Riding The Train Essay -- essays research papers

Riding the Train (Description Essay ENC1101) Anytime a person experiences something for the first time, that experience can reside in their mind forever. Their first kiss, first love, and first look at the sunrise may permanently float among their cherished memories. My mind contains many of these memories. Although my first train ride occurred over 15 years ago, I still recall every wonderful detail from preparing for the trip to discovering the inside of the train and the beautiful five hour ride.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was a breezy day in the summer of 1985 and after spending a week visiting my grandparent’s home in Sebring, Florida, I prepared for my first train ride home. Recalling many old movies I’ve watched with tearful lovers embracing on rain-soaked platforms, I carefully chose my train-riding outfit: a simple, tailored white dress, a pair of lace gloves reaching only to my wrists and a braided straw hat complete with a thick red sash tied neatly around the crown with an exploding bow draping down behind me. I settled into the back of my grandfathers Cadillac and my mind filled with visions of how my first train ride would be. Arriving at the station, I tearfully kissed my grandparents goodbye a bit more dramatically than necessary. As I strolled confidently towards the train platform, I felt like Audrey Hepburn or Ingrid Bergman and was quite certain many eyes rested upon my grace and followed me through the crowded terminal. Pushing open the heavy glas. ..

John Muir

John Muir, the founder of modern environmentalism, wrote many books on American environmentalism and was vocal in preserving America's natural landscape. He grew up studying the natural environment and fell in love with its beauty and interconnections. He devoted his life to protecting the landscape from industrialization and the â€Å"Manifest Destiny' mentality of the late 19th century and early 20th century.Railroads quickened the expansion westward, and desire for ultivating newly ready resources left the land scarred. Newly available land in the west was also a magnet for Americans eager to farm and tame the land. America was quickly expanding westward and the process was happening so fast that thoughts on the cost/benefits of this expansion hadn't surfaced. Muir befriended the likes of Teddy Roosevelt and the railroad executive E. H. Harriman to organize actions that benefitted all parties.Muir's efforts towards his vision were founding the environmental agency â€Å"The Sier ra Club† and writing articles for Century Magazine, hich prompted Congress to create Yosemite National Park. In the article Protecting Yosemite, Muir discusses the challenges and benefits involved in the process of creation and after effects of Yosemite Park. Certain groups strived to benefit economically from the resources of the park, while Muir and others persisted in protecting the parks best interest from the economically driven parties.There was also critiquing and revising the park system throughout the entire process. Muir kept focus on the beauty of the park throughout the article as a whole. As America was creating its new geographical and industrial image westward, most Americans focused on taming the landscape, while John Muir rebelled against this and fought to preserve the natural beauty of America. Protecting Yosemite was written in 1895 and published in The Sierra Club Bulletin in 1896. Muir wrote this to keep the members of the Sierra Club informed on the prog ress of the Yosemite National Park.The article starts with Muir recounting his previous visit to Yosemite as a disaster because the landscape was â€Å"broken and wasted. (Muir, America Firsthand, PG 97) He follows this observation with a Joyful proclamation that the park has been restored to its original luster, â€Å"Lilies now swing and ring their bells around the margins of the forest meadows. † (Muir, America Firsthand, PG 97) Muir celebrates the Job done by the soldiers who police the land and punish those who commit crimes upon the land.The main Job of the soldiers was to rid the park of Sheppards and their flocks of sheep that would leave the land mangled with hoof prints and erosion. Muir goes on to discuss the great efforts nvolved in getting Congress to pass the Yosemite Bill. Muir sparked the discussion of the bill with the publishing of Century Magazine articles. An unlikely adversary, Mr. Stow of the Southern Pacific R. R. Co. , helped lobby the bill through Co ngress in 1890.Soon after the creation, an offensive to cut the boundaries of the park in half was launched. The Sierra Club and other environmentally friendly groups halted this offensive. Muir discusses briefly his philosophy and drive for his environmental campaign, † †¦ (someone) should always be glad to find anything so surly good and he park; on one side he applauds the popularity of the park but is disappointed with the effects it has on the park, â€Å"destructive trampling and hacking becomes heavier from season to season. (Muir, America Firsthand, PG 99) Muir is also disappointed with the lack of security, with the exception of the soldiers, â€Å"The Guardian has no power to enforce the rules-has not a single policeman under his orders. † (Muir, America Firsthand, PG 99) Towards the end of the article, Muir believes the management of the park should be transferred to a government department that oesn't deal with drama related to changing political parti es. Finally, with the prevention of fires in the park, the landscape as a whole becomes more at risk for a devastating fire.Muir believes that forest management should implement a scientific basis to increase the health of Yosemite. America in the mid to late 19th century acted strongly upon the idea of â€Å"manifest destiny. † Two railroads met in Utah and connected the East and West coasts of America. The expanding America was now much easier to populate due to railroads, and land use exploded in the West. Americans started mining and exploiting these newly available resources like iron and timber. Land was taken from Native Americans and they were forced onto smaller and smaller reservations.America bought Alaska from Russia, and acquired The Caribbean and other islands in the Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War of 1898. America was very greedy for land at this time and there was the mindset that more is better. John Muir and others rebelled against this idea and raised t he argument that more is not better and we should preserve the beautiful landscape that we have. Muir worked very hard to ush this rebuttal onto people and in 1890 he won an environmental battle that created the Yosemite National Park.This set the foundation for modern day environmentalism and helped people come to the realization that we should enjoy nature, and not try to always conquer it. As America was creating its new geographical and industrial image westward, most Americans focused on taming the landscape, while John Muir rebelled against this and fought to preserve the natural beauty of America. The message of John Muir is very relevant in contemporary society because we are going through lots of nvironmental problems due to industrialization.

How Ocean Currents Create Trash Islands and Impact Wildlife

As our global population expands, so does the amount of trash we produce, and a large portion of that trash ends up in the worlds oceans. Due to oceanic currents, much of the trash is carried to areas where the currents meet, and these collections of trash have recently been referred to as marine trash islands. Contrary to common belief, most of these trash islands are almost invisible to the eye. There are a few patches around the world where trash accumulates into platforms of 15-300 feet large, often near certain coasts, but they are minuscule compared to the vast garbage patches located in the middle of oceans. These are predominantly composed of microscopic plastic particles and not easily spotted. In order to identify their actual size and density, a lot of research and testing needs to be done. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch The Great Pacific Garbage Patch—sometimes called the Eastern Garbage Patch or Eastern Pacific Trash Vortex—is an area with an intense concentration of marine trash located between Hawaii and California. The exact size of the patch is unknown, however, because it is constantly growing and moving. The patch developed in this area because of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre—one of many oceanic gyres caused by a convergence of ocean currents and wind. As the currents meet, the earth’s Coriolis Effect (the deflection of moving objects caused by the Earth’s rotation) causes the water to slowly rotate, creating a funnel for anything in the water. Because this is a subtropical gyre in the northern hemisphere, it rotates clockwise. It’s also a high-pressure zone with hot equatorial air and comprises much of the area known as the horse latitudes (area with weak winds). Due to the tendency of items to collect in oceanic gyres, the existence of a garbage patch was predicted in 1988 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) after years of monitoring the amount of trash being dumped into the worlds oceans. The patch was not officially discovered until 1997, though, because of its remote location and harsh conditions for navigation. That year, Captain Charles Moore passed through the area after competing in a sailing race and discovered debris floating over the entire area he was crossing. Atlantic and Other Oceanic Trash Islands Though the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the most widely publicized of the so-called trash islands, the Atlantic Ocean has one as well in the Sargasso Sea. The Sargasso Sea is located in the North Atlantic Ocean between 70 and 40 degrees west longitude and 25 and 35 degrees north latitude. It is bounded by the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Current, the Canary Current, and the North Atlantic Equatorial current. Like the currents carrying trash into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, these four currents carry a portion of the worlds trash to the middle of the Sargasso Sea where it becomes trapped. In addition to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the Sargasso Sea, there are three other major tropical oceanic gyres in the world—all with conditions similar to those found in these first two. Components of Trash Islands After studying the trash found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Moore learned that 90% of the trash found there was plastic. His research group, as well as NOAA, has studied the Sargasso Sea and other patches around the world and their studies in those locations have had the same findings. It is typically thought that 80% of the plastic in the ocean comes from land sources while 20% comes from ships at sea. A 2019 study contests that there is little evidence to support this assumption. Instead, it is more likely that most of the trash comes from merchant ships. The plastics in the patches consist of all sorts of plastic items—not only water bottles, cups, bottle caps, toothbrushes, or plastic bags, but also materials used on cargo ships and fishing fleets—nets, buoys, ropes, crates, barrels, or fish netting (which alone constitute up to 50% of the entire ocean plastic). Microplastic It’s not just  large plastic items that make up the trash islands, however. In his studies, Moore found that the majority of the plastic in the worlds oceans is made up of billions of pounds of microplastic—raw plastic pellets called nurdles. These pellets are a byproduct of plastics manufacturing and of photodegradation—process during which materials (in this case plastic) break apart into smaller pieces due to sunlight and air (but dont disappear). It is significant that most of the trash is plastic because plastic does not break down easily—especially in water. When plastic is on land, it is more easily heated and breaks down faster. In the ocean, the plastic is cooled by the water and becomes coated with algae which shield it from sunlight. Because of these factors, the plastic in the world’s oceans will last well into the future. For example, the oldest plastic container found during the 2019 expedition turned out to be from 1971—48 years old. What is also significant is the microscopic size of the majority of the plastic in the waters. Because of its invisibility to the naked eye, it is very complicated to measure the actual amount of plastic in the oceans, and it is even more difficult to find non-invasive ways of cleaning it up. This is why the most frequent strategies of caring for our oceans involve prevention. Another major issue with the ocean trash being mainly microscopic is the effect it has on wildlife and consequently on humans. Garbage Islands Impact on Wildlife and Humans The presence of the plastic in the garbage patches is having a significant impact on wildlife in a number of ways. Whales, seabirds, and other animals can easily be snared in the nylon  nets and six-pack rings prevalent in the garbage patches. They are also in danger of choking on things like balloons, straws, and sandwich wrap. Additionally, fish, seabirds, jellyfish, and oceanic filter feeders easily mistake brightly colored plastic pellets for fish eggs and krill. Research has shown that over time, the plastic pellets can concentrate toxins which are passed on to sea animals when they eat them. This could poison them or cause genetic problems. Once the toxins are concentrated in the tissue of one animal, they can magnify across the food chain similar to the pesticide DDT and eventually reach humans as well. It is likely that shellfish and dried fish will be the first major carriers of microplastics (and the toxins associated with them) into humans. Finally, the floating trash can also aid in the spread of species to new habitats. Take, for instance, a type of barnacle. It can attach to a floating plastic bottle, grow, and move to an area where it is not naturally found. The arrival of the new barnacle could then possibly cause problems for the areas native species. The Future for the Trash Islands Research conducted by Moore, NOAA, and other agencies show that  trash islands are continuing to grow. Attempts have been made to clean them up but there is simply too much material over too large of an area to make any significant impact. Ocean cleanup is similar to invasive surgery, as microplastic blends so easily with marine life. Even if thorough cleanup was possible, many species and their habitats would be deeply affected, and this is highly controversial. Therefore, some of the best ways to aid in the cleanup of these islands are to suppress their growth by changing our relationship with plastic. It means enacting stronger recycling and disposal policies, cleaning up the worlds beaches, and reducing the amount of trash going into the worlds oceans. Algalita, the organization founded by Captain Charles Moore, strives to make the change through vast educational programs all over the world. Their motto is: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle. In that order! Sources Ocean Garbage Patches, NOAA Ocean Pdocast. US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 22 Mar. 2018.â€Å"Plastic Pollution–Preventing an Incurable Disease.†Ã‚  Algalita, 1 Oct. 2018.â€Å"Plastic Waste Inputs from Land into the Ocean.†Ã‚  Jambeck Research Group.â€Å"2019 Return to ‘The Patch.’†Ã‚  Captain Charles Moore.Eriksen, Marcus, et al. â€Å"Plastic Pollution in the Worlds Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea.†Ã‚  PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, 10 Dec. 2014.Ryan, Peter G, et al. â€Å"Rapid Increase in Asian Bottles in the South Atlantic Ocean Indicates Major Debris Inputs from Ships.†Ã‚  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, National Academy of Sciences, 15 Oct. 2019.Karami, Ali, et al. â€Å"Microplastics in Eviscerated Flesh and Excised Organs of Dried Fish.†Ã‚  Scientific Reports , Nature Publishing Group UK, 14 July 2017.

Final Report Towards The Fulfillment Of My Course Cs5020 (...

CPT Final Report Balaji Pulluri 700623394 Professor: Dr. Xiaodong Yue chair Professor, Dept of Mats Comp. Sci. Subject: Submission of Final Report towards the fulfillment of my course CS5020 (Internship in Computer Science). Job Duties I was given the work as what a fulltime employment do but given a flexibility over deadline as I was an intern for first few weeks. I have worked on developing a new interface for the category search and also working on the SEO tickets and fixing the bugs. I worked on the tracking ticket, implementing the complete tracking(Click and Impression tracking) for a third party data provider. I was working on JavaScript over NodeJs framework and the Jade Templating. Worked on†¦show more content†¦Now the user has different tabs for each of the above functionality stated. For the better and reliable of access to user, build a new functionality that has all the three functionalities under one tab. Now on submitting, I have written an Action class to populate the results on the same page. Incorporating two new functionalities, one is user has the ability to check the items, which are needed to support the above functionality. Previously the reorder or replacement function was in support for all the orders made. The other functionality is the user needs to select the Reasons and based on the reason selected the sub-reasons should be provided to select. Populating the Sub-reasons based on the reason selected by connecting to the database. Working on the Full Reorder Tool by building UI and writing code of JavaAction classes and populating the results as per the requirement. Building java pages for the Full Reorder tool and Internal Reorder Tool. Writing Reasons table in database which are product specific and getting the results on UI of Full Reorder Tool. Building and Modifying the necessary changes over Full Reorder working tool. Writing new tables and its properties into the database to store the items from the Full Reorder tool. Needed to change the code over java files and jsp’s for the UI changes. Adding Validations for the Scripts.Debugging the errors in the Stage environment. I also worked on Research of removing the delay of 400ms over tracking

Technology Has Changed Sports Over The Years, Without A Doubt

Kay Duit Professor Wilson Physics 1003-01 16 November 2014 Research Paper Technology has changed sports over the years, without a doubt. Many rules have changed because of technology. Not only rules have changed, also decision-making has been affected by technological improvements. However, a lot of technological improvements are very expensive and therefore cannot be applied in every sporting event. Especially amateur athletes and clubs do not have resources to apply the newest technologies in their sporting events. The question arises if this is fair or not. If people that play amateur sports want to become professional athletes, and they are physically capable of making that step, there should not be other obstacles such as technology†¦show more content†¦I will give a couple examples of technologies that have changes sports. Later on in this paper, some of these examples will be used to support an argument I will make. According to Steve J. Haake’s article â€Å"The impact of technology on sporting performance in Olympic sports†, technology has had a big impact on pole vault, javelin and cycling. In pole vault for example, the world record increased rapidly after the Second World War. The cause for that were the new materials athletes started to use for their poles. Before the Second World War, athletes used poles made from bamboo. After the Second World War, people started using poles made from different metals and eventually athletes started using poles made from carbon fiber. The performances in javelin have also been impacted by technology. The materials of which the javelins are made have changed a lot throughout the years. This has influenced the throwing distances. Also cycling has changed due to change in materials that are used. Bikes used to be made from aluminum, but in the 1980s people started creating bikes of carbon fiber. Nowadays, it is the only material used for bikes in professional cycling. Recently, we have seen new technologies in the biggest sporting event in the world, the FIFA 2014 W orld Cup. Dan Jerker B Suantesson states in his article â€Å"Could technology resurrect the dignity of the FIFA World Cup refereeing?† that, â€Å"This wasShow MoreRelatedEntertainment in the Victorian Era1271 Words   |  6 Pagesresources available then, they would play sports, pick up a book to read, or have play time. One thing that has carried through the centuries is athletics. Although the types of athletic activities have altered somewhat, a few have stayed alive and are performed today. In the Victorian Era in England, people played two kinds of sports: recreational sports and competitive sports. Recreational sports included games like croquet and cycling. Competitive sports would be like football and lawn tennisRead MoreVideo Games : A Good Thing For Children991 Words   |  4 Pagessociety for a very long time. One half of the argument believes video games is a positive act and the other half of the argument believes that video games is a negative act. Both parties have significant data backing up their own personal believes. There has been many studies done around the topic of children playing video games trying to conclude which side of the argument is correct which is very hard to do. Some of the studies prove that video games is a good thing for children, and some studies proveRead MoreVideo Games Are A Good Thing For Children993 Words   |  4 Pagesfor a very long time. One half of the argument believes video games are a positive act and the other half of the argument believes that video games are a negative act. Both parties have significant data backing up their own personal beliefs. There has been many studies done around the topic of children playing video games trying to conclude which side of the argument is correct which is very hard to do. Some of the studies prove that video games are a good thing for children, and some studies proveRead More Comparing Canada and America Essay examples1124 Words   |  5 PagesThe controversy over Canada and America, and who takes after whom has been around for many years. Canada and America are puzzles, two countries that are home to millions of people, living in relative comfort and health. We both have become nations through the help of each other and other nations. Yet, Canada has its own identity as a deligh tful complexity of cultures and customs, government and heroes. On the other hand, Canadians are simply not Americans by government and technology. Canada’s ownRead MorePrivacy Lost By David Holtzman1620 Words   |  7 Pagessearched, and the persons or things to be seized (US 1). It is important to understand the protection we do have under this law- even if it is very limited. This law was created to ensure that the government has limitations on its powers, and that it cannot gather any information from people without first asking the court for a warrant. Does this mean that the government cannot search our home, our computer, and our records? No. On the contrary, the government can search and engage in any kind of surveillanceRead MorePrivacy Lost By David Holtzman1386 Words   |  6 Pagesthe persons or things to be seized (US 1). It is important to understand the protection we do have under this law-even if it is very limited. This law was created to insure its citizens that the government has limitations on its powers, and that it cannot gather any information from people without first asking the court for a warra nt. Does this mean that the government cannot search our home, our computer, and our records? No, on the contrary, the government can search and engage in any kind of surveillanceRead MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives1559 Words   |  7 PagesThe friendship with technology today can be called a â€Å"Time Hog† Technology is our friend. That is a statement that could be addressed with many questions. How we used technology today has really affected our lives. People are connected every moment of the day. Everywhere we look there are people talking on their cell phones; at every stop light you see people texting on their device. The same people can be seen checking their phone or browsing the web at every chance they get. People are wastingRead MoreCommotions in Postwar America Essay1378 Words   |  6 Pagesrapid rise of the new technology of television. Therefore, the baby boom, the advent of Eisenhower, and the development of television were some of the events that affected the United States. Thus, these events, social, political, and technological, were important to the United States history. Of all the commotions in postwar America, nothing was more extraordinary than the â€Å"baby boom,† which was the enormous increase in the birthrate in the decade and a half after 1945. In no doubt, young men and womenRead MoreTechnology Is An Indispensable Part Of Our Life Essay1417 Words   |  6 PagesNo doubt technology become an indispensable part of our life; it is part of our present and future. Advanced technology makes human s life more convenient, each new invention and discovery that achieved in the field of technology are supporting the improvement of humankind. It is mandatory that we deal with technology every day, it is with us everywhere in our house, school, and workplace. Technology helps us in communication, gain knowledge, and share our moments. Communication nowadays becomesRead MoreTHE FUTURE OF THE NEWSPAPER BUSINESS. INTRODUCTION The newspapers were first public during the 16th1500 Words   |  6 Pagescommunicated started with paper which is the regular daily print with deliveries, and later changed to combination of paper print and radio and later changed to paper, radio and television, and now moved to digital print and blogs via the internet. Moreover, newspapers have survived the advent of radio in the 1930s, cinema news in the 40s and television in the 50s. On the other hand, the arrival of internet has create major challenges to the old business models of print newspapers which is making the

Hong Kong Jockey Club Free Essays

1. The HK Jockey Club’s stakeholders are as follows: (1)The government. The HK Jockey Club, as a large single taxpayer, could contribute to the government’s fiscal revenue. We will write a custom essay sample on Hong Kong Jockey Club or any similar topic only for you Order Now (2)Hong Kong charities. The HK Jockey Club gives annual donations on which many Hong Kong charities depend. (3)The citizens of Hong Kong. The HK Jockey Club would allocate operational surpluses to support the social and civic needs related to the community services, education, medical and health. (4)The employees. The state of business of HK Jockey Club would affect the wellbeing and the salary of the employees. 5)The customers and the club members. The actions taken by the HK Jockey Club could influence or be influenced by the racing and betting public, the lottery players and the club members. 2. The challenges faced by the HK Jockey Club as it engages in CSR initiatives are as follows: (1)The HK Jockey Club regularly consults the government about the community needs when deciding the distribution of the donations; however, the Club sometimes receives the criticism for the allocation of donations. 2)How the HK Jockey Club expands its gaming business on Mainland China without viola ting the Chinese law in terms of gambling. (3)How to make use of the launch of an Individual Visit Scheme and the recovery of the economy in HK to upturn the betting turnover proportionately. (4)Although the move of legalizing football betting could reduce illegal bookmakers, increase the tax revenue and advance charitable funds, it potentially encourages gambling among youth. The operation of football betting may cause problem and pathological gambling. 5)The public does not well recognize the status of the Jockey Club as not-for profit. People are not aware of the charitable investments conducted by the HK Jockey Club 3. (1)The Jockey Club should conduct several researches before the enhancing of the racing product or the regulatory change. Specifically, the Jockey Club could survey the public opinion toward the plan and consult the government, the club members and the employees to evaluate the plan feasibility. In addition, the Jockey Club could compare its situation with that of other countries that encounter with similar issues to assess the ethical mplications. (2)The Jockey Club should stop the plan or transform the marketing strategy if it does not comply with the domestic or foreign legislation. The Jockey Club should not only uphold the rule of law in Hong Kong, but also respect the legislations in other countries. Moreover, the Jockey Club should provide sufficient education for the public especially the youth about the improvement of the racing product to avoid problem and pathological gambling. Furthermore, the Jockey Club could cooperate with the government to raise the public vigilance of the illegal or unauthorized gambling. How to cite Hong Kong Jockey Club, Papers

Sex Ed. Essay Example For Students

Sex Ed. Essay At some point during your youth, your parents probably took you aside and after several minutes of blushing and throat-clearing gave you the Readers Digest version of the birds and bees. (The folks apparently never realized that you had learned about sex in far more detail several years earlier from a friend in your preschool finger painting class.) But just what did we learn about the actual birds and bees, not to mention the thousands of other species of animals that share the Earth with us? They preen, they strut, they lure and, if all goes as planned, they have sex. You might be surprised by some of the following sexual facts and oddities concerning members of the wild kingdom. Unless that kid in your preschool class already covered this material. Warning: Some of these tidbits are not for the faint of heart. If you havent had the talk yet, you might want to be accompanied by an adult before you proceed. Perhaps the most astounding part of sex in the animal world is the sheer size of some of the sex parts themselves. Were you aware that one testicle of the average Blue whale can weigh up to 100 pounds? You can imagine the problems this causes. This startling fact might explain why you almost never see a Blue whale wearing shorts in public. Whales also hold the record for having the largest penises. A fact which they never fail to mention at parties, by the way. In large Rorqual whales the penis can be up to 10 feet long, with a diameter of up to one foot. Female Rorqual whales are notoriously cheery. Now you know why. But bigger isnt always better, necessarily. It is also interesting to note that insects hold their own record as well. If the largest animals have the largest sexual organs, it would follow that the smallest animals, insects, possess the most diminutive. While too small to be measured precisely, it is estimated that the smallest penis on the Earth is a fraction of a thousandth of an inch in size. Ladies, this will be welcome news to that insecure husband or boyfriend. And now the answer to that other question on your mind. Which animal is the proud owner of the longest sperm? Oddly, in this case, sperm size is not related to the size of the animal. In fact, the longest sperm amongst the mammals is produced by the Chinese hamster (around 30 microns in length.) You might need to know that at some point in your life, though I cant imagine at what point that might be. Perhaps this scenario will present itself:Mugger: All right. Give me your purse. You: Yikes. Mugger: Oh, by the way, Im going to shoot you. You: This light isnt very flattering. Mugger: No, I mean with this gun. You: Oh. Mugger: But you might be able to save yourself. You: And can I keep the purse? Its the only one I have to go with these shoes. Mugger: Just answer this question. Which mammal has the longest sperm?You: The Chinese hamster?Mugger: How should I know? Im a mugger. And while were on the subject, how long is a micron, anyway?The animal world is full of amazing quirks of nature. When it comes to the sexual anatomy and behavior of animals, new discoveries are being made all the time. (Except at 4:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.)For instance, most species of creatures have two sexes (male and female, for those of you who havent had the talk yet.) But scientists found that a crustacean, Tanais, has three sexes. The single-celled Parameciam amelia has eight different sexes, and you can be sure that this dramatically increases its chances of finding a date on short notice. Life On The Set EssayIt is surprising just how much sexual activity in the wild is made up of rituals which humans would generally consider painful or cruel. There are many examples of animals which vigorously bite into each other during intercourse (the females take the brunt of this practice), or which link up in other not-so-pleasant ways. The mating of dragonflies is fraught with complexity and discomfort. The male first grasps the thorax of the female with his legs, he then flexes his abdomen forward and affixes two claspers to the female. In some species a sticky secretion bonds the pair together as well. Then they fly off together, mating in mid-air. Clasping before marriage is frowned upon in the wild, incidentally. Mother dragonflies are often heard to say: You should be ashamed of yourself, clasping with every Coenagriidae you meet. In my day, we never let a man grasp our thorax, at least not until he was introduced to our parents.One of the oddest practices in the mating world belongs to a breed of fly. Its technical name is Serromyia femorata. The flies take up a position during sex which resembles kissing, but at the end of mating, the female sucks out the body content of the male through the mouth. So, what weve heard is apparently true. When it comes to a mate, its whats on the inside that counts. Ants, too, have a strange mating ritual. It seems both the queen ant (female) and the prince (male) have wings, and when the mating urge hitsgenerally after consuming a number of imported beersthey fly 100 feet into the air, have a brief copulation, then the males wings fall off and he dies. The female goes on to lay eggs resulting from that brief encounter for a period which can last up to 15 years. (Doctor hurry, its almost time, the contractions are coming six years apart now.) Female ants must surely be hoarse from all the screaming. Just about everyone has heard that the female praying mantis eats the head of its mate after sex. But were you aware that often the female mantis will consume its mates head during sex? Shockingly, this doesnt deter the male from finishing what hes begun. Thats right. If the male mantis has mounted the female before she begins to devour his head, he will successfully complete copulation without it. Most women have always suspected this would be the case with their human counterparts as well. The sexual practices of animals are almost as varied as our own. Porpoises often participate in group sex. Roman snails have been observed performing foreplay. Many fish seem to enjoy kissing as part of the mating ritual. It is believed that deer masturbate during the rutting season by stimulating their antlers. There seems to be no end to the variation. And all without the aid of manuals or how-to videos. Just instinct. All of this serves to remind us that although we fret and complain about our sex lives, we should keep in mind that in many ways weve got it easy. It should also keep us a bit more humble. For while we take a lot of pride in our sexual sophistication, it is useful to keep in mind that there are creatures around who have been doing it faster, longer, more often and even, on occasion, without their heads.