That is a cute poem, Russ! I think I vaguely remember reading it once, but I am going to write it down now and hang it on my fridge (Using a cow magnet, of course )

It sounds like you and your wife had a very busy (but I am sure it was fun) day in the kitchen!
Merry Christmas to you, even though it is technically over.

All,

This reviews the next two questions.

#23. A______ heart is in its head (shrimp)

False.

A shrimp's body is comprised of a head, a thorax and abdomen. The cardiac region (AKA the heart) is in the thorax region. What probably led to the belief that the heart is in the head is that the head and the thorax are fused together, becoming a "cephalothorax," which is covered by a carapace (a bony or chitinous shield) on the dorsal side. If you look on the opposite side, the ventral side, you will see the segmentation that separates the head from the thorax (give you something to do the next time you have shrimp cocktail).

For comparison, if you were to see a Roman soldier with a large shield that covered him from eyes to thighs, you'd say, "Why Roman soldiers have their abdomens in their heads!" (or something similar) -- obviously a visual error. Someone made the same mistake with the shrimp.

Here's another viewpoint. By definition (look it up in your Webster's), the head region provides the brain, eyes, ears (when ears exist), nose (when existing) and mouth; the thorax contains the lungs (AKA bronchial region) and heart (AKA cardiac region). The fact that there is not a neck to connect the head and thorax in a shrimp does not mean that the two are the same.

This web site has a great drawing of a shrimp's anatomy, which shows that the heart (cardiac region) is in the thorax:

http://www.sci.tamucc.edu/pals/maric/Index/WEBPAGE/DLab3.html

#24. In a study of 200,000_____over a period of 80 years, no one reported a single case where a _____ buried its head in the sand, or attempted to do so. (Ostrich)

Poor question.

One can only guess at the answer (although guess with a very high confidence level of being correct): What is known to have buried its head in the sand? Answer: The Ostrich. Therefore "Ostrich" is the answer. We can be highly confident that "Ostrich" is the correct answer, but the question begs so much more that we must investigate.

First, was there really a study? I searched the web and found no report of such a study. Thus, someone could have made up the statement. Anytime a "fact" is stated without any documentation, it is best not to pass this on as a fact. If anyone reading this has heard of the study, please let us know.

Second, I found numerous passages where the phrase was quoted concerning a politician. Are we sure that the study wasn't about politicians?

But more interestingly, why would anyone think that an ostrich would buy its head in the sand? Where there's smoke, there's fire. Ostriches' habitats include savannas and sandy deserts -- now that forms a picture if you've ever been out on them where the land stretched flat. In the heat of the day, temperature inversions will bend light.

Ever hear of the Fata Morgana? Near the Straits of Messina, the weather so often produces this inversion that buildings, cliffs and other large objects over the horizon appear to float in the sky.

When an ostrich is eating, its head is near the ground. It is likely that the occasional bending of light would, to a distant observer, make the head disappear. And where would it go? Why in the sand, of course!

Anyhow, take the above with a grain of salt. Just my conjecture as to the origin of the phrase: May or may not be true.

Cordially,

Russ