Did a woman escape from serial killers because of who her father was?

The second week of February is upon us, and a famous person in American history has a birthday this week.

Yes, Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, turns 212 years old on February 12.

Honest, Abe, you don’t look a day over 150.

Lincoln’s importance in American history cannot be questioned. Did he always make the right decisions? Of course not. Who does? I certainly don’t. Every day I mess something up.

Usually by getting out of bed in the morning.

But Abe did his best at a trying time, and so do I. His best saved a nation; my best serves up trivia! Let’s enjoy that serving right now.

Did you know …

… a jellyfish can shoot out its stingers faster than a gun fires bullets? The uncoiling of the stingers is one of the fastest acts in nature. (And one of the most painful, if anecdotal evidence is to be believed.)

… there is a town in Chile where rain has never fallen? The town of Calama, in the Atacama Desert, has never recorded rainfall. (I suppose the person doing the weather forecasts on television there has a very easy job.)

… the lollipop was invented by the Romans? They created treats of nuts covered in honey, placed them on sticks and gave them to children – and each other. (But how many licks did it take to get to the center? The world may never know.)

… you’re probably reading signs like “Ye Olde Towne Hall” wrong? The “y” in “ye” is supposed to be pronounced like a “th.” That sound does not exist in Latin, so in Roman-occupied Britain the people used a rune called “thorn” to represent the “th” sound. The rune looked a lot like the modern letter “y.” And when the printing press came into general use, the nearest character from the Roman alphabet that fit the thorn was “y,” even though it was still pronounced “th.” So that sign should be pronounced, “The Old Town Hall.” (And yat’s ye truy.)

… of all the industrialized nations in the world, Americans walk the least? The average American (whoever that is) takes 5,117 steps per day. By contrast, your average Japanese person takes 7,168 steps; the average Swiss, 9,650 and the average Australian has the first place award, taking 9,695 steps per day. (And we take most of those steps walking to or from our automobiles.)

… a woman escaped two serial killers because of who her father was? In 1977, the “Hillside Stranglers” terrorized Los Angeles. Kenneth Bianchi (born 1951) and his cousin Angelo Buono (1934-2002) between them killed 10 women, with Bianchi killing an additional two. Posing as undercover police officers (which was their basic modus operandi), the two approached a young woman that year with the intent of abducting her and adding her to their total. They let her go, however, after learning who her father was. Catharine Lorre Baker (1953-1985), the intended victim, was the daughter of horror film star, Peter Lorre (1904-1964), and as the two men were fans of Lorre, they let his daughter go. They discovered her identity when, pretending to be “officers,” they asked to see her identification. For her part, Catharine did not realize what could have happened to her until after the two men were arrested, she saw their photos on the news, and found out who the two men really were.

… it is against the law in Minnesota to tease a skunk? (You can follow the law, or you can find out for yourself the hard way why teasing a skunk is a bad idea.)

… when it was first described to zoologists, the platypus was thought to be a hoax? In 1799, British artist and scientist George Shaw (1751-1813) returned from a voyage to Australia, or New Holland as it was then called. He brought back with him drawings, descriptions and some preserved specimens of several animals unique to the continent, among them the platypus. Most of his fellow scientists thought Shaw was making the animal up, believing he had sewn different body parts together in an effort to play a practical joke. Shaw himself noted that it was impossible not to doubt the actual existence of such a bizarre animal. (Come on … nobody’s imagination is that weird!)

… swimmers should avoid wearing yellow or orange in waters where sharks are known to be? Sharks have very good eyesight, and according to scientists, they find the colors yellow and orange irritating for some reason. (Not only that, an orange bathing suit is a real fashion faux pas.)

… you may have a pet ratel? Oh, don’t be worried that you’re running afoul of wildlife laws or anything – a ratel is simply a honey badger. (Of course, that may beg the question – What’s a honey badger?)

… children spend more time watching television than almost any other activity? The only activity they spend more time on is sleep. (And many of them dream about watching television; does that count?)

… you could very well be a victim of lachanophobia? Whoa, slow down. Don’t hurry off to your favorite family physician … lachanophobia is simply a fear of vegetables. Additional trivia note: You could also have fructophobia, but that would mean you were afraid of fruit. (What if you’re afraid of tomatoes?)

… doctors in ancient times had bizarre notions of where moods come from? Back in the old, old days, doctors thought happiness was controlled by the heart, anger came from the liver, and fear came from the kidneys. (Well, we know that something comes from the kidneys, anyway!)

Now … you know!

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