Everybody’s Talking

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Replicated monument: The Taj Mahal in the city of Agra, India, was built in the 17th century by Shah Jahan, a Mughal emperor, in honor of his wife. It’s a huge tourist attraction because of its history and detailed latticework. But another Taj Mahal exists that is smaller than the original. This one was built more recently by businessman Anand Prakash Chouksey in Burhanpur in the state of Madhya Pradesh. He wanted to present his wife with a special gift, so he had the building constructed on their large property, at a cost of 20 million Indian rupees. The couple lives in the home and allows visitors to come onto the grounds to take pictures.

Costumed chase: Someone at Japan’s Kamine Zoo, located in Hitachi City, may have seen an unusual sight. A zoo worker, dressed in a bear costume, was being chased by other zoo employees and emergency personnel. But the scene was all planned. The zoo and emergency agencies were participating in an escaped animal drill. The scenario was based on the assumption that an extremely intense earthquake could break a glass window and allow a bear to escape from its enclosure. Strategically positioning their vehicles, and using nets, the participants were able to corner the fake bear so they could return it to its enclosure. 

Food criminal: Eating and running is criminal, but a Dutch man outdid himself by committing this crime 127 times over the course of a few years. The man, from the city of Delft, didn’t cheat the restaurants by dining and dashing. Instead, he would fake illness just before the bill came. In a recent attempt, paramedics were called, but when they found nothing wrong with him, they refused to take him to a hospital. The restaurant owner, feeling sorry for the man, suggested he pay later and took his address. That exposed the scam because he’d given different information to the paramedics. Police investigated and found 127 complaints from other restaurateurs about the man.

Speed traps: In Italy, a criminal has become known as “Flexman.” People gave him the nickname because he uses a tool called an angle grinder, which was invented by a company called Flex, to cut down the poles that hold speed cameras. No one knows who Flexman is, but motorists are fans because they don’t like paying the fines for speeding that’s caught on camera. However, authorities are quite concerned about this vigilante’s actions because he is harming the country’s infrastructure and causing many thousands of euros in damages. Police say the speed traps work to make roads safer because they encourage drivers to slow down.

Quoteable Quotes

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“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is 

excellent in others belong to us as well.”         

—Voltaire 



“Youth is wholly experimental.” 

  —Robert Louis Stevenson 

What’s Happening

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Trivia

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1. A team in the sport of curling has 2, 4, or 8 members?

2. _____ is the official name of the surgical procedure called a “nose job.”

3. Which is the only Central American country to not border the Caribbean Sea?

4. The dot over the letters “i” and “j” is called a bittle, sploot, or tittle?

5. Trinitrotoluene is more commonly known as what?

Trivia answers at the bottom of the page!

Your Weekly Horoscope

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Lucky numbers this week:  This week’s odds favor Leo winners with the luckiest number being 9.

Did You Know...

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Mr. Universe: Sean Connery, the Scottish actor who died in 2020 at age 90, wasn’t always known as James Bond. He started out as a bodybuilder, and even competed in the Mr. Universe pageant, which jump-started his acting career. 

Mouth for liars: The ancient carving Bocca della Veritá (Mouth of Truth) is said to bite off the hands of liars. But it’s actually harmless, even if someone sticks a hand in its mouth. The statue is located at Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. 

Filling breakfast: A hearty breakfast in India or East Indian restaurants around the world is a masala dosa. With a batter of rice and black lentils, this crepe is filled with potatoes, onions, and spices, and served with pickles and chutney.

Statue’s footwear: In New York City, the Statue of Liberty has greeted immigrants arriving in the harbor since 1886. The giant lady wears sandals that are 25 feet (7.6 m) long. Her shoe size would be 879!

Get the message: Semaphore flag signaling is a communication system dating to the late 18th century. It was used to carry messages in the French army. Small flags held in various positions represent letters and numerals.

On the Lighter Side

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Knock! Knock! Who’s there? Wooden shoe. Wooden shoe who? Wooden shoe like to be my neighbor?

What’s big, furry, and does a lot of sit-ups? The abdominal snowman.

Going to the Emerald Isle would be fun. Irish I could go this summer.

My teenage daughter thinks I am nosy. At least, that’s what she says in her diary.

Teacher: “You’re late but why are you crawling into class?”

Student: “You said, ‘Don’t anyone dare to walk into class late!’”