Good Monday morning, friends!  Come in out of the cold heat!  So, how was your weekend?  In most parts of the U.S., it’s been putrid hot with little rain, and in most parts of the UK it’s been rainy and chilly.  If only we could blend the two, then we’d all have perfect weather!  Well, it’s the start of a new week, so let’s get this show on the road and start the week with some fun things, shall we?  But first, Joyful is back in the kitchen today, whipping up a few treats, so grab a snack and the beverage of your choice! (Sorry, guys … only one plate of bacon … you’ll have to share this week!  Larry … I’m watching you!  You too, David!)

Every now and then, I like to take a look at the ‘Amazing Fact Generator’ on the Mental Floss website, so let’s start with a few fun facts:

• The annual number of worldwide shark bites is 10 times less than the number of people bitten by other people in New York. Seriously???  I’ve lived in New York and never once been bitten by either a shark or another person!
• Ironically, the only member of ZZ Top without a beard has the last name Beard.
• The 1967 Outer Space Treaty forbids any nation from trying to own the Moon. I’m biting my tongue here …
• Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone in 1876, suggested answering calls with “ahoy.” A wanna-be pirate, perhaps?
• The Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships are held in Finland. A recent winner said he prepared for the event by “mainly drinking.” Who knew?

See, now you’ve learned some new things!  Jolly Monday can be educational, as well as fun!

Define “emergency” please …

I’ve written before about people calling the emergency number (911 in the US, 999 in the UK) for things that … well, just weren’t real emergencies.  Here’s another one …

The West Yorkshire Police Contact Management Center said a call came in recently to the 999 emergency number to report their new appliance had been delivered to the wrong address!  Now what thinking person calls the police for this?  Why not call the store, or the delivery service?  And just what did they suppose the police could do?  I can picture it now … a bobby is putting the handcuffs on a man he just caught robbing a woman in a convenience store when the call comes through …

“Officer Holmes … do you read?  Drop everything and get to 11420 Sycamore Street … we have a missing freezer case!”

My favourite, though, was the one I wrote about back in April, of the  person, again in the UK, who called 999 to report her neighbor was snoring too loudly!

Now here’s a new one that I bet is a first! 

Wynn Hall, a farmer in Exeter, Nebraska, started the process of draining a pond on his property, which is used for pumping waters off his fields.  When he checked on it the following morning, he noticed a rather large object stuck in the mud.  He assumed it to be a some sort household appliance.

“I thought who would throw a refrigerator or a stove and put it in the pond, in fact, the deepest part of the pond in fact…why would that be down there? I took a picture and zoomed in on it and thought, ‘That looks like an ATM!'”

And indeed, it was.  The farmer said he doesn’t know how long the ATM was in his pond, since he didn’t drain it last year, but it didn’t appear to have been in the water for more than a few weeks. Hall contacted the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office, which sent a team to haul the ATM away. He said deputies told him an ATM had recently been stolen in the area.

Are you in the mood for some ‘toons?

Now, I’ve got two animal videos for you today, ‘cause one is super-short, but this ticklish chicken is guaranteed to make you laugh!

And here are some of the most adorable polar bear cubs you’ll ever see!

Well, folks, I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you this morning, but sadly … my laundry awaits, as do your daily duties, so I leave you with one last thought … share those smiles, spread them around for others to enjoy.  Love ‘n hugs from Filosofa ‘n Jolly ‘n Joyful!