ALL THE REST —  August 7
  

Amazon River

The name for this river and region comes from a Greek myth. Francisco de Orellana was a Spanish conquistador and the first European to travel the length of the Amazon river, in 1541-42. Along the way, he and his men ran into a tribe of fierce women warriors, each "doing as much fighting as ten Indian men." Orellana recalled the Greek myth of warrior women and named the entire river "Amazonas."

No bridge spans the river, which is the largest in the world in terms of watershed area, number of tributaries, and volume of water discharged. It measures about 4000 miles in length, the river drains about 2.3 million square miles. During new and full moons, a tidal bore, or wave front from the ocean, sweeps some 400 miles upstream at speeds in excess of 40 miles per hour. This phenomenon often causes waves up to 16 feet in height.  

The main headstream of the Amazon rises high in the Andes, rushing through waterfalls and gorges before entering the enormous tropical Amazon Basin. The largest portion of the basin are found in Brazil, includes parts of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia as well as a small part of Venezuela.

The Amazon region contains  the largest rain forest in the world. It is home to at least 15,000 documented animal species, 8,000 of which were new to biology when they were discovered. At least 40% of the world's freshwater fish and 25% of the world's bird species reside there.

Agronomy Department of the University of Wisconsin, Madison
 

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 young man was strolling by the beach when he saw a figure in the water waving frantically. He rushed to the water and saved the man, who turned out to be Bill Clinton.

Catching his breath, the president gratefully said, ''You saved my life. Do you know who I am?'' When the young man nodded affirmatively, Clinton continued, ''If ever there's any way I can repay you, just name it.''

''Well, there just might be one thing. I'd like to be buried in the Arlington National Cemetery.''

Clinton was taken aback, ''You are the picture of health. Why think of dying when you have your whole future ahead of you?''

''Well, when my parents find out who I just saved, they will kill me.''

Speaker's Encyclopedia of Jokes, Puns, Riddles, Quotations & Alternate Dictionary

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A patient in a psychiatric hospital spent all day with his  ear to the wall, listening.  The doctor watched this person do this day after day.  The doctor finally decided to see  what he was listening to, so he put his ear up to the wall   and listened.  He heard nothing.  So he turned to the  patient and said, "I don't hear anything." 

The patient  replied, "Yeah, I know.  It's been like that for months!"

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PROGRESS...

Consider the answer you might receive asking a grade-school child the question:
"What is 2 plus 2?" in each of the last five decades:

in 1956: "4, of course"
in 1966: "3, but it's the method that's important"
in 1976: "just a second while I get out my calculator"
in 1986: "just a second while I launch 'Calculator' on my Mac"
in 1996: "just a second while I check the 'addition' home page"

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Ever wonder if the light goes out when you close the fridge door?

Well, yes it does. - The Milk

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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 man should never plan more garden than his wife can hoe.

Daily Miscellany Comics

Have A Great Day !

Phillip Bower

Soul Food for August 7

History for August 7