World net gives it the other way around, saying 'possum' is the animal found in the western hemisphere, and the opossum, that in the Oceana. To cross a couple of threads, it gives 'dissemble' as a synomym for possum (and does not insist on 'to play..') But I'm with Max, anyway, 11 Oscars, and all. What the hell. Now, how did this thread get from animated spinach to (seemingly) inanimate marsupials?