TRIVIA TODAY - Friday, January 8, 2016

Greetings Infomaniacs,

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

Wheresoever I may be,
Every man must follow me;
He must go where I may lead,
Though it be to change his creed.
Though I vary in my size,
I am still beneath your eyes;
and though you may go astray,
I must ever lead the way.
Every creature in the land,
Has me close at his command,
For I lead to things unseen,
By my properties so keen.

What am I?

ANSWER: Your nose.

Enjoy!
Melissa

Questions? Comments? Email Melissa

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

ANSWER: Jack Handey.

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