Last month I gave you "Some things to think about", some ponderable questions to take your mind off the burning issues of the day, like whether the Toronto Maple Leafs will make the playoffs. (Don't trouble yourself. The answer is NO. Lifetime pct: .974)
Here, from Bill Bryson's latest book, At Home, are two rodent-related factoids about which you can think when your mind is otherwise empty.
Do you have mice in your house? Many of us do. Did you know that every mouse excretes about fifty (50) fecal pellets per day? Not just in houses, but in food storage areas and places where food is processed.
Because of the impossibility of achieving perfection in storage, hygiene regulations in most places allow up to two mouse turds per pint of grain. Bear that in mind next time you bite into a slice of whole grain bread.
How about rats? Rats are more common in and around our houses than we would like to think. Even the best homes sometimes have them. One of the two most common varieties in our part of the world is rattus rattus, known to us as the "roof rat".
Why do you suppose rattus rattus is called what it is called? Because it likes to be up high, in places like trees ... and attics. As you lie in bed late at night, listening to the pitter patter of little feet across your bedroom ceiling, think about what it might be. A mouse? Hmmm... maybe....
Walt's review of At Home will appear soon. Watch this space.
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