Aug 23 2020 - Twin Stories

 

I saw a picture the other day that was strange - it was a person with two heads and one body.  I thought it was a photoshop creation.   No it is conjoined twins.  They have received media coverage since birth in 1990.  I've missed out on the story of Abby and Brittany growing up in Minnesota.  Don't worry - we can catch up as the news media and BBC have covered this often.  They had their own reality series at one point.  There are documentaries. They have graduated from Bethel lUniversity and are primary school teachers.  They drive a car. They have their own birth certificates, drivers licenses and passports.  They receive one paycheque between them. What distinguishes conjoined twins - previously known as Siamese twins? Conjoined twins develop from a single fertilised egg and are therefore always identical and of the same sex It is unknown why the embryo does not complete the process of separating into identical twins  Records over the past 500 years have shown around 600 sets of conjoined twins survived infancy - more than 70% of these were female Despite medical advancements, surgical separation remains rare There is great curiosity about what anatomy is shared and separate. This is covered in detail in the Wikipedia entry HERE.  And there now are stories of separating conjoined twins. The results are more successful today given how far medical knowledge and techniques have come. One can read about 7 living conjoined twins in the world today.  The oldest were Ronnie and Donnie Galyon from Beavercreek, Ohio. They were 68 years old when they died a few years ago.  Currently the oldest are Lori and George Schappell born in 1961.  George initially was Dori and identified as male, so changed his name.  A tragic pair were Ladan and Laleh Bijani born in 1979.  Their tragedy was that they had different personalities and wanted to separate from childhood.  They convinced a neurosurgeon from Singapore to perform the operation, involving 28 surgeons, but they died hours after separation.  Given the strange topic I thought I would conclude with a calm, pleasant picture of Koi at Royal Botanical Gardens in the Mediterranean Greenhouse pond.  Soon the building will be open to visitors and they will be happy to have company again.

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Joking with Dewey Decimal

What makes Reader's Digest organize their jokes they way they do.  Dewey Decimal organization is not involved. Shouldn't Turkey Jokes be with the Animals - Dogs and Cats?  Instead Cat Puns are there with Bad Puns, Corny Jokes and Math Jokes.  Turkey Jokes could also be with Thanksgiving Jokes.  There is a lot of cross-over between the two. And wouldn't every bad pun be a pun so that puns would include bad puns?  You can see just the bad puns if you like. But wait!  The Reader's Digest has more novel ways of presenting their jokes - the History of the World in 27 Dumb Jokes is HERE. It starts with: Jurassic Period: Dinosaurs Q: Why can’t you hear a ptero­dactyl go to the bathroom? A: Because the pee is silent.   Circa 469 BC: The Birth of Western Philosophy Q: Who was Socrates’s worst student? A: Mediocrities. Q: Who was his busiest student? A: The one with a lot on his Plato. Back to the dog jokes on Reader's Digest - they distinguish dog jokes and dog puns.  Maybe they have a lot of dog jokes.  Here are a few: Q. Why aren’t dogs good dancers? A. Because they have two left feet! Q. How do dog catchers get paid? A. By the pound! Q: What do chemists’ dogs do with their bones? A: They barium! Q: What do you call a sad pup? A: mellon collie Q: What was the dogs favorite type of homework to do? A: A lab report Here's our Swimming Septet today, a continuation of Koi, the Living Art.

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Koi, The Living Art

Today's theme is Koi, the Living Art.  Here is a selection of images taken over the last few years.