Home  >> Stories  >> The Tale Spinner #2016-04

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IN THIS ISSUE

VOL. XXII, NO. 04, JANUARY 23, 2016

IN THIS ISSUE

• Mike Yeager describes an uncomfortable flight to Singapore
• Barbara Wear forwards a tale about modern courtship
• Catherine Nesbit sends 50 facts about the human body
• Irene Harvalias forwards a joke about a cardiologist
• Betty Audet shares a prayer for her computer
• Sites are suggested by Barbara Wear, Bruce Galway, Catherine Nesbitt, Judith English, Judy Lee, Shirley Coutts, and Tom Telfer

Mike Yeager writes in his blog about

TRAVELLING TO SINGAPORE

Katie and I left our home on the Olympic Peninsula on Tuesday, January 19; spent the night in Seattle at my sister´s; and on Wednesday caught a flight to Singapore. With layovers in San Francisco and Tokyo, we arrived 36 hours later, with sore butts, sore backs, and muddled brains. It was dark when we left, and travelling away from the sun made it the longest night of our lives. I don´t know how many time zones we crossed, but we lost track of the day and time and felt as if we had entered the Twilight Zone.

I´d like to say the plane trip wasn´t bad, but I´d be lying. At times it wasn´t bad, but mostly it was a slow deliberate form of torture. We flew Japan Air on the last two legs of the journey, and had been told that the food was good - it wasn´t - and that the seating was more comfortable than that of other airlines - but it was just barely.

The stewardesses were all young, pretty, soft spoken, and extremely gracious and helpful. Women´s lib has obviously not influenced the hiring practices of the Japanese airline industry, and I´m alright with that.

On the seats in front of us were video screens with a modest choice of movies. I watched "The Intern," with Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, not a great movie, but I enjoyed it (I´ll watch De Niro in anything); "Jurassic World" a silly, predictable movie with good special effects; and "Black Mass," a disturbing movie with Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger, and the best of the three movies. The movies were about two hours each, which left an endless amount of time for reading, trying to get comfortable, trying to sleep, and trying not to look at my watch.

During the longest leg of the flight, between San Francisco and Tokyo, I was stuck in the middle seat, with Katie by the window, and in the aisle seat, a guy who put a black mask over his eyes and slept the whole time. When Katie or I had to pee, which is often at our age, especially with the helpful stewardesses supplying us with plenty of water and soft drinks so that we didn´t get dehydrated or throw an embolus, I had to wake him from a deep sleep, wait while he pulled off the mask, and stood up in the aisle. And when we returned, Rip van Winkle was again sound asleep with his mask on.

Our longest layover was in Tokyo. For five hours we wandered around the airport, sat in a variety of places and ate Japanese food, which was delicious. We were both happy to be off the plane. We couldn´t figure out why so many Japanese people were wearing surgical masks. Is the Avian flu back, and should we be avoiding them, or are they afraid we are sick and they´re trying to avoid us? A lot of young school girls had them on. I can´t stand having a mask over my face, but that´s just me. I´ll take my chances.

Peter, Katie´s son, met us at the Singapore airport and took us on a wild ride nearly the entire width of the city/state/country. People drive on the wrong side of the road here, and zillions of motorbikes dart in and out of traffic.

But we made it to Peter´s home where his wife, Nani, and son, Christopher, welcomed us. We ate a wonderful meal Nani had prepared, fell into bed in their guest room, and slept.

ED. NOTE: Mike blogs at

Barbara Wear forwards this tale of

MODERN COURTSHIP

The mother of a 17-year-old girl was concerned that her daughter was having sex.

Worried the girl might become pregnant and adversely impact the family´s status, she consulted the family doctor.

The doctor told her that teenagers today were very willful and any attempt to stop the girl would probably result in rebellion. He then told her to arrange for her daughter to be put on birth control and until then, talk to her and give her a box of condoms.

Later that evening, as her daughter was preparing for a date, the mother told her about the situation and handed her a box of condoms.

The girl burst out laughing and reached over to hug her mother, saying,

"Oh Mom! You don´t have to worry about that! I´m dating Susan!"

Catherine Nesbitt forwards this information:

THE FACTS ABOUT THE HUMAN BODY

The human body is a treasure trove of mysteries - one that still confounds doctors and scientists about the details of its working. It´s not an overstatement to say that every part of your body is a miracle. Here are 50 facts about your body, some of which may leave you stunned.

It´s possible for your body to survive without a surprisingly large fraction of its internal organs. Even if you lose your stomach, your spleen, 75% of your liver, 80% of your intestines, one kidney, one lung, and virtually every organ from your pelvic and groin area, you wouldn´t be very healthy, but you would live.

During your lifetime, you will produce enough saliva to fill two swimming pools. Actually, saliva is more important than you realize. If your saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it.

The largest cell in the human body is the female egg, and the smallest is the male sperm. The egg is actually the only cell in the body that is visible to the naked eye.

The tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body; the jawbone is the hardest bone.

Human feet have 52 bones, accounting for one-quarter of all the human body´s bones.

Feet have 500,000 sweat glands and can produce more than a pint of sweat a day.

The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razor blades. The reason it doesn´t eat away at your stomach is that the cells of your stomach wall renew themselves so frequently that you get a new stomach lining every three to four days.

The human lungs contain approximately 2,400 kilometers (1,500 mi) of airways and 300 to 500 million hollow cavities, having a total surface area of about 70 square meters, roughly the same area as one side of a tennis court. Furthermore, if all of the capillaries that surround the lung cavities were unwound and laid end to end, they would extend for about 992 kilometers. Also, your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart.

Sneezes regularly exceed 100 mph, while coughs clock in at about 60 mph.

A body gives off enough heat in 30 minutes to bring half a gallon of water to a boil.

A body has enough iron in it to make a nail three inches long.

Earwax production promotes good ear health. It protects the delicate inner ear from bacteria, fungus, dirt, and even insects. It also cleans and lubricates the ear canal.

Everyone has a unique smell, except for identical twins, who smell the same.

Teeth start growing six months before birth. One of every 2,000 newborn infants has a tooth when born.

A baby´s head is one-quarter of its total length, but by the age of 25, it will only be one-eighth of its total length. People´s heads grow at much slower rate than the rest of their bodies.

Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood the number is reduced to 206. Some bones, like skull bones, get fused into each other, bringing down the total number.

It´s not possible to tickle yourself because when you try it, you are totally aware of the exact time and manner in which the tickling will occur, unlike when someone else tickles you.

Less than one-third of the human race has 20-20 vision. This means that two out of three people cannot see perfectly.

Your nose can remember 50,000 different scents. If you are a woman, you are a better smeller than men, and will remain a better smeller throughout your life.

The human body is estimated to have 60,000 miles of blood vessels.

The three things pregnant women dream most of during their first trimester are frogs, worms, and potted plants. Scientists have no idea why this is so, but attribute it to the growing imbalance of hormones in the body during pregnancy.

The life span of a human hair is three to seven years on average. Every day the average person loses 60-100 strands of hair. But don´t worry. You must lose over 50% of your scalp hairs before it is apparent to anyone.

The human brain cell can hold five times as much information as an encyclopedia. Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your bloodstream, and is 80% water. Though it interprets pain signals from the rest of the body, the brain itself cannot feel pain.

The tooth is the only part of the human body that can´t repair itself.

Your eyes are always the same size from birth but your nose and ears never stop growing.

By 60 years of age, 60% of men and 40% of women will snore.

We are about one cm taller in the morning than in the evening, because during normal activities during the day, the cartilage in our knees and other areas slowly compress.

The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb, even while you are sleeping. In fact, the brain is much more active at night than during the day.

Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour. Neurons continue to grow throughout human life. Information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons.

People who dream more often and more vividly, tend to have a higher intelligence quotient.

The fastest growing nail is on the middle finger.

Facial hair grows faster than other hair on the body, for women as well as men.

There are as many hairs per square inch on your body as on a chimpanzee.

A human fetus acquires fingerprints at the age of three months.

By the age of 60, most people will have lost about half their taste buds.

About 32 million bacteria call every inch of your skin home. But don´t worry; a majority of these are harmless or even helpful bacteria.

The colder the room you sleep in, the higher the chances are that you´ll have a bad dream.

Human lips have a reddish color because of the great concentration of tiny capillaries just below the skin.

Three hundred million cells die in the human body every minute.

Like fingerprints, every individual has an unique tongue print that can be used for identification.

A human head remains conscious for about 15 to 20 seconds after it has been decapitated.

It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown.

Humans can make do longer without food than sleep. Provided there is water, the average human could survive a month to two months without food. depending on their body fat and other factors. Sleep- deprived people, however, start experiencing radical personality and psychological changes after only a few sleepless days. The longest recorded time anyone has ever gone without sleep is 11 days, at the end of which the experimenter was awake, but stumbled over words, hallucinated, and frequently forgot what he was doing.

The most common blood type in the world is Type O. The rarest blood type, A-H or Bombay blood, due to the location of its discovery, has been found in fewer than a hundred people since it was discovered.

Every human spends about half an hour after being conceived as a single cell. Shortly afterward, the cells begin rapidly dividing and begin forming the components of a tiny embryo.

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do.

Your ears secrete more earwax when you are afraid than when you aren´t.

Koalas and primates are the only animals with unique fingerprints.

Humans are the only animals to produce emotional tears.

The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet in the air.

ED. NOTE: As with all "facts" on the net, some of these may not be true, or later turn out to have been misinterpreted. I am reminded of the quote from Bob Hope: When your doctor says you have a virus, what he means is that your guess is as good as his.

Irene Harvalias shares this story about

THE CARDIOLOGIST

A Lexus mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a LS460 when he spotted a well-known cardiologist in his shop.The cardiologist was there waiting for the service manager to come and take a look at his car when the mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey Doc, want to take a look at this?"

The cardiologist, a bit surprised, walked over to where the mechanic was working.The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag, and said,

"So Doc, look at this engine. I opened its heart, took the valves out, repaired or replaced anything damaged, and then put everything back in, and when I finished, it worked just like new. So how is it that I make $48,000 a year and you make $1.7M when you and I are doing basically the same work?"

The cardiologist paused, leaned over, and then whispered to the mechanic. "Try doing it with the engine running."

Betty Audet forwards this poem:

BLESS MY COMPUTER

Dear Lord,

Every single evening
As I´m lying here in bed,
This tiny little prayer
Keeps running through my head:

God bless all my family
Wherever they may be,
Keep them warm
And safe from harm,
For they´re so close to me.

And God, there is one more thing
I wish that you could do.
Hope you don´t mind me asking,
Please bless my computer too.

Now I know that it´s unusual
To bless a motherboard,
But listen just a second
While I explain it to you, Lord.

You see, that little metal box
Holds more than odds and ends;
Inside those small compartments
Rest so many of my friends.

I know so much about them
By the kindness that they give,
And this little scrap of metal
Takes me in to where they live.

By faith is how I know them,
Much the same as you.
We share in what life brings us,
And from that our friendships grew.

Please take an extra minute
From your duties up above,
To bless those in my address book
That´s filled with so much love.

Wherever else this prayer may reach,
To each and every friend,
Bless each e-mail inbox
And each person who hits "send."

When you update your Heavenly list
On your own great CD-ROM,
Bless everyone who says this prayer
Sent up to GOD.Com

Amen

SUGGESTED WEBSITES

Barbara Wear sends this link to an article and podcast of an interview with one of the people who hiked the Appalachian Trail in the past year, Siobhan Sheridan from Australia:

Bruce Galway sends the URL for a page of helpful hints about the use of vinegar. Perhaps it would be useful to print out the page, because vinegar has many users, from medicine to cleaners:

Catherine Nesbitt forwards the URL of a video of fabulous gardens, accompanied by guitarist Ricky King, one of Germany´s famous musicians:

Judith English sends this link to a site with photos that show there are kind-hearted people around us:

Judy Lee suggests this site for a video of a seven-year-old boy confidently conducting a classical orchestra in their rendition of Johann Straus´ Overture to "The Bat:"

Shirley Coutts found this video interesting, but loved the photos of Dubai. They didn´t show on my computer because suggestions are cued to videos you have been watching. Here is the first video, of a hologram:

And here is a video of Dubai, which has the tallest building in the world, as well as many other attractions:

Tom Telfer suggests this video of the fabulous and entertaining Andre Rieu conducting his orchestra in the playing of "Espana cani:"

Tom also sends this link to a video of a French restaurant, Le Petit Chef, which has an original way to entertain guests while they are waiting with a projection of a small chef who appears on the plates:

If you are wondering how one person can make a difference in the face of climate change, have a look at this website´s choice of green movers and shakers, some of the people who will lead us toward a more sustainable future in the coming year:

Research suggests that nearly 75% of deaths from breast and colon cancer can be prevented with vitamin D. Listen to this interview about this finding:

You don´t have to be crazy to do these stunts with a parachutte, but it helps:

To check out the features of the "freedictionary", which changes daily, go to