Uncle John’s Presents Mom’s Bathtub Reader (41 page)

Vital stats about moms around the world.

Around the world, the five countries with the lowest birthrates (births per thousand of population) were:

Around the world, the five countries with the highest birthrates were all developing nations:

You might be surprised! One essential of a good place for mothering is the likelihood of having a healthy baby.

In 2003, the ten countries with the lowest infant mortality rates per thousand live births were:

The six countries with highest life expectancy for moms (and dads) in 2002 were:

In 2002 Save the Children Foundation published the Mother’s Index comparing the well-being of mothers and children in 105 countries. Top-ranking countries have the best health care, nutrition, and education and lowest rates of infant mortality and deaths from childbirth. The three top-ranked countries were:

1. Switzerland

2. Canada

3. Norway

L
et’s see how closely you were reading . . . Can you find seven other celebrated moms and their equally famous offspring from fact and fiction. Happy puzzling!

Across

1
Follows relentlessly

5
Moroccans and Libyans, e.g.

10
Wedding helper

15
Corrida cries

19
Heaps

20
Mt. Everest locale

21
“Lovergirl” singer ___ Marie

22
Ward of “Once and Again”

23
Run without moving

24
Melanie Griffith’s mother

26
Vichyssoise veggie

27
This matter is settled

29
Become one

30
NASA concern

32
Just dumb

33
“Maybe” musical

34
Note after fa

35
Enters

37
“Deutschland ___ Alles”

38
Really lets have it

43
High degree

44
Bart, Lisa, and Maggie’s mother

48
Hard to find

49
___ end (finished)

51
Building wings

52
Marine eagle

53
52-Across’s grabber

54
Misty who played Marilyn in “Goodbye, Norma Jean”

55
Seed cover

56
“Battle Cry” author Leon

57
Some cigars

58
Victoria’s Secret specialty

60
Approximation words

61
Put a new handle on

62
Isabella Rossellini’s mother

66
Taiwan capital

70
“Saving Private Ryan” event

71
Find work

76
Charlotte ___, V.I.

77
Become a member of

78
Disk on the ice

79
Poor, as excuses go

80
Copier, briefly

81
French denials

82
Of the hipbone: Prefix

83
Hose hole

84
Exile isle

85
Gwyneth Paltrow’s mother

89
Bambi’s aunt

90
Arranges again, as food or hair

92
Little dent

93
Comedian-actor-writer Steve

95
Continent north of Afr.

96
Common Bible word for “strike”

98
Philosopher of dialectics

99
Put under

103
Classic toothpaste

104
They go back on their word

107
“___ bien!”

108
Liza and Lorna’s mother

111
Mideast money

112
Is under the weather

113
In flames

114
Davis of “Evening Shade”

115
Toaster waffle

116
Corn or Bible follower

117
Bear and Berra

118
Put one over on

119
Gorilla

Down

1
Oration station

2
Word often seen with “shoppe”

3
Kate Hudson’s mother

4
Beer-garden sights

5
Disappearing rooftop fixture

6
Roi’s spouse

7
Date with a Dr.

8
Religious sect: Abbr.

9
Goal of many dieters

10
Baby berths?

11
Grassy plant

12
“___ goes nothing!”

13
Chemical suffix

14
Former name of Myanmar’s capital

15
Capital on a fjord

16
Snidely Whiplash look

17
Part of G.E.

18
Japanese rice wine

25
___ Bendel (trendy Fifth Avenue store)

28
“Look, ___ dancing!”

31
Winter woe

33
Hersey’s “___ for Adano”

34
It’s about a foot

35
Tree knot

36
10th-century German king

37
More like Lena the Hyena

38
ID’s for the IRS

39
Orient Express, e.g.

40
Actress Hayek

41
Woolf’s “___ of One’s Own”

42
Keyed up

45
Fit again

46
Liverpool’s river

47
Previous arrest, in police lingo

50
Photog’s orig.

53
Poll revelation

55
Golfer Palmer, to fans

56
“___ Cowboy”: Travolta film

57
Short-sheeting, e.g.

59
Letters for Old MacDonald

60
On the strange side

63
“___ care who knows it!”

64
Craft activity

65
Home of the Georgia State Fair

66
Circus star with a whip

67
What a miss is as good as, proverbially

68
Metrical feet

69
Cheerleader’s skirt feature

72
Capp and Capone

73
Jamie Lee Curtis’s mother

74
Muscat resident

75
Started

77
Delights

78
Woodworker’s tool

81
N.Y. Met, e.g.

82
Longest dog sled race

85
Raucous bird on the feeder

86
City near Minneapolis

87
Corrected

88
Go ballistic

91
Up to now

94
Be sorry about

96
“Heidi” author

97
Wizards of yore

98
Skater Sonja

99
Rough guess

100
Buffalo’s lake

101
Farmer’s place, in a nursery rhyme

102
Mgr.’s helper

103
Beatnik’s “Gotcha!”

104
Wood file

105
Prego competitor

106
Plug away

109
Vehicle for ET?

110
Shaq’s alma mater

Answers on
page 303
.