Are You Hairball Aware?

Cat owners will tell you they have more than their share of Hairball Awareness, especially when they unexpectedly "find" said hairball with the bottom of their bare foot. While that is certainly so, I have recently discovered that hairball production is not the sole proprietary domain of cats. And in honor of April 30, 2010 being National Hairball Awareness Day - celebrated (?) on the last Friday in April every year - let me share with you what I have learned.

Not Just for Cats Anymore

That's right. Hairballs are not just cat fancy. Cows get them, too. So do goats and other cud-chewers. (Note to self: remember "cud-chewer" for the next time I need a really good insult.)

People can get hairballs, though it's not common, and we can't expel them as easily as a cat. In fact, we can't expel them at all. Hair cannot be digested or passed by the human gastrointestinal tract, nor can it be vomited up. When a hairball gets large enough to block things up, surgery is often the only way to get it out.

More Than Just Hair

When is a hairball not a hairball? When it's made of something else, of course. Doctors call a mass of stuff that gets stuck in the gut a bezoar (say "BEE-zor"). And each type of bezoar has a specific name. Oh, yes, there are types. Five of 'em:

• Trichobezoar - hairball (Think: what's left in your shower drain after your shower, only bigger. Much, much bigger.)
• Phytobezoar - ball of non-digestable food parts, like celery, grape skins, saurkraut, or gum. (Interestingly, a new medical treatment for this particular bezoar is meeting with some success: ingesting Coca-Cola in a prescribed manner. Yep. It seems the carbonic and phosphoric acids in this popular soft drink can dissolve some phytobezoars, if they're not a serious case.)
• Diospyrobezoar - specialty phytobezoars made of persimmon parts. (I've never eaten a persimmon. Now, I probably never will.)
• Pharmacobezoar - formed from amassed pill capsules
• Lactobezoar - mass of undigested milk, most commonly found in pre-term babies on highly concentrated formula

Middle Ages Snake Oil Salesmen?

Though most of us wrinkle our nose and let out an involuntary "Ewwwww" when we think of hairballs, people haven't always thought they were cringe-worthy. Let's do a bit of connect-the-dots, and you'll see how.

• First dot: the word "bezoar" comes from the Persian word pâdzahr, which means "protection from poison."
• Second dot: The Middle East - which includes what was then known as Persia - introduced 11th century Europe to ground up animal hairballs (a.k.a. bezoars), which were believed to cure poisoning, epilepsy, and the plague. In fact, bezoars remained a popular medicinal remedy right up through the 18th century.
• Third dot: China has used cow bezoars for 2,000+ years, most notably to treat diseases of the mouth. (Is it me, or has China done just about everything well before everyone else? I guess when a culture has been around as long as China's has, they have a lot of "been there, done that" moments.)

So. Bezoars as medicine. If I follow this correctly, stuff is put in the mouth - that may or may not be food - and is swallowed. The may-or-may-not-be-food gets stuck in the gut. This continues until the accumulated may-or-may-not-be-food is compacted and has to be removed from the gut (one way or another). Then, the may-or-may-not-be-food (which is now a bezoar) is dried out, ground up, and put back in a mouth - yours, to be precise. All to make you feel better.

I'll never understand medicine.

And now go forth, secure in the knowledge that - cat owner or no - you are truly Hairball Aware.

Sources:

National Hairball Awareness Day - Educate Your Human (no longer a live site)

Happy Hairball Awareness Day - Popsci.com

National Hairball Awareness Day - Boston.com (no longer a live site)

Note: The source below has interesting information on hairballs, but be aware that there are photos of actual hairballs from both animals and people. At the bottom of the page are three photos of a surgery that show removal of a rather large hairball from a person. Please use discretion before sharing this one with the kiddos, or if you are in any way squeamish.

National Museum of Health and Medicine Online Exhibit: "Hairballs: Myths and Realities behind some Medical Curiosities"

Something to Jump Around About

First, I'm not who you think I am. My name is Sonic, and my mom is letting me be Guest Blogger for today. I like frogs, and April is National Frog Month, so I decided to research frogs. Here is what I found out:


Know Your Frog and Toad
No, no. Not the book! I mean the real things. Did you know all toads are actually frogs, but they do have some ways to tell them apart? You can find frogs everywhere in the world except Antarctica. You can find true toads every place but Australasia, polar regions, Madagascar, and Polynesia. You can also find toads in Australia and some South Pacific Islands, but they aren't there naturally. People brought them there. Frogs tend to lay eggs in clusters, and toads tend to lay eggs in long chains. Frogs have smooth or slimy skin and like wetter places, but toads have dry and warty skin, and prefer dryer places. Frogs have long, webbed hind feet for jumping and swimming, and toads have short hind legs for walking instead of hopping. (I did not know that before!)

Just Frogs
Here's some cool stuff I learned about frogs:

• A frog can change the color of its skin depending on what's around it.
• Frogs can lay up to 4,000 eggs all at one time.
• Frogs have teeth, but only in their upper jaw.
• The African Giant is the biggest frog there is. It can grow up to 26 inches long and weigh up to 10 pounds!
• Bullfrogs can live for 30 years!
• Frogs get their water by absorbing it through their skin, instead of drinking it.
• A group of frogs is called an army.
• Only male frogs can croak.

Ways to Celebrate
I wondered how I could have fun during National Frog Month. I found a few suggestions at a now-gone eHow article named "How to Celebrate National Frog Month":

1. Make a frog pond in your backyard, so you can watch them close up.
2. Learn the life cycle of a frog.
3. Visit a wet place where a frog might like to live, and see if you can find any to watch and listen to.
4. Play leap frog.

You could also visit the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy's National Frog Month blog page. It has a link to a Frogs and Toads crossworld puzzle that you can print and fill in.

I think frogs are cool! I hope you do, too.

Sources:
Frog or Toad?
Cool Frog Facts
Frog Life Cycle - Fun Frog Facts

Hearken! Talk Like Shakespeare Day Approacheth.

Greetings, mistress or sirrah! Allow me to tell thee my name: Eclipse Firebright. Thou canst perchance tell I am not thy regular blogger, and t'would you believe it? I'm not! I am, rather, the belov'd daughter of this blog's most noble usual scribe. So get it through your head, you idle-headed foot-licker! I am guest blogging for Take Thy Daughters and Sons to Work Day, and hark, for there is a reason for my curious (and partially insulting) tongue. April 23rd is Talk Like Shakespeare Day!

Indeed, t'will be Talk Like Shakespeare Day, introduced to the world in 2009 by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in honor of what many historians believe to be the Bard's birthday - April 23rd. Many of you may have seen or read his great works, and noticed the curious dialogue. In fact, Shakespeare is single-handedly responsible for introducing over 2,000 words to the English language!

Want to join the fun? Learn more about this day from the National Day Calendar, and here are a few things to try:

1. Say "thou" or "thee" instead of "you," and "ye" for "y'all".
2. All dudes are sirrahs, girls mistresses, and friends cousin.
3. No longer call tormentors jerks. Try jackanapes, canker-blossoms, and poisonous bunch back'd toads.
4. Don't use "it", only use "t", like 'tis, 'twill, and 'twon't.
5. When in doubt, add "eth."
   
   
   
   

Now that you know how to talk like Shakespeare, you must learn to insult like him. Yes, insult. Ol' Bill and his Elizabethan era buds thought up some pretty potent insults, and enjoyed them immensely. If you want to study up on the insults slung by one of history's biggest meany mouths, try The Encyclopedia of Immaturity, by the Klutz company. Page 169 has a whole do-it-yourself chart of ready made Shakespearean insults. Need a comeback fast? Head on over to Shakespearean Insult Generator, which you can use to get the perfect insult in seconds.

So now, thou hast mastered talking like Shakespeare. Not bad for a spleeny folly-fallen bladder! As the greatest Bard and insulter in history once penned, "All's well that ends well..."

Web Sources:

Talk Like Shakespeare.org (no longer a live site)

Talk Like Shakespeare Day A Complete Guide

St. Louis, Chicago Celebrate Shakepeare's Birthday (no longer a live site)

Book Source:
Title: The Encyclopedia of Immaturity: How to Never Grow Up - The Complete Guide

Authors/Illustrators: The Editors of Klutz

Pages: 412

Reading Level: Ages 8+

Publisher and Date: Klutz, a subsidiary of Scholastic Inc.

Edition: School Market Edition

Language: English

Published In: United States

Price: $19.95

ISBN-10: 1591745438

ISBN-13: 978-1591745433

How Does One Define the Indefinable?

April 9th will soon be upon us. And you know what that will mean...only 6 days left to pony up your taxes. April 9th also happens to be National Cherish an Antique Day. Which begs the question:

When is "antique" status officially attained?

And the answer is:

It depends.

Surely, you weren't expecting a more cut-and-dried result? That hardly ever happens here at Bugs and Bunnies, and besides, where's the fun in only one possibility?

As it turns out, there are several definitions out there for "antique," and which one you use depends on the situation in which you happen to be. ChaCha.com, for instance, answers the question this way:

"Since 1980, the unofficial definition of an antique is anything made before the outbreak of the Second World War."

If that's the case, then technically, both of my grandmas are antiques. While it's true that at least one of them loves any excuse for a party, I'm pretty sure both of them may be a smidge offended to be the guests of honor at a "Cherish an Antique" party. Even if it does have the word "cherish" in it.

You know what, though? I'd still like to throw them that party. I'll figure out what to call it later. For now, we need to delve deeper into this definition-of-antique thing.

On ehow.com, it says that in 1930, the United States legislature defined "antique" as anything older than 100 years. 100 years? That totally leaves my grandmas outta this antique gig. (But not by much...) A bit further on, it says that anything old - that is newer than 100 years - is defined as a "collectible." So, according to this, while my grandmas don't qualify as antiques, they can join Club Collectible.

But a consolation prize isn't really what we're after, so let's keep looking. Besides, "antique" has a much nicer ring to it, don't you think?

Unfortunately, further digging just makes things even murkier. Answerbag.com lists Webster's definition of "antique" as:

"belonging in the past."

How's that for arbitrary? Even so, maybe we can hammer this one out. Let's see: I have one grandma who owns a computer and an email account - and knows how to use both. And my other grandma is totally old-school, relying almost solely on actual, handwritten letters and cards to keep in touch. It seems in this case, then, that only the grandma who's holding on to the past gets to join the Antique Par-Tay.

Well. I'm gonna recuse myself on this one. A granddaughter can't choose between her grandmas. It's unseemly.

Moving on, we have about.com, which defines "antique" thusly:

"a work of art, piece of furniture, or decorative object made at an earlier period, and according to many customs laws, at least 100 years ago."

Well, now. This one just up and slams the door in my grandmas' faces all kinds of ways. My grandmas are not furniture. My grandmas are not objects - decorative or otherwise. And my grandmas are not 100. (Yet.)

Oh! Hey! Possible loophole: Sometimes, my grandmas wear flowery blouses or hats, or jewelry. Donning any of those could designate the wearer as "a work of art," couldn't it? This might be the one, I think. I mean, nobody wants to be a Grandma Basher, now, do they?

Oh, all right. That may be a teensy bit of a stretch. But I really wanna throw my grandmas a party on National Cherish an Antique Day. Luckily, I have one last option to check out. A quick Google search for "definition of antique" brings up a whole page of definitions. This one caught my eye:

"...any piece of furniture or decorative object or the like produced in a former period and valuable because of its beauty or rarity."

Hmmm. Produced in a former period and valuable because of its beauty or rarity. This could work. My grandmas are both women of, shall we say, a very certain age. My grandmas are both just lovely, inside and out. Plus, they're the only two women in the entire world whom I can call "Grandma." That, my friends, makes them not only rare, but also much more valuable than any old antique.

And I cherish them both.

A Word (or Several) about the Wee Folk Known As Leprechauns

With St. Patrick's Day now upon us, the spotlight is firmly aimed at those mischievous wee folk: the leprechauns. Well, it would be, if they were easy to spot. And to have any hope of spotting them, you have to know where to start looking.

There are two schools of thought regarding the leprechauns' whereabouts: those who believe they're global inhabitants, and those who believe they can only be found on the Emerald Isle itself. (There is also the ever-present skeptical school of thought that refutes the leprechauns' existence entirely. Since I'm not One of Them, let's just ignore that school, shall we?)

Regardless of location, leprechauns are known to be wily, quick-witted, solitary, and none too pleasant. So why would you want to find a leprechaun? Well, legend has it that these Irish fairies are the self-appointed guardians of ancient treasure left behind by Viking raiders who marauded through Ireland eleven centuries ago. To find that well-hidden treasure, you first have to find a leprechaun. No easy feat, that, but rumor has it that you may be able to do it by listening for the sound of his cobbler's hammer.

If you manage to catch one, keep your eyes glued to the little man. Courtesy and fairy law binds the leprechaun to tell the truth, but only as long as his captor adheres to courtesy, as well: looking the leprechaun straight in the eye, and never looking away. If his captor looks away, even for a fraction of a second, the leprechaun is freed from any obligation, and will vanish.

If you manage to maintain eye contact, there's another wrinkle: though the leprechaun is honor-bound to tell the truth, he has no restrictions against trickery whatsoever. You must have a sharp mind to be able to match wits with a leprechaun if you hope to even get a glimpse of his gold, let alone get your hands on it.

Good luck!

Since not all leprechaun searchers are treasure hunters of the monetary type, here are some offerings for treasure hunters of the cerebral type:

Ireland's County Tipperary is home to a famous fairy ring, where it is said that leprechauns have been seen for centuries. It's near the town of Thurles, in a meadow known as the Glen of Cloongallon, on the ancestral family farm of the Coogans. The ring is an enormous dark green circle roughly 500 feet across. In the center stands six ancient stones "taller than a man," topped by a capstone even larger.

On the edge of this ring stands an oak tree believed to be over six centuries old. Legend says the leprechauns, who enjoyed its shade, saved this tree at a time when Irish oaks were being cut down in order to build the navies of England's King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth.

If you'd love to see the wee folk in their native land, but can't make the trip in person, point your browser to IrelandsEye Leprechaun Watch, where you can actually see the fairy ring via a live webcam hidden in that 600-year-old oak, and maybe even spot a leprechaun with your very own eyes, all without ever leaving your living room. Note that Ireland is five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, so to see anything, you'll need to view the webcam during Ireland's daylight hours. If you see any leprechauns, there is a link on the page to report what you saw, as well as read about what others have spotted. And if your visit comes during Ireland's nighttime hours, never fear. You can click over to a page where you can view a panoramic video of the whole fairy ring area, to see what it looks like during the day. Click around the rest of the site, too, and find all kinds of info about leprechauns and Ireland's other fairy folk, and even download an official Leprechaun Watch certificate to commemorate your virtual visit. Very cool.

For those lucky enough to actually be in Ireland, as either citizen or tourist, you can learn all about leprechauns by visiting the brand new, first-of-its-kind-anywhere-in-the-world National Leprechaun Museum. It just opened on March 10, 2010, in the heart of Dublin, Ireland. Visitors will learn all about leprechauns, their folklore, and their place in history, as they go through the museum's guided tour of 12 rooms that - via optical and physical illusion - shrink them down to leprechaun size to experience life from the leprechaun's perspective. Says the museum's designer/director Tom O'Rahilly, via interview in ArtDaily.org:

"Irish culture is famous the world over - even Walt Disney came to Ireland to look for leprechauns. However, not may people know the real stories behind the country's folklore. We want to give visitors an experience to remember, taking them to the heart of Irish identity and imagination, telling the amazing tales that make up Celtic culture and offering some surprises and new experiences along the way."

And for those who just need something silly on St. Paddy's Day, I leave you with these: discover what your leprechaun name is by visiting The Learning Station, but before you leave me, be sure to watch this very sweet three-year-old's giggle-worthy take on leprechauns:

However you choose to spend the day, whether searching for leprechauns, visiting museums, or sharing a laugh, I wish you a very happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sources:
How to Catch a Leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day (no longer a live site, but was a fun resource)
National Leprechaun Museum

Leprechauns - the facts (no longer a live site, but was a fun resource)
History of Shamrock, Leprechaun, and the Blarney Stone

IrelandsEye.com - The Leprechaun

March 13th is Pluto is a Planet Day (and the IAU Be Darned!)

If you memorized the names of our solar system's planets via some variation of the mnemonic sentence: "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas," then perhaps the issue of Pluto's celestial status resonates with you, one way or the other. 

You learned via a smart mom and an absurd number of pizzas that there are nine planets. Nine. And that the smallest of these is Pluto. (Pluto the planet, of course; not to be confused with the lanky, spicy-mustard-colored, whip-tailed canine of the Disney persuasion).

Pluto has held the exalted position of smallest, most-distant-from-the-sun planet since it was first discovered by Clyde Tombaugh on February 18, 1930, and named by eleven-year-old English school girl Venetia Burney. School children all over the US happily recited that Mom-and-Pizza mnemonic as they dutifully learned the names and placements of all nine planets in our solar system.

Did I mention there are nine planets? Well. There were. Until 2006, when They went and screwed it all up. "They" is the International Astronomical Union. Due in part to an increasingly heated debate in the scientific community over the years as to whether Pluto is, in fact, a bonafide, card-carrying member of Club Planet, the IAU decided to come up with an official set of membership criteria. To be a planet, a celestial body must meet all of the following:

• Orbit the sun.
• Be large enough to have a near spherical shape due to the force of its own gravity.
• Must have swept its orbital neighborhood clean of large objects.

It is item #3 that did Pluto in: at least one object in its orbital neighborhood (the largest of its three moons, Charon) is nearly half Pluto's mass.

And so, with a few strokes of a pen (or rather, a few characters typed on a computer screen, most likely) the far-out, frozen, Planet Formerly Known as Pluto has been relegated to mere dwarf planet status. And dwarf planet, of course, has a definition, too. A dwarf planet:

• Orbits the sun.
• Is large enough to have a near spherical shape due to the force of its own gravity.
• Has not swept its orbital neighborhood clean of large objects.
• Is not a satellite.

Lest you consider the matter closed, here's a new wrinkle: there are some planetary folks who feel Pluto is really in a binary system with its largest moon, Charon. But since the IAU hasn't yet officially defined "binary dwarf planet," Pluto is still just a dwarf planet. For now.

In the meantime, while Pluto lives through a very controversial celestial identity crisis, the IAU decided to spare Pluto's largest moon a similar fate: Charon still gets to keep its "moon" status until the whole binary dwarf system thing is resolved.

To add insult to injury, Pluto's fall from grace has spawned a new verb: "to pluto," meaning, "to demote or devalue someone or something," as in, "Dude, you just got plutoed!" And it doesn't even get the dignity of capitalization.

So, from celebrated new planet to so much space flotsam and jetsam in a span of only 80 years?

Hold on! Before you lament that life just isn't fair, know that there are some consolation prizes:

• First, in 2008, the IAU announced the newly created category of plutoids: a term which describes Pluto, the newly discovered Eris, and other similar celestial bodies which have an orbital semimajor axis greater than that of Neptune, and which have enough mass to be of near-spherical shape.
• Second, "plutoed" received the dubious honor of being chosen as the American Dialect Society's 2006 Word of the Year.
• Third, the good people in both the state of Illinois and the state of New Mexico have declared - officially - that Pluto is indeed a bonafide planet every time it passes through the skies over their respective states. And, they went even further, declaring that March 13th* be henceforth known as "Pluto Day" (in Illinois) or "Pluto Planet Day" (in New Mexico). No matter what the IAU says.

Well.

That's something, I guess.

- - - - - - - - -

*Note: March 13th is the birthday of Percival Lowell, an astronomer who first called the scientific community's attention to the existence of a "Planet X." It was during the search for Planet X that Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto.

Sources:

Wikipedia: Pluto

Pluto a Planet Again on Friday the 13th, in Illinois

Pluto's a Planet, At Least When It's Over New Mexico (link no longer valid, but it was a fun resource)

State Might Make Pluto a Planet

In the interest of fairness, these articles contain compelling discussions supporting the notion that Pluto is not a true planet. (I may disagree, but I love a good discussion):

The discovery of 2003 UB313 Eris, the 10th planet largest known dwarf planet - Article by Mike Brown, Professor of Planetary Astronomy, California Institute of Technology

Why Isn't Pluto a Planet Anymore? - Article by Dr. Fred Bortz, "Ask Dr. Fred"

It's Not the Chili You Should Worry About

Today is National Chili Day. Or it may be tomorrow. Or it might have been three days ago. I'm finding it listed several different days in February, so I'm just gonna go with today. But don't let the ambiguous date assignment of National Chili Day hinder your celebratory consumption. Join me today! Grab yourself a piping hot bowl o' beany, meaty, spicy goodness. Go ahead! Enjoy!

And remember: the best part of this holiday is that it's multi-sensory.

It's got taste...

...and smell...

...and sound.

Oh, what a wonderful day! And for those of you who - for dietary or religious or even fear-of-flatulence reasons - cannot join in the consumption, I found just the video to help you celebrate vicariously.

*Parents: Never fear! This is a kid-friendly snippet of Blazing Saddles. In fact, the kiddos may enjoy it more than you. Unless you're a lot like me. And in that case, you may enjoy it more than them.