Why you almost never see male calico cats. Only about 1 in every 3,000 calico cats is male. If you know anything about calico cats, it’s that they’re especially cute. If you know two things about them, the second might be that only about 1 in every 3,000 of them is male. The tricolor kitties — which are most often but not always white, orange, and black — get their distinct coat from their chromosomal makeup. Female cats have two X chromosomes, which carry the coding gene for black and orange coloration, and the only way for calico coloring to occur is for a kitten to get one black-coded X and one orange-coded X. The same is also true of tortoiseshell (tortie) cats, which are predominantly black and orange — and known for their “tortitude.” (The white patches in calicos, meanwhile, happen through a separate genetic process called piebalding, which produces areas of skin and fur without any pigment.) Though extremely rare, male calicos and torties do exist. This is usually the result of one of two conditions: chimerism or Klinefelter’s syndrome. The former occurs when two embryos fuse early in pregnancy, resulting in two different sets of DNA, while Klinefelter’s is the result of a male inheriting an extra X chromosome and therefore having XXY chromosomes. Making them even rarer is the fact that male calicos are almost always sterile, meaning it’s all but impossible to breed calicos — every one you see is an anomaly, and all the more special for it. Calicos are considered good luck. There’s a reason that maneki-neko are so often depicted as calicos: They’re considered good luck. The “beckoning cat” figurines found throughout Japan and at Japanese and Chinese establishments around the world are intended as tokens of good fortune, with one of their paws raised high in a waving motion. This dates back to the tradition of Japanese sailors traveling with calicos to bring about safe passage — the multicolored cats were believed to be able to chase away storms and ancestral ghosts. In the United States and England, meanwhile, male calicos are considered especially lucky because of their rarity. #Animals, #Cats, #Calico,

On May 4, 1976. Young woman and her married lover arrested for killing her family. Patricia Columbo and Frank DeLuca are arrested for the brutal slaying of Columbo’s parents and brother in Elk Grove, Illinois. Twenty-year-old Columbo had left her family home two years earlier to live with DeLuca, a 36-year-old married man. The pair later killed Frank, Mary and Michael Columbo in order to receive the family inheritance, unaware that the Columbos had written Patricia out of their wills years earlier. As a 16-year-old, Columbo worked in a suburban coffee shop where she met pharmacist Frank DeLuca, who managed the pharmacy next door. He soon hired her to work in his store and the two began an unusual sexual relationship; Columbo showed classmates pictures of her having sex with DeLuca’s dog. In April 1974, DeLuca brought Columbo to stay in his own home, despite the fact that he still lived with his wife and five kids. Her parents were relieved when she later told them she was going to move into her own apartment, and even provided her with money. However, they soon learned that DeLuca had left his wife and moved in with their daughter, prompting Columbo’s father to beat DeLuca severely. On May 4, 1976, Patricia Columbo, then 19, and Frank DeLuca, 39, decided to carry out the plan themselves. They crept into the Columbo family home and shot Columbo’s parents. They then bludgeoned Mike with a bowling trophy and stabbed him nearly 100 times with scissors. Police questioned Patricia but had no reason to suspect her until the following week. Inspired by the promise of reward money, a friend led police to the men who had discussed killing the Columbo family with Patricia. After the couple was arrested, DeLuca’s employees revealed that they had seen him washing and burning bloodstained clothes on the day after the murders. Apparently, he had kept them silent by threatening their families. While in jail, DeLuca attempted to have these witnesses killed by a cellmate, but another inmate thwarted the plan by telling the police. The jury convicted Patricia Columbo and Frank DeLuca, and they were each sentenced to 200 to 300 years in prison. But Columbo managed to keep herself in the spotlight: In 1979, it was reported that she had assisted in organizing sex orgies involving guards and wardens at her prison in Dwight, Illinois. High-ranking officials at the prison, including the warden, were forced to resign in the wake of the scandal. #True Crime, #Murder, #Prison, #Sex,

Why cats were in WWI trenches. The Great War was such a difficult time, some soldiers sought out the assistance and comfort of four-legged friends — including cats, who were used in the trenches to boost morale. Dogs, homing pigeons, foxes, goats, lion cubs, and even raccoons also served their countries as pets and mascots throughout the “war to end all wars,” and some even carried out official duties. Cats did a bit of both: Though most kitties simply kept their compatriots in good spirits by providing them with loyal companionship (and fending off rats), some also used their heightened sense of atmospheric pressure to detect bombs in advance. Not all feline soldiers’ deeds have gone unnoticed. Among the 75 animals who have received the PDSA Dickin Medal, which was established in 1943 to honor the military service of animals, is a cat named Simon. He served aboard the HMS Amethyst from 1948 to 1949 and received the medal for “disposing of many rats though wounded by shell blast. Throughout the incident his behavior was of the highest order, although the blast was capable of making a hole over a foot in diameter in a steel plate.” In a newsreel of the ship returning home, Simon is rightly referred to as “a hero in his own right.” Cats who served in World War I 500,000 Animals who served in World War I 16 million Kittens produced by Dusty, a tabby cat born in 1935 420 Age of Creme Puff, the oldest known cat 38 Did you know? Calico cats are considered good luck. That’s the reason maneki-neko are so often depicted as calicos. The “beckoning cat” figurines found throughout Japan and at Japanese and Chinese establishments around the world are intended as tokens of good fortune, with one of their paws raised high in a waving motion. This dates back to the tradition of Japanese sailors traveling with calicos to bring about safe passage — the multicolored cats were believed to be able to chase away storms and ancestral ghosts. In the United States and England, meanwhile, male calicos are considered especially lucky because of their rarity.

Buzzing to Help the Environment This Earth Day? Turn Your Attention to the Bees. If you haven’t been noticing many bees in your backyard recently, you’re not alone: 2025 has been a tough year for the pollinators. Commercial beekeepers reported colony losses around 60% this year, and experts estimate hundreds of millions of bees have died in the U.S. since August. ​ “I’ve never seen anything like this — not the amount of losses,” Tom Babcock, a representative for the Maryland State Beekeepers Association, told WBOC. Why exactly is still unknown, with some researchers pointing to changing weather patterns, pests, and poor nutrition as reasons. But what’s certain is that although this is a large-scale problem, there are still many things we can all do on our balconies and in our backyards to help the humble heroes that pollinate 75% of U.S. fruits, vegetables, and nuts. ​ With Earth Day upon us, now is the perfect time to look after the busy buzzers in both big and small ways. The Department of Agriculture recommends planting native plants, avoiding (or eliminating) pesticides, and spreading the word.

Why scary movies may be good for your health. Watching a scary movie can burn as many calories as exercise. We're all familiar with the feelings that come with watching a fright flick — the sense of dread that engulfs us as a character enters a foreboding place, ominous music building, etc. According to a 2012 study commissioned by the video subscription service Lovefilm, these heart-pounding moments can do more than cause a good old-fashioned scare, however. Of the 10 movies tested, half caused participants to burn at least 133 calories, more than the amount used up by a 140-pound adult on a brisk 30-minute walk. Granted, this limited study was hardly robust enough to earn a write-up in a peer-reviewed journal. Yet the science behind the results is essentially valid, thanks to human hard-wiring that traces to when our primitive ancestors had good reason to fear the monsters lurking in the night. When exposed to a harrowing situation, our sympathetic nervous system triggers the "flight or fight" response, which sends adrenaline into the bloodstream, diverts blood and oxygen to muscles, and kicks heart activity into a higher gear. Add in the outwardly physical reactions often prompted by the scariest scenes, such as jumping back in your seat or instinctively reaching for a companion, and it's easy to see how sitting through The Shining (184 calories) or Jaws (161 calories) delivers results akin to sweating through a workout. There are other benefits to putting ourselves through this sort of simulated danger, including the release of endorphins and dopamine, which allows us to feel relaxed and fulfilled after "surviving" the events witnessed on screen. Of course, not everyone is a fan of the frightening imagery in The Exorcist (158 calories) or Alien (152 calories), and researchers caution that stress can outweigh the gains for people who are genuinely repulsed by these movies. If health is your goal and the sight of blood makes you queasy, you're better off rising from the couch and getting your legs moving instead of watching someone else flee the clutches of a zombie. Calories burned during the study's airing of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” 118 Competitive chess players can burn up to 6,000 calories per day during a tournament. If scary movies aren't your cup of tea and you want another creative way to burn calories, then competitive chess may be your ticket. According to Stanford University researcher Robert Sapolsky, a chess player can go through 6,000 calories a day over the course of a tournament, about three times the daily amount expended by the average person. The reasons are largely the same as those previously mentioned — the heightened tension of a high-stakes game forces bodies into a state of energy-consuming overdrive. However, the effects are magnified by the behavior of participants, who often skip meals and endure sleepless nights as they obsess over strategy. As a result, top players have taken to training like professional athletes to prepare for the grueling toll of tournaments. Norway's Magnus Carlsen, for example, partakes in an array of activities that include running, soccer, skiing, and yoga, a regimen that helped him reign supreme as the undisputed world chess champion from 2013 to 2023.