Xett Wstit

[bigthickcrunchy]

If you unscramble that, you'd know that the title of this update is "Text Twist." It's not every day that reading the dictionary pays dividends, but with the help of Craig Getting the top score, CrgKv now sits at the top of the leaderboard on Michelle's computer (61,000+ points!) so congratulations to Craig and myself, and I'd like to reiterate a happy birthday to Michelle.

So, after a dropped piece of pizza (cutting my lip open, staining your rug - call it even?), a birthday paddle, Texas Hold 'em, a dangerous stairs game (which I have yet to test headfirst), a sleeping bag sack race marred by controversy, and a game of Life, I woke up this morning at about 10 and I've been organizing coins since. Yeah, I had a giant container full of coins, and I organized them into pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. This is what my life has become. So what I did for all of you is dug up a list of fun facts I'll bet you didn't know about coins. Enjoy.

• Lincoln is the only president on a coin who faces right. However, on the new dollar coin Sacagawea faces right, as did Susan B. Anthony on the old dollar coin.
• Although words on the coins say that the penny is worth "one cent" and the nickel is worth "five cents," the dime simply says that it is worth "one dime."
• The half-cent was issued from 1793 to 1857, and the twenty-cent piece was issued from 1875 to 1878. There has never been a four-cent piece, though a two-cent piece (1864-1873) and a three-cent piece (1851-1873, 1865-1889) are among discontinued U.S. coins.
• During the last 500 years, there have been six different recipes for making pennies. The first ones were large coins made of pure copper. Today's pennies are mostly zinc, though they are plated with copper.
• Circulating coins last about 25 years. Paper bills, however, last an average of only about 18 months.
• Kennedy has appeared on the half-dollar since 1964. Eisenhower appeared on the dollar coin from 1971 to 1978. Roosevelt appears on the dime.
• A numismatist is the name given to a person that collects coins.
• The image on the reverse ("tails" side) of a U.S. coin always appears upside down. No one is sure how or why this practice began, but it has been continued by tradition for more than two centuries.

And, now on to the word of the day. If you unscramble the letters CHUPNAY, what word can you make?

paunch·y (pônch-ee) adj. : having a protruding abdomen or belly