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On Friday, please take a few minutes away from celebrating Flag Day to commemorate the 38th anniversary of the death of explorer, conservationist and world-famous zoo director, Marlin Perkins. A pioneer in the filming of wild animals, Perkins hosted Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom from 1963 to 1972. The show was a worldwide sensation that at its height was broadcast in forty countries.

In memory of loveable old Marlin, we present these (hopefully) interesting animal facts:

Giant anteaters consume up to 35,000 ants and termites in a single day.. Anteaters purposefully never destroy an ant nest, preferring to leave some ants alive to rebuild. This insures that the anteater will be provided with a future feast.

Corvids (crows, rooks, ravens) are highly intelligent. Crows are expert at solving  puzzles and tests show that rooks have the same level of understanding of physics as a 6-month-old baby, (higher than the score of your average ape or this blogger).  Crows have the uncanny ability to recognize faces and will actively avoid people who have been aggressive toward them in the past.  

Rabbits run differently than other animals because they are the only land mammals that do not have paw pads. Instead the thick fur on their paws provides cushioning from all that hopping.

Speaking of yard critters, would you believe the average squirrel is able to avoid dogs, hawks and cars to attain a lifespan of sixteen years.

Otters hold hands while sleeping, so they don’t float away from each other.

Penguins have a gland above their eye that converts saltwater into freshwater.

Only the males are called peacocks. Females are peahens.

The Giant Pacific Octopus has three hearts and nine brains. Apparently, the extra brains come in handy. Octopuses have shown remarkable problem-solving abilities, escape artistry, and adaptability. They can navigate mazes and open jars to get food.

Beware the seemingly friendly ostrich. Their legs are so powerful that their kicks have been known to kill lions. Because both two-toed feet have a long, sharp claw, predators generally run away from the strange flightless bird.

Noteworthy Statistics

Scientific models estimate there are 8.7 million species on earth and more than 80% of them are undiscovered. It will likely take another 500 years to find them all. 

Less time separates the existence of humans and the Tyrannosaurus rex than the T-rex and the Stegosaurus.

It was just in 2014, that fourteen new species of dancing frogs were discovered, bringing the global number of known dancing frog species to 24.

Sex and the Single Sloth

Sloths are too lazy to go looking for a mate, so a female sloth will often sit in a tree and scream until a male hears her and decides to mate with her.

Female dragonflies will fake being dead in order to stop unwanted male advances.  

Dolphins have “bromances” in which two males pair up for as long as fifteen years and help each other hook up with females.

All halibut are male until they reach 45 inches in length. They then all become female.

Seahorses are the only animals where the male carries the baby rather than the female. The male seahorse has a pouch on its stomach in which to carry babies—as many as 2,000 at a time.

Icky

There are more than 1.4 billion insects for every human on the planet.

It is estimated that bats save the U.S. agriculture industry up to 50 billion dollars annually by eating insects.

Gross but (hopefully) Interesting

Turtles can breathe through their butts.

To make up for their extreme myopia, beavers mark their territory with castoreum, a secretion from their anal glands. For many years the sweet smelling substance was used as a substitute for vanilla in food products. Today, Castoreum, is not often found as a flavor agent but can be found in some perfumes and in  Baverhojt, a style of Swedish schnapps also known as beaver shout.

Have a great weekend and go easy on the Baverhoit.

If you enjoyed this blog you will love my new book, “Get Smarter-Be Amazed”. Please visit Books (tedcurtinstories.com) for direct links to Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

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Terry and I are away for a few weeks so I am reposting this blog which is almost as old as Henny Youngman’s jokes. Thankfully almost everyone still enjoys his classic one-liners. Here is Henny’s story.

Unlike many show businesspeople, Henny has a boring life story although it is interesting that the life-long New Yorker was born in London, England. His parents emigrated to NYC when Henny was six months old. Henny’s father wanted his boy to be a classical violinist however as one of Henny’s fellow comedians quipped in the 1930s, “Henny’s the only guy who when he opens his violin case, the audience hopes he’s got a machine gun in there.”

After high school, Henny worked nights as leader of a band called the Swanee Syncopaters, Henny would tell an occasional joke during his band’s performances. During the day, Henny worked at a print shop where he wrote “comedy cards” containing one-line gags. His cards were discovered by up-and-coming comedian Milton Berle who mentored Youngman. They enjoyed a life-long friendship and of course constantly traded one-liners. Berle said Youngman was “the king of one-liners because he couldn’t remember two.” Youngman responded “Milton, is your family happy? Or do you go home at night?”

I’m happy to say that I am two degrees of separation from Mr. Youngman. My college friend, Kevin Kelleher ran into Henny in a New York City elevator. Kevin said hello and the legend immediately pulled out his wallet and asked, “Would you like to see a picture of my pride and joy?”. Youngman proceeded to show Kevin a card with the images of Pride Detergent and Joy Detergent. That exchange personifies Henny’s reputation as a person who despite his fame was always friendly and unassuming.

Despite the hundreds of jokes he told about his wife, the couple had a very happy marriage and Sadie accompanied him on many of his tours. Their marriage lasted 59 years until Sadie’s death in 1987. Sadie was terrified of hospitals so when she became ill, her notoriously cheap husband paid for an ICU to be set up in their home. He stayed with her continuously during her last month, a rare departure from the grueling tour schedule the workaholic maintained for almost 70 years.

Here are some of Henny’s best:

The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret

My wife said to me, “For our anniversary I want to go somewhere I’ve never been before.” I said, “Try the kitchen!”

Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Friday.

When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading

I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up – they have no holidays

My grandmother is over eighty and she still doesn’t need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle

I’ve got all the money I’ll ever need. If I die by 4:00

My dad was the town drunk. Most of the time that’s not so bad; but New York City?

A doctor has a stethoscope up to a man’s chest. The man asks “Doc, how do I stand?” The doctor says, “That’s what puzzles me!”

I played a great horse yesterday! It took seven horses to beat him.

The horse I bet on was so slow, the jockey kept a diary of the trip.

Getting on a plane, I told the ticket lady, “Send one of my bags to New York, send one to Los Angeles, and send one to Miami.” She said, “We can’t do that!” I told her, “You did it last week”

The Doctor called Mrs. Cohen saying, “Mrs. Cohen, your check came back.” Mrs. Cohen answered, “So did my arthritis!”

Have a great weekend.

If you enjoyed this blog please consider ordering a copy of my new book, “Get Smarter-Be Amazed”. Please visit Books (tedcurtinstories.com) for direct links to Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

D-Day was the 20th century’s best-kept secret. The Allies masked their plans with a years-long series of elaborate ruses including false news reports, planted intelligence, and false radio broadcasts designed to be intercepted by the Germans. The allies also created columns of make-believe tanks , fake troop encampments, and inflatable dummy warships.

.The Allies masked their plans with a years-long series of elaborate ruses including false news reports, planted intelligence, and false radio broadcasts designed to be intercepted by the Germans. The allies also created columns of make-believe tanks , fake troop encampments, and inflatable dummy warships.

The Germans believed the allies would attack the port of Calais because it was the closest point to Britain. Thus, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to strike at Normandy. Relying on natural light, the Allies needed a full moon for the invasion. On June 5, Eisenhower ordered the attack for the following morning, the last day of the full moon. Wet weather and brutal high winds would handicap the Allies, but the ominous skies convinced Germany’s military leaders that an attack was not imminent and kept German airplanes grounded.

The Nazis’ defense of the coast centered on “The Atlantic Wall,” the most robust military entrenchment ever built. The fortifications stretched from Norway to Spain, passing through Denmark, Holland, Belgium, and France. The wall was financed by the wealth the Germans plundered from the countries they conquered. Labor was provided by the POWs from those countries. 50,000 German soldiers manned the fortifications. The wall was so strategic that Adolph Hitler brought in revered Field Marshall Erwin Rommel to oversee construction.

Allied airplane bombardments began at midnight and simultaneously 24,000 paratroopers were dropped behind German lines to support the invading troops.

As dramatized in “Saving Private Ryan,” the allied troops suffered horrific carnage on the Normandy beaches. D-Day was just the start of the brutal Battle of Normandy which finally concluded on August 25 with the liberation of Paris.

The vaunted Atlantic Wall collapsed on D-Day. It was the beginning of the end for the Nazis.

Field Marshal Rommel, convinced that the sea was too rough for an invasion, had left for Germany to celebrate his wife’s birthday.

Hitler was the only leader authorized to order a to counterattack but he slept until noon. Nobody dared wake him which cost vital time for sending reinforcements.

TRIVIA

Yogi Berra participated in the  invasion, as did author J.D. Salinger and civil rights leader Medgar Evers. Golf great Bobby Jones was forty when he successfully petitioned his Army Reserve commander to allow him to participate. British actor David Niven won a U.S. Legion of Merit Medal. Actor Charles Durning who won a Silver Star was among the only survivors from his Omaha Beach landing group. James Doohan, a Royal Canadian Artillery lieutenant  survived  six bullet wounds and lost his middle finger on Juno Beach. He eventually found fame as Scotty on “Star Trek.” Actor Henry Fonda enlisted at age 37and was a  navel quartermaster on D-Day. He went on to star in “The Longest Day,” a D-Day epic.

In one of the most notorious episodes in Oscars ‘history, the masterful “Saving Private Ryan” lost to “Shakespeare in Love” for the 1999 Best Picture  award. Shakespeare’s  loathsome  producer Harvey Weinstein employed  backroom bullying to win the honor.

Heroes

Waverly Woodson was a medic for the only African American battalion to land at Omaha Beach. Despite being wounded during the landing, Woodson found a relatively safe space on the beach to set up a first aid station. He treated scores of  black and white soldiers- removing bullets, patching wounds, and even amputating a foot. After 24 hours he collapsed of exhaustion but returned to his unit within three days. He was awarded a Bronze Star, but Maryland Senator  Chris Van Hollen has started a campaign to posthumously  award Woodson the Medal of Honor.

General Eisenhower drafted a statement in case the landings failed. It read: “I have withdrawn the troops. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.”  Try finding that type of leadership today.

Thanks to all the heroes who helped liberate Europe and thanks to all of you who have served.

 Have a great weekend.

If you enjoyed this blog please consider ordering a copy of my new book, “Get Smarter-Be Amazed”. Please visit Books (tedcurtinstories.com) for direct links to Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

A certain Professor Whalen from Boston College always sends me notes about how much he enjoys my Friday blogs. He then proceeds to complain that I have never written about the 27 Club- a collection of music greats who died in their 27th year. This one’s for you, Professor.

Robert Johnson

Johson recorded fewer than 50 songs but most experts agree that he was the most important blues artist of all-time. Most rock fans were introduced to Johnson’s compositions through Cream  (“Cross Road Blues”) and the Rolling Stones (“Love in Vain”).  Keith Richards opined “You want to know how good the blues can get? Well, this is it.” Unfortunately in 1938, a jealous husband gave Johnson a bottle of whiskey laced with strychnine. Johnson died three days later and is buried in an unmarked Mississippi grave.

Brian Jones

At age sixteen, Brian Jones began playing saxophone because of his love of the great Charlie Parker. At seventeen, Brian became obsessed with Robert Johnson’s blues and started playing slide guitar. A founding member of the Rolling Stones, Jones was an amazingly versatile  musician. On the 1960s Stones albums, Brian played slide, sitar, organ, recorder, dulcimer, harpsichord, saxophone and oboe. In 1969, he quit the Stones and months later was found dead in his swimming pool with a mix of drugs and alcohol in his system. Jones’ cause of death continues be debated by conspiracy theorists.  

Jimi Hendrix

Most polls rank Jimi as the greatest guitar player of all time. Despite his short career, guitarists still study his dazzling techniques and improvisational genius. Jimi invented his own fusion of blues and psychedelia and popularized the use of feedback. Despite his stardom, Hendrix was a troubled soul. By 1970 he had difficulty sleeping because of several professional lawsuits. On September 18, 1970 Jimi overdosed, swallowing nine barbiturate tablets- eighteen times the amount needed to put a man to sleep for eight hours.

Janis Joplin

Growing up, Janis Joplin never quite fit in. She was bullied mercilessly at her Texas high school and during her brief stint in college. She moved to San Francisco where she developed a taste for Southern Comfort and heroin. In 1967, Janis became a sensation as lead singer for Big Brother and the Holding Company.

Janis embraced the blues, performing covers of “Summertime” and “Ball and Chain”. After leaving  “Big Brother’, Janis formed the Full Tilt Boogie Band which produced the 1970 album “Pearl”. Unfortunately Janis died of a heroin overdose before the classic album was released.  

Jim Morrison

As a boy, Jim Morrison loved Frank Sinatra, poetry and reading. Jim would eventually write poetry and songs that channeled Albert Camus and Aldous Huxley among others.  

The combination of Morrison’s lyrical magic and The Doors’ dark, jazz-tinged psychedelia was incredibly potent.  The Doors paid homage to blues legends with “Back Door Man”, a song written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Howlin’ Wolf. Surprisingly, the Doors’ hit “Roadhouse Blues” was a Morrison original not a blues classic.

The hard drinking drug abuser died of heart failure in Paris in 1971.  

Kurt Cobain

I was a never a huge Nirvana fan but am starting to realize they produced some great music. One of the original Seattle grunge bands, the group sold 75 Million records during their three years of stardom. Nirvana disbanded after front man Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994. Cobain struggled with heroin addiction, crippling depression caused by professional pressures and a tumultuous marriage to Courtney Love. Rolling Stone has included him on its lists of the 100 greatest song writers, 100 greatest singers and 100 Greatest Guitarists.

Amy Winehouse

Amy was heavily influenced by jazz legends, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and even Thelonious Monk. Her 2006 Grammy winning album “Back to Black”  displayed Amy’s captivating brilliance. At age 24, she began displaying erratic behavior fueled by drugs and alcohol. She finally agreed to go to rehab and in 2008 reached her peak winning five Grammys. Rehab didn’t take and soon Amy’s drunkenness was getting her booed off-stages across the world. In 2011, she died of alcohol poisoning.

Blame the professor for the depressing stories. Thankfully, the music is eternal.

Have a great weekend.

If you enjoyed this blog please consider buying my new book, “Get Smarter-Be Amazed”.

You can find direct links to Amazon and Barnes and Noble at Books (tedcurtinstories.com)

I recently read that  in November 2023, Luke Willett  broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest nine holes of golf. The 39- year-old Willett is the British speed golf champion, a sport that combines golf and running. Guiness timed Willet at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. He only  carried three clubs and completed the round in just 20 minutes and 12 seconds. Following his achievement, Willet said: “ This is my life. I run really, really fast around golf courses and hopefully create great history”.

Well, hats off to Luke and good luck to any of you who want to combine golfing and sprinting. My only fairway run will continue be my trot to the nineteenth hole.

Speaking of crazy world records, check these out:

Feats of Strength

In order to promote her favorite charity Australian Eva Clarke trained her sights on the Guinness World Record for most pull ups in a 24-hour period. The mother-of-three set the record by doing 3,737 pull ups.  She also holds the  Guinness women’s record for the most knuckle push-ups in one minute (70) and most burpees in 24 hours (12,003).  If you are unfamiliar with the dreaded burpee, check it out online.

In February 2024, Kenta Adachi set the male record for most pull ups in 24 hours(an astounding 8,940). Kenta’s traditional regimen had been doing a relatively pedestrian 100 pull- ups per day. He significantly upped his training three months prior to the big day. Kenta hopes that  his incredible performance will inspire others to follow their dream (mine is to find a good breakfast burrito within two miles of my house).

In 2018. Tazio Gavioli of Italy set the record for consecutive pinky pull-ups (36). Tazio was driven by his desire to show solidarity with his cat that had lost its paw in an unfortunate accident. 

Just Silly  

In 2017, Davinder Singh of India set the record for typing with his nose. It took Davinder 40.19 seconds. to type the following mandated sentence: “Guinness world records have challenged me to type this sentence using my nose in the fastest time.”

Kim Seung Do from South Korea set a record by eating five watches in 1 hour and 34 minutes. It should be noted he wasn’t required to eat the wristbands (talk about a wimp!). Kim eats up to 600 grams of metal per day and estimates that he has eaten approximately four tons of metal in his lifetime.

112-pound Michelle “Cardboard Shell” entered the record book by consuming three-and-a-half jars (five pounds) of mayonnaise in just three minutes.

In 2019, David Rush broke a new world record by holding and lighting100 candles simultaneously in his mouth.

Shridhar Chillal has the honor of growing the world’s longest fingernail. His thumbnail measured 6 ft 4 in. It is on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in New York City.

Multi Year Records

Longest  attack of hiccups.

In 1922, Charles Osborne took a bad fall while he was trying to carry a hog on a Nebraska farm.  His injury led to a non-stop case of hiccups that lasted 68 years. His doctor theorized that Charles had broken a blood vessel in his brain. Charles was unable to find a cure but led a normal life including marriages to two women and the fathering of eight children.

In February 1990, Osborne’s affliction stopped for reasons unknown. He died in May 1991 following what must have been a wonderfully hiccup-free year . It’s estimated that Charles experienced over 430 million hiccups in his lifetime.

Longest Pilgrimage

American preacher, Arthur Blessitt has been traversing the world for fifty six years spreading the word of Jesus. He has walked over 43,340 miles in 324 countries, island groups & territories. Arthur has logged over 86 million steps carrying a 6 ft by 12’ft cross that weighs 45 pounds.  Arthur’s wife, Denise drives in front with supplies. Since Arthur is 84 years old, we hope that her kit includes Advil and a foot spa.

Have a great weekend. Good luck trying to break one of these records.  

If you enjoyed this blog please consider ordering a copy of my new book, “Get Smarter-Be Amazed”. Please visit Books (tedcurtinstories.com) for direct links to Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful moms out there.  Here is some Mother’s Day food for thought I wrote down four years ago.

The roots of the holiday trace back to the Civil War. Julia Ward who wrote the lyrics to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” started a campaign in Boston for a mother’s day that celebrated peace and protested war. Meanwhile in West Virginia, Ann Jarvis, who had spent years helping poor mothers, formed a committee to foster friendship between mothers from the North and the South.  After Ann’s death, her daughter Anna Jarvis decided to continue her quest for a national day for moms.

Anna’s efforts were rewarded in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson set aside the second Sunday in May as a nationwide holiday. Businesses immediately seized the opportunity to sell flowers, candies, and cards. Anna Jarvis felt the commercialization was detracting from the spirit of Mothers’ Day and began staging boycotts of the holiday she created. Jarvis eventually used her last dollar in the unsuccessful fight. She died broke and blind at the age of 84 in a sanitarium. Evidence indicates that persons connected with the floral and greeting card industries paid the bills to keep her in the sanitarium.

Trivia

Because one of the first utterances babies make is a “ma” sound, most languages around the world use that sound as the basis for their word for “mother. The Mandarin word for “mom” is “mama”, the Icelandic word is “mamma” and the Vietnamese word is “me”.

Most countries set aside an annual mother’s day and some have unique traditions. For example, mothers in Serbia are tied up with rope or ribbon until they give sweets and gifts to their children.  

47% of moms think that fathers should buy the mother of their kids a gift while only 6% of dads agree. 

Cheating websites such as Ashley claim that on the day after Mother’s Day there is a dramatic increase in mothers signing up. Could it be because of the gift disconnect?

On average, people spend $196 on Mother’s Day compared to $133 on Father’s Day.

When landline telephones were the norm, Mother’s Day was the busiest day of the year for long distance calls. Father’s Day set the record each year for number of collect calls.

Each of those sweaters that helped make Mr. Rogers famous were hand-knit by his mother.

Hugh Hefner went to his father for a loan to finance a magazine that would become Playboy. His public accountant father refused because he thought it was a bad investment. Hefner’s mother grabbed Hugh before he left the house and gave him $1,000 to kick-off his venture.

Some Bad Muthas

Most mothers I know are wonderful women and perform feats I cannot even imagine. However, history and fiction are rife with examples of horrible moms. A list of real-life worst mothers includes murderers, Kardashians or even worse- the mother of Honey Boo Boo. Here are my awards for the worst fictional moms (apologies to Mrs. Robinson who missed the cut):

Bronze Medal: Betty Draper from “Mad Men” – Betty is also winner of the coveted “Worst mom with whom to spend a pandemic” award. The ultra- self-centered housewife, brilliantly played by January Jones, perpetually ignores her children. When her son complained that he was bored, Betty responded “Go bang your head against a wall. Only boring people are bored.” Betty gets a mulligan for being married to a serial cheater but she is still a dreadful human being.

Silver Medal: Livia Soprano of “The Sopranos”- One of the most miserable characters in TV history, played superbly by Nancy Marchand. I’m sure many moms have thought about putting out hits on their sons but Livia actually ordered one.

Gold Medal: Eleanor Shaw Iselin from “The Manchurian Candidate (1962) – Angela Lansbury plays the sadistic, creepy puppet master of both her politician husband and her tragic war-hero son.

Special Lifetime Achievement Citation – Norma Bates from Psycho – She certainly did a number on her cross-dressing serial killer son.

Happy Mother’s Day and have a great weekend.

If you enjoyed this blog please consider ordering a copy of my new book, “Get Smarter-Be Amazed”. “Mother’s Day Ramblings is one of 100 stories contained in the compendium.

Please visit Books (tedcurtinstories.com) for direct links to Amazon and Barnes and Noble.