Bought THREE copies today of _The Handy Weather Answer Book_ by Walter A. Lyons, fellow of the American Meteorological Society (now on a large sale at Borders). Two are gifts, and one is for our pleasure since it is a fascinating read. Found on page 42 a story about sounds which drive our ferrets crazy when on nature programs (though not as bonkers as otter kits sounds make them): "Meteorolgy has some pretty strange stories ... oceanography has one of the most embarrassing ones ... For decades ... [the Swedish Government] ... complained about detecting submarines from some 'world power' cruising dangerously close to their coastlines. Turns out what Swedish sonar operators were tracking were the squeals and squeaks of mink -- who love to frolic and mate in shallow coastal waters. No apology was offered to the Russians." [Posted in FML issue 3023]