ROBERT SCHNECK: Is that an olm in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me

Pick up a coin and what do you see? George Washington? Elizabeth Windsor? Maybe (shudder) Sacajawea? Boring, boring, boring. In Slovenia, where they appreciate a good slimy creature, their ten cent piece featured the white blind aquatic cave salamander called the olm (I'm too lazy to etomolygize it, but wonder if "olm" is
related to "orm" as in the GREAT ORM OF LOCH NESS?).

As nearly as I can tell, the olm got kicked off the coin when Slovenia adopted the Euro, but maybe after that project craps out, olms will once more be found in the pockets and vending machines of Slovenia.

It's believed that olms can live up to one-hundred years, though why they bother is anyone's guess.

Once again, I stole this story from Ugly Overload.
http://uglyoverload.blogspot.com/