Wikipedia is, if not the source of all knowledge, always good for amusement. Today’s amusement: Unusually-shaped vegetables and Supernumerary body parts, such as extra fingers (or toes), webbing between digits, extra heads, and the like.
The page of the Dual (as grammatical number) is more informative and information packed. Of continental European language really only Slovenian and Sorbian maintain the dual (grammatically), though some lone lexical forms show up elsewhere it seems.
An entry from last year at DoggieNews led me to a related Daily Mail story asking “Did this cat breed with a dog?” — a Brazilian woman claimed her cat mated with a dog and gave birth to puppies.
The story is absurd and stupid from the get-go, but even worse are some of the letters to the Daily Mail “story,” such as:
“We have seen numerous times throughout history that different animals breed with other animals of different genetic code. Unless you were there, you can’t say that it is impossible.” by Brion James, Bossier City
“Did this cat breed with a dog? It is highly unlikely. Lions and tigers breed in zoos. A false killer whale and a dolphin bred in captivity but this goes beyond that. Dogs and cats have been living in captivity for thousands of years. If this were possible, it would have happened before now.” by Doug Forbes, Wheeling, USA
And:
“No way, Biblically impossible. God would not allow it. All animals are made after their own kind.” by Ryan, USA
Today I got through the Mamas & the Papas, The No Smoking Orchestra, the Moody Blues, and am now on the New Pornographers — this after finishing the Kingston Trio. One of their “live” recordings, seemingly held in a NY club, displayed their great aptitude for humor.
I’ve come to love “Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Come to the Canyon)” by the Mamas & the Papas … it’s addictive, gentle, slightly melancholy but then beautiful.
One of my favorite groups, The Transsylvanians, has a video up on MySpace. It’s the Janoska live performance (heavily edited/remixed) that is found on the Igen CD/album, I think.
I’ll finish with a photo from icanhascheezburger (beware! kitten!)
