Kyle

Factoids from the history channel:

• 3rd most common element
• usually found as aluminum oxide, and very very VERY hard to separate from the oxygen, thus:
• used to be more expensive than gold
• the Washington Monument was capped with aluminum, because at the time, it was one of the most expensive metals we could lay hands on, but not any more
• how to separate from oxide: mix with molten metal, and run GIGANTIC amounts of electricity through it

My mom sent me this article, which I found rather interesting. For example:

The origins of modern marital instability lie largely in the triumph of what many people believe to be marriage’s traditional role—providing love, intimacy, fidelity and mutual fulfillment. The truth is that for centuries, marriage was stable precisely because it was not expected to provide such benefits. As soon as love became the driving force behind marriage, people began to demand the right to remain single if they had not found love or to divorce if they fell out of love.

Such demands were raised as early as the 1790s, which prompted conservatives to predict that love would be the death of marriage. For the next 150 years, the inherently destabilizing effects of the love revolution were held in check by women’s economic dependence on men, the unreliability of birth control and the harsh legal treatment of children born out of wedlock, as well as the social ostracism of their mothers. As late as the 1960s, two-thirds of college women in the United States said they would marry a man they didn’t love if he met all their other, often economic, criteria. Men also felt compelled to marry if they hoped for promotions at work or for political credibility.

And the best part:

None of this means that marriage is dead. Indeed, most people have a higher regard for the marital relationship today than when marriage was practically mandatory. Marriage as a private relationship between two individuals is taken more seriously and comes with higher emotional expectations than ever before in history.

Ever see those “punch the monkey” banner ads? Ever thought “man, this would be a lot easier if the monkey was strapped to a table”? Ever follow through with that thought in real life? Well, these losers have.

To quote:

PETA has sent the 253-page complaint and a videotape to the Department of Agriculture, requesting the lab be shut down until an investigation can be conducted.

“The tape shows experimenters using their power over the monkeys to torture and torment them, while lab supervisors stand by or even join in,” said PETA President Ingrid Newkirk.

To wit, they would strap monkeys to tables, and punch them repeatedly - rumor has it, they did it to create bruises so they could test concealer cream.

Good statistics here

So, according to the latest scholarship, the number of the beast is not 666, but rather, 616

Which is, amusingly, the area code of Grand Rapids, Michigan - naturally.