Everybody’s Talking

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Weird calls: Most people call emergency services for very legitimate reasons. The Welsh Ambulance Service decided to publicize some of the weirder, less legitimate reasons that folks call the 999 emergency number. Authorities want to spread the message that inappropriate calls may result in a delay in helping others with genuine emergencies. Some examples of silly calls include one caller who had eaten too much kebab and had an upset stomach. Another call for help was because they had gotten their ring stuck on their finger. Additionally, there was a fellow who got his hand stuck in his mailbox and a woman who had lost her dentures and wondered if she might have swallowed them.

Lots of Lego: Every kid loves Lego, right? Miloš Křeček, who lives in the Czech Republic, is a verified holder of a Guinness World Record because he owns nearly 7,000 different Lego sets. The man got his first set when he was 5 years old and has been collecting them ever since. You can imagine that that many Lego sets would take up most of your home, which is why Křeček established his first Museum of Bricks in Prague. He followed that by opening more branches in his homeland; currently, the museum has sites in five cities. The collector says he purchased about 90% of the sets, and the rest were gifts. 

Long overdue: Hearing about library books being returned decades after their due date is not uncommon. At a library branch in Laurel, Maryland (U.S.), a CD reappeared after 35 years; its original check-out date was in January 1989. The CD was British band Pink Floyd’s 1975 album “Wish You Were Here.” It was recently returned in excellent condition; the only sign of aging was that the CD booklet had yellowed. The library’s tracking system had somehow missed cataloging the item as missing, and the facility has not stocked CDs for five years because most people no longer have players for them. So this “late return” won’t be going back on the shelf. 

Bird whisperer: A scientist in Tokyo went the extra mile to study the language and behavior of tit birds. For an entire year, the scientist would head into the Nagano Prefecture’s woodlands wearing a bird mask over his head. His intention was to trick the creatures into letting him get closer. Bird behavior specialists and ornithologists believe that some birds are so smart they can recognize human faces and can make warning cries to their fellow feathered friends. To his disappointment, the birds did eventually detect the scientist and started sounding the alarm.

Quoteable Quotes

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“As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it.”

—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 

“The influence of a beautiful, helpful, hopeful character 

is contagious, and may revolutionize a whole town.”

—Eleanor H. Porter 

What’s Happening

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Trivia

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1. The Forbidden City is located in the capital of what country?

2. In 1975, Angola won independence from Belgium, Portugal, or Germany?

3. How many squares are usually on a bingo card?

4. Elisha G. Otis invented the escalator, passenger elevator, or home blender?

5. A coral reef is a plant—T/F?

Trivia answers at the bottom of the page!

Your Weekly Horoscope

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Lucky numbers this week: This week’s odds favor Cancer winners with the luckiest number being 9.

Did You Know...

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Cool sleep: How about sleeping in a hotel made completely of ice? Hôtel de Glace in Québec City, Québec, Canada, is the place to go. From January to March, it welcomes overnight guests who may enjoy its Grand Hall, chapel, ice slide, and Ice Bar.

Egg phobia: Alfred Hitchcock, famous for his scary movies, was himself frightened of a common item: eggs! He was quoted as saying he was “worse than frightened” of them, calling the yolk’s yellow liquid “revolting.”

Good soup: Mexicans love to enjoy a big bowl of pozole. The main ingredient of this soup-like dish is hominy, large dried corn kernels. Other ingredients might be meat, seafood, herbs, lettuce, onion, avocados, lemon, and more.

Nice gesture: U.S. musician Billy Joel reserves the front row tickets to his shows. Before the show begins, his staff finds avid fans who could only afford back row seats. Some fans, to their amazement, get moved to the front row.

Less lean: In December 2001, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy reopened after experts spent over 10 years working to ensure it was safe for the public. At the time, the “lean” on the tower was considered dangerous.

On the Lighter Side

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Ernie: “My uncle can play the piano by ear.”

Bernie: “That’s nothing. My uncle can fiddle with his whiskers.”

Knock! Knock! Who’s there? Doughnut. Doughnut who? Doughnut open this until your birthday.

How did the magician cut the sea in half? He had a sea saw.

What happened to the duck who flew upside down? 

He quacked up.



Do you know how long cows should be milked? The same way as short cows.