This recent quirky news story detailing how an entirely new species that clones itself was discovered in a diner (admittedly in rural VietNam) has me wondering a few things:

1) Are scientists no longer interested in possibly disappearing forever into swamplands (have they gone soft?)

2) If new species are to be found in diners – has anyone actually verified that what the rest of us have been eating has been documented somewhere? Including the plants – maybe there’s a new species of potato that they didn’t know about either?

3) Do self-cloning animals count as genetically modified? It’s just weird.

We live in a fascinating world…

• 9 out of 10 jaguars prefer Obsession for Men
• The most expensive bread in Britain, possibly the world
• What it really takes to walk on water
• Exactly what goes into a twinkie

Recently I was standing at the whiteboard in a small airless meeting room (meaning we were all losing braincells while trying to resolve business issues) when the discussion veered to the whiteboard markers instead of the database being diagrammed. Namely that the standard smell of whiteboard marker (high acetone) is boring, redundant and wasn’t helping the creativity of anyone involved.

The problem is that while scented whiteboard markers exist, namely these Expo ones (it’s an affiliate link because you might have been hunting for these for years and want nothing more than an apple-scented dry erase marker…) they’re the same scents as every other scented thing made for kids from scratch stickers to chap stick. I didn’t like them when I was eight and I don’t like them now. Unless grape scent can grow up to be Bordeaux I’m not interested.

Clearly what we need is bacon-scented dry erase markers. The smell alone would motivate productive thought. People would vie with each other to stand at the whiteboard and contribute.  Why can’t someone invent these now? There’s bacon-scented everything else out there.

First depiction of a cell phone found in a 1922 film clip

Greece invaded by frogs – no clear connection with their economy but I’m suspicious

A music video so bad, it’s actually kinda funny (but don’t blame me if you get nightmares…)

Think it’s all been done? Nothing left to accomplish on the world stage if you haven’t won an Olympic medal by the time you’re 12 (even though the minimum age is older than that?)  You just need to get a little more creative – like this guy that just broke the lawnmower speed record.  Now admittedly it would take a bit to claim this title but there have got to be others – fastest speed on a pogo stick or unicycle.  What about a lawnmower going backward?

As for all the children out exploring the world on their own, more power to them but I’d rather set records at the other end of the spectrum – oldest person to sail around the world, oldest person to climb Mt. Everest and the like. That way I won’t have to rest on any laurels.

A new set of Olympic mascots is unleashed on the world every two years now. Regardless of what part of the world is playing host, the mascots seem to be universally ambiguous and not particularly liked.  But they sell out none-the-less because how else are you going to prove that you were really there after you’ve bought your nation’s uniform hat?

That said, the upcoming London games appear to have generated even worse mascots than usual – one-eyed, somewhat phallic white creatures.   Is there a rule that the mascot can’t be something recognizable?

For the most part requests under the Freedom of Information Act (or local equivalent) are fairly low on the entertainment scale unless you are really into conspiracy theories. That was until a recent request in Great Britain made the news when someone requested information regarding the official tracking of Sea monsters. I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing that they are not actually keeping track of their sea monsters; it seems very untidy not to do so.

While I don’t know if the site WhatDoTheyKnow.com was used for the sea monster request it certainly has been used to file both ordinary and quirky requests within Great Britain such as an inquiry into Symbols on passport covers – when was the last time you looked at yours?

It may be awhile before America catches up on this one – the oddest story regarding a request for information in the US involved the CIA requesting its own information back. Who needs TV shows?

Switzerland’s answer to speeding motorists wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow in California…

Dostoevsky could have had fun with this one even though it has a happy ending

Aliens may be controlling the stock market (or not) but it’s a fun theory

Slowly, slowly the world is turning into the that of the Jetson’s – starting with the plastic helmet

• You may have thought Cupid was a cherubic boy – turns out he’s a slug
• More odd animal pairings – horse with ducklings
• You know that thing you’ve always wanted to say to the most annoying person on your public commute?  Now it’s art
• A word that’s been missing is finally found  – recombobulate (after you’ve been discombobulated)
• Earthworms are social – so don’t go frying them up!

I’ve never met anyone that actually liked learning to spell or practices it as a hobby. It is, simply, a necessary evil. Something that was brought home by a tiny news item this week regarding a cookbook with a recipe recommending ‘freshly ground black people’. People vs pepper is in fact only a two character difference (they share two p’s and two e’s) but oh, what a world of social statement.  Which is precisely what Ben Franklin was trying to create (in a slightly more positive way) by advocating different spelling for Americans versus the British – Esperanto hadn’t yet been created or perhaps he’d have steered us towards a different language altogether.

With Daniel Webster’s help it happened and all it really takes is a careful look at how one spells color or colour, honor or honour and you will know where the writer’s allegiance lies – even if you’re  a native Italian speaker living in Portugal; you’re brief lapses into English will put you into one of two camps.

Spell check is not always your friend, particularly if it leaves you with a false sense of confidence that only spices are being ground. Proof read – you’ll save a lot on legal fees!