ALL THE REST —  October 6
  

It could be responsible for spread of diseases.

The Louse

There are sevral kinds of small insects and crustacea that may be called lice. The term, however, refers only to insects of the order Anoplura and Mallophaga.

The Anopluran lice are the sucking lice. They are small, wingless external parasites of mammals. Their mouthparts consist of three sharp stylets that can be plunged through the skin and into the veins of the host. Blood is the only food of these insects. The head of these lice is very small and the antennae are very short. Each of the six legs is equipped with a single claw and a projection opposite it that acts like a thumb. There are four species of this louse in North America: one that parasitizes marine mammals, one that feeds on large quadrapeds, and two that feed on man. The human body louse has 3 visible segments while the pubic louse has only 2 visible body segments.

There are several diseases that can be spread by human body lice. These diseases include; epidemic typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever.

The Mallophaga lice are chewing lice. These are small insects with chewing mouthparts. These lice feed on the feathers and skin of birds. They cause some irritation to their hosts, but generally no real damage. In unusual conditions such as overcrowding and poor sanitation on poultry farms the damage may be more severe. The Mallophaga lice are often very specific as to the choice of their host. They will often parasitize only one species of bird. It is not infrequent that different species of Mallophaga will dwell on different parts of thesame animal.

Sources: |The Handy Science Answer Book - Visible Press | Audubon Nature Encyclopedia |

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

 

Mixed Drinks

A doctor made it his regular habit to stop off at a bar for a hazelnut daiquiri on his way home. The bartender knew of his habit, and would always have the drink waiting at precisely 5:03 PM.

One afternoon, as the end of the workday approached, the bartender was dismayed to find that he was out of hazlenut extract. Thinking quickly, he threw together a daiquiri made with hickory nuts and set it on the bar.

The doctor came in at his regular time, took one sip of the drink and exclaimed, "This isn't a hazelnut daiquiri!"

"No, I'm sorry", replied the bartender, "it's a hickory daiquiri, doc." 

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Medical humor:

Man 1: My doctor's a quack! My wife got treated for liver problems for 20 years, and then she dies from a heart attack!

Man 2: My doctor's much better than that. If he treats you for liver problems, you can bet your last 50 cents you're going to
die of liver problems.

Source: bs@augusta.UUCP (Burch Seymour)

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A blonde was complaining to her friend about constantly being called a dumb blonde. Her friend tells her "go do something to prove them wrong! Why don't you learn all the state capitals or something?"

The blonde thinks this is a great idea and locks herself up for two weeks studying.

The next party she goes to, some guy is making dumb blonde comments to her. She gets indignant and claims, "I'm NOT a dumb blonde. In fact, I can name ALL the state capitals!"

The guy doesn't believe her, so she dares him to test her.

He says "Okay, what's the Capital of Montana?"

The blonde tosses her hair in triumph and says, "That's easy! It's M!" 

Contributed by Joe Barber From DigiDay

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A Daughter's Letter from college

Dear Mother and Dad,

It has now been three months since I left for college. I have been remiss in writing and I am very sorry for the thoughtlessness in not having written before. I will bring you up-to-date now, but before you read on, please sit down. You are not going to read any further unless you are sitting down. Okay? Well, then, I am getting along pretty well now. The skull fracture and the concussion I got when I jumped out of the window of my dormitory when it caught fire shortly after my arrival are pretty well healed now. I only spent two weeks in the hospital, and now I can see almost normally and only get those sick headaches one a day. Fortunately, the fire in the dormitory and my jump were witnessed by an attendant at the gas station near the dorm, and he was the one who called the Fire Department and the ambulance. He also visited me in the hospital and since I had nowhere to live because of the burnt-out dormitory, he was kind enough to invite me to share his apartment with him. Its really a basement room, but its kind of cute. He is a very fine boy and we have fallen deeply in love and are planning to get married. We haven't set the exact date yet, but it will be before my pregnancy begins to show. Yes, Mother and Dad, I am pregnant. I know how much you are looking forward to being grandparents and I know you will welcome the baby and give it the same love and devotion and tender care you gave me when I was a child. The reason for the delay in our marriage is that my boyfriend has some minor infection which prevents us from passing the pre-marital blood test and I carelessly caught it from him. This will clear up with the penicillin injections I am now taking daily. I know you will welcome him into the family with open arms. He is kind and although not well educated, he is ambitious. Although he is of a different race and religion than ours, I know your oft-expressed tolerance will not permit you to be bothered by the fact that his skin color is somewhat different than ours. I am sure that you will love him as I do. His family background is good too, for I am told that his father is an important engineer for the sanitation department he works for. Although they say he runs his office from his truck. Now that I have brought you up-to-date, folks, I want to tell you that there was no dormitory fire, I did not have a concussion or a skull fracture, I was not in the hospital, I am not pregnant, I am not engaged, I do not have syphilis, and there is no schwartze in my life. However, I am getting a "D" in history and an "F" in science, ...and I wanted you to see those marks in the proper perspective.

Your loving daughter,

From: Catherine Weeks

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I need help!

The worried housewife sprang to the telephone when it rang and listened with relief to the kindly voice in her ear.

"How are you, darling?" she said.
"What kind of a day are you having?"

"Oh, mother," said the housewife, breaking into bitter tears, "I've had such a bad day. The baby won't eat and the washing machine broke down. I haven't had a chance to go shopping, and besides, I've just sprained my ankle and I have to hobble around. On top of that, the house is a mess and I'm supposed to have two couples to dinner tonight."

The mother was shocked and was at once all sympathy. "Oh, darling," she said, "sit down, relax, and close your eyes. I'll be over in half an hour. I'll do your shopping, clean up the house, and cook your dinner for you. I'll feed the baby and I'll call a repairman I know who'll be at your house to fix the washing machine promptly. Now stop crying. I'll do everything. In fact, I'll even call George at the office and tell him he ought to come home and help out for once."

"George?" said the housewife. "Who's George?"

"Why, George! Your husband!....Is this 223-1374?"

"No, this is 223-1375," replied the housewife.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I have the wrong number," said the old lady.

There was a short pause and the housewife said, "Does this mean you're *not* coming over?"

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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

When all else fails manipulate the data.

Daily Miscellany Comics

Have A Great Day !

Phillip Bower

Soul Food October 6

Today in History for October 6