I started a list last week of completely random facts that I have learned in the last few months, for the express purpose of sharing them with you, my faithful blog readers.  Without further ado..

When a pilot lands a jet on an aircraft carrier, he does not put on the brakes.  In fact, he throttles his engines to full power.  The is because he might not catch one of the four wires which stop the jet, in which case he must be going fast enough to immediately take off again (otherwise he’d roll off the deck into the ocean).  When such an emergency take-off is required, the pilots call it “bolting.”  In the briefing room, the last pilot who bolted has a mark of shame on his seat (I believe this was a red towel or red jacket or something like that).  I saw this on some Discovery Channel program; I think it was an episode of “Really Big Things” about the USS George H. W. Bush.

When a woman goes to a doctor, no matter what the reason, they ask when her last period was.  I learned this when I went with Stephanie to the emergency room after she fell down the stairs and nearly broke her foot.  I believe she was asked the question at three different times (at check in, by a nurse, and by a doctor).  I failed to see what that had to do with her foot.  It was later explained that they need to know if there is any possibility that you are pregnant before they administer any drugs or take an X-ray or basically do anything.

Squirrels make noise.  That’s something I found out after Punky nearly caught one.  She chased it up a tree, where it turned around about ten feet from the ground and started making a noise that’s kind of hard to explain, somewhere between a high-pitched grunt and a low-pitched chirp.  I’m not sure what natural predator of the squirrel might be deterred by this noise.  Maybe some kind of bird?  Or bats maybe?

When a flag is raised to half-mast, according to US Flag Code, it should be raised all the way to the top, and then lowered to half mast.  When it is taken down, it should be raised to the top before lowering it again.  I had always assumed you just raised it halfway and stopped.  Also, probably the least-observed article in the flag code: “The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever.”

Now you can all feel more knowledgeable.