Sheeple Magazine August Archive

Who Says a Squirrel Can't Act Like a Mongoose?

By Jamin Greensbury at 08/14/07 13:05

If a gopher snake ever tries to attack you, your best defense is none other than a California ground squirrel. Why you ask? Because when a squirrel discovers one of the snakes, it will start frantically waving its tail. Now how would that bother a snake? Well, since the snakes sense infrared radiation from heat, the waving of the tail intimidates the snake. This causes the snake to get on the defensive and make it retreat.

Now how does all this heat get in the tail? Scientists believe that the squirrel somehow shifts more blood into the tail as it starts waving it. Not that much else is known about how the squirrel does that. But this isn't a reflex of the squirrel's either. They only seem to do it around gopher snakes. Scientists found this out when examining the squirrels through an infrared camera.

So take your pet squirrel out on walks more often. I bet you'll feel so much safer with your squirrel acting like a mongoose.

Pencil For Your Thoughts?

A 59 year old German woman just had a pencil removed from her head. No, this wasn't a quick emergency room visit either. This woman suffered this injury when she was just 4 years old! Please read this sentence while you are gasping at the thought of that. Yes, if you subracted right, that means the pencil was stuck in her head for 55 years!

Back in the day when this incident happened, the technology to remove the pencil was non-existant. So this poor woman has had to live her life with chronic headaches and nosebleeds ever since the accident. I can't even imagine what this woman has gone through. But now everything has been put right, so hopefully she can start a normal life at 59 years of age.

The FDA, EPA and other U.S. Government agencies are using this example as proof that lead is not a danger to your health. It is expected that lead based paint, gasoline and other products will reappear on the market shortly.