Saturday, October 26, 2019

City Gives Lake Erie Same Rights as Human Beings. A Real Story



I do believe in protecting a person's rights. As American citizens, we have certain rights when it comes to the law, voting, employment and more. These rights are vital to us being productive citizens of our American society. The citizens of Toledo, Ohio, believe that citizens of America have rights, but they also believe Lake Erie should have rights like any American citizen. They voted for Lake Erie to have the same legal rights as a human being. I wonder how the other great lakes feel about this development. I'm sure Lake Michigan would have an issue with it since this is the only great lake entirely inside the United States. I wonder who Lake Michigan will be voting for in the next election?

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.


Voters in Toledo, Ohio, approved the Lake Erie Bill of Rights on Tuesday, granting the body of water the same legal rights as a human being.
The measure was approved during a special election and passed with 61 percent approval, according to the Sandusky Register.

This makes me wonder about the campaign to make Lake Erie have human rights. Was there a special group that was organized called Human Rights for Lake Erie? Did the group go around and speak to prospective voters about it?

After a knock on the door.

“Hello, who are you?”
“I'm here on behalf of Human Rights for Lake Erie. We are working on a measure to grant Lake Erie the same rights as a human being.”
“It's an intimate object.”
“It's a living breathing ecosystem that needs to be granted rights for its survival.”
“What happens if the fish in the lake refuse to go along with it?”
“They're fish.”
“Oh, you support a lake having rights but are willing to discriminate against the fish in the lake. I can't support this movement.”
“Why?”
“I'm the head of Human Rights for the Fish of Lake Erie”
“Oh.”


Under the measure, residents are granted the right to take legal action on behalf of the lake when its right to "flourish and naturally evolve" has been violated.
Supporters of the measure say the law is the first of its kind in the U.S. and will guarantee the body of water protection from significant environmental harm.

(Sarcasm Alert)

If Lake Erie decides to sue someone for violation of their right to flourish and naturally evolve, I wonder how it will appear in court. How will opposing counsel be able to question Lake Erie? Will Lake Erie be able to describe how exactly its right to flourish and naturally evolve rights were infringed? This could create a new area of the law practiced by lake rights representatives. If this is all it takes to protect nature from experiencing significant environmental harm, national parks should be given the same rights as human beings. This could also be expanded to cover parks, mountains, streams and more. If a lake decided to sue a mountain, I bet things would get interesting.


It was definitely a long, hard struggle to get to this day, but all the hard work and countless volunteer hours by everyone in our local community group has paid off,” she told the Register. 
“We started this more than two years ago and had to overcome election board decisions and protests in court just to get on the ballot,” she continued. 

(Sarcasm Alert)

I'm shocked. Why would any person have an issue with granting human rights to one of the Great Lakes? What is wrong with these people? Giving human rights to lakes should not be a problem to have on the ballot. I'm surprised it never happened before. Next thing you know people with be upset with the idea of giving vehicles the same rights as humans as well as buildings, computers and more. This type of discrimination must be stopped before it starts.

What kind of person actually thinks giving a lake human rights is a good idea? I suppose lakes are able to work and pay taxes, raise little lakes and have them grow up to become productive members of American lake society.

It may not make any sense, but I'm sure the idea made people of a certain mindset feel good and morally superior. To these people, this is probably more important than reality.


The push to obtain such rights for the lake comes on the heels of the 2014 Toledo water crisis, United Press International reported. Toxic algae blooms in the lake, which was caused by chemical fertilizer runoff from local farms reportedly became so thick that drinking water from the lake was unsafe.

Now, why would anybody want to file a lawsuit against farmers and their chemical runoff? I suppose making a lake have the same rights as a human being will resolve the issue. I'm sure Lake Erie could be given special protected status since it is the only lake that has the same legal rights as a human. This will make it eligible for a number of different federal government programs. I doubt all of this will make the water from Lake Erie any more drinkable than when it was just a lake without human rights. It doesn't matter because there I'm sure there are delusional people somewhere thinking they did something noble. At the very least their story was part of the news cycle for a short period of time.

Below is a link to the article.



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Friday, October 25, 2019

Competitive Snail Racing. A Real Story.



I must admit as I grow older, I don't like things as fast-paced as when I was younger. The quickness of events is not as important to me anymore. I feel I have more patience with things. When it comes to sports, I still like the speed of things happening. I find myself envying young people and their ability to move so quickly with their sport. At this stage of the game, I can only dream of having such skills. There is a sport in England that may be a little to slow even for me, it is snail racing. I don't think my admiration for the speed of the athletes in this sport would be much of an issue. I'm sure I can watch them for a few more years and feel I can move just as fast as these athletes.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.


CONGHAM, England (Reuters) - The race starter stood up and shouted: “Ready, steady, slow!” The crowd cheered, but the competitors remained stuck at the start line. Welcome to the world snail racing championship.

More than 150 snails took part in the annual event, held at a summer fete in Norfolk, eastern England on Saturday where a silver tankard stuffed with lettuce leaves were the prize.

Not only are these athletes at a speed I can handle, but they also compete for a salary I could afford to pay them. I wonder what is involved with being a snail racing breeder? I'm sure it could someday be a big business.

I also wonder if the owners of these racing snails have agents who try and negotiate endorsement deals for the snails.

“I know you want my racing snail to be the spokesnail for your organization. I don't know if my snail escargot is the right fit for the project.”

“Are you kidding me? He's perfect. Our advertising campaign is all about slowing down to enjoy our cereal. If there is one thing escargot is good at doing, it is slowing down. Since he is also a racing champion, he'll appeal to the desire to be a racing athlete in all of our consumers.”

“Your target audience is senior citizens.”

“Hey, they may be old, but they probably feel they could still beat a snail in a race. What do you say?”

“A million dollars and all of the lettuce and cereal escargot can eat.”

“It's a deal.”


The snails are placed on a special damp cloth marked with three concentric circles and the creatures race 13 inches (33 cm) to the outer ring.

I would hate to be an announcer trying to cover this race.

“It looks like Speedy Snail is making his move. He's gone half an inch in the last twenty minutes. Hot on his trail is The Flash Snail, he has gone at least an inch in the last twenty minutes. I wouldn't count out Running Demon Snail. He has gone a quarter of an inch in the past fifteen minutes. The excitement of this race is too much for most people, so I hope you can hang on until the end and a winner is declared.”

I'm sure there is a story of a snail from a poor part of town that nobody realizes is a true racing champion. He is given an opportunity to compete against the best racing snails in the land and wins. Before this happens, he must overcome snail racing injuries. Maybe the movie could be called Snailbiscut.


“We take this seriously,” snail racer John McClean told Reuters.
“We have got training slopes. We look at diet, we are drug compliant as well. It is the whole thing when you look at elite sports.”

Can you imagine being told your snail can't compete in a race because it tested positive for steroids? I think it is a special person who has the skills and patience necessary to train snails for racing. I suppose it may be a challenge to get a snail to stop having beer and fried foods when they are training for a race.

“I know you're just a snail, but you have to climb that slope one more time.”
“I can't, I'm exhausted.”
“One more time and do it under eighteen minutes this time and you can go home.”
“I too tired.”
“Do it for the snail racing champion within you who want to win the race.”
“Okay.”

The competition has been held since the 1960s with each race lasting several minutes. Competitors are able to select a snail from the organizers’ stash or bring their own.

Jo Waterfield from the nearby village of Grimston found the eventual winner among her plants.

“I pulled him out this morning and told him if he didn’t win I would squash him,” Waterfield told Reuters.


(Sarcasm Alert)

A poor snail is just being in a garden doing what snails do and then is pulled up by some gigantic human who tells him if he doesn't win a race she'll squish him. Where is the Society for the Prevention of Snails Being Squished (SPSBS) when you need them?

I'm sure the world of competitive snail racing can be as shady as any horse racing event.

Next thing you know snail owners will try to invent all sorts of undetectable snail performance enhancement drugs. A snail will move 13 inches in a minute and nobody will know why, but everyone will be suspicious. Could this be in the future of this sport?

Below is a link to the story.



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Thursday, October 24, 2019

Self-driving Vehicle Pulled over by Police Officer. A Real Story



Technology is certainly changing things. I can remember when only people drove cars. Should a person driving the car have disobeyed a traffic law, they were given a ticket by a police officer who caught them. This was a time when people came up with a variety of excuses for breaking traffic laws. Police officers have heard everything from people were speeding because they needed to get to a bathroom or they did a wrong turn because their friend told them it was okay and more. I was once pulled over by a police officer who asked me if I knew why he pulled me over. I told him I wasn't a betting man, but I bet he was going to tell me. I quickly learned wit and humor are not good to use when being given a traffic ticket.

Today, technology has provided an additional problem for law enforcement officers who are dedicated to protecting people from vehicles breaking traffic laws. They are called self-driving vehicles. Does this mean a vehicle has to worry about getting points on its driving license? Will the insurance provider for self-driving vehicles raise the insurance rates if the vehicle is given a speeding ticket? I do wonder who will provide a law enforcement officer with a drivers license, registration, and proof of insurance.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.


A self-driving shuttle got pulled over by police on its first day carrying passengers on a new Rhode Island route.

Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements said an officer pulled over the odd-looking autonomous vehicle because he had never seen one before.

"It looked like an oversized golf cart," Clements said.

I'm sure it was an interesting conversation when the police officer told his dispatch he was asking permission to pull over a vehicle that looked like an oversized golf cart. I'm sure he made his case when he told dispatch it was on the road and not a golf course.

How would you feel if you were on a driverless shuttle and it got pulled over by the police?

“Excuse me, where is the driver?”
“There isn't one. It's a driverless vehicle.”
“What are you doing on the vehicle?”
“I'm the passenger using it to get to a stop.”
“If this vehicle gets into an accident, there won't be a driver to file a lawsuit against.”
“You're right, let me off of this thing.”


The shuttle offers free rides on a 12-stop urban loop that links to a train station Each vehicle holds six people, including an attendant who takes control when the self-driving technology falls short, such as on difficult left turns with oncoming traffic.

This could lead to an interesting conversation.

“Could I see your drivers license, registration, and proof of insurance.”
“Okay, but I wasn't driving the vehicle.”
“Who was driving the vehicle?”
“The vehicle was driving itself. I told the vehicle it was making an illegal turn, but did this vehicle listen to me? It didn't and now look what happened. I think you should give the vehicle a ticket and teach it a lesson.”
“Since your the only human here, I think I'll give you a ticket.”
“Well, there are humans who are associated with the operation of this vehicle, so maybe everybody should get a ticket.”
“You are making me suspicious. You don't want to have a law enforcement officer suspicious of you. It would be a mistake.”
“Will the vehicle have to show up to court with me when I challenge the ticket?
“You'll have to ask the judge.”

In a part of New England known for impatient and aggressive drivers, local officials have braced themselves for how motorists will react to the slow-moving vehicles. Built by Minnesota-based Polaris Industries, the vehicles have a glass roof and resemble a tiny bus, but with seats that snugly face each other.


How frustrating for New England drivers to display their creative use of hand signals to another driver only to realize, there is no other driver. I'm sure the anger they feel could only be increased by hurling unique expletives at a fellow driver and discovering they are wasting their creative swearing on a driverless vehicle. I may get angry at a driverless vehicle simply because it has snugly facing seats. I don't know what is considered snugly facing, but I think it's deserving of some swearing.


Officials chose a route that has little traffic but connects commuters from neighborhoods underserved by public transit to Amtrak, commuter rail and other bus stops. The pilot is partially funded from a government settlement with Volkswagen for modifying vehicles to cheat on emissions tests.

I suppose the advantage of having access to Amtrak is the train won't be pulled over by a police officer. If this was done successfully by a police officer, it would be worthy of an international news story. Maybe there is a thank you should be given to Volkswagen for cheating on their emissions tests. If they had been an honest company, and properly modified their vehicles, a policeman in Rhode Island may have never been able to pull over a driverless vehicle.

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/rhode-island-cop-self-driving-car

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Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Human Brains Can Develop A Region For Pokémon Characters. A Real Story.



When my child was young Pokémon was very popular. There was the Pokémon shows, movie, games, books and many more. Much time was spent playing with different types of Pokémon cards. During my youth baseball was also huge. I spent quite a bit of time outside playing baseball, watching baseball games on television as well as listening to them on the radio. My room was filled with magazines about baseball and so many baseball cards I don't like to think about the money spent on them. It seems there is a big difference between a love of baseball and a love of Pokémon. Those who love Pokémon have a region of their brain dedicated to it. Nobody ever accused us dedicated baseball fans of having a region of our brain dedicated to it. We knew there was a region of our mind and heart dedicated to it. If they would have tried to study one of us, we would have been too busy doing something involving baseball to participate.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.


A partial answer comes from recent studies in monkeys at Harvard Medical School. Researchers there found that in order for regions dedicated to a new category of objects to develop in the visual cortex -- the part of the brain that processes what we see -- then exposure to those objects must start young when the brain is particularly malleable and sensitive to a visual experience.

I guess this makes perfect sense. I'm sure those all-knowing Harvard Medical School Researchers noticed these monkeys were insistent that the Pokémon character Chimchar be part of their game. I guess this means every time they saw a monkey they believed it to be Chimchar?


“Look, it is Chimchar.”
“That is not a monkey, it is the professor for this class.”
“Is the professor named Chimchar?”
“No.”
“I bet the professor is at least a fire Pokémon.”
“You did play that game a lot during your youth.”
“You have no idea. I think I'm still in my youth.”
“I believe you.”


Playing baseball at such a young age did help me develop an ability to catch fast moving objects, hit things with a bat and run around in circles. It's helped with being an adult in many situations. There is being the best hitter on the softball teams at work, running around in circles during my job and catching fast moving objects in my apartment thrown at me during an argument with a female I dated prior to meeting my wife.


Once funded, Gomez recruited adults who had played Pokémon extensively as children. He found 11, including himself and Michael Barnett, the lab manager at the time and a co-author on the study.

When the test subjects were placed inside a functional MRI scanner and shown hundreds of random Pokémon characters, their brains responded more to the images compared to a control group who had not played the videogame as children.

(Sarcasm Alert)

It is good to know there is funding available for researchers at Harvard Medical School to spend time in an MRI looking at Pokémon characters. I feel this is profound research designed to benefit mankind since it involved eleven people including two of the researchers. Future generations will look back and know without any lingering doubt that parts of their brain are dedicated to a video game they played as a child. This will probably be the basis for these future generations to provide a perfect society. I suppose past generations could have been hampered by the lack of such research. If only those of us who loved baseball could have benefited from such groundbreaking scientific research. I'm sure it was due to a lack of funding.


The site of the brain activations for Pokémon was also consistent across individuals. It was located in the same anatomical structure -- a brain fold located just behind our ears called the occipitotemporal sulcus. As best the researchers can tell, this region typically responds to images of animals (which Pokémon characters resemble).

It is amazing that human brain activation was the same as individuals viewing Pokémon characters. How interesting it is located in a section of the brain right behind the ear. I wonder if there is a part of the brain that is consistent with figuring out ways to get funding to spend time with a childhood video game? It may be the same part of the brain that tries to sell real estate in the Everglades to people with limited understanding of geography. Maybe its the part of the brain that helps telemarketers sell magazines to people whether they want them or not. I'm sure this type of research will require additional funding.


The new findings are just the latest evidence that our brains are capable of changing in response to experiential learning from a very early age, Grill-Spector said, but that there are underlying constraints hardwired into the brain that shape and guide how those changes unfold.

Makes you wonder what happens if a child was punished and had their Pokémon playing privileges revoke. They may excel at playing the game after eating all of the vegetables at dinner. Is it possible some children will grow up to not understand Pokémon is just a game?

“I'm ready to join the Army.”
“Are you proficient at handling weapons, explosives and are physically fit?”
“I guess in a way.”
“What do you mean?”
“I've reached the highest level on Pokémon and I'm one of the best at battling.”
“We have to talk.”

Below is a link to the story

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190506163644.htm 


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Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Latest Quest to Discover and Communicate With Extraterrestrials. A Real Story.



I'm probably like a lot of people. I've read plenty of books and watched many different movies about aliens from another planet coming here to earth. If you ask me if I think it is possible, I would say a few years ago many people believed the Chicago Cubs winning another World Series could never happen. The Chicago Cubs did win another World Series in 2016, so I suppose anything is possible.

When it comes to people from another planet visiting us, it does make me wonder what type of conversation would take place. There would probably be a machine designed to unscramble the language of the alien beings into ours. They would be on a screen with all of their elongated heads and huge eyes speaking into a device that seems to be a microphone.

“Hello, people of this planet. We have watched you at a distance with amazement for several years. It is good to be able to communicate with you.”
“What have you found out about our planet that impresses you?”
“It was amazing the Chicago Cubs won a World Series 2016, but the Cleveland Cavaliers winning a basketball championship in 2016 was even more amazing.”
“Anything else?”
“We've tried to replicate the iced caramel macchiato on our planet with little luck. We have done better with designing our own version of a Subway sandwich.”
“Oh.”

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.


ETs are on our mind. At the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, an entire evening’s event was all about extraterrestrials. A special dance troupe performed to an eclectic mix of sounds. The sounds were excerpts taken from a famous golden record, intended for intelligent life in the universe. The 12-inch copper gold plated disk is known as the Pioneer Golden Record.


(Sarcasm Alert)

I guess it is good to know the California Academy of Sciences had a dance troupe perform to sounds that were an eclectic mix. What beings from another planet could resist coming to such a party? Since they were taken from a famous golden record that is roaming around space, I suppose it all makes sense. Did anyone think to send in a record player into space with it? They are hard to find here, I can only imagine the cost would be to import one to another planet. What if these beings look at this golden disc and use it to invent the Frisbee. If they do figure out a way to play the golden disc, I hope they realize there is actually a dance performed in San Francisco that goes with it.


“We can do more than just gaze at the stars.” remarked Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, who along with his wife, Julia, in 2015 unveiled a project called the Breakthrough Initiatives to search for extraterrestrial intelligence over the span of at least 10 years.
Part of the Initiatives program includes a $1,000,000 Breakthrough Message competition, where the task is to design a digital message to send to advanced civilizations.

I can only imagine what the winner of the digitally designed message could be for advanced civilizations. I know in the United States, it is possible for companies to design their own digital messages. I bet McDonald's message would provide a discount on their new McIntellersteller burger. It may come with lunar fries and a drink that is out of this world. Walmart message would be offering anything beings from another planet would need for their journey back to their world. It could include solar powered heaters, electrical rechargers and more. The insurance companies message would want to make certain the space aliens are covered in case they have an accident or emergency when they are here. It is possible beings from another planet know this and have chosen to avoid this planet.


“It’s a message written in a language of math and science,” said Vakoch. He explained that the messages would be sent by radio or in the near future, by lasers, using very brief laser pulses. Unlike the Voyager golden record which contains a virtual encyclopedia of information about the earth, METI message will focus on one topic at a time, but each message will be repeated multiple times over the course of days, weeks, and months.

I wonder if the beings from another planet will communicate and say they are sick and tired of reading messages in the language of science and math. They may say the constant transmissions are annoying and to stop them. It's possible they'll find these transmissions as annoying as political advertising. These space aliens may request to read some classic fiction like The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells or Journey to Mars by Gustavus W. Pope. If they want to read anything by James Patterson, they need to go back to the planet where they came from and never bother us again.


Not everyone agrees we should go warp-speed with rapidly concocting and sending messages.
“I’ve seen Mars Attacks and that ended horribly! So I don’t know.” laughed Alicia Adams who was stargazing on the roof of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

“I think it’s a scary concept of actually letting people whom we don’t know, or things we don’t know, know we’re here,” said Grainne Barron who was visiting from Ireland.

(Sarcasm Alert)

I suppose if you've seen Mars Attacks, you have justified reason to fear beings from another planet. I hope there are people in San Francisco who realize that was a fictional movie and not a documentary. Something tells me they may be working on a dance routine to match the movie for when beings from another planet arrive. It is frightening to think of what could actually happen when making contact with beings from another planet. Will they want to destroy us, take us over, criticize the dance routines created in San Francisco or give our music some really bad reviews on social media. It is possible for anything to happen.


As for Dr. Drake,  he doesn’t believe Planet Earth needs a new message. Thanks to television and radio signals traveling in space ever since we’ve been broadcasting, Drake, thinks intelligent beings already know we’re here.

“It’s too late, folks. We’ve made our presence known big-time,” said Drake.


If beings from other planets know we are here and haven't attempted to communicate with us after we have made such an effort to communicate with them, there could be some good reasons. They may not understand what we've tried to communicate with them, they may not care what we have tried to communicate with them or they are still shocked with the Cavaliers and Cubs winning championships in 2016. I suppose we will all have to wait to find out.

Below is a link to the story.

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/04/25/messages-extraterrestrial-life-advancing-digital-age/

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Monday, October 21, 2019

England Has an Annual Toe Wrestling Championship. A Real Story.



I am the first to admit I have never been much of an athlete. I've never been very fast or moved very quick except when my favorite dessert was being served for dinner. When chocolate cake with chocolate icing was on the menu, I would match my quickness and speed with that of Usain Bolt. It's possible my athletic career may have been a success if I was told there was a chocolate cake with chocolate icing waiting for me in the end zone or at the end of the race. My life could have then forever been changed. There is a sport in England that I suppose requires training and athletic ability. It is toe wrestling. Since it started in 1976, England has been the place for toe athletes from around the world to compete. I wonder if it is a consideration to be an Olympic event or if winners get a chocolate cake with chocolate icing?

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

The sport got its start when a group of friends at the Ye Olde Royal Oak Inn lamented England's lack of dominance in athletics—they wanted a sport where Brits could reign supreme, and somehow, toe wrestling became the chosen activity. (Ripley’s, however, notes that a Canadian visitor won the third annual championship, putting an early damper on the British preeminence of the sport.)


(Sarcasm Alert)

I like how the English were disappointed they were not able to dominate a current sporting event, so they tried to create one where they could dominate. I wonder if they considered fish and chip eating contests, running after people yelling “oy” or confusing Americans with their accent a worthy competitive event. I'm sure the English would dominate in any of these competitions. It's a shame a Canadian won the championship. I don't know what's worse, inventing a sport you can dominate and losing to a Canadian or depending on toe wrestling to prove you can dominate an athletic competition. Maybe the English could invent a sport involving toe wrestling and curling and then show those Canadians how the English can dominate a sport.


Though it might not be a competition on the global stage, toe wrestling definitely attracts interest from around the world. Wendy Livingstone, general manager and events coordinator for Toe Wrestling Championship venue Bentley Brook Inn, notes she gets interest from various international media. In fact, one U.S. film company is shooting a mockup of the competition this summer with long-time champion Alan "Nasty" Nash. Nash, known for his intimidating "strong man" physique and even more intimidating big toes, has made quite a name for himself in the toe wrestling space.

I can only imagine the nervousness someone would experience knowing they are going to be going toe-to-toe (couldn't resist) with someone named Nasty Nash in toe wrestling. I would be seriously hoping this nickname had nothing to do with the man's hygiene habits for his feet. If I were to see my competitor's big toe covered in athlete's foot, I'm forfeiting the match. I would always prefer to toe wrestle with someone known as Hygienically Healthy Henry or Clean Foot Freddie. I'm sure you can have a strong man toe physique and be properly clean. I can just imagine what a Hollywood film would be like for this sport.


The story could involve a down and out young guy who lives near the docks and makes his living getting paid by a gangster to kick people. As part of a promotion for the sport, he gets one shot against the toe wrestling champion in an exhibition match to make something of himself. The match doesn't go well, and his toe is severely torn up during it. His toe wrestling coach tries to talk him out of continuing with the match, but he refuses.

“I'm calling the match Tootsie. You've got nothing left. You're getting killed out there.”
“Don't call the match. I ain't quitting.”
“Your toenail is almost torn off, your toe looks like it is out of joint, you can't go on.”
“It's my life. Cut me.”
“No.”
“I said cut me.”
“It's your life kid.”

The coach cuts the toenail off the big toe and Tootsie hobbles back into the toe wrestling ring. He continues to battle the toe wrestling champion to a draw. It would make a great Hollywood movie, but it seems oddly familiar.


Toe wrestling is a competition between two participants. With their bare feet in a square ring, opponents sit on the floor, lock their big toes, and then battle in an arm-wrestle style to wrangle the other’s foot to the sideboard of the designated wrestling area. The art of toe wrestling is more skill than strength; opponents are required to keep non-competing feet in the air with hands flat on the ground.


I wonder if a toe wrestler would normally have a coach that trains them. They may have to lift weights with their big toe. Is it possible they would have to try and catch a wild chicken nugget with their toe? It would be interesting to go to a gym and see people hitting a punching bag and others skipping rope as a person in one corner of the gym using his big toe to lift weights and kick a punching bag as part of his training. Does a toe wrestling athlete start their day by eating raw eggs, running and smashing steel bars with their big toe? I don't know if that is what happens, but it does sound oddly familiar.

Here is a link to the article.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/502081/inside-englands-annual-toe-wrestling-championship



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Sunday, October 20, 2019

A Horse Will Remember a Person's Facial Expression. A Real Story



I have known people who are able to remember the names of individuals no matter how many people they meet. My ability to remember a new person's name is maybe ten seconds. I wish I could remember people's names. The good thing is most people forget my name so conversations can get interesting between me and someone who I have just been introduced to and neither of us can remember the one's name.

“I'm sure you had a nickname in high school”
“No, I'm sure you have a nickname at work.”
“No, I forgot your name and we were introduced a few minutes ago.'
“Oh good, I forgot your name also. Now, I don't feel so bad.”
“What is your name?”
“I don't know, but it's okay because I don't know the name of anybody else.”
“Huh?”

A study has been done that shows a horse remembers the facial expressions of people they have previously seen. This is a good thing. They may know when someone who did not have Gax-X with their meal but should have used it.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

SUSSEX, England — Some people never forget a face. Apparently, neither do horses. A study by researchers at the University of Sussex and the University of Portsmouth found that horses can remember the facial expressions of people they’ve seen before.
The researchers believe horses use this ability to discern people who might be a threat to them.

I bet horses will be attracted to happy people, stay away from angry people and try and get as much food as possible from dumb people. Being able to determine the meaning of a person's facial expression is valuable. I learned early in my marriage to look for an escape route when my wife would give me the look. It is the expression a wife gives her husband clearly communicating he has done something wrong without saying it. Once a man has detected his wife having the look, fear overcomes him like an antelope that has just seen a hungry lioness. The only means of escape could be throwing chocolate and running the other way. It has saved me more than once.


For the study, the authors showed domesticated horses a photograph of an angry or happy human face. A few hours later, the real person seen in the photograph would interact with the horse in an emotionally neutral state. The horses showed distinct differences in subsequent responses when meeting the individual in person later the same day.

I wonder what the distinct differences the horses displayed? Did they run from the person with the angry expression? Were they calm with the person who had a happy expression? Did they see past the forced expressions and go get a person some Gas-X?

I can only imagine what it would be like with a horse from New York City.

“Aye, why you got to go and look all angry and everything?”
“Hey, you're a talking horse.”
“Don't go getting all crazy about it. My great grandfather was named Mister Ed. You know what I mean?”
“Making facial expressions were part of an experiment.”
“Aye, I got your experiment right here. How about you go and get me some carrots.”
“Why would I go and get you carrots?”
“Because you ain't had your Gax-X, and I'm a talking horse that can tell anyone who will listen that smell ain't from me. We got a deal?”
“The carrots are on their way.”
“Pleasure doing business with you.”


Even though humans meeting the horses in person was in a neutral state during their interaction, the direction of the horses’ gaze proved to the research team that they perceived the person more negatively if they had seen a photo of them looking angry than if they saw a photo of the person looking happy.

(Sarcasm Alert)

They can tell if a horse knows a person was angry or happy because of the horses' gaze. I wonder what they can tell if the horse makes a loud whinny sound? Maybe researchers believe this is a sign the horse does not like a person's clothes and they are recommending the person try a new type of fashion. If a horse hits its hoof on the ground, this could mean the horse believes a person should try a new hairstyle. If a horse turns its back to a person and releases some of its feces, this could mean the horse finds this person disgusting and is ready to go on vacation. I'm sure there is a special horse gaze associated with many different things.


“We know that horses are socially intelligent animals, but this is the first time any mammal has been shown to have this particular ability,” says co-lead author Dr. Leanne Proops.

I'm sure it is beneficial to society for horses to remember people's expressions. A horse will notice the joy on people's faces when they win a race, or the pain on a person's face when they lose a race. They will also notice the look on a person's face who hasn't taken their Gas-X and know to stay far away from them.

Below is a link to the story.


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