Happy To Be Here. Or There.
A: The word was coined by Joseph Addison, an 18th century poet and politician who once scribed the line: "But chains or conquest, liberty or death." That prose likely inspired Patrick Henry's later famous quote: "Give me liberty or give me death."
Back in Addison's day, gym weights did not exist. Instead, Addison used a rope-and-pulley system to lift and lower attached lead weights. It was similar to the mechanism used to ring church bells, but without producing any sound. Thus, they became known as "dumb bells."
Curtain Calls
In March 2017, palm oil farmer Akbar Salubiro, 25, became the first confirmed case of a snake swallowing an adult human when he was killed and consumed by a 23-foot-long reticulated python in West Sulawesi, Indonesia. The killing was confirmed when other farmers opened the snake, revealing Salubiro's body.
Coincidentally, a second case happened in the same region the following year when another 23-foot-long reticulated python killed and swallowed a 54-year-old woman working in her vegetable garden.
========
To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
Copyright 2024 Creators Syndicate Inc.
