Morton’s Fork

A character is presented two alternatives, A and B. If the character chooses A, then something bad happens. If they choose B, a similar or identical bad thing happens—but for a different reason.

Consider the following excerpt from the Jacobean play Pericles, Prince of Tyre, which is at least partly attributed to Shakespeare:

I am no viper, yet I feed
On mother’s flesh which did me breed.
I sought a husband, in which labour
I found that kindness in a father:
He’s father, son, and husband mild;
I mother, wife, and yet his child.
How they may be, and yet in two,
As you will live, resolve it you.
– Pericles, Prince of Tyre (Act I, Scene I)

5/v mmxvi

The tobacco hornworm uses its terrible breath to fend off predators.

The facial expressions on Lego figures have become increasingly angry over the last 30 years.

The population of Ireland is still smaller than it was before the Great Famine of 1845.

The Antarctic is a continent entirely surrounded by oceans the Arctic is an ocean almost entirely surrounded by continents.

All the eggs a woman will ever produce are present in her ovaries when she is born. The egg cell that became you was as old as your mother.

See other: Quite Interesting Facts

On Tangled Christmas Lights

“I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas lights.”

– Maya Angelou

On Parenting

“A wise parent humours the desire for independent action, so as to become the friend and advisor when his absolute rule shall cease.”

– Elizabeth Gaskell

On Embarrassing Parents

“Without embarrassing parents, there’d be no psychology.”

– Frasier Crane

13/viii mmxv

In 1813, Camembert cheese was made an honorary citizen of the town of Caen in Normandy.

27,000 trees are felled each day for toilet paper.

On 26 November 1867, due to a loophole in the law, Lily Maxwell became the first woman to vote in a British parliamentary election. As it turned out, British women would have to wait to 1928 to get the vote.

Air contains about a billion trillion atoms per cubic inch.

The male line in the Roman family tree was Pater (father), Avus (grandfather), Proavus (great-grandfather), Abavus (great-great-grandfather), Atavus (great-great-great-grandfather), Tritavus (great-great-great-great-grandfather).

See other: Quite Interesting Facts

On Mother Instinct

“You may observe mother instinct at its height in a fond hen sitting on china eggs – instinct but no brain.”

– Charlotte Gilman

Do ‘it’ for Denmark

Kan sex redde Danmarks fremtid? That is, can sex save Denmark’s future?

According to government statistics, Denmark posted a birth rate of 10 per 1,000 residents in 2013 — its lowest in decades. The nation’s birthrate was  9.9 in 1983.

Denmark’s perennially low birth rate places it with Germany (8.33), Japan (8.39) and Singapore (7.72). And the downward trend has left people worried in Denmark. Most couples say they want two or three kids, according to the Copenhagen Post, but one in five couples wind up childless.

To counter this trend, a bold and hilarious campaign has emerged. For the salvation of the country, a Danish travel company called Spies has organized the movement Do it for Denmark!; it wants Danes to act and act now — without precautions.

“This is Denmark. We are Danes. We keep our distance. We do not pick a seat close to strangers if other seats are available. We do not talk to strangers in the trains.”
― Steen Langstrup, Metro

Studies show that Danes have 46 percent more sex on holiday, and because more sex increases the chances for more children, the travel company Spies has called for a romantic break to save the future of Denmark.

To get the campaign of the ground, Spies will give prizes to couples who get pregnant while on vacations purchased through them.

Afterwards, upon successful sex, the couple is to shoot off a positive pregnancy test and medical records to the company. Then they may win three years worth of free diapers.

Börn er vis sorg, men uvis gläede.
― Children are definitive sorrow, but undefinitive joy.

And just in case Danes are confused by this whole pregnancy thing, the company has offered a helpful how-to on its website:

• Men, avoid tight pants. Even if you think they look good on you.
• Remember to exercise and maintain a healthy body weight.
• Avoid stress. Take a massage or try some yoga.
• Use Gravity. Lay down after sex for at least 15 minutes.
• Don’t forget to have sex – without using protection.