This world is as round as can be. When you draw a perfect circle, there is no beginning or no end. It is a continual line. So seems the way of the earth, forever spinning, and the humans on it, forever doing.
Charles Darwin, as we all remember, was that fellow with some bright ideas about evolution. He traveled all around this world studying and seeking. Chuck took a boat trip once down to the Galapagos Islands, and while there, he picked up a pet turtle. And, named her Harriet. That turtle was about five years old at the time. I read recently she outlived him by 124 years. Her final years were spent the Steve Irwin’s family in Australia. She died in 2006, at the age of 176. The time ticked on.
Time can be a funny thing on the ball. Sometimes we wish it would slow down, and other times we wish it would speed up. Like when we are stopped at a red light. The people who study these things say that we will spend six months of our lives waiting for red lights to turn green. I think I’ve spent that long in one sitting at the light on Main and Maple Streets in Eaton.
I’ve mentioned it before, but we humans like to measure things. Constantly measuring this or that. Length, of course, is one of those measurements. In fact, to prove my point, recently, there was a lawsuit against the restaurant chain Subway, saying their trademark “Footlong” subs were not quite a foot long. The courts found in favor of Subway. To make a long story short, the judge basically said, “Close enough.”
Close enough. Here’s one for you. They say the world’s population could fit in Los Angeles. That total population is more than 7.8 billion, an incredibly large number. But according to National Geographic, if every single one of those people stood shoulder-to-shoulder, they could all fit within the 500 square miles of Los Angeles. I’m not sure I believe it. I’m fairly sure we’ll never find out.
With 7.8 billion people in the world, we are never short on surprises. Almost every day in the news, I am surprised by someone’s “something,” be it their ingenuity, their bravery, their hatred, or their stupidity. The range is wide and far between. Mostly, it is always interesting.
Take, for instance, a guy down in Florida during the Great Depression. He was a local banker in the town of Quincy, Florida. A guy everyone trusted. Well, when the grips of the Depression hit, he wanted to help people. Somehow. So, he urged them to invest in Coca-Cola stocks, then selling at $19 per share. Many of those good Quincy people scraped together what money they had and followed his advice. When Coke stock took off as he’d promised, others followed. It wasn’t long until 67 of those residents became “Coca-Cola millionaires,” making Quincy the richest U.S. town per capita. Now that’s a Coke and a smile.
But. There are two countries on earth where you can’t buy a Coke. They would be North Korea and Cuba. Or so I’m told. I bet there are a lot of other places too—the middle of the Amazon springs to mind.
But, we can’t travel right now. Back when traveling was at its height, more people visited France than any other country. The runners-up for most traveled nations were Spain with 81.8 million visitors, followed by the United States at 76.9 million, China with 60.7 million, and Italy hauling in 58.3 million visitors.
The big round earth of ours. And all the people on it. We can only, potentially, stand on 29% of the earth, as all the rest is water. And here is a thing about those big oceans of ours. That water is home to almost 200,000 different kinds of viruses. That’s something to think about.
And just when you all of a sudden felt a little better about being on land? Remember this. Around one in every 200 men are direct descendants of Genghis Khan. He was prolific. As such, scientists now believe that around one in every 200 men is a direct descendant of Genghis. Yowza.
Is it too late for me to say, “Have a nice day?”
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“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”– Soren Kierkegaard
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“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” —Dolly Parton
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“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
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The big circle, from old turtles to no Cokes.
