asparagus, tents, and bears

Today I learned that:

1. It says here that if you don't want your thick asparagus spears all mushy inside, you should peel them before you cook them, like with a potato peeler. That sounds like a great recommendation for either mushy or thin asparagus spears.

2. If you want, you can buy a tent that needs 100 stakes. I don't think that'll help a lot if you want to have a sleepover in your parents' back yard, but this is America, where bigger is better, so you know you need that tent that requires 100 stakes.

3. In those peaceful zoo enclosures where they have more than one kind of animal, sometimes the animals have dinner together, but not like you'd hope.