Did you know?

The brand name Spam is a combination of “spice” and “ham.” Now I have the Monty Python Spam skit stuck in my head. I’ll be singing Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam all day. What? You too?
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Zombies, in real life, actually exist!

The Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus has just one goal: self-propagation and dispersal. Researchers think the fungus, found in tropical forests, infects a foraging ant through spores that attach and penetrate the exoskeleton and slowly takes over its behavior.

As the infection advances, the enthralled ant is compelled to leave its nest for a more humid microclimate that’s favorable to the fungus’s growth. The ant is compelled to descend to a vantage point about 10 inches off the ground, sink its jaws into a leaf vein on the north side of a plant, and wait for death.

Meanwhile, the fungus feeds on its victim’s innards until it’s ready for the final stage. Several days after the ant has died, the fungus sends a fruiting body out through the base of the ant’s head, turning its shriveled corpse into a launchpad from which it can jettison its spores and infect new ants. (source)

EWWWWWWW! Could this happen to humans too? Ian Will, a fungal geneticist in Florida, where zombified ants can be found (OF COURSE they exist in FLORIDA!), says it’s not likely. That doesn’t sound like a solid no to me. You? Will a zombie ant bite turn a person into a zombie ant or a zombie human? If Kafka was alive today, would he be writing about zombie ants? What about I Am Legend author Richard Matheson?
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It’s illegal to own just one guinea pig in Switzerland. Mind you, you’re not required by law to own any guinea pigs but, if you do, you can’t have a singleton.

Why’s zat?

They need social interaction to be happy, so owning a single guinea pig is considered harmful to its well-being and forbidden by law.

Sounds fair and decent. Also:

They get very attached to their owners and partners. If something does happen to their partner, then owners need to find another one -- and that's not easy (for the humans as well as the guinea pigs). This is why Swiss animal lover Priska Küng runs a kind of matchmaking agency -- for lonely guinea pigs. (source)

Küng also rents out the adorable little rodents. This sounded cruel and skeevy to me but, as I read on, it made sense.

Without her rent-a-guinea pig service, the owner would have to purchase a new, probably younger guinea pig as a companion to the ageing survivor, whose eventual death would force the purchase of yet another guinea pig, locking the owner into an endless cycle of guinea pig purchases in order to adhere to Swiss law -- even though he or she may only ever have wanted one guinea pig in the first place. (source)

I don’t know…I have visions of guinea pigs stuck in loveless partnerships. One being a Yankees fan, the other cheers for the Red Sox. The older pig will only listen to classic rock radio stations whereas the younger one wants to hear nothing but hip hop. This could get ugly.
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You know how most (all?) of us struggle with whether to go with what our hearts tell us to do versus what our minds prescribe?

Shrimps don’t have this problem.

…shrimp have their hearts – along with other vital organs such as their stomach and ventral nerve cord – inside of their heads due to the safety this part of the body provides over the tail-end. (source)

Given that the tum-tum’s also in their head, I imagine they don’t have trouble with overeating either. Lucky bastids.