Cleveland Indians Quiz (1901-present): 1) When was the team’s
last World Series title? 2) Who are the only two A.L. MVPs? 3)
Only Cy Young winner? 4) Who was the last A.L. batting
champ? 5) Who am I? I had a 30-game hitting streak in 1997.
6) Who am I? I threw a no-hitter in 1974 and my initials are D.B.
7) Who am I? I had 162 RBI in 1936. Answers below.
Dangerous Animals
In a piece by Matthew Simpson for Askmen.com, he listed his
Top 10 Deadly Animals.
10. Polar Bear… “a smack from one of their paws can rip your
head off.”
9. Elephant
8. Cape Buffalo… “It is said that when wounded by a hunter,
they pursue him until either the buffalo or the hunter is dead.”
7. Lion
6. Great White Shark
5. Box jellyfish… “also known as a sea wasp, lives off the waters
of Northern Australia and is the most poisonous sea creature in
the world.” [More below.]
4. Crocodile…especially the Aussie variety.
3. Killer bees… “Whenever they hear you coming with a
lawnmower or trimmer, they will attack you. Even if you run
away, they will chase you as far as 1,000 feet.” [Which is why
you’ve never heard of a marathon runner being killed by them.]
2. Funnel-web spider…0.5 to 2 inches in length, it is the “most
dangerous in the world…they have massive fangs and can bite
through a fingernail.”
1. Asian Cobra…while it’s not technically the reptile with the
strongest venom (a la the Russell’s Viper), it is the one that kills
the most people annually.
Well, I can’t believe the author didn’t include hippos; or for that
matter mountain lions. Or the terrifying Jersey Ground Squirrel.
But back to the box jellyfish, the June issue of Smithsonian has a
piece titled “Killers in Paradise” by Paul Raffaele.
At Opal Reef, a chunk of the Great Barrier Reef, exists one of the
planet’s deadliest creatures that killed Robert King, 44, from
Columbus, Ohio three years earlier. King was snorkeling “when
he felt a mild sting on his chest and came back onto the boat.
Within 25 minutes his face flushed tomato-red as severe pain
gripped his stomach, chest and back muscles. The skipper
radioed for a medevac chopper, whose crew injected King with a
massive dose of pethidine, an opiate-like painkiller…then rushed
him to Cairns.
“By the time he was wheeled into the emergency ward…King’s
speech was slurred. He was put on a ventilator, as doctors
pumped him full of painkillers while racing to save his life.”
A local zoologist was called in to examine the sting site. But
King’s blood pressure suddenly spiked, “an artery or vein in his
brain blew,” flooding his brain tissues, and in two days he was
dead. Upon further analysis it was decided it was the box
jellyfish that did King in, one the size of a thumbnail.
“Covered from the top of its head to the tip of its four tentacles
with millions of microscopic spring-loaded harpoons filled with
venom, it’s one of at least ten related species of small jellyfish
whose sting can plunge victims into what doctors call the
Irukandji syndrome.”
Said Jamie Seymour, the zoologist, “On a pain scale of 1 to 10, it
rates between 15 and 20,” in describing the accompanying
vomiting, cramps and feeling of panic, Seymour himself having
been stung once on the lip.
It’s possible that many victims have been misdiagnosed because
the symptoms may resemble strokes or decompression sickness
and can lead to drowning.
And the Irukandji-like jellyfish are being increasingly found in
the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the southern Atlantic
coastline. Run for your lives!
The smallish box jellyfish have a bigger cousin, the Chironex
fleckeri, which “has a bell the size of a man’s head and up to 180
yards of tentacles, each lined with billions of cells bursting with
deadly venom.”
Chironex has a stinger that can pierce the carapace of a crab “and
quick enough to shoot out at the fastest speed known in the
natural world – up to 40,000 times the force of gravity. And
unlike other jellyfish, a Chironex can see where it’s going and
alter its course accordingly; like an eerie creature sprung from
science fiction or a horror movie, it has four separate brains and
24 eyes.”
Seymour says a Chironex can “kill a human in one minute flat.”
Two years ago a 7-year-old boy died at a beach south of Cairns,
becoming one of a hundred or so killed by Chironex in Australia
over the last century. The lucky survivors have described the
pain as “like having a bucket of fire poured on (them).”
By the way, if you get stung, don’t rub it, douse it in vinegar
which kills cells not yet activated. That’s why here at
StocksandNews we always carry a big jug of vinegar anytime
we’re at a friend’s beach house….or is that vodka? Never mind.
But while we’re talking about deadly creatures, Chris Kraul of
the Los Angeles Times recently had a story on the vampire bats
of Panama, which are themselves wreaking havoc on cattle
ranchers as the bats attack at night, sucking up to one-fourth the
body weight of a mature steer. Goodness gracious.
The adult vampire bats of Panama have a wingspan of 8 inches
and swoop down on a herd by the hundreds, “landing on the
ground and then jumping on the animals’ legs, bellies or faces to
bite them. The bat’s saliva contains an anticoagulant that makes
blood flow freely.”
After one attack, the bats get so stuffed they can only fly a few
feet off the ground, making it easy for one farmer cited in the
article to set up nets and catch close to 100 at a time.
Finally, while not a vampire bat, the largest of the bat family is
the giant flying fox of New Guinea, which has a wingspan of
more than 5 feet. Well that’s enough gross out stuff for today,
don’t you think?
Other Stuff
–How awesome was that performance by Afleet Alex in the
Preakness?
–May 25, 1935, 40-year-old Babe Ruth, playing for the Boston
Braves against the Pittsburgh Pirates, clouted three home runs,
part of a 4 for 4 performance overall that included the third
homer clearing the roof of Forbes Field. The last one proved to
be #714 as Ruth retired a few days later. Ruth could have retired
right then, as some teammates urged, going out on a high note,
but he played a few more games out of a sense of loyalty to
Boston owner Judge Emil Fuchs who had promised Ruth that if
he went to Boston he would become a vice president of the club
and receive a share of the profits. But Fuchs chose to make Ruth
a scapegoat for the Braves awful performance that season (which
J. Mac commented on the other day) and instead suddenly
released him as a player and assistant coach and fired him from
his executive position. And so we posthumously name Emil
Fuchs a Bar Chat “Jerk of the Year.”
–The head groundskeeper of the New York Mets was charged
with being a leading participant in a $360 million gambling ring
operated out of Shea Stadium and tied to the Bonanno crime
family. No players or club officials are said to have been
identified as taking part, but I have to believe this story has legs.
After all, just last year former Met Johnny Franco’s name
surfaced as part of a Bonanno story because Franco was known
to have had dinner with members of the family while hooking
them up with tickets.
–We note the passing of impersonator Frank Gorshin, my own
personal favorite, who appeared countless times on the “Ed
Sullivan Show.” Gorshin also played the Riddler on television’s
“Batman” series.
–So I’m playing poker with my buddies down at the Jersey
Shore this past weekend and it’s a high-low game. But because
there were suddenly four left, all with high hands showing,
including two with a pair of aces up, the question became, “If
Jacks and 8s went low against Aces and 6s, are Aces a low pair
just as a single Ace is in a low hand?” Your input would be
appreciated. [I was the only one to go in low so at least for this
particular game we didn’t come to blows.]
–You know, my Web diagnosis of Barry Bonds having flesh-
eating disease could still be bang on. As you saw, he had been
hooked up to an I.V. pumping him with antibiotics to fight off a
post-op infection. The prospects of him returning anytime soon
don’t appear to be too great. Here at the offices of
StockandNews we have been celebrating since spring training.
–Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. tore the ACL
in his right knee when he crashed his motorcycle, an act illegal
under the players’ contract. Thus, the Browns should ask
Winslow to return a large portion of what he has already been
paid on his six-year, $40 million contract, the richest ever
awarded a tight end. Winslow will be out this season.
–I forgot that the then Los Angeles Angels shared Dodgers
Stadium for four years in the 60s, 1962-65. In ’65 the Dodgers
drew 2.55 million and the Angels just 566,000. [L.A. Times]
–The Sunday Times had a blurb on pitchers and fewest walks
allowed in a season. Way back in 1920, Babe Adams of the
Pittsburgh Pirates walked just 18 in 263 innings. For his career
(194-140 W/L record), Adams walked only 430 in 2995 innings.
–Tim Duncan was the 5th player to earn All-NBA first team
honors in each of his first 8 seasons. The others are Larry Bird,
George Mikan, Bob Pettit, and Oscar Robertson.
–18-year-old Paula Creamer became the youngest golfer to win
an LPGA event in 53 years when she captured this week’s event.
She earned $187,500 for her efforts and graduates from high school
this Thursday in Bradenton, Florida.
–Well I’d say “Desperate Housewives” has enough story lines
for next season.
Top 3 songs for the week of 5/29/76: #1 “Love Hangover”
(Diana Ross) #2 “Silly Love Songs” (Wings) #3 “Fooled
Around And Fell In Love” (Elvin Bishop…the editor’s all-time
favorite)
Cleveland Indians Quiz Answers: 1) Last World Series title:
1948. 2) Only two A.L. MVPs: Lou Boudreau, SS (and player-
manager), 1948; Al Rosen, 3B, 1953. 3) Only Cy Young winner:
Gaylord Perry, 1972. [Also the last to win 20 games, 1974.] 4)
Last A.L. batting champ: Bobby Avila, 1954. 5) Sandy Alomar
Jr. had a 30-game hitting streak in 1997. 6) Dick Bosman threw
a no-hitter in 1974. 7) Hal Trosky had 162 RBI in 1936.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
