n Australia, a scientist put a Big Mac in a desk drawer and left it in there for a year to test the preservatives. When he pulled it out a year later, there was not a speck of mould on it. The only only thing different was that the buns were hard. He then microwaved it with a cup of water and ate it.

Why are those gossip-hunting spies called eavesdroppers? It is because in Middle English, the water that falls from the eaves of a house was called eavesdrop, and eavesdropper was first used to describe someone who would stand close to a house in order to hear what was going on inside.

The Catholic Herald, published in Great Britain, warms about the dangers of drinking holy water from religious shrines. While it may have curative powers in a religious sense, it seems that it also is a breeding ground for germs.

New sales contracts on existing homes fell sharply in May after a federal subsidy for buyers expired at the end of April, a trade group reported Thursday.

The pending home sales index plunged 30% in May after rising 23% between January and April, the National Association of Realtors reported. The index, which measures signed sales contracts on previously owned homes, was down 15.9% compared with the same month a year ago. The pending home sales index is a leading indicator for sales of existing homes, which are recorded at the time of the closing.

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.57 percent Freddie Mac reports. That's down just a hundredth of a percentage point from average rate, but it marks the third consecutive week of record-setting lows for the most popular type of home loan. Freddie Mac has been tracking this rate for 39 years.

The 5/1 hybrid loans that are fixed for five years and then convert to an annual rate-adjustment schedule also hit a new low, 3.75 percent. Freddie started tracking that series in 2005.

Mortgages fixed for 15 years rose to 4.07 percent from last week's 4.04 percent. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages pegged to the Treasury index averaged 3.75 percent this week, down from last week's 3.8 percent.

The amount of up-front interest, called points, has remained steady for many weeks, averaging 0.7 point for each type of mortgage. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount, and a loan with higher points typically carries a lower interest rate.

Mosquitoes are an all too familiar summer nuisance. They are not only annoying, but they present potential health hazards as transmitters of diseases such as encephalitis, malaria, West Nile virus and yellow fever in humans and heartworm to pets.

With the heavy rains and flooding in the month of June, Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department is reminding area residents of mosquito control on their properties.

There are positive steps homeowners can take to reduce the menace since many generations of mosquitoes can breed right in their own yards.

• Spray mosquitoes’ roosting areas.

• Follow a regular spraying program.

• Spray where mosquitoes rest during the heat of the day–in the cool leafy shade of shrubs, bushes, vines, flowers and tall grass and weeds.

• Spray sheltered surfaces outside such as eaves, breezeways, garages and the ceilings and screens of porches.