Well, my friends and family back in the midwest USA had stormy weather yesterday.  Although there was no tornadic activity in the vicinity of where they live, many other places were not as fortunate.  In fact at least 14 people died in the storms.  Here is some information about tornadoes:

Interesting Tornado Facts

Each year, about a thousand tornadoes touch down in the United States, far more than any other country.

Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over a body of water.

A strong tornado can pick up a house and move it down the block.

Nebraska, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas make up Tornado alley, where tornadoes strike regularly in the spring and early summer.

Many houses in tornado alley have strong basement shelters.

Some people have seen inside a tornado with their own eyes lived to tell about it.

Knives and forks have been found embedded in tree trunks flung from a tornado.

Usually a tornado starts off as a white or gray cloud but if it stays around for a while, the dirt and debris it sucks up eventually turns it into black one.

3 out of every 4 tornadoes in the world happen in the United States.

Thunderstorms most likely to give birth to Tornadoes are called supercells.

Tornado winds are the fastest winds on Earth.

A Tornado in Oklahoma once destroyed a whole motel. People later found the motel’s sign in Arkansas.

A Tornado can sometimes hop along its path. It can destroy one house and leave the house next door untouched.

In 1928, a tornado in Kansas plucked the feathers right off some chickens.

In 1931 a tornado in Mississippi lifted an 83 ton train and tossed it 80 feet from the track.

The United States have an average of 800 tornadoes every year.

Each year, dozens of Americans die from tornadoes.

Usually, a tornado’s color matches the color of the ground.

Some tornadoes make a considerable amount of noise while others make very little. It depends on the objects a tornado might hit or carry. A tornado moving along an open plain may make very little noise.

Some people think the crop circles in the UK are the result of weak whirlwinds. About 60 of these small tornadoes are formed every year in Britain.

SOUTH AFRICAN FUN FACTS

Haven't posted anything recently from the South Africa - The Good News website, but here are a few miscellaneous fun facts:

Miscellaneous

• South Africa has 11 official, state wide, languages, more than any other country.
• The only street in the world to house 2 Nobel Peace Prize winners is in Soweto. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu both have houses in Vilakazi Street, Orlando West. SA ranks 7th in terms ofnumber of Nobel Peace prizes. (Economist).
• Two of the world’s most profoundly compassionate philosophies originated in South Africa – Ubuntu (the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity) and Gandhi’s notion of "Passive resistance" (Satyagraha), which he developed while living in South Africa.
• The Western Deep Level mines are the world’s deepest mines at approaching 4km.
• South Africa houses one of the three largest telescopes in the world at Sutherland in the Karoo.
• South Africa is the first, and to date only, country to build nuclear weapons and then voluntarily dismantleits entire nuclear weapons programme.
• SA ranks 12th in terms of beer consumption (China 1; USA 2; Russia 3; Brazil 4 and Germany 5).
• SA has 45 million active cell phones (population 49 million) – ranking in the top 5 globally in terms of cell phone coverage.
• SA has 66 colour TV’s per 100 households, 9 telephone lines per 100 population and 90 mobile telephone subscribers per 100 population. (Economist).
• 2 Cape Town restaurants are in the top 50 restaurants in the world according to the S.Pellegrino Worlds 50 Best Restaurants list 2010. La Colombe restaurant in Constantia, Cape Town, was voted the 12th best andLe Quartier Francais in Franschhoek came in at 31
• South Africa has 8.5 computers per 100 population (UK 80, Spain 40,South Korea 47 and USA 80). (Economist).
• SA ranks 31st in terms of internet users per 1000 population. (Economist).
• SA ranks 16th in terms of cinema visits per 1000 population. (Economist).
• South Africa does not feature on the "brain drain" list of 20 countries. (Economist).
• 

I received some nice pics from my KC friends of a few of the fountains on the Country Club Plaza.  From what I hear it was a beautiful Easter morning there.  I am adding a little info about the fountains that I found on the KC fountain web site.  Hope you enjoy.

This fountain is the best-known and most-photographed of all of the city's fountains. It is located at the east entrance to the popular Country Club Plaza district. The figures were sculpted by Henri Greber in 1910 and adorned the mansion of Clarence Mackay in Long Island, NY. Over the years the fountain was vandalized and eleven parts were missing. The Nichols family initiated the purchase and installation which was funded by the family, the city and private contributions including a collection by school children in the Kansas City area. It was brought to Kansas City in 1951 and refurbished by Herman Frederick Simon and dedicated in 1960. The J. C. Nichols Memorial Fountain has four heroic horsemen which are said to represent the four rivers of the world: the Mississippi River (the Indian riding the horse and beating off an alligator), the Volga River (with the bear), the Seine and the Rhine. 

The Boy and Frog Fountain is an original bronze and Verona marble fountain by Raffaello Romanelli. On the base is a faun on a dolphin. The bowl & pedestal are rose colored Verona Marble. Purchased in 1929 in Florence, Italy, this fountain has impressed and amused visitors to the Plaza. 

This wall fountain is one of three, which was inspired by the Alhambra Court of Lions fountain in Seville, Spain. This black volcanic stone lion is emerging from its decorative niche on the wall.

The Neptune Fountain on the Plaza is a favorite. Miller Nichols purchased the 8,000-pound cast lead fountain for its weight in scrap metal. It was found on the top of a train car full of scrap metal by workmen at a salvage company. Installed in the 1950's, the Roman god of the sea moves in his chariot pulled by three attributes, the trident, dolphin and sea horse. The fountain originally came from the Bromsgrove Guild, Worcestershire, England in 1911

News from earlier this week was the short lived escape of 7 chimps from the Kansas City Zoo.  My mom, brother and some friends were there recently, but not this day of the chimps big adventure.  The story from the local paper:

One of them either found or broke off a 5- or 6-foot log or branch, leaned it against a wall and clambered to the top. Then that chimpanzee — the “ringleader,” persuaded six friends to join him.

At one point, three of the seven chimps went over the wall into an area accessible only to zoo employees. Well before then, however, the zoo had activated its emergency protocols, which included gathering visitors into locked and secure areas.

The breakout happened about 3:30 p.m., and it took about an hour for zookeepers to herd the animals, in groups of two or three, back into their enclosure.

The chimps were lured with fruit and greens such as carrots, celery and lettuce, their usual feed.

But for the last reluctant animal, zookeepers brought out a bag of malted milk balls.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/04/10/4951136/chimps-on-the-loose-at-kc-zoo.html#storylink=cpy

Okay, I heard from a good friend that I really missed the boat by not checking out the Pigwich Sandwich shop before I left.  It's part of  The Local Pig, a butcher shop that specializes in organic meats and specialty sausages.  My friend raved about the Philly Cheeseteak.  I myself always like a great burger, so that is what my choice would be if I went there.  Here's a menu and link:

http://www.thelocalpig.com/

KANSAS CITY FOUNTAIN DAY

The 2nd Tuesday of April is designated Kansas City Fountain Day.  On that day, the 48 public fountains spring back to life after the cold winter hiatus.   With over 200 fountains throughout the city, Kansas City brags only Rome has more fountains.

Below is a picture of one of the beautiful fountains - The Meyer Circle Seahorse Fountain.  It is in the middle of a roundabout on Ward Parkway.

Check out more fountains at:  http://www.kcfountains.com/