ALL THE REST —  August 12 & 13
  

For The Birds
A Blunder of Words — Dogs that Sing?

The Canary is the common name for a small finch native to the Azores, the Madeira Islands, and the Canary and Cape Verde islands. It color is olive green to greenish yellow, and tinged with brown in the wild. The canary canary builds its nest of moss, feathers, or hair in thick, bushy, high shrubs or trees. The mating pair will produce from two to four broods in a season.

The Canary is bred as a cage bird throughout the world. By selective breeding the birds are are predominantly yellow. In confinement the canary can breed up to four times a year. The female lays four to six pale blue eggs in each clutch. Many varieties of canaries have been produced by selective scientific breeding. Some canaries are bred for beauty and trained to perch to display their attractiveness. Others are bred as songbirds. The Harz Mountain canary, bred in Germany, is a noted songbird.

The canary can be taught various notes or series of notes. They will in turn will teach these "songs" to their young. Canary songs consist of bass and flute notes, as well as "bell" and "bubbling water" sounds. The songs are classified as either "roller" or "chopper." The roller song is soft and is sung with a nearly closed beak. The chopper song is loud, natural, and produced with an open beak. Some breeds of canary sing a warblerlike song combining both types.

The Canary Islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. They are actually misnamed. They were called "Canariae insulae" by the Romans. They were named this for the number of dogs that were found on the islands. The name "Canariae insulae" means "dog islands." For centuries people have mistakenly believed that the islands get their name from the canary birds that dwell there. Actually the canary gets it name from the Latin canaria which means: pertaining to the dog.

Source: The Blunder Book | Microsoft(R) Encarta(R)     
 

A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22 (NIV)

"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable."

Joseph Addison

 

A POET WAS STROLLING ALONG THE BEACH, TRYING TO CONSOLE HIMSELF AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS CANARY.

HE ENCOUNTERED A MAN CARRYING A SMALL SEABIRD WITH A BROKEN WING. AFTER A BRIEF DISCUSSION, THE POET GAVE THE MAN ONE OF HIS POEMS IN EXCHANGE FOR THE INJURED BIRD.

THUS DID THE BEREAVED POET TAKE A TERN FOR THE VERSE.    

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FAA TESTING

It seems the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a unique device for testing the strength of windshields on airplanes. The device is a gun that launches a dead chicken at a plane's windshield at approximately the speed the plane flies.

The theory is that if the windshield doesn't crack from the carcass impact, it'll survive a real collision with a bird during flight. It seems the British were very interested in this and wanted to test a windshield on a brand new, speedy locomotive they're developing. They borrowed the FAA's chicken launcher, loaded the chicken and fired. The ballistic chicken shattered the windshield, went through the engineer's chair, broke an instrument panel and embedded itself in the back wall of the engine cab. The British were stunned and asked the FAA to recheck the test to see if everything was done correctly.

The FAA reviewed the test thoroughly and had one recommendation: "Use a thawed chicken."   

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Four hours to bury the cat?
Yeah, it won't stay still...

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A man hasn't been feeling well, so he goes to his doctor for a complete checkup. Afterward the doctor comes out with the results.

"I'm afraid I have some very bad news," the doctor says. "You're dying, and you don't have much time left."

"Oh, that's terrible!" says the man. "How long have I got?"

"Ten," the doctor says sadly.

"Ten?" the man asks. "Ten what? Months? Weeks? Days ? What?"

"Nine..."  

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Birds

An ornithologist I know, who is an expert on all birds, claims that all too often the stork is held responsible for circumstances which might better be attributed to a lark.

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          Did you hear about the inventor that came up with a knife
          that could cut four loaves of bread at the same time?  Thus
          was born the world's first four-loaf cleaver.

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Running is an unnatural act,
except from enemies or to the bathroom.

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TRUE FACT ...

Humans begin laughing at two to three months of age. Six year olds laugh about 300 times per day, while adults laugh from 15 to 100 times per day.

SOURCE: NYT, Dr. William F. Fry, Stanford University

A bird in hand is safer than one overhead.

Daily Miscellany Comics

Have A Great Day !

Phillip Bower

Soul Food for August 12 & 13

History for August 12
History for August 13