Bits and Pieces

Let's see what I've found to share:

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- A Greek court has been asked to draw the line between the natives of the Aegean Sea island of Lesbos and the world's gay women.

Three islanders from Lesbos - home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love between women - have taken a gay rights group to court for using the word lesbian in its name.

That, by the way, is a question in Trivial Pursuit- what are residents of the island of Lesbos called? Or at least I remember it as one.

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Then with my 1968 history stuff going on this year, it was a coincidence to read the following just this week:

GENEVA (AP) -- Albert Hofmann, the father of the mind-altering drug LSD whose medical discovery inspired - and arguably corrupted - millions in the 1960s hippie generation, has died. He was 102.

As Greg pointed out, if it weren't for Hoffman the 60s might have been a lot saner. But I doubt it. On Wikipedia they have this to say about Hoffman and his work with LSD:

Hofmann called LSD "medicine for the soul" and was frustrated by the worldwide prohibition that has pushed it underground. "It was used very successfully for 10 years in psychoanalysis," he said, adding that the drug was hijacked by the youth movement of the 1960s and then unfairly demonized by the establishment that the movement opposed. He conceded that LSD can be dangerous in the wrong hands.

This one may get argued for years to come.

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Then for some gentle relaxation without the aid of acid, Trees Bloom in Brooklyn- A Neat Time Lapse of blooming cherry trees at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden:



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Now, from Mental Floss Blog back in November:

* 1 in every 4 Americans has appeared someway or another on television.
* 1 in every 4 Americans has a higher than normal blood sugar level.
* Almost 1 in every 4 Americans has a tattoo, according to a 2006 study conducted by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
* The Census Bureau predicts that 1 in every 4 Americans will be Hispanic by 2050,

Numbers 1 and 3 apply to me.

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But I wondered what I would find with a Google search like that, so here are some of the trivia I found:

*One in every four New Yorkers' blood high in mercury
*About one in four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year
*One in four Americans get an annual check-up (Scary)
*1 in 4 American Adults Read No Books in 2006 (Even scarier)

Then one that has since proven to be a false belief...

*1 in 4 Americans Believe Jesus Will Return in 2007

My guess would be that the 1 in 4 now believe it will happen in 2008. I wonder if they are the one who don't read books?