Monday, November 12, 2007

 

Spotlight: What do you do with a beached whale? One thing not to do with it is to blow it up. Officials in Oregon learned that the hard way. On this date in 1970, an eight-ton sperm whale beached itself and died near Florence, OR. Workers used dynamite to remove the carcass. Whale blubber landed a good distance away, causing more damage; most of the whale was left intact and was removed later. While the giant mammals have been known to explode on their own, humans are responsible for most cases of exploding whales.

Quote: "Fiction was invented the day Jonas arrived home and told his wife that he was three days late because he had been swallowed by a whale." — Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Word of the day: angrophobia
Fear of becoming angry. (© Answers Corporation)

Today's News:

• Peru: 4,000-year-old mural-filled temple uncovered, complete with steps to Ventarron, a fire-worship altar (story)
• fish: really can make you smarter (story)
• whale song: Australian scientists decode the marine mammal's messages (story)

Today's History:

• Leonids: meteor shower was recorded for the first time (1799)
• Japan: war criminals sentenced to death, including PM Hideki Tojo (1948)
• Ellis Island: immigration station officially closed its doors; it had processed more than 12 million immigrants since opening in 1892 (1954)

Today's Birthdays:

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902): co-founder of the Seneca Falls Convention
• Baha'u'llah (1817-1892): leader of the Baha'i faith
• Grace Kelly (1929-1982): actress, princess of Monaco
• Neil Young (62): rock musician
• Sammy Sosa (39): home run slugger
• Anne Hathaway (25): actress, The Devil Wears Prada