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From: <>
Subject: [FOLKLORE] Today's Trivia Question:
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2000 13:09:43 EDT

Today's Trivia Question:

Why do dogs often turn around a few times before lying down?

The Answer:

We could approach this issue anthropologically. Canine
culture is peculiar. There is the doggy bone-burying
ceremony, which may have religious or economic significance.
We are only just now developing a lexicon of tail-wagging
signifiers. And cultural theorists have only begun to
deconstruct dog-meet-dog sniffing.

But when it comes to the old spin-around-before-lying-down
routine, there's an awfully simple explanation. Fido's
ancestors did not have the benefit of spacious suburban
backyards or a nice, cushy pillow in a box in which to nap.
Before they could lie down they had to clear a space in which
to do it. That meant flattening out the surrounding
underbrush by trampling on it. Do that for a few million
years and it becomes a habit. Did you ever try to break a
habit?

(Source: EVER WONDER WHY? by Douglas B. Smith)




FAST FACTS:

American presidential candidates need little encouragement
to give a speech, even when they have nothing to say.

That's why it's nothing short of amazing that America's third
president, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of
Independence made no public appearances or speeches in his
eight years in office other than to deliver his inaugural
address to Congress. He even submitted his annual State of
the Union message in writing.

Hardly anyone ever saw the guy. Imagine what supermarket
tabloid headlines could have done with that: ALIENS ABDUCT
PRESIDENT: THREE-BRAINED MONSTER IN JEFFERSON MASK LIVING IN
WHITE HOUSE!!!

(Source: AMERICAN SPHINX: THE CHARACTER OF THOMAS JEFFERSON) >>

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