Science, Recycling, and Friday Funnies

In the spirit of social distancing, I’m sending out a virtual hug to everyone, via this cute image a friend of mine sent. I love it.

Before sharing links with the latest stats on the spread of nasty corona virus, I want to share this from The Daily Podcast. On this morning’s episode Carl Zimmer, science reporter and author of the “Matter” column for The New York Times, answered questions from children across the country, as well as a few from Michael Babarro, host of The Daily Podcast.

I found the answers fascinating and informative, learning a lot I didn’t know about how viruses start and spread, how our bodies react, and the fact that all living things can be attacked by a virus, including a mushroom.

Another interesting bit of information was about how our immune systems work. Fevers, aches, and coughs are part of the fight against the virus. I knew that fevers are a sign our bodies have antibodies girding their loins and getting into the fray, but I didn’t know it is the same for aches associated with the flu.

So let’s hear it for those little antibodies!!

Now, here’s a link to the latest stats on the pandemic.

Corona Virus Update – The United States now has the most cases of all the countries of the world with 92,206. (Updated 3/27/2020) New York has 44,635 of those cases with almost 6,000 new cases in one day.

Now I’d like to share a link to a terrific article about how individuals can help create a sustainable future. Here’s a short quote from the article, which I encourage you to read in it’s entirety.

If you ask people why they think we need to become more environmentally friendly as a society, you’ll hear a variety of answers. Some want to stop the mass extinction of hundreds of endangered species. Others want to clean the oceans of the millions of tons of plastic.

But in a recent survey by sustainable earth, the number one reason given for changing our ways was to make sure that future generations had just that – a future.

Now, you may ask what difference can we make as individuals? And there are indeed just 20 firms responsible for a third of all carbon emissions today. But the choices we make as individuals in our day to day life do play a part in forging a sustainable future.

Since I’m a huge advocate for recycling, cleaning up the environment, and ensuring a place to live for generations to come, it’s a pleasure for me to share this article. I know many of my readers here are also very conscious of environmental issues and look for ideas for being part of the solution.

This article lists eco-friendly products we can all use, and that list is extensive, going far beyond using your own shopping bags. Check it out.

It’s been a while since I’ve done Friday Funnies, and we can all use some smiles and laughter right now. Enjoy these offerings from The Laugh Factory.

Son: “Dad, when will I be old enough so I don’t have to ask mom for her permission to go out?”

Dad: “Son, even I haven’t grown old enough to go out without her permission!”

A husband and wife have four boys. The odd part of it is that the older three have red hair, light skin, and are tall, while the youngest son has black hair, dark eyes, and is short. The father eventually takes ill and is lying on his deathbed when he turns to his wife and says, “Honey, before I die, be completely honest with me. Is our youngest son my child?”

The wife replies, “I swear on everything that’s holy that he is your son.”

With that, the husband passes away. The wife then mutters, “Thank God he didn’t ask about the other three.”

A mom and a son come home from the grocery store. The boy immediately empties out a box of animal crackers and the mom asks him why. The boy says, “You should not eat it if the seal is broken, so I’m looking for the seal.”

Three brothers wanted to give their blind mom a birthday gift. The first got her a big beautiful house. The second got her a brand new luxury vehicle with a driver. The third got her a talking parrot to keep her company. When they all got together, they wanted to know which gift she liked best. She said they were all great but she thanked her third son because she liked the chicken dinner best.

Poor parrot, but that last one did make me laugh. Let me know which joke you like, and do stay safe and healthy and happy.