DAILY DIRT: Those six sleek swans sure swam swiftly southward, didn’t they?

Daily Dirt for Monday, May 19, 2025

And what about those crammed clams in a cleam cream can? … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,288 of The Daily Dirt.1.

1. As a child, remember how challenging those tongue twisters were?

As an adult, they’re just as tough. Trust me.Give the following tongue twisters a try and see what you think:

How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?

This one seems easy on paper, but saying it more than three times fast is a real challenge.

Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery.

Just be thankful Rory and Roger did not have a third brother.

Six sleek swans swam swiftly southward.

Ahh, one for the more poetically inclined.

Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks.

Is this one somehow tied to Larry Bird. (You know, The Hick from French Lick … )

Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie.

Actually, this one is probably the easiest of the bunch to repeat.

Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons—balancing them badly

Since it’s longer than most tongue twisters, it becomes doubly tough because it will probably require extra time to memorize it correctly.

Thirty-three thirsty, thundering thoroughbreds thumped Mr. Thurber on Thursday

All of those “th” sounds are brutal.

2. Did you know (Part 367)

That there are only four words in the English language that end in “dous”: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous and hazardous.

That the characters Bert and Ernie on “Sesame Street” were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

That you can now get a headstone with a QR code. Called “Living Headstones,” they show pages with photos, video biographies and comments from loved ones.– That some lipsticks contain fish scales.– That an animal’s yawn is based on the size of its brain. The bigger the brain, the longer it will yawn. I have a hu-u-u-uge yawn.

3. Food for thought

About 150,000 die every day around the globe. That means in the amount of time it took you to read that sentence, roughly 19 people died.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — You’re not allowed to swear when playing tennis at Wimbledon. As a result, line judges have to learn curse words in virtually every language.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Did John McEnroe really never swear at Wimbledon?