They say you should learn something new every day. Well, thanks to YKWIA, I now know what a kinkajou is. When he was young people kept them as pets. Apparently, they still are. Paris Hilton was bitten by hers last year.
I don't know, they're cute with prehensile tails but have big claws and can turn from affectionate to Satanic for no apparent reason after years of being docile. Hmmm...
I also found myself reading the Wikipedia entry for Marie Antoinette today. I got there somehow through her mother, Maria Theresa, whose ascension to the throne was contested in the Austrian War of Succession. I can't remember why I was there in the first place.
I've also learnt all such of strange facts about Antarctica that I will no doubt recount as we go along in the game. For example, Antarctic Icefish have an antifreeze glycoprotein in their system so they don't freeze in the cold waters of the Southern Ocean.
Speaking of cold, Kevin Everett's ability to move his extremities after a devastatng neck break during a tackle may partly be due to an experimental treatment I've mentioned before in dealing with cardiac arrest. A cooling saline solution is used to lower the body's temperature. In this case, it was thought that it might keep his spinal cord from swelling as much as would normally be seen. It's too soon to tell if Everett will be able to walk again, but I hope that's the case. For more on this technique, see the ALSIUS Intravascular Temperature Management System. It really could do remarkable things both in the future and now.
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