TRIVIA TODAY - Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Greetings Infomaniacs,

Since May 23 was World Turtle Day, I thought that we
should honor the slow and steady reptile with some fun
facts!

Did you know that a tortoise is a turtle, but a turtle
isn't a tortoise? A turtle is any shelled reptile
belonging to the order Chelonii. The term "tortoise" is
more specific, referring to terrestrial turtles.

Thanks, mentalfloss.com for that little tidbit and the
others featured in today's issue...

Enjoy!
Melissa

Questions? Comments? Email Melissa

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. Just click Gophercentral Archives

WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."

HINT: (1893-1978), was an American chemist, a transformative President of Harvard University, and the first U.S. Ambassador to West Germany.

RANDOM TIDBITS
Tortoises inspired the ancient Roman military. During seiges, soldiers would get in testudo formation, named after the Latin word for tortoise. The men formed rows and held shields in front or above them to completely shelter the unit.

Tortoises have an exoskeleton and an endoskeleton. The shell has three main parts: the top carapace, the bottom plastron, and the bridge that fuses these pieces together. You can't see them, but every tortoise has ribs, a collar bone, and a spine inside its shell.

They can't swim, but tortoises can hold their breath for a long time. They're extremely tolerant of carbon dioxide. It's a good thing-tortoises have to empty their lungs before they can go into their shells. You'll often hear them exhale when they're startled and decide to hide.

Tortoises can extract water and nutrients from even the most paltry bites. Their hindgut system works like a double digestive tract, separating water from their waste. When water's scarce, they'll hang on to water waste and simply excrete the urates, which look like white toothpaste.

Like other reptiles, tortoises detect the faintest of smells with the vomeronasal organ, or Jacobson's Organ, on the roof of their mouths. Instead of flicking their tongues, they pump their throats to circulate air through the nose and around the mouth.

In 1968, the Soviet Union's Zond 5 spacecraft was the first to circle the moon and return safely to Earth. The tortoises on board lost about 10 percent of their body weight, but were still ready for a meal when they touched down.

*** Weekly Mind-Scrambler ***
One word I be,
Two meanings of me.
A puff of air, gently flowing;
A circular motion, useful for towing;
See me through the skies, feel me on the ground;
Move me again, around and around.

Submit your answer by clicking: HERE

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: "Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."

ANSWER: James Bryant Conant.

***
Missed an Issue? Visit the Trivia Today Archives