SURE, SUHR

Many years ago -- 70, 75 -- there was a first baseman for the then San Francisco Seals baseball team by the name of Gussie Suhr (pronounced ‘sewer’).  These days the Police Chief in San Francisco is Greg Suhr (pronounced ‘sir’).

John Madden, in his morning sports talk said he wondered if the two were related, and if so, why the change in pronunciation?  The radio announcers said they didn’t know, but would try to look it up.  Maybe one of the listeners would call in and let them know.  Sure enough, a listener did call in -- the police chief himself!  Yes, old Gussie was a distant relative.  Why the change in pronunciation?  The chief responded with, “Did you ever go to grammar school with the name ‘sewer’?”  ‘Nuff said.

PUZZLEMENT

There was an item in the paper the other day about the dramatic increase in calls from motorists who have run out of gas.  It seems that with the price of gas over $4 a gallon, there are motorists who are reluctant to pull into a gas station, and spend all that money.  But they keep driving, and, guess what -- cars don’t run on empty.

Pardon me, but I don’t get it.  If one must drive, one is required to make the vehicle drivable.  My own strategy is to gas up when the tank is half empty.  That way I pay only half as much per fill.  Yes, I know, I fill twice as often.  But I’m not running out of gas!

Fun --

UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS

Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter:
Eskimo Pi

2000 pounds of Chinese soup:
Won ton

1 millionth of a mouthwash:
1 microscope

Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement:
1 bananosecond

Weight an evangelist carries with God:
1 billigram