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Born in a Year of the Dog, you are honest, loyal, eccentric, & stubborn
The Chinese New Year officially begins on Sunday. Since there are about 1,306,313,812 Chinese in China alone and their economy is growing about 9% a year, which is practically the speed of light in economic growth terms, we thought we would wish them well. On the Chinese calendar, it will be 4703, the Year of the Dog, which is supposed to be a lucky year. Here are more details about the Year of the Dog, dogs in China, and dogs generally.
- If you were born in a Year of the Dog, you are honest, loyal, eccentric, and stubborn. Here are the other Years of the Dog of the past century: 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, and 1994. I wasn’t born in any of those years, but I have all of the above qualities of a Dog Year guy. Maybe I was born in the Year of the Doggone. (Or else my parents didn’t tell me the truth about my birth date. Hmmm.)
- The late Chairman Mao Zedong outlawed dogs as pets in China claiming they were a bourgeois pastime. Now dogs are making a big comeback as family pets. (So now dogs are only bowwowgeois?)
- Marriages are expected to double in China next year because many couples put off their nuptials from the current Year of the Rooster until they could be married in the more fortuitous Year of the Dog.
- Here in the U.S., a recent survey suggested that dog fanciers would be willing to take a 5% pay cut if they could take their dogs to work with them.
- The online forum Dogster estimates that about 400 firms have dog-friendly work environments. Most of the companies have fewer than 50 employees, but several are large and prominent, including Amazon.com and Google. (Barkle? Droolgle?)
- The American Pet Products Association estimates that 44 million American households, or roughly half, have dogs for pets.
- A Korean company called Daun has designed an infrared doggie drying room for pet owners who find that human blow dryers give their dogs skin rashes. When the dog steps inside, infrared radiation not only dries the animal’s fur but it also warms the skin. (Nice, but put a lock on that radiation regulator or it will be hot dogs for dinner.)
- Did you know that dogs are pioneering the research into suspended animation? Really. Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh have replaced the blood in dogs’ veins with a solution of cold brine infused with glucose and oxygen until the dogs were clinically dead – with no heartbeat and no brain activity – and then revived them several hours later with no visible damage to the dogs’ systems. (“Sit, Zombie, sit.”)
from
"Wells Fargo Daily Advantage" <service@wellsfargo.rsc03.com>
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