sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Welcome to National Elephant Appreciation Day!
- It’s true that an elephant never forget s, and that’s because of the size of their hippocampus, the part of the brain where memories are stored, is so large.
- Speaking of brains, did you know that elephants have the largest brains of any land animal in pure mass? At birth, an elephant’s brain size has only reached 35% of its potential size, and that means that they have a huge capacity for learning as they grow and develop.
- With such big brains, that means that elephants are highly intelligent, and highly social. They have their own language, and this makes it easy for them to form strong bonds with each other, and with other species.
- Elephants are one of the few animals with self awareness. Like humans, apes, and dolphins, elephants can recognize themselves in a mirror.
- World Elephant Day is celebrated on August 12, and was created to bring awareness to the plight of African and Asian elephants throughout the world.
- Their trunks have 40,000 muscles and tendons, and it takes about a year for them to learn how to use it. Adam Stone, director of elephant husbandry at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, says that “with a baby elephant, you will see that its trunk looks like a worm on the end of a hook, even when they’re nursing. They’ll trip over it; it’s really complex.”
- They weigh thousands of pounds and still manage to be quick and nimble. They can move up to 35 mph, stop on a dime, and travel over mountain ranges with no problems.
- They follow the oldest female in their group, which is not typical of social hierarchy in the animal kingdom. They do this because she has the most memory, and knows where the safe haven is, where the food is, and where to go in a storm.
- In the wild, elephants can live to be in their 40s. In captivity, they can live even longer.
- Elephants have the longest eyelashes in the world. They’re about 5 inches.
ACC Preview #8 - Miami (dukebasketballreport.com; King)
After last season, people revised their opinion of ACC football and found it was actually pretty good.
Less noted but just as interesting, the southern tier of ACC basketball has improved a great deal.
Clemson is firmly competitive with just about everyone, Georgia Tech was a major surprise last season and the two Florida schools have become significant factors in ACC play.
Leonard Hamilton has been at Florida State since 2002 and has built a program which is usually deep and focused on defense.
And at Miami, Jim Larranaga has done something really remarkable.
Miami, remember, canceled the basketball program from 1971 to 1985, when former Virginia Tech and Clemson coach Bill Foster rebuilt the program. Since the ‘Canes started competing again, Miami hired Foster, Hamilton, Perry Clarke and Frank Haith prior to hiring Larranaga.
The program (as an independent and then in the Big East and the ACC) had hovered around .500 but rarely done well.
Larranaga has outperformed all his predecessors by far since Miami rebooted basketball, winning nearly 67% of his games and interestingly, has boosted his winning percentage at every stop.
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Syracuse basketball Recruiting: Juicy News On Nate Roberts And Others (itlh.com; Adler)
Tons to digest on the Syracuse basketball recruiting front, as Nate Roberts trims his list, Buddy Boeheim will visit a familiar locale, and Jalen Carey sets a date
I love the Syracuse basketball squad. It’s no secret, and I readily acknowledge my fanaticism.
Still, I try to approach covering the team for Inside The Loud House with a dose of pragmatism and realism. However, optimism and passion usually get the best of me.
Like right now.
If things go our way in the short term, I believe that the Orange’s 2018 class could prove something extremely special.
Recruiting is a funny, heart-wrenching endeavor. Head coach Jim Boeheim and his staff missed out on a bevy of top-flight targets these past 12 months. It’s the nature of the beast.
Perhaps, as I noted in a column published several days ago, momentum is swinging back in our favor.
Nate Roberts, a big man out of Baltimore in the 2018 class, took to Twitter on Tuesday night to divulge his three finalists. They are Washington, led by former long-time SU assistant Mike Hopkins, Nebraska and the ‘Cuse.
Roberts, by extension, eliminated Connecticut and Wake Forest from consideration.
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Other
2 cases of mumps confirmed at Syracuse University (PS; McMahon)
Two Syracuse University students have been diagnosed with mumps, officials said.
In an email message sent to students, faculty and staff around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, SU's Office of Health Services said it had learned hours before of the two cases of mumps.
SU dealt with another outbreak among four students this past spring.
The university said it is working closely with the Onondaga County Health Department to monitor the situation, and already contacted those affected by the outbreak.
Officials said they expect students to make a full recovery within a few weeks.
The university encouraged all students to ensure their vaccinations, including the measles, mumps and rubella shot, are up-to-date. SU requires students to show proof of vaccination upon enrollment.
Because of high vaccination rates, mumps is no longer very common in the U.S. but outbreaks have been occurring on college campuses across the state and nation.
People who have been vaccinated can still get mumps if they have prolonged, close contact with someone who has the disease.
According to SU, symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, loss of appetite, and swollen and tender salivary glands under the ears.
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