TRIVIA TODAY - Monday, November 28, 2011

Greetings Infomaniacs,

On Thanksgiving, my family members and I were reminiscing about pets we had when we were young. When I was around the age of 10, I received a hamster named Squeaky that was nicknamed the "hand-me-down" hamster because it had first belonged to my cousin Dawn and then to my cousin Tricia. By the time the little guy got to me, he was already past the age of four, and the most mellow hamster you'd ever meet.

I was very surprised that my mom even conceded to taking Squeaky home with us since she has a major fear of all rodents. When we were packing up Squeaky and all of his equipment for the ride home, my mom asked my cousin, "Now, Tricia, you are absolutely positive that he's not going to get out of his cage, right?"

Tricia eagerly responded, "Yes, I'm sure Aunt Mary!"

Well, we were about halfway home when my mom asked me to check the back seat (again) to make sure that Squeaky was still safe and sound in his cage. I looked in his cage, and, paralyzed by fear, realized that he was NOT to be found anywhere inside. My mom noticed my hesitation and immediately stiffened. "Melissa, he's in his cage, right?"

Me: "Ummm, I don't see him mom..."

Mom: "Oh my God, I need to pull over. Where is he? How did he get out of his cage? Is he on me, I feel like he's on me!"

To her credit, she managed to make it to a side street and pull to the side of the road. Turned out Squeaky squeezed himself through a tiny, unsecured hole at the bottom of the cage and wiggled himself to freedom where he sat on top of the seat staring innocently at us.

After that, I found myself in the backseat with the hamster to supervise him for the rest of the uneventful ride home. As for my cousin Tricia....well, I don't think she'll ever hear the end of it from my mom (it's only been 20 years!)

Enjoy!
Melissa

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TODAY'S MYSTERY QUOTE
QUOTE: "The best thing about animals is that they don't talk much."

HINT: (1897-1975), American playwright and novelist, author of Our Town.


RANDOM TIDBITS
The name hamster derives from the German Hamster, which itself comes from earlier Old High German hamustro. Possibly related to Old Russian chomestru, which is either a blend of the root of Russian khomiak "hamster" and a Baltic word (cf. Lithuanian staras "hamster") or of Persian origin (cf. Av hamaestar "oppressor").

Hamsters have poor eyesight; they are nearsighted and colorblind. "To compensate for their poor sight when in unfamiliar territory, hamsters have scent glands on their flanks (and abdomens in Chinese and dwarf hamsters). A hamster rubs these areas of his body against various objects, and leaves a trail of smells the hamster can follow to return to his home den.

Hamsters are primarily considered crepuscular because they live underground during most of the day, only leaving their burrows about an hour before sundown and then returning when it gets dark. At one point they were considered nocturnal because they may get up during the night.

Although hamsters do not hibernate per se, they do "close down" a number of systems, such as breathing and heartbeat rate, for short periods of time. These periods of torpor, which is "a state of mental or physical inactivity or insensibility" can last up to seven to ten days.

Although the Golden Hamster was first described scientifically in 1839, it was not until 1930 that researchers were able to successfully breed and domesticate hamsters. Pet Golden Hamsters are descended from hamsters first found and captured in Syria by zoologist Israel Aharoni.

The best-known species of hamster is the Golden or Syrian Hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), which is the type of hamster most commonly kept as a pet. It is also sometimes called a "fancy" hamster. There are also several variations, including long-haired varieties that grow hair several centimeters long and often require special care.


VIDEO CLIP
Herbie the Hamster
This Herbie the Hamster is a battery operated pet that will give your kids the joy of watching a playful hamster.

Watch It Now: Herbie the Hamster


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TODAY'S MYSTERY QUOTE
QUOTE: "The best thing about animals is that they don't talk much."

ANSWER: Thornton Wilder.

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