October 22, 2004

* October is, among other things, National Pizza Month. (Chicago Sun-Times)

* The number of children a sperm donor can father depends on where he lives and where his sperm is sent. In Denmark, the limit is 25. In Britain, it is 10. In the United States, it's 25 births for each donor within a population of 800,000. (The New York Times)

* Oahu, Hawaii launched its first garbage-recycling program in 2004. Of the average 3,000 tons of domestic garbage it generates in a day, 2,000 tons of it are incinerated to produce electricity for 40,000 homes. The rest goes to the dump. (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

* Up to 2,000 female koalas in Australia are going to be implanted with a slow-release hormone that acts as a contraceptive. That's right. Koala bears are going on birth control. (CNN)

* Europe's biggest mushroom is 1,000 years old, spans an area that's 800 by 500 meters and weighs an estimated 600 tons. (Reuters)

October 20, 2004

Each Halloween, I post a piece of fiction on Jaded Writings. This year's story was written as an entry in the Summer 2003 WritersWeekly.com 24-Hour Short Story Contest.

The Fall 2004 version of the 24-hour contest takes place this Saturday. I've already signed up to participate. Care to join me?

* Art Buchwald - 10/20/25
* Robert Pinsky - 10/20/40
* Debbie L. Feldman - 10/20/51
* Samuel Taylor Coleridge - 10/21/1772
* Ursula K. Le Guin - 10/21/29
* Carrie Fisher - 10/21/56
* D. James Tindell - 10/21/56
* Michael Crichton - 10/23/42
* "Weird" Al Yankovic - 10/23/59
* Anne Tyler - 10/25/41
* Desiderius Erasmus - 10/26/1466
* Pat Conroy - 10/26/45
* Dylan Thomas - 10/27/14
* Sylvia Plath - 10/27/32
* Fran Lebowitz - 10/27/50

October 19, 2004

* kitties
* lamp shades covered in gauzy scarves
* cherry Jell-O with pineapples
* sexy, silky lingerie
* acceptance letters

"If winter is slumber and spring is birth, and summer is life, then autumn rounds out to be reflection. It's a time of year when the leaves are down and the harvest is in and the perennials are gone. Mother Earth just closed up the drapes on another year and it's time to reflect on what's come before."
--Mitchell Burgess

October 17, 2004

* Andrew Wilson, a self-employed inventor in Branson, Mo., recently changed his name to "They." (USA Today)

* The deadliest hurricane in American history hit Galveston, Tex., in Sept. 1900. Between 8,000 and 12,000 people perished. (CNN)

* Officials in the Iraqi Health Ministry recorded 3,487 Iraqi deaths from April 5 to Sept. 19, 2004. Of those, 328 were women and children under 12. Two-thirds of the Iraqi deaths were caused by the U.S. side and police; the remaining third died from insurgent attacks. Another 13,720 Iraqis were also injured. (E&P)

* Rhode Island, New Jersey and Michigan have the highest cigarette taxes in the country. Each state imposes a tax of $2 or more per pack. (USA Today)

* The average American college freshman owes $1,533 on one credit card. By graduation, the debt climbs to $3,262 on four cards. (Credit Cards Magazine)

"According to this source, 32% of Americans questioned in a recent poll believe that Saddam Hussein personally planned the 9/11 attacks. And according to this source, 34% of Americans questioned in a recent poll believe in UFOs. All of which leads me to wonder: are these the same people?"
--Orin Kerr

Past Afterthoughts