The Scoop on Poop - bird, that is...

Have you ever heard that getting pooped on by a bird is lucky? I have. As a matter of fact, I read it in Judy Blume's Starring Sally J. Friedman as Herself when I was about 9 or 10 years old. I have been pooped on by a bird twice that I remember. The very first time was in the summer, and my family was getting ready to go camping. The ice cream truck came by, and my friend Katie and I ran to the street to buy some ice cream. We were returning to my house when PLOP, a bird got me. It was on my arm, warm and gross! I held my arm out and ran to the house; I couldn't wait to wash it off! My family sat in the car in the driveway, while I ran in and cleaned it off. Yuck! The second time was when I was watching Nathan play baseball, and we were heading to Florida right after the game. I had on my favorite t-shirt, and PLOP, suddenly there was runny, gross bird poop on the sleeve of my shirt! This time I was really aggravated, because the poop had berry seeds in it, I had no way to clean it off, and I was soon getting in the car for a 12 hour drive! You know, I was never able to get that stain out of my t-shirt...

So, I have always wondered about birds and their pooping, and their dying, too. What are the odds of getting pooped on by a bird, I wonder? And, isn't it odd that we don't see more dead birds? I realize most birds spend time in trees, and they probably die while sitting on a branch or something, but doesn't it stand to reason that occasionally a bird's heart stops in flight? It's a wonder we don't get hit in the head with a dead bird!

How many birds are in the world, anyway? Well, how many are in the United States?  I looked and, of course, found it on the Internet, the source of all knowledge. Through some complicated calculations involving bird census and square miles (my brain read it as blah, blah, blah) the estimate is that North America may support 10-15 billion birds in spring, and 20-30 billion in fall. That's a lot of birds! And some of them poop 50 times a day! Fifty times a day. There are approximately 528 million people in North America, and if I could, I would do something impressive with those numbers. I can't, so I will simply say that I don't think it's good luck to be pooped on by a bird. No, I now believe it's good luck not to!

Good luck avoiding the birds, and remember, if you hear birds flying over,  don't look up!

                                                               

Chickens Have Earlobes?

The spouse and I got into an argument today, and I really can't remember what sparked it. But it was about eggs. That's right; eggs. He complained that I don't let him buy, nor do I buy, brown eggs, to which I responded that they taste different. I don't like brown eggs. He then opined that there is no difference nutritionally, or in taste, between white and brown eggs, and I disagreed. It kind of went downhill from there, leading me to Google the question, "Is there a difference between brown and white eggs?" 

Interestingly, there is a woman named Amy Batal, PhD, who is an assistant professor of poultry nutrition at the University of Georgia. What a job she has! Anyway, Dr. Batal says that the color of the shell has nothing to do with quality or nutritional value. It turns out that egg color is determined by the breed of the hen. Breeds with white earlobes lay white eggs, while breeds with red earlobes lay brown eggs. Consumer preference drives the demand for egg color: Americans prefer their eggs white, which is why you'll see row after row of white eggs at the supermarket. Europeans, however, favor brown eggs.

Wait, what was that? Chickens have earlobes? Unfortunately, I don't have a chicken handy, or I would certainly have a look for myself. I guess I will have to trust the doctor on that one, but it makes me wonder why most "farm fresh eggs" are brown, meaning the hen has red earlobes. Are white-earlobed chickens more expensive? Is there some underlying reason farmers choose red-earlobed chickens? 

After I announced my findings, the spouse triumphantly exclaimed, "SEE! I told you there was no difference between white and brown eggs!" I calmly responded, "OK, then why do you prefer brown?" He changed the subject and left the room...

So, there you have it. The expert and my husband say there is no difference between brown eggs and white. I say there is.

Of course, I am right...