09.February.2006

Surprise, Surprise

Just a few things I've learned recently that have surprised me.

Senator Barak Obama (D-IL) won a Grammy for a reading of his book Dreams from My Father : A Story of Race and Inheritance.
Entomologist Brian Fisher named a new species of ant, Proceratium google, in honor of the mapping program Google Earth.

Some deep-sea fish engage in "sexual parasitism": the relatively small male latches on to the relatively huge female, and eventually merges with her body. She does all the eating and supplies energy to them both; he grows big testes and fertilizes her eggs. Apparently this relationship has developed from the fact that in deep waters, encounters with members of the same species but opposite sex is rare. So when it happens, you have to make it work.

The "big three" automakers have program officially called the "Guaranteed Employee Numbers Program," commonly referred to as "job banks." When a job disappears, instead of laying off workers, they are put into the "bank"--where they collect full pay and benefits--until a replacement job shows up. All in all there are about 11,500 workers in these pools, and it is estimated the program costs about $130,000 per worker. Some of these workers have been waiting for new jobs upwards of 10 years, and many will simply "retire." (Apparently, these "employees" are required to show up to "work" every day--this are hourly workers--but are pretty much free to do whatever they like during that time.)

Last modified: Wednesday, 26 April 2006