<img src="/images/issues/2006/0505/strange0505.gif"> <BR>
DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK <p>Q. My visiting aunt became
concerned that the kids on the swingset were going too high and
might swing all the way around... like she did as a kid. We
don't believe her story. She insists she did a complete 360
around the top bar. Would it be possible for a kid to gain the
momentum to do that? –R. L. Stevenson</p> Q. If alcohol can turn
a man into a beast, what does it do to the beasts? –J. Daniels
A. Insects feeding on wine grapes in vineyards can become
intoxicated on the fermentations, reports Ronald K. Siegel in
Intoxication: Life in Pursuit of Artificial Paradise. *
Bumblebees, hornets and wasps will lose their coordination and
become temporarily grounded after ingesting fermented fruits. *
In earlier times, illegal stills were sometimes traced by the
trail of tipsy livestock that had sniffed out the mash. *
African villagers have been known to rid themselves of rodents
by leaving out bowls of milk and beer, t