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Issue 670
"ON SECOND THOUGHT..." SNIPPETZ LOOKS AT ALTERNATE MOVIE ENDINGS by Lindsey Harrison “Cinema is a matter of what’s in the frame and what’s out.” – Martin Scorsese When you sit down to watch a movie in a theater or perhaps in the comfort of your own home, you probably don’t give much thought to how the movie was made. That would ruin the cinematic experience. But the truth is that making a movie isn’t just a day or two of shooting scenes and then POOF a movie is made. Certainly not. In many cases, there are rewrites to the script, scenes performed in multiple ways to get the right feel and plenty of film that just ends up on the cutting room floor. To paraphrase Mr. Scorsese, what makes movies great isn’t just about what we see on the screen but also what we don’t see. Some of the greatest movies may not have turned out quite so well if those rewrites hadn’t been done or if the endings hadn’t been tweaked at the last minute. Snippetz couldn’t help but wonder: what are some of the alternate endings we never saw to some of our favorite films? The Wizard of Oz Technically speaking, The Wizard of Oz didn’t have an alternate ending and viewing audiences didn’t miss out on any great scenes that were deleted for the final production. But because the movie is such a classic, it’s worth mentioning something we almost DIDN’T get to see. Early viewing audiences thought that Dorothy’s iconic “Over the Rainbow” song slowed down the plot and it was very nearly taken out. Nowadays it’s almost impossible to imagine the movie without it and there’s no telling if it would’ve become the epic film it is now had the song been deleted. The Shining In this super scary movie based on Stephen King’s book (and set in the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado), director Stanley Kubrick originally had filmed additional footage at the end that he decided to leave out of the final cut. In the extended ending, after showing the frozen body of Jack Torrence in the snow, the scene cuts to Jack’s wife Wendy and their son Danny in a nearby hospital. Stuart Ullman, the manager of the Overlook Hotel where the movie takes place visits Wendy and Danny and tells them that investigators didn’t find any evidence that anything out of the ordinary had happened there, indicating that maybe Wendy had been hallucinating the whole thing. As he leaves, Ullman hands Danny the weird yellow ball that was seen throughout the movie and Wendy takes that to mean that Ullman was behind all the paranormal activity at the hotel. The ending as it stands leaves the option for a movie version of “Dr. Sleep,” King’s follow-up novel to “The Shining.” Oh goodie! National Lampoon’s Vacation The National Lampoon’s movies have always done well with audiences, thanks to their audacious scenarios and of course, Chevy Chase. However, “Vacation” director Harold Ramis said that the movie’s original ending was so badly received by audiences that they were laughing for 80 minutes and then just stopped cold as the movie concluded. In that original version, Clark Griswold, played by Chase is so upset that Wally World is closed for maintenance when he and his family finally get there that he goes to Roy Wally’s house and holds the man at gunpoint while Wally entertains the Griswold family. Six months after the failed initial release of the film (with the not-so-funny ending), the ending we enjoy today was filmed, with Clark holding a security guard hostage while the family plays at the theme park. Fatal Attraction At the end of this classic thriller, Alex Forrest the obsessed and then jilted lover of Dan Gallagher is shot in the bathtub by Gallagher’s wife, Beth. Originally, however the movie ended with Forrest slashing her own throat and framing her ex-lover for the crime. In that ending, Beth is able to find a cassette tape that Alex sent to Dan, threatening to commit suicide and Dan is acquitted of the murder. Audiences didn’t like the fact that the crazy woman got off so easily so after a three-week reshoot, the film ended in a much more satisfying way. Glenn Close played Forrest and was adamantly against filming the new ending, claiming that her character was much more likely to “self-destruct and commit suicide.” The original ending was included in the Japanese version of the film. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial For some of us, E.T. was a staple in our childhood repertoire of movies. But the happy ending with E.T. getting rescued by his alien brethren was not what director Steven Spielberg had initially planned as the ending. Instead, the original ending included E.T. dying. Can you imagine the psychological damage we would’ve suffered if the original ending hadn’t been cut? Return of the Jedi Initially, this movie was slated to end with Han Solo dying during a raid on the Imperial base. Producer Gary Kurtz and creator George Lucas didn’t see eye-to-eye on the ending and Kurtz said that Lucas was concerned about how the death of one of the main characters would impact merchandising and so the pair agreed not to kill off any main characters at all, ending the movie in a sort of teddy bear luau. Following the completion of the film, Kurtz and Lucas parted ways. Rocky Here’s an alternate ending that fans of the Rocky movies will be glad never came to pass: in the original screenplay, Sylvester Stallone had written that Rocky would take money for throwing the fight against Apollo Creed and then use the funds to open a pet store with Adrian. Not sure what that would have done to prospects of additional Rocky films but it’s probably safe to say audiences appreciated the rewrite. Dr. Strangelove We all know how this iconic movie ends, with Major T.J. “King” Kong riding a nuclear bomb as it descends to Earth and Dr. Strangelove suddenly being able to walk again, just as the Doomsday Machine detonates the nuclear bombs across the world. Admittedly, the ending is a bit of a downer but the alternate ending that was almost used goes to the complete opposite end of the spectrum. It shows a massive pie fight at the Pentagon, including the President of the United States and the Russian Ambassador hitting each other in the face with pies. Stanley Kubrick vetoed that ending and instead used the one that audiences have come to know and love . . . and that is much more fitting with the tone of the film as a whole. Pretty Woman This movie about a prostitute with a heart of gold who falls in love with a rich john could have ended in a much less “feel-good” kind of way. The original ending called for Edward (the john) to give Vivian (the prostitute) the envelope of cash in the amount they agreed to at the beginning of the movie and drive away, leaving Vivian back on the streets, hysterically crying and completely depressed. Director Gary Marshall said that Disney wanted a “prettier” ending and thus, they filmed the ending we all remember, with Edward coming back to Vivian’s apartment in a limo, brandishing a bouquet of flowers and then climbing up the fire escape to be with her. Issue 671
SNIPPETZ ASKS: "IS THERE A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS WITH A THEME RESTAURANT?" by Lindsey Harrison “I never eat in a restaurant that’s over a hundred feet off the ground and won’t stand still.” – Calvin Trillin, American journalist These days, we have a vast array of restaurants available to us just about any time of the day or night. If you’re craving some spicy curry, you can go to an Indian restaurant. If a juicy burger is more your speed, there are plenty of burger joints around to choose from. As a restaurateur, it’s probably very difficult to figure out what to do to make your establishment stand out. What’s going to make a person choose your restaurant over all the others around? For some, going the route of “theme restaurant” is a viable option to making a name for themselves and putting their place on the map. While the themes may not always lead to instant success, they are often entertaining and Snippetz just had to investigate some of the more unusual theme restaurants around, including one just south of us in Colorado Springs! Solo’s Restaurant We’ll begin our theme restaurant tour with Colorado Springs’ very own Solo’s Restaurant. Located on south Powers, the restaurant is kind of hard to miss . . . it’s a huge, fully intact Boeing KC-97 tanker plane. The plane itself was built in 1953 and was used to refuel aircraft throughout the world. On a return flight from a refueling mission to Europe, the crew had to land the plane on one of the Azores islands, about 970 miles west of Portugal. They left it there and it was all but forgotten. Eventually, the plane was reclaimed and in May 2002, it was turned into the restaurant people enjoy today. It seats roughly 42 people aboard the plane itself but the attached dining area can seat another 275 people. Guest can enjoy hundreds of picture, artifacts and memorabilia and can even explore the cockpit of the airplane. Modern Toilet Restaurant Yes, you read that correctly. There is a toilet-themed restaurant and it’s a chain that’s currently expanding in both Taiwan and Hong Kong, although a version like the Modern Toilet chain just opened in Los Angeles. The original idea started out with chocolate ice cream being served in a bowl shaped like a toilet. People liked the idea and so the creators broadened their bathroom horizons and in 2004, began serving food out of bed pans. Customers sit on toilet seats, the tables are made of double sinks with a glass top and the sinks in the restrooms are modified toilets with faucets. Apparently the fact that you’re technically eating on the toilet hasn’t bothered too many people. Barbie Café Taiwan is also home to another uniquely-themed restaurant: the Barbie Café. The restaurant is licensed by Mattel, the maker of the Barbie doll and is decorated entirely Barbie-esque. There are pictures of her everywhere and everything is pink, including the tutus on the chairs, hot-pink sofas and tables shaped like high-heeled shoes. The café is the second attempt by Mattel to create a Barbie-themed restaurant. Their first opened in 2009 in China but closed its doors two years later. The Taiwan location opened in 2013 so it remains to be seen if the idea has been more successful this time around. Hachikyo This restaurant has more of a concept than a theme so based on that concept Snippetx came up with a theme and that theme is “eat up or pay up.” To clarify, the restaurant’s owner announced that anyone who didn’t completely finish their meal, even down to the last grain of rice, would have to pay a fine. The idea behind the concept is much more socially aware than some owner who wants to fine people who don’t finish their food. It’s actually a way to bring awareness to the fisherman of the country who risk their lives to catch the fish served at Hachikyo. According to the menu, “To show our gratitude and appreciation for the food they provide, it is forbidden to leave even one grain of rice in your bowl.” And the proceeds from the fines don’t go into the owner’s pockets. They are donated to Japan’s fisherman. Heart Attack Grill Only in American can a restaurant’s owner say, “Don’t come to my restaurant, it is bad for you and will kill you,” and yet, people still come! The Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas is that restaurant. With a counter that keeps track of the calories served each day, it’s safe to say a restaurant like this is NOT the place to do while on a diet. In fact, their website openly mocks diets. But the home of the Guinness World Record for the Highest Calorie Burger has a reputation to uphold. So they have items like the “Octuple Bypass Burger” which you can garnish with a meager helping of 40 slices of bacon. And if you weigh 350 pounds or more, you eat free. God bless America. Ninja Switching gears to something a little less artery-clogging, we travel over to New York where the Ninja restaurant offers up something very Ninja-worthy indeed. The restaurant is located underground, in a cave-like maze of rooms and hallways that covers over 6,000 square feet. The servers are all in black ninja costumes and tumble and roll through the maze as guests navigate their way to their tables. Throughout the meal, ninjas appear and reappear, often carrying swords and doing magic tricks to evoke the feeling of the legitimate ninjas in Japan. It’s unclear how lighting things on fire is reminiscent of a ninja, but Ninja in New York seems to think it’s a good fit so if you happen to dine there, beware. Chillout From ninjas to ice, we move on to a restaurant Chillout, located in Dubai. As the name suggests, this restaurant is a bit chilly and for good reason. It’s made entirely from ice, kept at a toasty -6 degrees. Guests receive a nice, cozy hooded coat, gloves and shoes to wear as they enjoy nice warm foods and drinks. The restaurant originally opened in 2007 but underwent a major renovation in July 2014 and now boasts ice sculptures, ice seating and ice tables, among other things. Similar restaurants are located in Montreal, Las Vegas, Orlando, New York and several other locations. Calico Cat Café This restaurant is less of a restaurant than just a place to hang out, have a cup of tea and play with cats. Located in Tokyo, Calico Cat Café gives its customers access to a fun, relaxing time with these fuzzy felines, something many people living in the overcrowded city don’t often get. The Calico Cat Café staff is on-hand to ensure that guests treat the animals properly and can offer up a small bag of treats to entice the cats to spend time with you. The idea is an apparent hit because there are about 30 different places similar to the Calico Cat Café in Tokyo. If you’ve longed to be a crazy cat person but happen to live with a highly-allergic spouse, this might be a great way to get the best of both worlds . . . assuming you don’t mind traveling around the globe to get it! Issue 672
SNIPPETZ TAKES A STROLL THROUGH THE GARDEN: "WHAT'S WITH THE GNOMES?" by Lindsey Harrison “Call them what you want. Garden gnomes. Lawn ornaments. Little evil outdoor statuary hell-bent on world domination. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that, right now, they’re hiding in plain sight, pretending to be symbols of merriment and good will.” – Chuck Sambuchino, author Although it seems unlikely that garden gnomes aren’t just statues that people put in their yards but rather little demons plotting our demise, they are still very curious creatures. Small, silly and sort of creepy, garden gnomes can definitely give you cause to ponder: what’s the point? Who came up with the idea of making some funky little man (or woman) that sits in your yard and does nothing more than make people do a double-take when they walk by? Sure, they can make you smile, what with their huge pointy hats and their sometimes ridiculous poses. But is that it? And what’s with the other lawn ornaments out there. Pink flamingos . . . really? What’s the point of those? They don’t seem whimsical and cute. They seem strangely out of place, especially in colorful Colorado. Questions like these prompted us at Snippetz to dig up the dirt on these lawn ornaments . . . and here’s what we’ve found! Humble Gnome Beginnings Since at least the Renaissance, and possibly earlier, people have been creating statues to place in their gardens. By the late 1700s, porcelain “house dwarfs” were being crafted and enjoyed popularity through the 1800s. Around that same time, wooden gnome statues were being carved in Switzerland, however it remains a bit unclear who actually created the first gnome. Some believe it was a pair of ceramic workers from Dresden, Germany who supposedly had the gnomes on their shelves in the early 1840s. Others claim they got their start a bit later, in the German town of Gräfenroda, also known for its high-quality ceramics. Terracotta versions of the gnomes were created by a German sculptor and potter named Philip Griebel who said his gnomes were based on local myths about a gnome’s willingness to tend their gardens at night. In fact, his descendants were some of the last German producers to make the little creatures. Origins debate aside, garden gnomes grew in popularity and soon they could be found all throughout Germany, France and England. In 1847, Sir Charles Isham of England happened upon the creatures and brought 21 terracotta gnomes back from a trip to Germany. He placed them throughout the gardens around his home, Lamport Hall in Northamptonshire. Of those 21 original gnomes, only one is still around today. He is known as “Lampy” and is on display at Lamport Hall. But even as the gnomes’ popularity increased, events like World War II hit the industry particularly hard and many of the newer companies that came on the scene to make the gnomes found they couldn’t keep their doors open. While they can still be found today, the quality is not what it used to be, thanks to cheap labor and materials used to mass-produce them. What About the Flamingo? The pink flamingo is a much more recent development than the gnome. And it probably comes as no surprise that it was created right here in the United States. It might surprise you that the birds were not created somewhere tropical-esque, like Florida or Hawaii. Nope, they were created in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1957. The town itself claims to be the Plastics Capital of the World. For some reason, Union Products wanted someone to create a plastic flamingo for them. They hired Don Featherstone, a sculptor from an art school nearby and for his second assignment, he had to make the now-iconic ornament. Because he had nothing to reference to create the figure, Featherstone dug through some old National Geographic magazines until he found a photo spread that he used to create the model, which took about two weeks to complete. Featherstone said that the popularity of the birds grew following the cookie-cutter subdivisions that sprouted up after World War II. As a way to distinguish their house from their neighbors’ houses, people could plant a flamingo in their yard. The trend caught on and in 1996, Featherstone was awarded with the Ig Nobel Prize for Art. Union Products no longer holds the copyright for the plastic molds used to create the original Featherstone flamingos. Cado Manufacturing purchased the copyrights and the entire Union Products product line, including their pink flamingo. There are many plastic flamingo creators out there but the “official” Featherstone pink flamingo will often include his signature near the underside on the back of the bird. Those “official” birds were sold in pairs, one with its head up and the other with its head down, as if feeding. Gnome Pranks Not surprisingly, garden gnomes have become the proverbial butt of the joke. Pranksters have started finding interesting ways to play a joke on the people who have gnomes in their gardens. Sometimes, they will actually steal the gnomes and take them on a trip, then photograph the gnome in front of national monuments or iconic tourist locations. One such group of pranksters refers to themselves as the Garden Gnome Liberation Front, based out of France. They have been known to steal gnomes on a grand scale and then relocate them in a wooded area. They say they are releasing the gnomes into the wild. In another instance, they strung up dozens of gnomes from a bridge and left a note claiming the gnomes had committed suicide to escape their lives of servitude. Flamingo Pranks The interesting thing about flamingo pranks in comparison to gnome pranks is that most flamingo pranks involve putting far too many flamingos in a place, rather than taking them away. One famous instance was in 1979 and was performed by the Pail and Shovel Party, a group that eventually took control of the Wisconsin Student Association at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. They covered Bascom Hill with 1008 plastic flamingos on the morning of the first day of classes for the year. Flamingo Snippetz
Gnome Snippetz
Issue 673
"WHAT'S IN A NAME?" SNIPPETZ ROUNDS UP SOME INTERESTING SPORTS NICKNAMES by Lindsey Harrison “A nickname is the heaviest stone that the devil can throw at a man. It is a bugbear to the imagination, and, though we do not believe in it, it still haunts out apprehensions.” – William Hazlitt Our names tell the story about who we are, who our families are and where we come from. Nicknames often do the same. Sometimes they evoke the image of a great leader or hero and other times, they bring to mind a certain event that we would rather everyone just forgot. Either way, they tend to stick with us, for better or worse. But what happens when you’re in the public eye and you get saddled with a nickname? It’s not so easy to live down an embarrassing nickname when the entire world has heard it. That’s where Snippetz comes in. With so many to choose from, we couldn’t list them all so we gathered together some of the most interesting, off-the-wall, crazy nicknames from the wonderful world of sports, and here they are, in no particular order. Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch Elroy Hirsch was a running back for the Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Rockets, two teams from the early years of the National Football League. Born in Wausau, Wisconsin in 1927, Hirsch earned his nickname during his first season of college football with the University of Wisconsin Badgers. A sportswriter named Francis Powers who worked for the Chicago Daily News saw him play in the game against the Great Lakes Naval Station in 1942 and wrote, “His crazy legs were gyrating in six different directions, all at the same time; he looked like a demented duck.” He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968 with a career record of 387 receptions, 7,029 yards and 60 touchdowns. Hirsch’s running style even inspired a race, called the “Crazylegs Classic,” an 8K race run through downtown Madison, Wisconsin that has been held annually since 1981. “Shoeless” Joe Jackson Joe Jackson was an outfielder for several early American baseball teams, including the Philadelphia Athletics from 1908 to 1909; the Cleveland Naps (Indians) from 1910 to 1915; and the Chicago White Sox from 1915 to 1920. Born in Pickens County, South Carolina, Jackson earned his nickname during a game in which he decided that playing without shoes was far better than playing with them. He had developed blisters from a new pair of cleats that were bothering him so badly that, while at bat, he stopped to take them off. A fan who same him running to third base in his socks shouted out to him, “You shoeless son of a gun, you!” The name stuck and even though he was later involved in a scandal that resulted in him being banned from Major League Baseball, he is still a baseball legend. Karl “The Mailman” Malone For Karl Malone, his nickname “The Mailman” was one of those nicknames that came about from an embarrassing event that he would probably rather forget. During the first game of the 1997 National Basketball Association finals, Malone was all set to attempt the game-winning free throws for his team, the Utah Jazz against the Chicago Bulls. Bulls player Scottie Pippen leaned over and whispered to Malone, “Just remember, the mailman doesn’t deliver on Sundays, Karl.” Malone missed both free throws and the Jazz lost the game. Richard “Goose” Gossage Richard Gossage was a relief pitcher who hails from Colorado Springs. He played for 11 different MLB teams and was part of the World Series-winning New York Yankees in 1978. He earned his nickname when a friend decided that “Goose” sounded better than his previous nickname, “Goss.” Apparently, it also went well with Gossage’s goose-like appearance when he extended his neck to read the signs his catcher displayed for him. Not exactly an intimidating nickname, but it got the job done! Jerry “Mr. Clutch” West Jerry West was a point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. He earned the nickname “Mr. Clutch” because he always seemed to make a big play in a nearly-desperate situation. One such play was a 60-foot buzzer-beating shot that tied Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. West wasn’t just a one-nickname man, though. He’s also referred to as “The Logo” because his silhouette is the one featured in the NBA logo; “Mr. Outside” because he stuck to the perimeter of the court when playing; and “Zeke from Cabin Creek” because of a creek near his birthplace of Chelyan, West Virginia. André “Red Light” Racicot Yet another unfortunate nickname recipient, André Racicot played goalie for the Montreal Canadiens from 1989 to 1994. You may recall that when a goal is scored in the game of hockey, a red light behind the goal goes off and loud, obnoxious horns start blaring. So for a goalie to get the nickname “Red Light,” it’s not because he’s able to block every shot that comes his way. But he wasn’t as bad as the nickname makes him out to be, either. Overall, Racicot won 26 games, lost 23 and tied 8, allowing an average of 3.5 goals per game. But perception and reality are often not the same and thus, Racicot got stuck with a nickname that doesn’t exactly depict his abilities accurately. Mike “The Human Rain Delay” Hargrove Mike Hargrove played first base for several MLB teams from 1974 to 1985, during which time, he earned himself the nickname “The Human Rain Delay.” Why? Well, apparently Hargrove enjoyed toying with pitchers while he was at-bat by going through a routine of adjusting his helmet, adjusting his batting glove to make sure it was tight on his hand (especially his thumb), pulling the sleeves on his uniform up about one inch and then wiping his hands on his uniform pants. He sometimes felt the need to repeat the routine in between pitches. Hargrove’s antics not only earned him a nickname but he also drew quite a few walks, intentional walks and hits-by-pitch. Nickname Snippetz Want more crazy sports nicknames? Here’s a few of the more memorable ones.
Issue 674
SNIPPETZ SUGGESTS, "NEVER SHRUG OFF THE IMPORTANCE OF BODY LANGUAGE!" by Lindsey Harrison “When the eyes say one thing and the tongue another, a practiced man relies on the language of the first.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson When it comes to communication, what you say is only part of the story. Your body language tells the rest. Whether it’s your posture, where you place your hands, or if you make eye contact with the person you’re speaking to, it all serves to complete the communication picture. These nonverbal cues can be very useful when trying to convey a message to someone else. But they can also become a hindrance if they aren’t in agreement with what you’re saying. So how can you be sure that what your body is communicating to someone else is what you actually want it to communicate? And can you use someone else’s body language to read what they’re thinking or feeling in a certain situation? Snippetz decided to take a look at some of the ways people say things to each other without actually speaking a word. What is Body Language? While it seems pretty obvious, body language is actually more than just how you stand or where you put your hands. It has to do with your tone of voice when you talk, the gestures you make, the way your skin flushes at a certain topic or how your pupils dilate based on who you’re talking to. Knowing how to interpret those signs can help you understand more about what’s going on in someone’s mind, whether they’re lying to you or trying to hide something from you, or whether they’re genuinely interested in what you’re saying. The biggest thing to remember when trying to read someone’s body language is that every person has their own way of talking. Some people naturally talk fast and that doesn’t necessarily indicate deception on their part. Others may be unable to stand still but not because they are anxious or impatient. The key to interpreting body language signs is to consider the context of the conversation like where you are physically and the subject matter you’re speaking about. And remember: everyone is different so what may be the case for one person might not be the case for another. Negative Body Language If you’re a parent to a teenager, you probably know that, while they may not be the greatest at verbally communicating with you, their nonverbal communication skills are top-notch. Rolling eyes, crossed arms and lack of eye contact are all classic signs of anger, frustration and annoyance. The negativity practically radiates off them. And while YOU may not roll your eyes at someone, they may be picking up on a negative vibe based on some of your other nonverbal cues. In some instances, this may not matter much to you; but what if you’re giving off a negative vibe when you are interviewing for a job or on a first date? At those times, it could be pretty detrimental to have your body language say something you don’t want it to say. Here are some classic examples of body language signs that are often seen as negative:
Positive Body Language Have you ever been in the presence of a really good salesperson, someone who could sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo? If you have, then it’s likely that you’ve been treated to a display of some pretty strong positive body language, whether you knew it or not. Positive body language has the ability to influence us in ways we sometimes don’t even realize, like when that really good salesperson persuaded you to buy a two-door sports car when you really needed a minivan to transport your growing family. It can make us seem more likeable, trustworthy, fun and happy. Here are some classic examples of some body language signs that are often seen as positive:
Body language Snippetz
Issue 675
SNIPPETZ OFFERS UP A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS by Lindsey Harrison “If it’s a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone, somewhere is making a penny.” – Steven Wright, comedian It used to be that you could go to the grocery store and get a piece of gum from the candy machine for one penny. You could ride the mechanical horse for a penny there, too. “See a penny, pick it up. All day long you’ll have good luck,” was a phrase that you sang to yourself as you bent down to retrieve a dirty penny from the street as you were crossing. You held tight and made a wish on a penny before throwing it into a fountain. Yes, pennies used to be worth much more than they are now. Today’s youth probably don’t understand the simple joy of finding a penny on the sidewalk. How many would even take the time to look up from their cellphones to notice a penny waiting to be plucked from the asphalt in a parking lot? Not many. But Snippetz knows better and so we decided to try to ascertain the true worth of the penny. History of the Penny The penny was first introduced as a form of currency in the United States in 1787. It was known as the Fugio cent and rumor has it that Benjamin Franklin designed it. On one side, the image of a sun and sundial with the words “Mind Your Business.” The opposite side featured a chain with 13 links, representing the 13 original colonies, coiled around the words “We Are One.” Pennies aren’t a concept that came to fruition here in the New World first, though. Offa, an Anglo-Saxon king is thought to have introduced the first penny in England around 790 A.D. Back then, the coin was made of solid silver. The term “penny” stuck around and British pennies are worth one hundredth of a pound and are made of copper-plated silver. Throughout Europe, the word “penny” can be found in various forms such as the German “pfennig” and the Swedish “penning.” Those terms referred to any sort of coin or money. When the penny was first produced in the United States, it was about twice the size of today’s pennies (which have remained the same size since 1857), and was officially called the “one-cent piece.” These coins are only still called pennies because old habits die hard and Americans couldn’t shake the tendency to call them as such. They were originally made of 100 percent copper. Back then, Paul Revere actually supplied most of the copper for the one-cent coins minted in the early 1790s. Since then, the copper content of pennies has declined steadily over the years as the price of copper has gone up. Pennies haven’t been made of pure copper since 1864. Currently, copper only makes up about 2.5 percent of all the one-cent coins minted since 1982. During World War II, as a way to help the war effort, the U.S. Mint recycled old shell casings to make pennies. They considered making plastic pennies to help further conserve America’s precious resources, but decided against it and created zinc-covered steel version. They were nicknamed “steelies” and were a bit confusing because they looked more like dimes than pennies. They also rusted and deteriorated much more quickly. Following the war, the Mint switched back to the zinc-and-copper ones they had been making previously. The average lifespan of a penny minted in the U.S. is about 25 years. Since they were originally produced, there have been more than 300 billion pennies minted, 150 billion of which are still in circulation today. If you lined up all 150 billion pennies end to end, it would circle the earth 137 times. In today’s world, it actually costs more to make a penny than the penny is worth (about 1.8 cents each). Interestingly enough, it costs about four cents to make a $100 bill. Unless, of course, you have a penny from 1793, of which there are four remaining, each costing an estimated $275,000. Or perhaps you’ve got a 1943 copper penny, of which there are about forty, each costing about $112,500. So check those pennies, people! Honest Abe takes his place on the penny Abraham Lincoln’s face was first engraved on the penny in 1909, in celebration of the former president’s 100th birthday. It was the first American coin to feature the face of a real person. He is the only president depicted on a coin that faces to the right. Rumors abound about a secret meaning to Lincoln’s orientation on the coin but the truth is that the sculptor of the Lincoln penny, Victor David Brenner said that he created the penny that way because he was working from a photo of Lincoln facing to the right. Born Viktoras Barnauskas, Brenner emigrated to the U.S. from Lithuania in 1890 to escape persecution for his Jewish ancestry. The Lincoln penny minted in 1909 was also the first coin to include the phrase “In God We Trust” on its front. Fifty years later, the Lincoln Memorial was added to the back of the penny by Mint engraver Frank Gasparro and if you look closely, you can see Lincoln’s statue within it. The penny is the only coin to have the face of the same person on both the front and the back because of that statue. A new design for the penny was released in 2010, which has the Union Shield on the back in place of the Lincoln Memorial. But for those minted prior to that year, you can see the initials of the sculptors who designed them. From 1959 to 2010, Gasparro’s initials can be seen near the shrubbery to the right of the Lincoln Memorial. Pennies minted from 1918 to 1958 have Brenners initials under Lincoln’s shoulder. Don’t be disappointed if you can’t see them with the naked eye; they initials are so small, most people can’t see them without a magnifying glass. Penny Snippetz
Issue 676
TRAVEL BACK THROUGH TIME WITH US, AS SNIPPETZ EXPLORES COLORADO'S PREHISTORY by Lindsey Harrison “Mountains aren’t eternal; even the most imposing massifs are smoothed away by weathering in a few hundred million years or less. Plate tectonics make new ones and without it, our future would be flat.” – Seth Shostak, American scientist The landscape of our gorgeous state is dramatically different now than it was millions of years ago. We take for granted that Pikes Peak is right outside our windows or that Garden of the Gods is just a short drive away. But that wasn’t always the case. Back in the day, when dinosaurs roamed the earth (and even earlier), Colorado was nearly unrecognizable. The ocean wasn’t hundreds of miles away; if you had lived in Colorado back then, you could’ve enjoyed beachfront property instead of forests or plains. The state endured ice ages (yes, more than one), encroaching and receding oceans, and volcanic eruptions, not to mention huge movements of the tectonic plates beneath the earth’s surface. Snippetz decided to travel back through time, to prehistoric Colorado to see how the region looked and what marvels were to be found. Colorado has a rich prehistoric past; so much so that it would be difficult to adequately describe everything that happened to bring about our favorite landmarks or to detail the lives of the variety of animals that roamed the land. Instead, we’ve picked out a few of the most important and interesting features that make our state so marvelous. The Rocky Mountains During the Paleozoic period, western North America was submerged beneath a shallow sea. The sea deposited many miles of limestone and dolomite on the surface of the earth in that area. At the core of the continent is Precambrian metamorphic rock and Precambrian sedimentary argillite. When the tectonic plates beneath the earth’s crust began to move and shift, these rocks were forced upward and created the Ancestral Rocky Mountains about 300 million years ago. These uplifted areas looked like two mountainous islands, known as Frontrangia and Uncompahgria, which were located in the area of the present-day Front Range and San Juan Mountains. But those are not the Rocky Mountains that we see today. About 150-250 million years ago, the tectonic plates begin to shift again and the Ancestral Rocky Mountains began to sink back into the earth. The mountain range struggled to re-emerge about 68 million years ago but erosion ate everything away. Finally, about 10 million years ago, the mountains began to rise again. Between 11,000 and 16,000 years ago, during the Ice Age Summer of the Pleistocene period, glaciers that had formed began to melt and literally cut away the weaker sediments and shaped the mountain range into the Rockies we see today. The strong granite that was forced to the surface during the formation of the Ancestral Rockies can still be found in the mountain range today, especially in Colorado. It’s called Pikes Peak granite and is identifiable by its unique pink color, which is due to the high amount of potassium feldspar in it. This Ice Age Summer made for suitable conditions for mastodon, mammoth, giant sloths, bison antiquus and other prehistoric animals to live in the area. Immediately following this period, humans ventured onto the continent and began to make their way into the Colorado area. Mountain building like that which created the Rocky Mountains is typically found only about 200 to 400 miles inland from a subduction zone’s boundary. A subduction zone is an area where an oceanic plate has slipped below another plate. Usually, the oceanic plate sinks at a fairly steep angle, causing the mountains to be built fairly close to the edge of that plate. In the case of the Rocky Mountains, geologists believe the oceanic plate sank at a shallow angle, causing the mountains to be built much further inland than normal. They also believe this is why the Rockies are so broad and high. Garden of the Gods As with the Rocky Mountains, the Garden of the Gods was formed during a period of geological movement and upheaval millions of years ago along a natural fault line. The massive rocks that jut from the ground were originally deposited as beds of deep red, pink and white sandstones, mixtures of sedimentary rocks and limestone. When the plates beneath the surface of the earth began to shift in this area, the deposits broke into chunks and were thrust upward, where they remained. Erosion and the melting of glaciers formed during the Pleistocene Ice Age have created the formations that we enjoy today. A popular attraction in the Garden of the Gods is Balanced Rock, which is made from a combination of coarse sand, silica, gravel and hematite. The rock actually fell off a ledge higher up, coming to rest in a bed of sand that eventually wore away at the base, making it appear as though the rock is precariously balancing in place. Throughout the park, evidence of prehistoric life remains. In 1878, the dinosaur species Theiophytalia kerri was found and when the skull was reexamined in 2006, it was determined to be a completely new species. Interestingly enough, the park was originally called Red Rock Corral. However, in August 1859, a surveyor named M.S. Beach commented that the place would be a “capital place for a beer garden.” Fellow surveyor Rufus Cable said, “Beer garden! Why, it is a fit place for the gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods.” The name stuck and the park now includes some 1,364 acres of land, trails and (of course) rocks. Colorado fossils At the start of the Paleozoic period, Colorado was located nearer to the equator, as part of the land mass called Pangea. During this time, the state was submerged under a warm, shallow sea. The sea was home to many different types of sea life, including sponges, trilobites, brachiopods, sharks and armored jawless fish called ostracoderms. The sea began to recede from the area sometime during the Silurian and early Devonian periods but returned during the Carboniferous period, although some portions of the state managed to stay dry. During the Permian period, the sea withdrew yet again, and left behind fields of sand dunes, inside which fossils of footprints from ancient insects and reptiles were preserved. This pattern of recession and encroachment of ocean water into the state carried on for thousands of years. During the Oligocene period, the area was mainly rainforest, supporting a rich variety of flora, which eventually became fossilized. Examples of such plant life can be seen at the Florissant Fossil Beds in Florissant. At least 150 different kinds of plants from this period are preserved there, including sequoia trees with trunks up to 17 and a half feet in diameter. Other types of fossils that have been unearthed in the state include the following: palm trees from the ancient rainforest that used to call Colorado home; Columbian mammoths; a Stegosaurus dinosaur; new species of dinosaurs like the Allosaurus fragilis and the Diplodocus longus; giant pigs and a rhinoceros that was found in Weld County. Prehistoric Colorado Snippetz
Issue 677
GAMES OF CHANCE: SNIPPETZ WONDERS, "WHAT ARE THE ODDS?" by Lindsey Harrison “The world is so unpredictable. Things happen suddenly, unexpectedly. We want to feel we are in control of our own existence. In some ways we are, in some ways we’re not. We are ruled by the forces of chance and coincidence.” – Paul Auster, author It’s true that our world can be unpredictable at times. Just when you feel you’ve got a handle on things, life throws you a curve ball. Call it luck, call it fate, call it chance or call it coincidence. Whatever you call it, it’s there and it’s real. Sometimes these twists of fate are unwelcome. Sometimes, they’re not so bad. But we as humans have figured out how to take something as simple as chance and turn it into a way to entertain ourselves. We’ve created games. Now, not every game is based on pure chance. There are games like chess, checkers and poker (to name a few) that require the players to have a modicum of skill or strategy at their disposal. However, other games are simply based on chance. And those are the games that we decided we’ve look into. So let’s roll the dice and see where it takes us! WHAT IS A GAME OF CHANCE? As we mentioned before, a game of chance is a game whose outcome is based almost solely on some randomizing device. Skill is generally not necessary and often doesn’t help. Games of chance often involve items such as throwing dice, roulette wheels, playing cards or numbered balls drawn from a container. We’ve rounded up some popular games of chance just for you and here they are! Roulette Appropriately named after the French term for “little wheel,” roulette is a game that involves a small wheel and a ball. That’s it. The wheel has different colored squares situated in pockets near the center of the wheel. The pockets are either red or black (with the exception of one green square) and are numbered from 1 to 36. The green pocket is 0, although there may be a second green pocket numbered 00. All the red pockets are even numbers and all the black pockets are odd numbers. To play the game, the players make bets on either a single number or range of numbers, the color red or black, or whether the number is odd or even. A croupier (the equivalent of a dealer in a card game) spins the wheel in one direction and then places the ball in a circular track around the circumference of the wheel and makes it travel in the opposite direction. As the ball loses momentum, it falls onto the face of the wheel, eventually settling into one of the pockets. The roulette wheel was said to have been devised in the 1600s although the game itself didn’t take shape until the 1700s. Roulette is said to be an amalgamation of several different English, Italian and French games all mushed into one. The final product was devised as early as 1796 in Paris. Initially, the roulette wheel had the single zero on red and the double zero on black but confusion ensued so the zeroes where changed to green in the early 1800s. This same version eventually made its way across the Atlantic, to Mississippi and New Orleans before traveling throughout the rest of the country. Craps This simple game of chance involves dice and . . . well, that’s pretty much it. Players make wagers based on the outcome of a roll or series of rolls of a pair of dice. Due to the simple format, this game can be played in a variety of settings, from the casinos of Las Vegas to the streets of your neighborhood. The origins of the game are said to date back to the Crusades. The modern version was brought our country by Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville. Originally it was called crapaud, the French word for “toad” because of how players were often seen crouched over a floor or sidewalk while playing. Keno This game of chance is used in both casinos and as a version of some state lotteries. The traditional version involves a circular glass container called a “bubble” that holds 80 balls, each labeled with a different number from 1 to 80. During the ball draw, air is pushed into the bubble and the balls are mixed up. A “caller” then presses a lever which opens a tube that lifts one ball at a time into a v-shaped tube called the “rabbit ears.” The caller then reports the number of each of the balls. In traditional keno, 20 balls are drawn, but in state lotteries far fewer are picked. Players bet on the numbers that are chosen and are paid out based on how many of the numbers they’ve selected are pulled from the bubble. The amount of the payout in lottery keno depends on how many numbers the player has correctly chosen and how many tickets are sold. Keno is said to have originated in China and a rumor has circulated that the game was used to raise funds to build the Great Wall of China, but there isn’t much evidence to support the rumor. The game made it to the States when Chinese immigrants were used to help build the First Transcontinental Railroad in the 1800s. Bingo This game of chance is typically played with a card on which is printed the word “BINGO.” Each letter usually has five numbers beneath it with the center-most square marked as a “Free Space.” Usually, balls printed with both a number and a letter are drawn from a container in a random order. A caller announces what’s stamped on the ball and players mark that corresponding space on their card if they have it. The goal is to correctly mark the spaces in a particular pattern (a straight line across, a straight line up and down, a diagonal line, the corners and the Free Space, etc) and then shout “Bingo!” The winner’s card is verified to make sure incorrect spaces weren’t marked in order to win. The game origins can be traced back to Italy in 1530. Variations and improvements to that original game have been made since then and eventually Hugh J. Ward standardized the rules and game cards at carnivals in the Pittsburgh area in the 1920s. By 1933, he copyrighted the game of “Bingo” and wrote the rule book on it. Games of chance Snippetz
Issue 678
SNIPPETZ OFFERS DINNER WITH A SIDE OF THE SUPERNATURAL by Lindsey Harrison “They say that shadows of deceased ghosts, Do haunt the houses and the graves about, Of such whose life’s lamp went untimely out, Delighting still in their forsaken hosts.” – Joshua Sylvester, English poet This time of year, people of all ages are looking for ways to get into the Halloween spirit. Maybe you’re the type of person who likes to turn off all the lights and watch a scary movie late at night when everyone else is asleep in the house. Or maybe you’re the type who likes to decorate your house to rafters with jack-o-lanterns, spider webs, bats and zombies. Perhaps you’re the type to hunt down all the haunted house attractions that have cropped up around town to see if any of them can truly scare you. But maybe you’ve done all that and nothing seems to have what it takes to make your heart race with fright. In that case, we’ve got the solution! Snippetz has done some paranormal research and rounded up some haunted restaurants for you to consider. So come with us as we sample some of the country’s most notoriously haunted eateries! Poogan’s Porch Located in Charleston, South Carolina, this restaurant was actually built as a house in 1888. It gets its name from a friendly neighborhood dog that used to show up on the porch when Bobbie Ball renovated the house in 1976 to accommodate the restaurant. Ball eventually adopted Poogan and the pup became the unofficial host of the establishment. But Poogan’s Porch has had more than one unusual visitor. It’s said that one of the former residents of the house, Zoe St. Amand, can be seen wandering around the place at all hours of the day or night. The story says that Amand used to live as a spinster with her sister Elizabeth in the house until Elizabeth died in 1945. Zoe was so depressed at the loss of her sister that she was thought to have nearly had a nervous breakdown. She lived out the rest of her life in a hospital close by but it seems that her spirit has returned to the house. Zoe is said to wander the house wearing a long black dress and wire rim glasses. People who claim to have seen her often report that they didn’t know she was a ghost until they saw the picture of her on the wall and recognized her. Others claim to have seen her waving to them from a second story window. Arnaud’s This restaurant, appropriately located in “The Most Haunted City in America,” aka New Orleans, is said to be home to more than one apparition. The first is believed to be Arnaud Cazenave, a French wine salesman who purchased the space in 1918. He is said to be seen wearing an old-fashioned tuxedo, standing near the windows in the main dining room. Cazenave seems to appear when the restaurant is busiest, almost like he’s keeping an eye on things as he probably did when he was alive. The spirit of a woman wearing a fashionable hat was also reported in the restaurant. She supposedly exited the women’s restroom and walked across the hall, disappearing through the opposite wall. The consensus was that the wall she moved through had actually been built fairly recently and that on the other side was a staircase, leading to the conclusion that she was taking a route she probably had taken when she was alive, long before the wall was built. Parkview Restaurant Built in 1867, this restaurant is located in Owego, New York. Since then, the Irish pub and restaurant has changed hands many times, only to end up under owner Beth Johnson’s care. She and her husband renovated the space and during that time, both claim to have had paranormal experiences there. Chiming dinner bells and sealed up rooms that hold unknown secrets are just a few examples. A paranormal investigation team even came to document the activity and left with recordings of several different disembodied voices. Big Nose Kate’s Saloon Located in Tombstone, Arizona, Big Nose Kate’s was originally called the Grand Hotel. It was renamed after Mary Katherine Haroney, rumored to be the first prostitute in the town. As with Arnaud’s this restaurant claims to have more than one spirit wandering throughout the building. They supposedly enjoy touching people, employees and guests alike, moving things around and appearing inside photographs on the walls. There is one ghost that stands out among the rest, known as the Swamper. The story says that he lived in the basement of the saloon and managed to burrow beneath the restaurant, under the street and into a nearby silver mine. During the night, he would crawl through his tunnel and steal unknown amounts of silver. Voices and other suspicious sounds can still be heard in the tunnel today. Stone’s Public House This haunted restaurant is located in Ashland, Massachusetts and is also rumored to have more than one ghost in residence. The building was constructed in 1834 by John Stone, who also happens to be one of the apparitions that appears frequently. Stone was said to have killed a New York man who Stone accused of cheating in a card game in one of the upper rooms of the building. Supposedly, about six other people witnessed the altercation and helped Stone bury the man in the basement. That same man supposedly haunts the restaurant, touching people, breaking glasses, causing marked decreases in the temperature of a room and appearing as a mysterious shadowy figure. Country House Restaurant The tale behind the hauntings at this Claredon Hills, Illinois restaurant is a sad one for sure. It goes like this: many years ago, a bartender at the restaurant was dating a young woman. She was the mother of an infant at the time and she stopped by the restaurant one day to ask her boyfriend to watch the baby. The bartender said he couldn’t and the woman stormed off with her baby, hopped into her car and took off down the road. She smashed into a tree and both she and her baby were killed. The ghosts at Country House are said to be those of the woman and her baby. The woman is said to bang on the walls and doors and make the jukebox play on its own. Others have reported seeing her in an upstairs window. Both employees and guests have claimed to have heard a baby crying somewhere in the building even though there wasn’t a baby around. The Captain’s Anchorage This restaurant, located in Big Bear Lake, California was home to illegal gambling during the 40s and 50s. The bookkeeper who was keeping track of the gambling money, a man named George apparently decided to embezzle some of the money. Although it’s unclear exactly what happened, George was found dead in the upstairs office of the building. Some believe he committed suicide and others theorize someone murdered him. George’s ghost is thought to be responsible for shattering a bottle of liquor, causing signs in the bar to begin swinging on their own, flinging bottle of beer off the shelves and appearing in photographs as an orb. George may not be alone in his hauntings; one employee reported seeing a woman seated at a table who didn’t respond to anything the employee said. Unnerved, the employee ran to tell someone but when they returned, the ghost has disappeared. Issue 679
SNIPPETZ SEEKS OUT SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST UNUSUAL ANIMALS by Lindsey Harrison “Real biologists who actually do the research will tell you that they almost never find a phenomenon, no matter how odd or irrelevant it looks when they first see it, that doesn’t prove to serve a function. The outcome itself may be due to small accidents of evolution.” – E. O. Wilson, scientist It’s true that man’s imagination knows no bounds. We have created robots that sweep our floors for us. We’ve created bracelets that remind us to get up and move around in the hopes of helping us shed those unwanted pounds. We’ve even created vehicles that tell us when someone is in our blind spot or can parallel park for us. Those inventions are truly mind-boggling. But they don’t hold a candle to the interesting, incredible, amazing things that can be found in nature. We see some of them every day and others we may never lay our eyes on . . . ever. It’s for just that reason that Snippetz has decided to go hunting for some of the most strange, most unusual creatures on the planet. So join us as we visit some the world’s most unusual animals! Scotoplane Also known as sea pigs, these creatures live in the deep ocean at depths of over 1000 meters. They can often be found in huge numbers (sometimes up to several hundreds) along the abyssal plain in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, although some species have been found in the Antarctic. Scotoplanes are deposit feeders, meaning they get their food by sucking organic particles from deep-sea mud. The average sea pig size is about 6 inches long. That’s all great, but why are they called sea pigs? Well, they do kind of look like pigs . . . that live in the sea. They are slightly pink and plump and have stubby-looking legs that are actually tube feet. In order to move, they use water cavities within their skin to inflate and deflate their legs. If you can picture a balloon animal of a pig, you’re on the right track to picturing this strange sea creature. Glaucus Atlanticus Commonly known by several different names such as sea swallow, blue angel and blue dragon, the Glaucus Atlanticus is a species of small blue sea slug. It’s actually one of the smallest members of its biological family, only reaching up to 1.2 inches in length at full maturity. This particular sea slug occurs in both temperate and tropical waters throughout the world’s ocean The G. Atlanticus may be small, but it actually preys on larger organisms, in particular the venomous Portuguese Man o’ War. They swallow air bubbles and store them in their gastric cavity, which allows them to float through the ocean and when they get close to their prey, they use slow swimming movements with their finger-like extremities called cerata to finally get close enough for the kill. They will eat the entire organism, including the toxic venom, which they store in special sacs on the tips of their cerata. The G. Atlanticus then concentrates the venom, producing a more powerful and deadly version of the Man o’ War’s sting. Because of the air sac in their stomachs, these sea slugs actually float upside down. The bottom of the slug (but the top when it’s floating along with a bubble in its belly) is typically a bluish white, while the top is a silvery-gray, allowing it to blend in from both above the water looking down on it and from below the water looking up at it. They have dark blue stripes on their heads and their bodies are sort of a flattened diamond shape with their six cerata splayed out like fingers. Truly, they look like little blue dragons, hence the nickname blue dragon! Short-horned lizard As the name implies, these lizards have horns on their heads and along their backs. Even though the spines can be a deterrent for some predators, others still manage to snack on them. As a means to avoid being eaten, the short-horned lizard will inflate their bodies up to twice their normal size to appear larger and more difficult to eat. If that doesn’t work, they shoot a stream of blood from ducts in the corners of their eyes. They manage this by restricting the blood flow leaving their head, causing an increase in blood pressure that ultimately ruptures tiny vessels within the ducts. The blood can travel about three feet and besides causing confusion in their would-be predators, it contains a chemical that is noxious to dogs, wolves and coyotes. Velvet worm Most people think worms are relatively defenseless, but nothing could be further from the truth when referring to the Velvet worm. They have glands inside their body cavities and at the end of each is a tube that is more than half its body length in size. From those tubes, Velvet worms are able to squirt slime up to a foot. The purpose? To immobilize their prey, which usually consists of other small invertebrates. This sticky slime hardens quickly, keeping the meal securely in place until the worm can bite into it and inject a digestive saliva that liquefies the other bug’s insides. Mimic octopus The name says it all. These sea creatures have fine-tuned the art of mimicry and use it to their full advantage. Their long tentacles are versatile and flexible and their skin, which is typically brown and white striped, can rapidly change color and texture to mimic other plants or animals in the sea. They have been documented to mimic flatfish like sole, sea snakes and lionfish. Not only does the color and texture of their skin change but these remarkable creatures have learned how to mimic the other animal’s movements as well. For example, when pretending to be a sea snake, the octopus will change its color to the yellow and black bands of the venomous sea snake while waving two of its tentacle in opposite directions, recreating the movements of two sea snakes. These octopi are so smart, they can even decide which animal in their arsenal to impersonate depending on what animal would prey on their would-be predator. Tricky, tricky. Surinam toad This next creature takes mothering to a new height. The female of the species of this toad has evolved to carry her babies with her until they hatch . . . but she doesn’t just drag them around with her. No, she actually implants the eggs onto her back. The skin on her back thickens when she’s ready to mate and once the eggs are fertilized, she deposits them onto her back. The skin continues to thicken, essentially engulfing the eggs. The Surinam toad will carry her brood for several months until they are ready to hatch as fully-formed baby toads (no tadpole phase necessary here). When they DO hatch, they look like something out of the movie “Aliens” so it’s kind of creepy. But this is an extremely effective way to keep those babies safe until they can fend for themselves! The Surinam toad is also extremely flat which is helpful since it typically spends it days hidden among the fallen leaves at the bottom of ponds. They also don’t have tongues like other toads. They use suction feeding instead to pull in little fish for a meal. |
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