It Doesn't Take Much to Fascinate Me

It's a slow news day. :) Therefore I feel compelled to share with you the answers to some burning questions I had this week.

1. Why are the numbers on a touch tone phone backwards from the numbers on a calculator? During my days (or eleven years) in Financial Aid, I became VERY fast at punching in numbers on my calculator and on the little keypad on the computer. But then...when it was time to call people, I can't tell you how many times I misdialed, because the numbers are backwards. On a phone, the top row starts 1, 2, 3, the middle row is 4, 5, 6 and the bottom row is 7, 8, 9. On a calculator, the 1, 2, 3 is on the bottom row...then 4, 5, 6 are in the middle and 7, 8, 9 are on the top. Here are some (viable, I think) theories I found about the why they're different!

2. Do ticks serve any purpose? This one wasn't actually my question. It came up during Friendraiser when a few of us in the phone room talked about our dislike of spiders. One of the girls said she hates spiders as much as ticks...and she wondered why ticks even exist because they're just nasty. (Agreed!) Since I already had a running list of things to research...I added this one. And here's what I found. Doesn't make them any less disgusting, but it's intriguing information.

3. Can St. Joseph sell my house? A friend of mine emailed me a few weeks ago with a suggestion to bury a statue in my yard...was supposed to make my house sell. I didn't pay much attention, but last week, someone else told me that as a joke, she and her husband buried a statue in their yard - and the next day they got a full price offer on their house. I found an article about it here - St. Joseph, the patron saint of houses, is said to sell a house!!

I know it's a Saturday and you should probably have the day off, but it never hurts to pack in a little extra knowledge. Hopefully I've helped boost your skills today!