mutant mosquito mayhem

This is kinda funny to me. It might not be as funny to you. But it really should be.

Let me start with the real story. Mosquitoes mutate in, like, an hour. They did a study with DEET to find out how effective it really is at keeping mosquitoes away.

Some guy put DEET on his arm and stuck it into a box of mosquitoes. They didn't like it.

A few hours later, they did it again to the same mosquitoes. Guess what?! They mutated! Their antennae changed so they didn't care about DEET any more and started eating the guy!

If they can mutate that quickly, they have the (unscientifically proven) ability to mutate into giant monsters that will eat all our blood and chocolate!

We do NOT want that!

You should be scared. But not too scared. The guy who did the study is Dr. James Logan.

Get it? I'll wait...Still no? I'll give you a hint WOLVERINE!

That's right! Wolverine is back! James Logan is Wolverine! Well...the Wolverine of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Which is still pretty tough. I mean...bad hygiene is almost like a super villain.

So yeah...Wolverine is studying mutant mosquitoes. Sorry...Dr. Wolverine.

Wouldn't it be awful if fruit flies were like mosquitoes? Like, they suck the flesh out of a fruit? You open a banana, and it's empty inside! NO BANANA!

That's probably my worst nightmare ever.

I'm off to pretend I'm Wolverine. Again.

Enjoy Everything.

-dj

King Richard III Skeletor

King Richard III has been found! Well...his skeleton has been found. I know. That's super exciting. Because you were TOTALLY looking for it.

Well stop looking in Utah! It's not there! It's in London, silly! In a parking lot! Where Richard III parked!

The Richard III Society is very happy about this.

Oh, you didn't know there was a whole Society for Richard III? Well there is! They do tons of fun stuff! Like...read books...and other...things!

That book joke is funny because he lifted bans on books and printing presses. Go ahead. You can laugh now.

They also think that Richard III was a good guy and that the Tudors spread super-mean rumors about him. They hope that finding his skeleton will help prove those rumors wrong. Because...you know...skeletons are great at talking...about Tudor tabloids...and reading books!

They did a bunch of tests to prove that this skeleton was, in fact, Richard III.

The best test? They have the 17th great-grand-nephew of the King's sister around for a DNA test!

He makes cabinets. If I were him, I would totally use my lineage to impress people.

Me: "Hey. I make cabinets."

You: "That's lame."

Me: "And I'm the 17th great-grand-nephew of King Richard III's sister."

You: "Mildly less lame."

Score.

I'm off to be mildly less lame.

Enjoy Everything.

-dj

drive up and down in a rickshaw

Chen is a rickshaw kind of guy. Because he owns one and drives it around. From China to London! He started his trip in 2010, traveled for two years and finally got to London for the 2012 Olympics.

Next stop? Rio. For the 2016 Olympics.

So, why travel in a rickshaw through war zones, floods, and mountains you ask? Chen said it was all he could afford.

Also, even though Chen didn't say this, I'm pretty sure it's because CHEN IS CRAZY AWESOME!

86,000 miles! In two years! In a rickshaw! If I could actually use a rickshaw every day of my life, I would. I mean, they're probably the 4th coolest form of transportation. Maybe tied at 4th. Giant snails are really cool, too.

I have no idea what Chen had to go through, but I can only imagine how hard it was to travel through dragon-infested mountains and megagator-infested swamps! And rain! I would not be able to deal with that. I hate wet socks.

OH! I should change my name to Rick Shaw. Private Eye. I could solve mysteries while driving around on an old WWII motorcycle. (To throw people off. Because they would EXPECT a rickshaw.)

And I'd carry a nunchucks. WHAM! Didn't see THAT coming, did ya!

Chen and I would solve mysteries and save the world once a week. Then enjoy a laugh over tea after our adventures were over.

In fact, in my head, this has already been going on for a few years. It's been awesome. Thanks for the good times, Chen.

I'm off to change my name.

Enjoy Everything.

-dj