Random question- why do apostrophes appear where they don’t belong, and don’t appear where they should? Not completely operator error (though operator laziness does contribute to the absence of apostrophes in many of my contractions).
Because i’ts you’r fault. I’ts operator error – nothing else. If you are relying on autocorrect, do’nt.
Thank’s. Thats’ very helpful 
Random question.
D flew out of our nearby airport yesterday. On the way to the gate, she dropped/lost a small wallet containing her driver’s license and 2 credit cards. Luckily she was able to get on the plane using other forms of ID she had in her purse. She had called me (crying of course) to tell me she had lost the wallet, but I was not home and hadn’t talked to H about it yet. Before I had a chance to let H know, he got a call from a trooper at the airport asking if he knew D, and that they had found certain pieces of ID belonging to her. D only just recently moved back to our state, and got her new driver’s license a week ago. She doesn’t live with us and nothing in her wallet, besides her last name, connects her to us. She had not filed a claim through lost and found at the airport.
How did the trooper know to call our home phone? Or was it a lucky guess? Or did he just start calling numbers from the phone book?
Side note, H had forgotten that D was travelling and was rather unnerved to say the least, when he got that phone call!!!
ETA, of course it was H that got the wallet from the trooper while I waited in the car…I don’t know why he didn’t ask all the pertinent questions, ie, where did you find it? did someone turn it in? how did you know to call us? Ugh.
It might be as simple as him knowing her name and address and driver’s license number. The driver’s license number will give him all sorts of info (does she own a gun, hunting license, etc.) and maybe it connects him to her known family members. On a sad note, they have to contact family members in case someone is in an accident, so it makes sense for them to have this info.
Even the general public has access to that sort of info. Do a Google search on your own name and you can see that there are databases that list people that you are related to, such as your spouse and kids. They are remarkably accurate.
Huh. Will you look at that. Guess I’m more naïve than I give myself credit for!
Speaking of tracking down people, I got an invitation to my 50th elementary school graduation (we were the first graduating class at the newly opened school). I don’t know how my classmate got my married name and current address. I’m not in contact with anyone from back then, not on social media, and my mother hasn’t lived in that neighborhood in 21 years. It’s a little disconcerting that we can be tracked down so easily.
Random question – actually, two:
- Do vegans eschew using products that have down and feathers in them, like comforters and coats?
- Are geese and ducks killed in order to get their down and feathers, or just plucked?
My kids are troopers. You’d be amazed at the amount of info they can obtain in very short order. I agree though, much is available to the general public with a little digging.
I"m one of those people who has tons of random, odd questions. I love learning new things too. Google and I are best friends 
The tennis ball question reminded me of a question I’ve been wanting to ask. I have gotten into the habit of using a lot of those pre-moistened cleaning wipes with and without bleach for quick bathroom cleaning. I’ve been using them for years, but for the past few months have noticed a disturbing problem. The dried residue of the cleaning solution on the toilet turns yellow. When I first saw it I was grossed out because I thought it was urine. But there was a lot and I have no boys who use that bathroom and D is very neat. Then I noticed there were yellow spots on the tile floors too, and on my own toilet and so I knew then it was not urine. Has anyone else had this issue? I am thinking they changed the formulation, or it’s interacting with another cleaning product but can’t imagine what.
The geese and ducks are just plucked. Still, many people think it is cruel and don’t buy feather and down products for that reason. Vegans vary in how strictly they interpret “animal products”. Most wouldn’t buy leather, but down and feathers is a more gray area.
A strict vegan would not touch any animal product regardless of how much harm was done to the animal. This means even things like honey are out. So are feathers/down/wool.
@TheGFG I don’t use those wipes, but I have seen cleaning products turn toilet seats yellow. I am not sure what the ingredient is that causes this.
My question is on tire blowouts. I was just passing a car when the other driver’s tire blew out. It scared me so much that I pulled over and looked for damage to my own vehicle. The wheel well was cracked. Was her tire blowout strong enough to damage my car? We must have been 3’ from each other when it happened. Of course she didn’t have insurance and some guy began asking me if I’d buy HER a new tire. I turned around and hightailed it out of the “bad part of town.”
Hard to believe that the escaping air pressure from her tire would be enough unless your tire was already ready to fail on its own, but it’s possible that whatever caused her blowout (or some other sharp debris on the road) could have been blown into yours.
I use Clorox or Lysol wipes all the time in bathroom and kitchen and I’ve never had any yellowing.
OK, new random question:
When we go to the grocery store, we get a cart from the front of the store. When we’re done, we leave it in the parking lot – either a designated area or just any old place. Why don’t we grab the carts from the parking lot? Why do we need the guy to go around and gather them? Do we think the carts in the front of the store are somehow cleaner than the ones in the parking lot?
Curious minds want to know.
I usually get one from the parking lot unless it’s been raining, at which time I hope to score a dry cart inside the store.
Considering that a substantial number of people can’t be bothered to walk 15 extra feet to put the empty cart in the corral in the parking lot, I think the cart guy (or gal) is inevitable.
@VeryHappy, I usually shop at Publix where the baggers walk my cart to my car and unload it. There aren’t many cart corrals in the parking lot and I don’t often pass one on the way into the store. Inside, I can grab a couple of the provided wet wipes and wipe my hands and the cart handle before using it. There are also UV lights in the store lobby that are supposed to disinfect the carts stored nearby. I don’t know how effective they might be, but I do like using the wipes.
I like the wipes too, but too often in my store the container is empty.