Frog Applause Print

 Wow. "Frog Applause" almost looks like it belongs next to real comics.  (Thank you, Brass Orchid.)

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Just Beware of Chickens and Brains

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As usual, alert readers send me great photos. This time, though, I messed up and forgot who sent what. Forgive me.

6turtle9

 and his niece... Do I have handsome readers or what?!?! (Check out his Mr. Roger's Tee.)

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Package scam

 

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Target practice mother

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Like a Taco

I know that some humans are able to fold their tongue up like a taco (I can) but I didn't realize that horses can do it, too. 

A long-time (and dear!) reader sent me the photo above, plus he had this story to tell:

"I saw the horse photo and remembered that Pumas can do that too!

I have a cougar story of my own - in 1980 I had a job at the CSU veterinary dept's bull farm.  My job title was "public services career trainee", but that translated into ranch hand & roustabout.  I found out they had more than cows there when I was sent out to repair a board fence.  I was hammering nails into planks out in a remote corner of the place when I heard a noise.

The noise was coming from two cougars who were watching me hammer.

My mind went blank, and my hand let go of the hammer. 

The cats didn't move.  They just gravely looked me over.  I didn't move either.

Their eyes were the size of saucers... After a hundred years or so my eyes began to focus better and I could see that the cats were inside a large chickenwire pen.  I hadn't noticed that to begin with but I was relieved to see that.  They even had a little hut to hole up in and a bowling ball to play with.

Later, when I asked around, I was told that they were littermates who'd been abandoned, and since no one had any data on how cougars age, the school took them in for study and began taking bone-density, tooth growth and physical measurements on them.

Most likely, those 2 cats were looking at me so intently because they expected to be fed, but I really misinterpreted the whole situation."

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If anyone can find another tongue photo to add to my collection, please send it.

Leave it to Randy_B to come through with more examples!

The Rat Children of India

Hundreds of young children are being exploited because of an ancient fertility tradition that leaves many children deformed and sold into begging.

Rat-children or chuas are children or adults with microcephaly, exploited as beggars situated in Gujrat City, particularly the Shrine of Saint Shah Dola, and elsewhere in Pakistan. They have sloping foreheads, narrow faces that resemble rodents, and are often intellectually disabled and dependent on others.

Begging rings and gangs allegedly place iron bands around the heads of healthy children to induce cranial deformation.The mazar of Shah Dolah, home to many of the rat children, is a common pilgrimage site for women and married couples who wish to bear children. Ignoring a rat child's plea for money is thought to bring bad luck.

"I have not seen this myself but I have heard from many people that they use iron rings which are placed on the baby's head to stop it growing. I believe there are about 10,000 rat children in Pakistan controlled by a mafia of beggars who are all over the country. These children are also physically and sexually abused."

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