Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 9, Number 45, DeMotte, Jasper County, 28 September 1939 — Strange Facts [ARTICLE]

Strange Facts

Beggars' Paradise Too Lazy to Breathe Judas Left Out

Among the Arabs of Africa and Near Eastern countries, the gratuity or tip, called “baksheesh,” goes to the poorer man whether he renders a service to you or you render a service to him. Even if you save a man from drowning, he will demand his “baksheesh” if you appear to be in better circumstances. One of the most lethargic ani mals in existence is the tuatara, Sphenodon punctatum, a two-foot, lizardlike reptile of New Zealand. Not only does it rarely move, but it breathes, so slowly that, usually, the creature appears to be lifeless. Those in captivity have been known to stop breathing for more than an hour at a time. * * * Oysters catch more rats than do cats on the islands in Donegal bay, Ireland. The rodents go down to the beaches in search of food when the tide is out and poke their noses into the partly opened shells of the bivalves, which instantly close and capture them; then they are held in the oyster's viselike grip until the tide returns and drowns them. A number of Christian altars in various parts of the world do not include the figure of Judas in the statuary of Christ and His disciples.—Collier's.