Genetic Link Proven

Geneticists at the City of Hope National Medical Center have identified an allele, or genetic marker, of the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) that appears twice as often in pathological gamblers as in a control group. They found that problem gamblers "have noted an aroused, euphoric state comparable to the 'high' derived from cocaine or other drugs, the presence of cravings, the development of tolerance (increasingly larger bets or greater risks needed to produce a desired level of excitement) and the experience of withdrawal-like symptoms."

There's a reward mechanism in the human brain that overrides much of our cognitive thinking. This mechanism gets stimulated when something makes us feel good, such as music, eating, sex or gambling. Such activities stimulate the production of dopamine proteins, which begin flowing to dopamine receptors in the brain, thus rewarding certain behavior by inducing feelings of pleasure, euphoria and well-being.

A Vermont native, Ronald Demuth, found himself in a difficult position yesterday. While touring the Eagle's Rock African Safari (Zoo) with a group of thespians from St. Petersburg, Russia, Mr. Demuth went overboard to show them one of America's many marvels. He demonstrated the effectiveness of "Crazy Glue"... the hard way.

 Apparently, Mr. Demuth wanted to demonstrate just how good the adhesive was, so he put about 3 ounces of the adhesive in the palms of his hands, and jokingly placed them on the buttocks of a passing rhino. The rhino, a resident of the zoo for the past thirteen years, was not initially startled as it has been part of the petting exhibit since its arrival as a baby.  However, once it became aware of its being involuntarily stuck to Mr. Demuth, it began to panic and ran around the petting area wildly making Mr. Demuth an unintended passenger.

"Sally [the rhino] hasn't been feeling well lately. She had been very constipated. We had just given her a laxative and some depressants to relax her bowels, when Mr.Demuth played his juvenile prank," said James Douglass, caretaker. During Sally's tirade two fences were destroyed, a shed wall was gored, and a number of small animals escaped. Also, during the stampede, three pygmy goats and one duck were stomped to death. As for Demuth, it took a team of medics and zoo caretakers' to remove his hands from her buttocks.

First, the animal had to be captured and calmed down. However, during this process the laxatives began to take hold and Mr. Demuth was repeatedly showered with over 30 gallons of rhino diarrhea. "It was tricky. We had to calm her down, while at the same time shield our faces from being pelted with rhino dung. I guess you could say that Mr. Demuth was into it up to his neck. Once she was under control, we had three people with shovels working to keep an air passage open for Mr. Demuth. We were able to tranquilize her and apply a solvent to remove his hands from her rear," said Douglass. "I don't think he'll be playing with Crazy Glue for a while."

Can you imagine making just a little mistake in judgment?

Let’s say, at a company party…

you get carried away…

have a little fun…

maybe dance a little.

Just by chance there’s someone there with a camera.

And just maybe that person didn’t even realize what they were seeing.

Until the pictures came back.

And then one day you see that picture floating around the internet.

Having her hair done at a West Hempstead, NY, beauty parlor, a woman told a cautionary tale about racial prejudice.
On a recent weekend in Atlantic City the woman related, she won a bucketful of quarters at a slot machine. She took a break from the slots for dinner with her husband in the hotel dining room. But first she would stash the quarters in her room. “I'll be right back and we'll go to eat," she told her husband and she carried the coin-laden bucket to the elevator. As she was about to walk into the elevator, she noticed two men already aboard. Both were black. One of them was big... Very big... An intimidating figure. The woman froze. Her first thought was: These two are going to rob me. Her next thought was: Don't be a bigot, they look like perfectly nice gentlemen, even if one of them is awfully black. But racial stereotypes are powerful, and fear immobilized her. She stood and stared at the two men. She felt anxious, flustered, ashamed. She hoped they didn't read her mind but knew they surely did;  her hesitation about joining them on the elevator was all too obvious.

Her face burned. She couldn't just stand there, so with a mighty effort of will she picked up one foot and stepped forward and followed with the other foot and was on the elevator. Avoiding eye contact, she turned around stiffly and faced the elevator doors as they closed. A second passed, and then another second, and then another. The elevator didn't move. Panic consumed her. My God, she thought, I'm trapped and about to be robbed! Her heart plummeted. Perspiration poured from every pore. Then one of the men said, "Hit the floor." Instinct told her: Do what they tell you. The bucket of quarters flew upwards as she threw out her arms and collapsed on the elevator carpet. A shower of coins rained down on her. Take my money and spare me, she prayed. More seconds passed. She heard one of the men say politely, "Ma'am, if you'll just tell us what floor you're going to, we'll push the button". The one who said it had a little trouble getting the words out. He was trying mightily to hold in a belly laugh.

She lifted her head and looked up at the two men. They reached down to help her up. Confused, she struggled to her feet. "When I told my man here to hit the floor," one of the men, the average sized one, told her, "I meant that he should hit the elevator button for our floor. I didn't mean for you to hit the floor, ma'am.” He spoke genially. He bit his lip. It was obvious he was having a hard time not laughing. She thought: “My God, what a spectacle I've made of myself.” She was too humiliated to speak. She wanted to blurt out an apology, but words failed her. How do you apologize to two perfectly respectable gentlemen for behaving as though they were robbing you? She didn't know. The three of them gathered up the strewn quarters and refilled her bucket. When the elevator arrived at her floor they insisted on walking her to her room. She seemed a little unsteady on her feet, and they were afraid she might not make it down the corridor. At her door they bid her good evening. As she slipped into her room she could hear them laughing while they walked back to the elevator. The woman brushed herself off. She pulled herself together and went downstairs for dinner with her husband. The next morning flowers were delivered to her room, a dozen roses. Attached to each rose was a crisp one hundred dollar bill. A card said: "Thanks for the best laugh we've had in years".

It was signed, Eddie Murphy and Bodyguard.

WEIRD FACTS

DID YOU KNOW ....

The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." uses every letter in the alphabet.

In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.

Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.

A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.

The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the males head off.

The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie." (Thus the name of the Don McLean song.)

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

Right handed people live, on average, 9 years longer than left handed people do.

The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war.

Cat's urine glows under a black-light.

A cockroach will live for nine days without its head before it starves to death.

You can’t kill yourself by holding your breath.

Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.

No NFL team which plays its home games in a domed stadium has ever won a Superbowl.

The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It To Beaver".

The only two days of the year in which there are no professional sports games are the day before, and the day after the Major League All-Star Game.

Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.

Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

Pound for pound, hamburgers cost more than new cars.

The 3 most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca-Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.

Ten percent of the Russian government's income comes from the sale of vodka.

On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.

In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all the world's nuclear weapons combined.

Average age of top GM executives in 2000: 49.8 years. Average age of the Rolling Stones: 56.6.

The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs.

Weird Quiz: Question 1: If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already,  three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis. Would you recommend that she have an abortion? Question 2: It is time to elect the world leader, and your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates: Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians and consults with astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day. Candidate B: He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening. Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital affairs. Which of these candidates would be your choice? Decide first, no peeking, then Scroll down for the answer. Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt Candidate B is Winston Churchill Candidate C is Adolph Hitler    .........and by the way: the answer to the abortion question - if  you said yes…….. you just killed Beethoven.

Brian Enjoys Fine Cuisine