What Makes Flamingos Pink?

by Bill McLain

  Flamingos always walk on their toes.

  Whether standing in water or on land, a flamingo can stand for hours on one leg, with the other leg folded under its belly and the head laid along its back.

  Flamingos are very noisy. They make sounds such as nasal honking, grunting, and growling.

  A flamingo can live to be over 50 years old.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Many flamingos live around hot volcanic lakes. The very name flamingo is associated with fire and brings to mind the mythical firebird, the phoenix.

  In both Greek and Egyptian mythology, the phoenix was a bird as large as an eagle with bright scarlet and gold feathers and a melodious cry. Every morning the phoenix would bathe in the cool water of a nearby well and sing a song so beautiful that the sun god would stop his chariot to listen.

  There was only one phoenix in the world at any given time and it lived for at least 500 years. When the phoenix felt death coming, it would build a nest of aromatic twigs, set it on fire, and be consumed by the flames. A new phoenix would then miraculously emerge from the funeral nest. In one version of the legend, it would embalm its ancestors’s ashes in an egg made of myrrh, then fly to the City of the Sun (Heliopolis) to lay the egg on the altar of the sun god Ra.

  Egyptians associated the phoenix with immortality, an idea that carried on through Roman times. The Romans thought that Rome would last forever. In fact, they called it the Eternal City. The image of a phoenix appeared on Roman coins as a symbol of undying Rome.

  In 1965 Jimmy Stewart appeared in a wonderful film called The Flight of the Phoenix. In the film a cargo plane crashes in the Libyan desert during a fierce sandstorm. Although the twelve men survive the crash, they know that search planes will not find them, and they are short of food and water.

  One of the men, a designer of model airplanes, proposes that they rip off the one undamaged wing and use it as the basis for an airplane that they will build to fly them to an oasis 200 miles away.

  They succeed, and the new plane emerges from the wreckage of the old, just as the phoenix arises from its own ashes.

  Some say that the phoenix represents the ability to leave the world and its problems behind while flying toward the sun in clean, clear blue skies. Not a bad idea at all.

  More questions? Try these Web sites.

  ANIMAL BYTES

  http://www.selu.com/bio/wildlife/links/animals.html

  This page lists mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, and invertebrates. Just click on the one you’re interested in to see a list of fast facts, a list of fun facts, and information about ecology and conservation. For example, you’ll discover that a dromedary camel can live to be 50 years old and it can drink 30 gallons of water in just 10 minutes.

  PETS ALSO NEED A VACATION

  http://ask.4anything.com/4/0,1001,611,00.html?%3B029125i

  This site contains a great deal of information about traveling with your pet. It has links to four sites that will help you plan a vacation with your pet: Animal Adventures, Romping Good Time, Travel Supplies, and Relocating Rover.

  SQUIRRELS

  http://www.amy-from-mars.com/links02.html

  Just about everything you ever wanted to know about squirrels. A partial list of the contents includes care and feeding, health and welfare, species, squirrels in the news, outwitting squirrels, squirrel clubs, flying squirrels, and links to other squirrel sites.

  ANIMAL PLANET

  http://animal.discovery.com/animal.html

  This is the Discovery Channel’s Web site and is loaded with information about all types of animals, including the latest animal news. “Earth alert” lets you track animal happenings around the world, and “Animal guide” not only covers everything from crocodiles to wolves but also has links to other animal Web sites.

  DINOSAUR LINKS

  http://dinosaur.umbc.edu/links/index.html

  This Web site lists links to a number of sites with information about dinosaurs. It also tells you how to get on a dinosaur mailing list, how to obtain commercial dinosaur items, and even lists where scientists are currently digging for dinosaur fossils.

  This page also has a gallery of dinosaur art and lists a number of sites especially designed for children.

  2

  Crime

  How many innocent people have been executed by law in the United States since 1900? (Justice is often blind.)

  Although we work hard to provide justice to all, sometimes it doesn’t work the way it should. According to a 1997 article in the Salt Lake City Weekly, researchers have reported that in the twentieth century, 139 innocent people were sentenced to death and of these, 23 were executed. One study concluded that if the number of innocent victims executed is compared to the number of prisoners on death row, then one out of every 100 prisoners executed will be innocent. Another more sobering study stated that one out of every 7 executed prisoners is innocent.

  Unfortunately, the convicted were found to be innocent not through normal legal channels but as the result of investigations by journalists, the application of new scientific techniques, or the efforts of college students or the dedicated lawyers who were convinced their clients were innocent.

  Criminals who are poor rarely have expert attorneys. There are many instances of low-paid lawyers who do not prepare for the trial, fail to interview witnesses, and actually sleep through a murder trial. As terrible as this sounds, courts often justify it. As one Texas judge said publicly, “The Constitution says that everyone’s entitled to an attorney of their choice. But the Constitution does not say that the lawyer has to be awake.”

  There are other reasons why people are wrongfully convicted. When a high-profile crime occurs, such as the murder of a police officer or the brutal slaying of a child, the police are subjected to extreme pressure to solve the crime as quickly as possible. At other times there is no eyewitness to the murder and prosecutors often rely on less reliable sources. The media also plays a role in convictions. Publicity that may be inadmissible or misleading can influence jurors to ignore legitimate doubts about a suspect’s innocence. There are also “death qualified” juries in which jurors who do not believe in the death penalty are removed from the juror pool.

  The arguments for and against the death penalty will probably rage on for years to come. But whether the death penalty is in place or not, there is an obligation to do everything possible to keep innocent victims from being convicted of crimes.

  FACTOIDS

  In recent years, the state of Texas has executed far more prisoners than any other state. The number of executions seems to vary greatly by geographical region. For example, in the past twenty-five years, Texas and Virginia alone accounted for over 55 percent of all executions in the South, where 481 prisoners were executed. The Midwest executed 64 prisoners and the West executed 50. The Northeast had only 3 executions during that time.

  In the past decade almost twice as many death row inmates have been found innocent when compared with the previous 20 years.

  Most states use lethal injections or electrocution for executions. Five states use the gas chamber, while two use hanging and two use a firing squad. States using the gas chamber, hanging, and the firing squad use lethal injection as an alternative method.

  Thirty-eight states have the death penalty, while twelve states and the District of Columbia do not.

  One man on death row was released just two days before his execution date. It turned out that law officers suppressed statements from reliable witnesses who saw the victim alive hours after the alleged murder. A key witness also admitted to lying.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  You might have seen the television series or movie The Fugitive, which tells the story of Dr. Richard Kimble, accused of murdering his wife. Kimble claimed he had been knocked unconscious by an intruder with a limp who was the murderer.

  The story of The Fugitive was based on a factual case, one of the most sensational trials of the 20th century. Dr. Sam Sheppard, a pr
ominent Cleveland osteopath, was accused of murdering his wife. Although he claimed to be innocent and said the murderer was an intruder with a limp, he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

  After serving 10 years in prison, Sheppard was released when an appeals court said he did not have a fair trial, and two years later the Supreme Court granted him a new trial. This time the jury acquitted him, 12 years after he had been arrested for murder. He died of liver failure four years later at age 46.

  Although the controversy about his guilt or innocence continued after his death, his son worked to clear his father’s name. Sam Sheppard’s body was exhumed in 1998, and DNA tests provided convincing evidence that he was wrongly convicted of killing his wife.

  It took 44 years for Dr. Sam Sheppard to be exonerated.

  What was the largest bank robbery in U.S. history? (Watch out for revolving doors.)

  It was February 10, 1997, and the Lakewood, Washington, branch of the Seafirst bank had just closed. A well-dressed man in a trench coat and FBI cap used some excuse to get the teller to open the door. Once inside he put on sunglasses, pulled out a gun, and let in an accomplice, also wearing sunglasses and a trench coat.

  They were extremely polite as they ushered the three women tellers into the vault and bound their hands with plastic handcuffs. The men then began filling bags with money and taking the bags out to their car. Most of the bills they took were hundreds, fifties, and twenties. The loot probably weighed around 100 pounds because they made off with $4.5 million dollars. A few hours later the tellers managed to free themselves and call 911, but by then the men had vanished.

  The two, William Kirkpatrick of Hovland, Minnesota, and Ray Bowman of Kansas City, Missouri, might have gotten away with it if they had been as smart at handling money as they were at robbing banks.

  Although his share was over $2 million, Bowman forgot to pay the $30 rent on his storage locker. When the manager opened up the storage space, he found guns, silencers, police radio scanners, and materials for creating disguises. He quickly called the police.

  Just one month after the robbery, Kirkpatrick was stopped for speeding by a Nebraska state trooper. When the trooper searched the trunk of Kirkpatrick’s car, he found guns and $1.8 million in cash.

  If Bowman had paid his storage bill and Kirkpatrick had driven just a little bit slower, they might have been successful in getting away with the largest bank robbery in U.S. history.

  FACTOIDS

  Bowman and Kirkpatrick had robbed other banks, and the FBI said that the two “trench coat bandits” had stolen a total of almost $8 million. Neither man ever filed a tax return.

  In over 75 percent of bank robberies, no gun is shown, just a note. Even customers in the same line often don’t realize the person in front of them has just robbed the bank.

  Hawaii’s first bank robbery occurred in 1934 when two bandits stole $976 from a bank teller. One man had used an eyebrow pencil to paint a large Groucho Marx mustache on his face. They were caught within hours, and there wasn’t another bank robbery in Hawaii until 1955, over twenty years later.

  Nearly 50 percent of all bank robberies take place on Friday.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Had Bowman and Kirkpatrick not been so careless, they might not have been caught. However, many bank robbers are simply inept. Here are a few examples.

  Three men planning to rob a bank in Scotland got stuck in the revolving door. After being helped by the bank staff, they left, only to return shortly and tell everyone they were robbing the bank. When they demanded cash the head teller laughed, thinking it was a joke. One man jumped over the counter to get at the money, but fell and broke his leg. The other two men tried to escape but got stuck in the revolving door again and were caught and arrested.

  In Durham, North Carolina, a would-be robber broke through a glass window and climbed down a rope to get into the bank. Unfortunately, he slipped and hurt himself. He then realized that the money vault was locked and he had no way of getting out of the bank. The robber called 911 for help.

  In Maryland one bank had its night deposit box on the sidewalk. Some enterprising robbers had the brilliant idea of hooking a chain to it and using their 4-wheel-drive vehicle to pull it loose from the concrete. It was a good theory, but when they threw the vehicle in gear, it lunged forward and ripped off the rear bumper. Frightened by the noise, the robbers took off. They didn’t get far. When police arrived at the scene, the bumper was still chained to the night deposit box, with the license plate securely attached.

  Two bank robbers in France spent hours drilling into a bank vault from an attached building. Their calculations were slightly off. After hours of hard work they broke through—into the bathroom.

  One man successfully robbed a bank. He wasn’t caught until the next day when he went back to the same bank to deposit the stolen money into his account.

  Jesse James, Bonnie and Clyde, and other notorious bank robbers might not have been very nice people, but at least they weren’t stupid.

  What are the differences among first-degree, second-degree, and third-degree murder? (It’s not always a matter of degree.)

  Murders are handled by police homicide detectives, so let’s begin by defining homicide. Homicide is not murder. It is a general term meaning that someone caused the death of another human being either directly or indirectly. It may or may not be a crime.

  Some types of homicide are criminal offenses such as murder, manslaughter, and criminal negligence. Other types of homicide are not crimes, such as self-defense or accidental death.

  The term murder means that a person kills another person, or intends to kill another person, or intends to do bodily harm that will probably cause death. There are only two degrees of murder, first and second. There is no such thing as third-degree murder.

  A first-degree murder means that the murder was deliberately planned, or as we often hear, was premeditated. If a murder was not premeditated, it can still be first-degree murder if a peace officer or jail guard is killed in the line of duty or if the murder occurred during certain crimes such as kidnapping or sexual assault.

  The definition of second-degree murder is easy. It’s any murder that is not a first-degree murder.

  Manslaughter is a homicide without malicious intent or premeditation. It can be voluntary or involuntary. State laws differ on occasion, but voluntary manslaughter is considered a crime because the death results from failure to safeguard human life. If a drunk driver kills someone, for example, it is voluntary manslaughter.

  Involuntary manslaughter means that a person is killed while someone is committing a misdemeanor or by some type of negligence. It can also be killing in self-defense. It is usually not considered a felony.

  FACTOIDS

  About half of all murder victims knew their killer and about 20 percent of all murders involve family members. Of all women murdered, about one in four are killed by a husband or boyfriend.

  Although serial killers capture news headlines and intrigue the public, only one murder out of 100 is committed by a serial killer. The chances that you will be killed by a serial killer are extremely slim; your chances of being killed by a family member are much higher.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  One of the United States’s most famous murder trials has virtually been forgotten. It happened in 1907 when the former governor of Idaho, Frank Steunenberg, was assassinated.

  The Western Federation of Miners had been warring with mine owners for years. The miners had put 60 boxes of dynamite underneath the world’s largest concentrator and blew it to bits. Steunenberg, who was governor at the time, asked President McKinley to send in federal troops, which he did. Every male in every union-controlled town was arrested, even doctors and ministers. They were transported by boxcars and jailed in an old barn. Over 1,000 men were held prisoner without a trial. This did not go over well with the miners, who were suspected of hatching the plot to assassinate the governor.

&nb
sp; The prime suspect was Harry Orchard who, although he initially insisted he was innocent, later decided to turn state’s evidence. Orchard admitted that he had killed the former governor and 17 other people as well. He also said that he had tried to kill the governor of Colorado, two Colorado Supreme Court justices, and the president of a mining company, but had failed in all attempts. He claimed that the murders had been ordered by labor leader William “Big Bill” Haywood.

  Haywood was thus accused of ordering the assassination as well as other bombings and murders over a period of 15 years.

  The famous attorney Clarence Darrow defended Haywood. His defense is considered by many to be the best of his career. He convinced the jurors that convicting Haywood was an attack on organized labor. The jury deliberated just under eight hours and returned a “not guilty” verdict.

  That was not the end of Haywood’s troubles. In 1918 he was convicted of espionage and sedition for inciting a strike in a war-sensitive industry and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. While out on bail waiting for an appeal, he fled to the Soviet Union, where he became allied with the Bolsheviks. He died in Moscow in 1928.

  On the other hand, Harry Orchard, at the time America’s most famous mass murderer, spent the rest of his life in prison.

  Is it true that there was a man who loved his girlfriend so much that when she died he dug up her grave and kept her corpse in his home? (Not until death do us part.)

  Karl von Cosel, a German X-ray technician, had fallen hopelessly in love with a beautiful Cuban patient, Elena Hoyos Mesa, who was being treated for tuberculosis at a Key West, Florida, hospital. Elena was married but her husband had deserted her when she became ill. She loved Karl and said she would marry him once she became divorced. However, it was not meant to be; she died first.