HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!

I hope you're wearing green! If not, you'll get pinched! Here are some facts about St. Patty's Day!

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 33.1 million Americans are of Irish descent -- almost 10 times the population of Ireland, 3.8 million. Here's bit more information on the Irish for St. Patrick's Day:

St. Patrick's Day is not party time but a solemn religious holiday in Ireland, which has only about 30 parades nationwide that day.

The world's first St. Patrick's Day parade stepped off in New York City on March 17, 1762.
It was staged by Irish soldiers serving in the British army, to celebrate their heritage.

It's not true that St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland, as popular legend claims. But he did convert most of the Irish from paganism to Christianity by the time he died in 461.

Watch who you're calling Paddy: Some Irish consider this an insult. The name sprang up in the mid-1800s, when the Irish were among America's most abused immigrants. It's where we get "paddy wagon," the police vehicle that hauled people to jail.

"Leprechaun" is based on an Old Irish word literally meaning "small body." They're a mischievous race of elves that are compelled to give up their hidden gold to anyone who catches them. According to one leprechaun story, an Irish gentleman caught a leprechaun, who took him to a bush under which his gold was buried. To mark the spot, the man tied a red handkerchief to the bush before running home to get a shovel. When he returned to the area, he found that the tricky leprechauns had tied red handkerchiefs to every bush in the field.

"May these who love us, love us. And those that don't love us, may God turn their hearts. And if He doesn't turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles, so we'll know them by their limping." -- Irish toast.

GET HIGH ON GIRLS!

Scientists have found that ogling shapely women gives men the same high they'd get from drugs or alcohol. When guys check out a sexy hourglass figure, a part of their brain triggers a feeling of "reward." But super skinny gals just don't spark the same reaction, say researchers at Georgia Gwinnett College, who wired up men to brain scan machines and showed them photos of a variety of women.

Izzy's new Anit-Drug Slogan: "Don't get high! Look at Thighs!"er's new Anti-Drug Slogan:"Don't get grass, get A$$!" class="image_block">