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EDITION #1305 This issue 5ยข
This is day 145 of 2026

The Largest Rodent Ever

Used News Wildlife

Friday September 19, 2003

The largest rodent ever was a giant guinea pig as big as a buffalo, which lived in South America eight million years ago, researchers say this week in the journal Science.

More than twice as heavy as the previous record holder, it was more than 10 times the size of today's largest living rodent, the South American Capybara. This giant rodent grazed on grasses, which it must have eaten in large ...

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Did You Know

  • Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952, but he declined.

  • Buttermilk does not contain any butter.

  • Airports that are at higher altitudes require a longer airstrip due to lower air density.

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Latest Posts

Thursday March 6, 2008

Doctors delivered a stark ultimatum to a 39-year-old Englishman, who grew to a colossal 60 stone, 840 pounds. Colin Corfield's battle for survival was the subject of a poignant and moving ITV television documentary.

The Runcorn pub landlord in Cheshire was warned two years ago that his own body fat could suffocate him. So he decided to take drastic action and have risky gastric surgery. It has ...

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Monday September 15, 2003

After eating an English missionary in 1867, contrite villagers in Fiji are now eating humble pie and want to say they are sorry. Reverend Thomas Baker, from Playden, East Sussex, was cooked and eaten by the people of the remote mountain village of Navatusila.

The only thing left of Mr. Baker, a clergyman with the Wesleyan Methodist Church, were his leather boots, and they even attempted to chew ...

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  • A volcano has enough power to shoot ash as high as 50 km into the atmosphere.

  • Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952, but he declined.

  • Another name for a Microsoft Windows 98 tutorial was Crash Course!

Quips

The Minister unveiled the Church's new donations campaign on Sunday: "I upped my Pledge - Up Yours".

Filed Under: Church Notices


Don't let worry kill you. Let the Church help.

Filed Under: Church Notices


This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends.

Filed Under: Church Notices


Fun Book Titles

  • Falling from a Window
    - by Eileen Dowt

  • Peek-a-Boo!
    - by I. C. Hugh

  • How to Feed Elephants
    - by P. Nutts

  • The Barber of Seville
    - by Aaron Floor

  • Neck Exercises
    - by G. Rarff

View More: Book Titles

Good Question

  • How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?

  • Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?

  • How long will a floating point operation float?

Filed Under: Good Question

World Firsts

  • John Ames Sherman of Massachusetts, United States, patents the 1st envelope folding and gumming machine.

    Tuesday February 8, 1898

  • Filed Under: → Business & Industry


  • The Beatles land at New York's JFK airport, for their 1st United States tour.

    Friday February 7, 1964

  • Filed Under: → Entertainment


  • The 1st recorded race meet in England happens at Roodee Fields, Chester.

    Friday February 9, 1540

  • Filed Under: → Sports


Events

  • The man known as the 'Crocodile Hunter' died after his chest was punctured by a stingray barb while diving off Australia's northeast coast. The 44 year-old colourful personality was filming a documentary about the Great Barrier Reef when tragedy struck.

    According to friend and colleague, John Stainton, Steve Irwin swam too close to the ray while he was diving off his boat "Croc One" near Batt Reef, northeast of Port Douglas.

    Monday September 4, 2006

  • Filed Under: → Deaths


  • Relatives of a 91-year-old Ohio woman who died this week are giving her the last word with a sassy, occasionally profane obituary that starts with the basics, "I was born. I lived. I died.", and instructs people to "Wait the appropriate amount of time" before trying to claim her stuff.

    They wrote it in Jean Oddi's perspective, recapping the people important to her, adventures she had and her favorite activities, including playing cards and teaching her granddaughter "dirty songs".

    Thursday February 23, 2017

  • Filed Under: → Deaths


  • A father and son in Alabama were killed when they crashed into each other in a head-on collision. Jeffrey Morris Brasher and his son Austin Blaine Brasher of Bankston, Alabama, died early Saturday morning.

    Jeffrey Brasher was driving a 2006 Ford pickup and his son was driving a 2004 Chevrolet truck when they collided on a highway head-on, said Alabama State Trooper Jonathon Appling.

    Saturday February 18, 2017

  • Filed Under: → Deaths


  • When the mouth stumbles, it is worse than the foot.
    - African Proverb

  • When elephants fight, it is the grass who suffers.
    - African Proverb

  • Indecision is like a stepchild. If he does not wash his hands, he is called dirty, if he does, he is wasting water.
    - African Proverb

World Firsts

  • Astronomical Society of Pacific holds its 1st meeting in San Francisco.

    Thursday February 7, 1889

  • Filed Under: → Science


  • Jean-Bertrand Aristide is sworn in as Haiti's 1st elected President.

    Thursday February 7, 1991

  • Filed Under: → Politics


  • The 1st appearance of cholera happens in Edinburgh, Scotland.

    Monday February 6, 1832

  • Filed Under: → Medicine


View More: → World Firsts

Wise Words

  • Listen or thy tongue will keep thee deaf.
    - American Indian Proverb

  • When elephants fight, it is the grass who suffers.
    - African Proverb

  • Where there is no shame, there is no honor.
    - African Proverb

Filed Under: Wise Words

Good Question

  • If a fly has no wings would you call him a walk?

  • Why does an inspiring sight like a sunrise always have to take place at such an inconvenient time?

  • If fire fighters fight fire and crime fighters fight crime, what do freedom fighters fight?

Filed Under: → Good Question