.::SmartyPants::.: Farting for a Good Cause

Children's Books

Arlene Mosel: Tikki Tikki Tembo
A tongue twister I still remember 30 years later.
Marjorie Flack: The Story about Ping
This one is unlike any other. I have very very fond memories of my uncle reading this to us.
Kay Thompson: Eloise
Please, for the love, read this book to your kids. And do the haughty voice for the nanny. And let them, like I did, grow up until age 31 before they find out Eloise was supposed to be blonde. I mean, really, she's a brunette! Be sure to fold out the diagram of taking the elevator all over creation. It's a blessing in and of itself. And also: Dear Mom: I'm just realizing I'm a little mischevious. Apologies--but then, you let me read all that stuff!
Maurice Sendak: Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months
This guy really was a genious. I recommend the itty bitty set of four...though that Pierre one never really got me. I'm not much of a francophile.
Todd Parr: Underwear Do's and Don'ts
Ah, the unruly children. Another one for them. I mean us. I found this guy's stuff in the late 90's and it's fantastic. Check out the rest of his line...
Where the Wild Things Are
Because even unruly children must have their imaginations stoked.
Margaret Wise Brown: Goodnight Moon
I mean, it's a classic.
Virginia Lee Burton: The Little House
Seriously, this book is so sweet, and the drawings are so wonderful, I bought a copy of it when I was 30 just so I could read it on a regular basis. Note to self: go get from storage.
Dubose Heyward: The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes (Sandpiper Books)
One of the BEST. BEST--Do you hear me? BEST.

I'm more or less stunned speechless by this one...

Apparently kangaroos have more going for them than those cute little pouches and the ability to jump a cattle fence in a single bound: they can fart without huring the environment. You read it right: they can fart without emitting greenhouse gases. Kangaroos have methane-free farts, unlike their cattle neighbors.

In New Zealand, where 50% of all emissions to the atmosphere is apparently cattle and sheep farts, and in order to reduce this offense, Australia (whose fart emissions account for 15% of the national total) are looking for ways to isolate and reproduce the bacteria in Kangaroos that prevent the inclusion of methane in their..uh, emissions.

Yes, I just did an entry on Kangaroo farts, and yes, if you click on the link above, you too can read an article titled, "Eco-friendly Kangaroo Farts Could Help Global Warming."