Monday, April 18, 2016

Local Warming

"Camel-a-lot"--Monday, 4/18/16

Today's outfit is a last minute switch up as the forecast last night changed from 64 F and raining (what it said on Saturday) to 79 and partly cloudy (in reality: mostly sunny).  Good thing I'd done some outfit prep on Saturday because 79 is...well, that is crazy warm for mid-April.

So let's get to it.

This Reverse Inspiration player is wearing a foxy fall version of my outfit.  I can understand why she wanted to buy all the animal sweaters; so cute, no?

From fashionindie.com

I like the combination of this subtly goofy camel print top with a bold color.  Today I went with these purple (blurple) pants.


Sleeveless camel blouse (Kohls), $4.15/wear
Purple pants (JCP), $3.20/wear
Short-sleeved black cardigan (thrifted, the Limited), $0.83/wear
Double strand pearls (Macy's), $5.75/wear
Black pointy-toed flats (Nordstrom), $2.38/wear

Outfit total: $16.31/wear

In other news...Did you know this strange historical camel fact?

In March 1855, the US Congress passed the Shield Amendment, a bizarre bill which provided $30,000 for the War Department to buy camels. The idea was to use them in the deserts of the American Southwest. Thirty-three dromedaries, as well as three Arabic and two Turkish trainers, were taken to Camp Verde, Texas, where they surveyed roads and explored the Big Bend. Eventually, they went to Fort Tejon, California, where they carried supplies and military dispatches. They even served as pack animals in the Civil War, and 80 of them were captured by Confederate troops. However, soldiers eventually got sick of the camels’ bad smell and worse tempers, and they were released into the wilderness.

How about this biological one?

Wild Bactrians only live in two places on the planet. Some are located in Mongolia’s Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area (which, by the way, is strictly protected) while the rest live on the Arjin Shan Lop Nur nature reserve in China’s Xinjiang province. This is pretty impressive considering the Chinese tested their nukes there in the ’50s. It’s basically an irradiated wasteland, but the camels don’t mind. Wild Bactrians also have kidneys that’d make any rock star jealous. There isn’t much fresh water in these regions, so these guys get by slurping from salty springs. That’s right—these camels drink saltwater. Even domesticated Bactrians won’t touch the stuff.

Or this literary one?  (Mom, how would you like to work for that library?

Formed by the Kenya National Library Service in 1996, the Camel Mobile Library provides books to students and adults in hard-to-reach places. Camels are well suited for the arid landscape, and they can haul quite a few paperbacks. Monday through Thursday, librarians set out with three camels apiece. The first camel hauls two boxes full of books, 200 in each. The second totes a tent, and the third carries anything else the librarian might need. The libraries visit 12 locations (which are always different as their patrons are nomadic), where they find children eagerly waiting to check out new books. The librarians set the books out on mats, and let the children take two apiece. Then they pack their wares and set off the next location, promising to return in two weeks.

Visit this site for more information on these camel facts and others!

4 comments:

Debbie said...

I knew only the history one. My mom liked some movie about it when I was a kid. After googling, my best guess is that the movie is called "Hawmps" (1976):

Sally said...

...which is possibly the strangest movie title I've ever heard!

Mom said...

What an interesting bookmobile! Luckily in this country we don't have to rely on stinky camels to have bookmobiles.

Sally said...

Indeed. You don't have to be like, Well, I'd like to work as a mobile librarian serving the community but I'm not sure I can handle riding and sometimes being bitten by a mean, stinky camel.