Sunday Newscape Magazine

At this time of year, I like to consider the things for which I am thankful.

I am thankful for my memory, which - though seemingly as full of holes as Swiss cheese these days - is still intact enough for me to remember not to end my sentences with a preposition. This grammatical giftedness is a result of my education, another thing for which I am truly thankful.

To realize that your particular take on the world is only one of millions of interpretations is a humbling experience. The way you see a situation, the feelings you have about a person, the beliefs that you’ve adopted are no more right or wrong than anyone else’s - yes, even the person you believe is dead wrong! It’s just your take.

“Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy being with family, not to be in bed with the flu,” said Sharon Stanley, chief nurse of the American Red Cross. “You can follow easy tips to try and avoid becoming ill over the upcoming holiday.”

A suite of five ancient crocs, including one with teeth-like boar tusks and another with a snout like a duck’s bill, have been discovered in the Sahara by University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno. The five fossil crocs, three of them newly named species, are remains of a bizarre world of crocs that inhabited the southern land mass known as Gondwana some 100 million years ago.

They were in a deep sleep, yet sounds, such as a teakettle whistle and a cat's meow, somehow penetrated their slumber.

The 25 sounds presented during the nap were reminders of earlier spatial learning, though the Northwestern University research participants were unaware of the sounds as they slept.