March 2020 | Coffee News® of St Catharines, Thorold, NotL

March 30, 2020

March 30, 2020 Wendy Marshall

Everybody’s Talking

Big tip: Servers in restaurants are always grateful to receive generous tips. One waitress in Clearwater Beach, Florida (U.S.), was happily overwhelmed by an enormous tip left by a customer who was, evidently, quite wealthy. However, the giver of the $5,000 tip on a small restaurant bill turned out to be a vindictive thief who was out for revenge against her boyfriend. Serina Wolfe, the customer, had gotten into an argument with her beau and decided to get back at him by using his credit card to give the big tip. Wolfe was arrested for theft.

Long slide: When complete, a water slide in Escape Theme Park in Penang, Malaysia, might be the longest in the world. It will be a whopper of a slide, taking adventurers on a fourminute, 1,140-metre (3,740-ft.) ride down a hillside through the jungle. At the bottom, sliders will be dumped into a big swimming pool. Builders of the slide are concerned about the environment, so they decided to use the natural hill, rather than build a tower. They are working around the trees to avoid cutting them down and are manually transporting materials, instead of using heavy machinery.

Jail birds: Twin brothers in Turkey did something unexplainable. One of the bothers agreed to secretly switch places with the other brother, a convict in the E Tipi Kapasi Prison in Mersin. They managed to make the switch during a visit. Later, prison guards realized that something wasn’t quite right with their charge. Upon investigation, police found the real inmate in his brother’s home. Now, both brothers are in jail, and authorities are at a loss to explain why the free brother would agree to take the criminal brother’s place in jail.

Loyal friend: A golden retriever in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is extremely loyal to her owner. The dog, named Sheila, has been waiting patiently for more than a year at a police station where her owner was arrested. The police think she managed to follow the police car in which her owner was transported after his crime. The officers at the station are taking good care of the loyal canine, feeding her and taking her to the vet when necessary. They have even allowed her to spend a bit of time with her owner in his cell. Everyone expects that, when the man is released, Sheila will go home with him to be by his side.

Quoteable Quotes

“Explanation separates us from astonishment, which is the only gateway to the incomprehensible.”
—Eugène Ionesco

“Life itself still remains a very effective therapist.”
—Karen Horney

Trivia

1. Astigmatism is a medical condition affecting what part of the body?

2. The term “nouveau riche” means what?

New Rich

3. What is a facade?

Building front or false effect

4. Sisters Serena and Venus Williams are champions of which Sport?

Tennis

5. A clementine is a cross between a sweet orange and what?

Mandarin Orange

Did You Know?

Japanese fame: Maynard Plant is a member of a band called Money Majik, which is famous in Japan. Plant was raised in Canada. Blaise, his brother, is also a band member, along with two Japanese musicians.

Giant egg: The town of Vegreville, Alberta (Canada), has a unique sculpture of a giant Pysanka, a Ukrainian-style Easter egg. It was erected in 1975 in honour of the Ukrainian settlements in the area.

Garden beauty: The Kingsbrae Garden in St. Andrews, New Brunswick (Canada), is home to over 50,000 perennial plants, as well the wollemi pine, one of the oldest trees in the world

Made a mark: Tim Bergling (1989-2017) was a Swedish musician and DJ from Stockholm known by his stage name, Avicii. He was known for mixing electronic music with other types of musical genres.

Canyon hiking: Near the Dead Sea in Jordan are canyons through which water flows. When the water is low and slow in the summer and fall, hiking is possible in these canyons, such as the Wadi Mujib, Wadi Zarqa Ma’in, and Wadi Himara.

On the Lighter Side

My email password has been hacked. That’s the third time I’ve had to rename the cat.

What’s the best thing about Switzerland? I don’t know, but the flag is a big plus

How many sheep does it take to make one sweater? Depends how well they can knit.

I called a temp agency looking for work, and they asked if I had any phone skills. I said, “I called you, didn’t I?”

How many telemarketers does it take to change a light bulb? Only one, but he has to do it while you’re eating dinner.

Featured

March 23, 2020

March 30, 2020 Gayle Hanlon

Everybody’s Talking

Fainting Canine: Emma Clayton and Oliver Broomhead of Sheffield, England, have a unique dog in their family. The cocker spaniel named Peter has a rare condition in which his muscles tense up, causing him to fall over. This happens when he gets excited about something, such as chasing ducks and squirrels. The couple has taken the dog to many veterinarians and animal specialists, but the condition continues to be a mystery. They assure onlookers who witness Peter’s fainting spells that he does not appear to be in any pain and that he comes out of it just fine, with tail wagging.

Wacky Car Rentals: When people rent vehicles or use a car-sharing service, the logical reason for doing so is to travel from one location to another. However, car rental agencies in Japan found that some customers were putting very little mileage on their rented car, and they wanted to find out why. It turns out that people have many more reasons for renting a vehicle than simply driving somewhere. Renters were using vehicles to take a nap, eat lunch, get work done on their laptops, or make phone calls. They do so because car rentals are usually affordable and provide a quiet space.

Odd name: A couple from Indonesia gave their baby boy a unique and unusual name: Google. Parents Andi Cahya Saputra and Ella Karina decided to give their child a technology-related name with the idea that he would grow up helping others. At first, their friends and relatives wondered about the decision, some thinking that the couple’s hidden agenda was to get compensation from the technology giant. However, that was not the case, and the name eventually started to grow on their friends. Baby Google does not have a middle or surname.

Good-looking Goat: Who would have thought that a good- looking goat could garner widespread attention? That’s what happened when Ahmad M Fadzir of Perak, Malaysia, posted photos of his newly purchased goat, Ramos, on social media. The goat is so cute, with his goatee beard and blond bangs, that the photos went viral. Ramos seems to love being a celebrity and even appears to pose for the camera with a smile on his face. A few people asked Fadzir if he would sell Ramos, but he declined. Instead, he offered them another goat from his herd.

Quoteable Quotes

“The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist fears this is true.”
—James Branch Cabell

“Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better, whereas enslavement is a certainty of the worse.”
—Albert Camus

Trivia

Trivia Questions… (for the answers click the + sign ===>>>)

1. The drone bee is male or female?
2. What is the world’s largest volcano?
3. What are anchovies?
4. In what month is St. Patrick’s Day celebrated?
5. Which legendary jazz musician had the nickname “Bird”?

Trivia Answers:
1. Male
2. Mauna Loa, Hawaii
3. Small Fish
4. March
5. Charlie Parker

Did You Know

Building designer: Moshe Safdie is an Israeli-Canadian- American architect who has designed many famous buildings around the world, including Marina Bay Sands, a hotel in Singapore, and Habitat 67, a housing complex in Montreal (Canada).

Falling water: Niagara Falls, which is on the border between the province of Ontario (Canada) and the state of New York (U.S.), is made up of three cascades. The largest of these is called Horseshoe Falls, named for its shape.

Main stage: The Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo was built in 1964 as a site for judo in the Olympic Games. Since then, it has become a venue for musicians, such as Cheap Trick, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton.

Small desert: Measuring only 2.59 square kilometres (1 sq. mi.), the Carcross Desert in the Yukon, in northern Canada, is thought to be the world’s smallest desert. In winter, its sand dunes are covered with snow.

Flavourful pepper: The Aleppo pepper, named after the Syrian city of Aleppo, is a mild but flavourful, burgundy- coloured pepper with a heat that slowly builds. It has a slight cumin-like taste.