Who's Afraid of Tilapia Fish?

Who's Afraid of Tilapia Fish?

Tilapia fish in its raw, ready-to-be-cooked form

If you live in Nigeria, the chances that you have touched, eaten or at least seen raw fish (of any species) is very high.  But for whatever reason, the same is not always true here in the US.  Some people don't even know what a real chicken looks like, so maybe asking about fish is really pushing it. I guess it's possible that people are so used to seeing filleted fish or already cooked fish (fried catfish anyone?) that they don't make the connection between raw and cooked food.  But that's just speculation.

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Please Don't Leave All Your Property to Fido or Bingo

Please Don't Leave All Your Property to Fido or Bingo

I recently read about an Italian woman who left $ 13 million to her cat, Tommaso.  Apparently, this put the cat as # 3 on the list of world's richest pets.  # 2 on that list is Kalu the chimp (please don't ask) whose owner left him $ 80 million, and Gunther IV, an Alsatian (German Shepherd) dog who inherited $ 372 million from his father, Gunther III. [Source]

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Would you Eat this Animal? (Hint: It is NOT a Dog)

Would you Eat this Animal? (Hint: It is NOT a Dog)

A Geep: Goat + Sheep

A few years ago (don't worry, it was after Nigeria's independence), I watched a TV program.  I think it was a documentary.  By the end of the program sha, I have discovered that there was a strange animal that existed.  It was called a GEEP.

In case you were wondering, a GEEP is not what happens when a goat and a sheep know each other (in biblical terms).  Those ones are called sheep-goat hybrids.  Okay, okay, a sheep-goat hybrid is what happens when a goat and sheep consummate their union.  On a field. In the dead of the night.  Or in the middle of the day.  Same result.  Happy now?

I am almost afraid to ask the goat (if it was the 'guy') what he said to her (the sheep) wey she come 'gree' for him.  Toasting that works! Mr. Goat, I hail you o.  *winks*

Actually, a Geep is a chimera, i.e., the result of  "combining the embryos of a goat and a sheep."

Instead of being happy, this discovery freaked me out. Why?

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How Not To Be A Cud-Chewing Goat

How Not To Be A Cud-Chewing Goat

Goat: A four-legged animal with hoofs that holds an endless fascination for me, Relentless.  That's our working definition.  And just in case you have never seen a goat in your life, please refer to the picture above (minus the obvious smirk).

One thing I learnt (that's not the only thing I learnt o) in secondary school was that there were certain differences between ruminants and non-ruminants. Of particular note is the fact that ruminants ruminate, i.e. they chew the cud and non-ruminants don't.  A goat is a ruminant, therefore, it 'chews the cud.'  It also has 4 stomachs: rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum.

What on earth is the cud? It's the undigested food that the goat regurgitates and chews again. For the purpose of this blog post, that is all you need to know.  Just in case all this goat talk has stirred a desire to explore the cud-chewing process, you can read more here.

So, why is any of this important?

Well, I am glad you asked.  You see, those four parts of the stomach I mentioned, are actually the shaki (tripe) that some of us use to cook vegetable soup.  And other things.  But that's not my point.

My gripe is with the chewing of the cud.

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Favorite Superbowl Commercial: Moose the Doritos-eating goat is (not) for sale

Favorite Superbowl Commercial: Moose the Doritos-eating goat is (not) for sale

His name is Moose.  He is a goat.  And he loves eating Doritos.

From the very first day I watched this commercial, I loved it.  And I am glad it won.

Moose the Goat // Facebook

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Said the Squirrel: "Many hotdogs are within you"

Said the Squirrel: "Many hotdogs are within you"

[Image Source]

Have you seen the new Pepto Bismol advertisement? What?! You mean you didn't know that Pepto Bismol now comes in a handy pocket size? Goodness.  We have to fix that.  Well, you don't have to hoist that bottle of pink around with you anymore.  Oh no.  It is now portable.  I'll keep quiet now, and let the squirrel do the talking.  

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Why You Absolutely Must Make Friends With Donkeys

Why You Absolutely Must Make Friends With Donkeys

I live in the South, and there are several farms in this area.  Recently, I heard a story about a farmer that made me wonder.  The characters in the story are: the farmer, some cows, a donkey, and a nameless predator.  Okay, I will name the predator in the next paragraph.

Singing Donkey // Pinterest

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Lessons from Kuye, a Yoruba novel by J.F. Odunjo | Featured Artiste: Faith Yebo

Lessons from Kuye, a Yoruba novel by J.F. Odunjo | Featured Artiste: Faith Yebo

[Image Credit]

Sometime last week, I suddenly remembered this book we had to read in JSS something (1 or 2). It was for our Yoruba class (No, don't tune out yet;  Just wait) and it was called KUYE by J. F. Odunjo (the same man who wrote Alawiye). For all you academic types, the full name of the book is Kuye: Itan omo odi ti eda ro pin / lati owo.

Apart from the intriguing story line (which I cannot remember clearly), I learnt 2 things from that book:

1.  Yoruba Curse Words:   Yes, you read that correctly.  I learnt how to curse in Yoruba.  Not that I didn't know some curse words already (Remember I mentioned that people learn the bad things first when learning a language).  However, the curse words in Kuye were very ... DEEP! They were some real 'ijinle' curse words.  I decided against sharing the specific words because I do NOT recommend repeating them.

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Do Fish Sleep | Featured Artiste(s): Stage One

Do Fish Sleep | Featured Artiste(s): Stage One

[Picture from HERE]

About 2 weeks ago, some folks told me they were going to buy fish and I responded with a question: Do fish sleep?  Please don't ask me where that came from.  I have no clue, but I realized I did not know the answer.  So I decided to joke about it.  I decided that fish sleep and that my only proof was this:

Some of the disciples were fishing at night and caught nothing ALL NIGHT.  Yup! And they caught NOTHING until Jesus showed up.  You know the rest of the story (Read John 21).  

I decided that the disciples were fishing at night because the fish were asleep and so there would be little or no resistance, thereby making the fishermen's job easier.  (Random thought: Have you ever tried "Cow-tipping" before? My quick definition: Cow-tipping is the act of pushing cows over while they are sleeping at night so that they land with a mighty thud. I should put it on my bucket list ... when I make one.  BUT cows don't sleep standing up. What a bummer!)

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