Friday, January 12, 2018

Greetings Infomaniacs,

Congratulations to Diane Smith who won this week's "Mind Scrambler". Here was the scrambler:

The more of them you take, the more you leave behind.

What are they?

ANSWER: Footsteps.

Enjoy!

Questions? Comments? email the editor

P.S. Did you miss an issue? You can read every issue from the Gophercentral library of newsletters on our exhaustive archives page. Thousands of issues, all of your favorite publications in chronological order. You can read AND comment. Click http://gopherarchives.gophercentral.com




***********************************************************

WHO SAID IT?

QUOTE: "I bet the sparrow looks at the parrot and thinks, yes, you can talk, but LISTEN TO YOURSELF!"

HINT: (1949- ), best known for his one-liner jokes, as well as his "Fuzzy Memories" and "My Big Thick Novel" shorts.

***********************************************************

RANDOM TIDBITS
Like most other birds, parrots have four toes per foot. But instead of the usual three-in-front-one-behind arrangement, parrot toes are configured for maximum grip: two in front and two behind, like two pairs of opposable thumbs.

***
Many parrots are omnivores and will eat pretty much anything-fruit, seeds, nuts, insects and even meat. Some species, like the rainbow-colored lories and lorikeets of the South Pacific, feed almost exclusively on nectar with brush-tipped tongues, though recently even these birds were seen eating meat at feeding stations in Australia.

***
With a couple of notable exceptions, males and females of most parrot species look virtually identical. It takes a keen eye-and usually a lab test-to tell a boy bird from a girl bird.

***
Though parrots do have some taste glands at the backs of their throats, most of their 300 or so taste buds are located on the roofs of their mouths. Compared with the 10,000 taste buds in a human mouth, the birds' palate may not seem like much, but parrots do show definite preferences for certain foods.

***
Many parrots have near-human lifespans, a consideration many people don't truly grasp when seeking a parrot as a companion. Larger species like macaws and cockatoos are known to live for between 35 and 50 years. Tarbu, an African grey in England, lived to the ripe old age of 55.

***
A parrot's brilliant plumage has a special defense against damage: Psittacofulvins, a bacteria-resistant pigment that only parrots are known to produce, give the birds' feathers their red, yellow and green coloration. In a 2011 study in Biology Letters, researchers exposed different colors of feathers to a feather-damaging bacteria strain and found that the pigments helped protect the glorious plumage from degradation.




***********************************************************

*** Weekly Mind-Scrambler ***
Look for a new mind scrambler in Monday's issue of Trivia Today!

Submit your answer by clicking: TheDailyTease

Answer will be posted in Friday's Trivia Today. Good Luck! If your name appears in Friday's newsletter, EMAIL MICHELE your complete name and address to be shipped your prize.

Be sure to put "Winner" in the subject line.

***********************************************************

WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "I bet the sparrow looks at the parrot and thinks, yes, you can talk, but LISTEN TO YOURSELF!"

ANSWER: Jack Handey.