Debbie Schlussel: Quick Links: Kryptonite, America, the Fatal Lottery Win
* To those of us who were fans of Superman, we know Kryptonite as the fictional green crystal rock substance that renders the Superhero powerless. A close friend remarked that he has his Kryptonite and we all have one--the one thing that has power over us and renders us weak.
Well, now, we come to find out that there actually is a real Kryptonite, a very similar mineral discovered recently in Serbia with the same composition as the fictional version (sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide). Fortunately, it's powerless--even if the many Islamic Lex Luthors get ahold of it.
* Happy Birthday, America! Yes, I know it isn't the 4th of July. But today is the 500th Anniversary of the name, "America"--coined by a cartographer as the catchall designation for a world that Europeans had yet to name or explore.
* Yet another sad lottery winner story: Wayne Schenk--a New York man who won $1 million in the lottery after finding out he had terminal cancer--died Monday at age 51. You can't take it with you.
Sadly, Schenk was denied a lump sum payment of the 20-year, $50,000 per year pay-off, which he sought to pay for treatment at a hospital specializing in the treatment of advanced cancer. "We're from the government, and we're here to help you."
Posted by Debbie on April 25, 2007 02:41 PM to Debbie Schlussel