Most oysters we buy to eat were raised in growing farms because they have been fished a lot from the seas.

Golfers lose about 125,000 golf balls each year playing the TPC Sawgrass golf course's famous 17th hole.



https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/sports/golf/2013/05/09/the-17th-at-tpc-sawgrass/2141517/


Note that alligators have been spotted at the pond there at the 17th hole.

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on May 11, 2025, 03:08:37 PMGolfers lose about 125,000 golf balls each year playing the TPC Sawgrass golf course's famous 17th hole.



https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/sports/golf/2013/05/09/the-17th-at-tpc-sawgrass/2141517/


Note that alligators have been spotted at the pond there at the 17th hole.

As a kid, my brother and I worked at a golf course. We would collect lost golf balls, wash them up, and sell them to golfers for $1 a piece. It was nice to supplement our allowance with.

Quote from: Lori Dee on May 11, 2025, 04:48:22 PMAs a kid, my brother and I worked at a golf course. We would collect lost golf balls, wash them up, and sell them to golfers for $1 a piece. It was nice to supplement our allowance with.

Nice!

A cubic meter of Black Granadillo wood or African Granadillo, the most expensive woods in the world, can run over $13,000.

Some trees are more than 1000 and even 2000 years old.

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on May 12, 2025, 04:26:28 PMSome trees are more than 1000 and even 2000 years old.

In eastern California, a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) known as Methuselah has long been considered Earth's oldest living thing. According to tree-ring data, Methuselah is 4,853 years old — meaning it was well established by the time ancient Egyptians built the pyramids at Giza.

https://www.conservation.org/blog/methuselah-still-the-worlds-oldest-tree#:~:text=In%20eastern%20California%2C%20a%20Great,built%20the%20pyramids%20at%20Giza.

The International Clown Hall of Fame is located in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Rattlesnake rattles are made of rings of keratin.  That is the same material that makes up human hair and fingernails.

Even the head recently removed from a snake can bite.  Be careful!

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on May 12, 2025, 05:35:01 PMEven the head recently removed from a snake can bite.  Be careful!

My father told me a story about a guy he worked with when he worked for NASA. The guy was out deer hunting and stepped over a log. A rattlesnake struck the back of his boot, but he didn't notice. When he started feeling sick, he went home. He did not get care fast enough and died from a snake bite.

His oldest son was going to do some hiking and put on his dad's old boots. He began to get sick and rushed to the hospital. It turns out that the snake fangs were stuck in the leather of the boot and had broken off, so they were not noticeable. The doctor at the Emergency Room recognized the symptoms and found two scratches on the boy's heel caused by the embedded fangs. The boy survived.

Not only is the head of the snake still dangerous, but the fangs can still contain enough venom to be deadly for months.

Quote from: Lori Dee on May 12, 2025, 08:04:32 PMMy father told me a story about a guy he worked with when he worked for NASA. The guy was out deer hunting and stepped over a log. A rattlesnake struck the back of his boot, but he didn't notice. When he started feeling sick, he went home. He did not get care fast enough and died from a snake bite.

His oldest son was going to do some hiking and put on his dad's old boots. He began to get sick and rushed to the hospital. It turns out that the snake fangs were stuck in the leather of the boot and had broken off, so they were not noticeable. The doctor at the Emergency Room recognized the symptoms and found two scratches on the boy's heel caused by the embedded fangs. The boy survived.

Not only is the head of the snake still dangerous, but the fangs can still contain enough venom to be deadly for months.

Lots of venom is in the head of a snake, even a cutoff head.  This includes the fangs.

Be careful with snakes.


Some places in the world have no snakes. 
Some places have many snakes.

High heels were initially designed for Persian cavalrymen.

Imelda Marcos owned over 3,000 pairs of shoes.

The saltwater crocodile can reach lengths of about 23 feet and weigh more than 2,000 pounds.

Alligators have webbed feet.  Crocodiles do not have webbed feet.

There is a restaurant in Scotland where you can buy seagull insurance.  For about $1.30 USD added to your bill, you will be insured against a seagull swooping down and taking your sandwich.  The restaurant owner says that all unclaimed insurance fees are donated to charities at the end of each month.

Apparently at the Cheesy Toast Shack in St Andrews thirty sandwiches are stolen each month by the birds.

Strawberries are the only fruit that wears its seeds on the outside. The average berry is adorned with some 200 of them. No wonder it only takes one bite to get seeds stuck in your teeth.

Strawberry Fact 2.

Strawberries aren't true berries, like blueberries or even grapes. Technically, a berry has its seeds on the inside. And, to be über technical, each seed on a strawberry is considered by botanists to be its own separate fruit. Whoa, meta!

Strawberry Fact 3.

Strawberries are members of the rose family. Should you come upon a bush of them growing, you'll see: they smell sweet as they taste.

https://www.thebigstrawberry.com.au/strawberries/strawberries-101/

I think that watermelons may be berries.

That is likely because their seeds are inside.

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on May 17, 2025, 06:24:46 AMThere is a restaurant in Scotland where you can buy seagull insurance.  For about $1.30 USD added to your bill, you will be insured against a seagull swooping down and taking your sandwich.  The restaurant owner says that all unclaimed insurance fees are donated to charities at the end of each month.

Apparently at the Cheesy Toast Shack in St Andrews thirty sandwiches are stolen each month by the birds.

When I was in college, there was a school dinning place practically on the beach.  When you picked up your food, there was a sign that said something to the effect of "be sure to take utensils and condiments before you take your food".  The seagulls would regularly swoop down and take unattended food.