WOULD BIRTH CONTROL BE WORLDWIDE?

After Saudi Arabia made it a law that no form of birth control could be purchased under any circumstances in their country, the World Moslem League ruled, "Birth control was invented by enemies of Islam."

SAME SONG, DIFFERENT VERSE

In 1877, while Thomas Edison was trying to invent a telephone answering machine, he accidentally came up with the phonograph, which he made into a coin-operated music machine. In 1889, Louis Glass took Edison's invention, and installed it in his Palais Royale Saloon located in San Francisco. It was called "nickel-in-a-slot". Later, the term was shortened to nickelodeon.

U.S. HISTORICAL TRIVIA

On August 2, 1790, the enumeration for the U.S. census began. When all the numbers were added together, the total population of the country came to 3,929,214. (No American Indians were counted, of course.)

WARNING: THIS CASTLE IS A SMOKE FREE ZONE 

"Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health" is not just a modern concept. During his reign, King James I (1566-1625) declared the following about smoking: "A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless."

WEIRD, BIZARRE and UNUSUAL is a copyrighted feature of Andrew J. Hewett, republished here by permission.

Last updated Saturday, March 10, 2007, 10:30 pm Pacific Time

All text and photos, unless otherwise noted, Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 - Alan M. Pavlik