REALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Hardly a day goes by that some amazing, albeit useless or trivial bit of knowledge doesn't seem to jump up and surprise me. A lot of these little tidbits of information have found their way onto the information superhighway, which seems to be equally super for both the really important stuff AND the unique tidbits that reside in the "Who Cares" category.

By and large, the overwhelming majority of these little gems of information come prefaced with a common phrase: "Betcha didn't know... or... Did you know?"

So with these two phrases fresh in our minds, I feel compelled to SHARE some of these nuggets with you. "Share" is a word commonly used in religious circles defining "gossip", BUT... not here. This is a genuine attempt to impart a little knowledge by "sharing" some of these with those in the camp of the uninformed.

For example; did you know that on the day Judy Garland, of "The Wizard Of Oz" fame died, a tornado touched down in Kansas? Yep... it did.

Are you familiar with the Sagauro Cactus? Those are the tall, skinny ones, usually with two arms that grow upwards, (the ones depicted on Arizona's license plates). I betcha didn't know that the Sagauro Cactus doesn't grow it's first arm until it is at least 75 years old.

Did you know that Pontius Pilate was born in Ireland? I didn't either, but "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader" couldn't just make that up... could they?!

I betcha didn't know that clams can live up to 150 years. Now think about that a minute and tell me how boring YOUR life is! Besides; how many of you have ever heard a clam complaining?

Did you know that it takes 21 lbs of whole milk to make 1 pound of butter? I'm not talking about the fake butter or the low calorie "spreads". I mean real butter. And I'll also bet you didn't know that researchers have done a 180 degree shift in their findings; their findings now clearly show that real butter is better for you than margarine.

I betcha didn't know that the fingerprints of humans and koalas are virtually identical. Even though the arrest rate for koalas is pretty low, you can bet some ingenious inmate that is currently incarcerated somewhere will read that and claim grounds for appealing his conviction.

I guarantee you, you didn't know this; that on average in America, hospitals treat 120 toilet seat related injuries every day. I have a pretty active imagination, but I can't for the life of me figure out how in the world ANYBODY could turn a turn on the toilet seat into a trip to the emergency room... unless they were using the seat for something it was never intended to be used for. Nope... I STILL can't come up with anything. How could THAT happen? Better than that, how could that happen 120 times a day??!!!

Did you know that only 4% of Americans are vegetarians? No wonder 4% of our population walks around looking so hungry all the time. And even though the following statistic isn't included, just for grins, I'll betcha 98.6% of that 4% have at some point, hugged or sung to the plants they now consume. Ummhmm...

Did you know that 4% of Americans wet their toilet paper before using it? WHY would you do that? Probably those vegetarians, don't you think?

I betcha didn't know that on average females hear better than males at every age. MAN... that sure explains a lot. I figure women are smarter than men, too, because men STILL haven't figured out that women can hear what you mumble from the other end of the house.

Here's a good one. Did you know that 20% of drivers on American roads get 80% of the traffic citations? This is living proof that some folks just don't get it.

I betcha didn't know that the leading cause of death in Papua, New Guinea is falling out of trees. That could explain the fact that there aren't any old people in Papua, New Guinea. They don't die of old age, when they hit 100, they just head up a tree somewhere.

And I betcha didn't know that a bullfrog is the ONLY animal that never sleeps.

Reckon why God would pick the bullfrog to stay awake with Him all the time? The word of God tells us in one of my favorite chapters of scripture; Psalm 121: I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; HE WHO KEEPS YOU WILL NOT SLUMBER. Behold, He who keeps Israel SHALL NEITHER SLUMBER NOR SLEEP. The LORD is your keeper.

Did you know that you can call out to God anytime of the day or night? Did you know He's ALWAYS looking out for us? I don't know about you, but I betcha we all have something in common, and that is that there have been some times in our lives when we've cried out to God in the late night hours and there are times in those long nights when we figure that "God and ME" might just be the only two awake at that hour. Lonliness and desperation can warp our thinking that way, you know. What a comfort to KNOW He's ALWAYS there, and He's ALWAYS awake, and He's NEVER too busy to drop what He's doing and listen to whatever it is we have to say.

So the next time your lying there awake in the middle of the night and you REALLY need to talk to someone... just remember... God's awake, too. And he is capable of doing a whole lot more than just sitting around on some lily pad, eating bugs and croaking. But then again, if all you want to do is sit around, eat bugs and croak in the dark, the bullfrog is up, too. It's YOUR choice, but then again, Hey, It's Just A Thought.