TODAY IN HISTORY... Charles Schultz's Peanuts comic strip debuted in 1952.

so shoe me
Yesterday I bought my first pair of post-high school sneakers. Up till now, I've managed to lead a life utterly devoid of the need for sneakers (for so many years that the word 'sneakers' itself has practically become obsolete), but having signed up for gym membership-- and having spent nearly all of our trip to Enchanted Kingdom envying Camy's cool 'n' comfy shoes while I suffered in my purgatorially uncomfortable step-ins-- I was forced to admit that the time for sartorial sacrifice had arrived. To my surprise, I found that sneakers had evolved in the intervening years, and were no longer necessarily the clunky, ugly things I remembered. So I got a pair, and they're pretty neat-- although I'm still protesting the fact that not all of life's activities can be performed in boots or sandals.


in the news today
A Nepalese man from Durgauli died just three days after he had gotten married... to a dog! 75-year-old Phulram Chaudhary wed the dog in what has been described as 'a prevalent practice' for men who have regrown their adult teeth. In Nepal's Tharu community, such men must thereafter take a dog as a bride in order to avert misfortune.
Well, arguably, nothing worse is going to happen to him now.

TRIVIA QUIZ
Just what is a mandala, anyway?


answer to yesterday's question
Igloos actually do melt inside, but snowflakes landing on the outside of the igloo also melt and quickly re-freeze on the roof, forming a replacement layer of insulation. This would seem to imply that igloos keep getting bigger as time passes, but the melting and freezing are really so infinitesimal that they're barely noticeable. The interior walls of igloos are actually melted with a whale blubber lamp prior to habitation, making the ice-block structure wind-proof and capable of withstanding the weight of a full-grown polar bear.
High marks to Alex, Dean, and Vin, for very nearly figuring out the frigid facts!