Trivia

Tue., June 3, 1997

L.M. Boyd Crown Syndicate

Word is that Danish scientists not only have found the gene that causes beer to turn skunky but have figured out how to disable that gene. What to do next? Researchers want to create a beer that doesn’t have to be replaced so frequently at points of purchase. Marketers are not so sure that’s a worthy notion.

Q. How many stuffed woodpeckers are in the Smithsonian?

A. Last count: 24,797.

If it’s “ornithoid,” it’s birdlike. You could say of fluttering hands that they are ornithoid. Or of twittering speech maybe. Probably wouldn’t do to refer to someone as an “ornithoid brain.” Doesn’t sing.

Singapore has a forced private savings program that requires people to save for their own retirement.

Q. Do any of the pit vipers lay eggs?

A. Only the largest, Central America’s bushmaster. An 11-foot bushmaster is not extraordinary. The others - rattlesnake, water moccasin, copperhead, fer-de-lance - bear live young.

Q. Can you quote the poem, “Oceans of Lotions”?

A. Richard Armour’s small pun? Indeed. “Thanks to the face creams my good wife buys. … She’s oily to bed and oily to rise.”

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