Today, India celebrates "Daughters' Day" for the first time. May their tribe increase!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Happy Daughters' Day!
Today, India celebrates "Daughters' Day" for the first time. May their tribe increase!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
I will return to this blog after two weeks...
I am going to Thailand and China on a 17 day trip. I will resume updating this blog on my return.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
BYU student attempts new world record for most hugs
Did you get a hug today?
Love flowed fast in Provo on Saturday (August 25) night when 765 people stood in line to hug 18-year-old Jordan Pearce in an attempt to break the world's record for most hugs given to one person in an hour. The event was part of the LDS Church's Edgemont North Stake Super Activity.
The previous record was 612 hugs in an hour, as recorded by Guinness World Records, said Charles Abbott, organizer of the stake event and grandfather to Pearce. The stake had hoped to make a new record of 1,000 people, but 30 minutes in, ran out of people at 765.
"I feel like I'm on cloud nine," Pearce said after being hugged for the last time.
Breaking the record turned out to require a lot of endurance as Pearce constantly knelt to hug hundreds of children in the line, and stretched to hug people taller than herself.
Standing under a canopy, facing the sun and a huge line of people, Pearce had worked up, well, a glisten.
"I was getting pretty glistening," she said.
Asked before the event what was the appropriate training for breaking a hugging record, Pearce said "I'm not entirely sure." She said she had no boyfriend to get jealous and added that the event would "be my allotment of hugs for the year."
A Hinckley scholar at BYU who will be a junior after her first semester because of advanced placement credits, Pearce said breaking a world record had been her idea. Abbott, her grandfather, had been a world record holder in his youth and Pearce said she thought it would be great to follow in his footsteps.
Abbott said that in 1973 at a church activity, he organized a group to flip the then-world's largest pancake.
"We had four or five flops before we had a flip," he said with a laugh, noting that while some parents felt breaking the record was frivolous, he wanted to teach the youth that "with perseverance they can accomplish anything they want to do."
Breaking the record on Saturday took months of planning. The family had to apply to Guinness World Records with detailed plans. Once those plans were approved, the event had to be overseen by two prominent members of the community, and media coverage was required.
On Saturday, 4th District Judge Lynn Davis and Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, (R-Provo) oversaw the competition, each holding a counter to tally the number of people who hugged Pearce. Pearce's neighbor, Theresa Welker, served as a third judge. The rules stipulate that each hug must be genuine, with arms and hands wrapped around the person.
In addition, each person was only allowed to hug once, and Pearce was required to stand in the same place during the event. To ensure no double-hugging, everyone who hugged Pearce was stamped on their right hand. The new record will not be final until approved by Guinness World Records, a process that requires photographs, film footage and signed witnesses.
Pulling it off was not easy. Bramble and Davis came up with different totals because Davis felt several little children whose arms did not wrap around Pearce should not count. The rules require the lowest count to be used.
Many people who came through the line holding things -- children, cotton candy, drinks. To make sure the hug counted, and to help the line go faster, Pearce's grandmother, Oranee Abbott, scooped babies, candy and sodas from those in line, passing them back after their hug was completed.
One man spilled a drink on Pearce. A little girl refused to let go of her blue sucker, and just as the event was ending, one little boy kicked and screamed, not wanting to hug a stranger.
But more difficult than those problems was encouraging people to let go of Pearce. With family, friends, cousins and neighbors in the line, many lingered too long.
"Faster, faster, come on, faster," said Oranee Abbott, repeating the mantra hundreds of times as she organized the line approaching her granddaughter.
"She's hugging everyone like she means it," said one woman with a laugh, while a man in line yelled out "Let's move, people, let's move!"
"This is exciting," said Morgan Coleman, who, as the 613th person hugged, officially broke the record.
"Now we can Google you," said his wife, Char.
Ryan Goodwin, as the 765th person in line, was the last person to hug Pearce. "I feel like a hug," he said when asked how he felt making the record books.
The woman standing next to him wrapped her arms around him.
Love flowed fast in Provo on Saturday (August 25) night when 765 people stood in line to hug 18-year-old Jordan Pearce in an attempt to break the world's record for most hugs given to one person in an hour. The event was part of the LDS Church's Edgemont North Stake Super Activity.
The previous record was 612 hugs in an hour, as recorded by Guinness World Records, said Charles Abbott, organizer of the stake event and grandfather to Pearce. The stake had hoped to make a new record of 1,000 people, but 30 minutes in, ran out of people at 765.
"I feel like I'm on cloud nine," Pearce said after being hugged for the last time.
Breaking the record turned out to require a lot of endurance as Pearce constantly knelt to hug hundreds of children in the line, and stretched to hug people taller than herself.
Standing under a canopy, facing the sun and a huge line of people, Pearce had worked up, well, a glisten.
"I was getting pretty glistening," she said.
Asked before the event what was the appropriate training for breaking a hugging record, Pearce said "I'm not entirely sure." She said she had no boyfriend to get jealous and added that the event would "be my allotment of hugs for the year."
A Hinckley scholar at BYU who will be a junior after her first semester because of advanced placement credits, Pearce said breaking a world record had been her idea. Abbott, her grandfather, had been a world record holder in his youth and Pearce said she thought it would be great to follow in his footsteps.
Abbott said that in 1973 at a church activity, he organized a group to flip the then-world's largest pancake.
"We had four or five flops before we had a flip," he said with a laugh, noting that while some parents felt breaking the record was frivolous, he wanted to teach the youth that "with perseverance they can accomplish anything they want to do."
Breaking the record on Saturday took months of planning. The family had to apply to Guinness World Records with detailed plans. Once those plans were approved, the event had to be overseen by two prominent members of the community, and media coverage was required.
On Saturday, 4th District Judge Lynn Davis and Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, (R-Provo) oversaw the competition, each holding a counter to tally the number of people who hugged Pearce. Pearce's neighbor, Theresa Welker, served as a third judge. The rules stipulate that each hug must be genuine, with arms and hands wrapped around the person.
In addition, each person was only allowed to hug once, and Pearce was required to stand in the same place during the event. To ensure no double-hugging, everyone who hugged Pearce was stamped on their right hand. The new record will not be final until approved by Guinness World Records, a process that requires photographs, film footage and signed witnesses.
Pulling it off was not easy. Bramble and Davis came up with different totals because Davis felt several little children whose arms did not wrap around Pearce should not count. The rules require the lowest count to be used.
Many people who came through the line holding things -- children, cotton candy, drinks. To make sure the hug counted, and to help the line go faster, Pearce's grandmother, Oranee Abbott, scooped babies, candy and sodas from those in line, passing them back after their hug was completed.
One man spilled a drink on Pearce. A little girl refused to let go of her blue sucker, and just as the event was ending, one little boy kicked and screamed, not wanting to hug a stranger.
But more difficult than those problems was encouraging people to let go of Pearce. With family, friends, cousins and neighbors in the line, many lingered too long.
"Faster, faster, come on, faster," said Oranee Abbott, repeating the mantra hundreds of times as she organized the line approaching her granddaughter.
"She's hugging everyone like she means it," said one woman with a laugh, while a man in line yelled out "Let's move, people, let's move!"
"This is exciting," said Morgan Coleman, who, as the 613th person hugged, officially broke the record.
"Now we can Google you," said his wife, Char.
Ryan Goodwin, as the 765th person in line, was the last person to hug Pearce. "I feel like a hug," he said when asked how he felt making the record books.
The woman standing next to him wrapped her arms around him.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Ancient Astronauts
Erich Von Daniken, starting with his popular Chariots of the Gods, sold over forty million books presenting his theories that the Earth was visited by extra-terrestrials some 10,000 to 40,000 years ago. While they were here, he suggests, they built the great pyramids in Egypt, laid down air fields that can still be seen today in Peru, and interbred with early humans to produce Homo sapiens. As evidence Von Daniken points to the countless legends seen in cultures around the world that tell of winged gods or flying machines. These were inspired, not by flights of fancy in the teller's mind, but by actual visits down through the ages of aliens with their advanced technology. For more tangible proof Von Daniken points to archaeological oddities found around the world. He suggests that Egyptians could not have built the great pyramid of Cheops without access to advanced technology and it is no coincidence that it's height, when multiplied by 1,000 million, is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. He also claims the famous mysterious lines in Peru's Nazca Plain are an alien airfield and that their unerring straight path for miles, even over mountains, could only be achieved if their building was directed from the air.
As intriguing as the idea of ancient astronauts might be, Von Daniken's "evidence" is less then convincing when examined closely. The great pyramid's height is not a 1,000 millionth the distance to the sun. Archaeologists have found evidence that simple techniques like barges and earth ramps were used to build the monuments of ancient Egypt. Straight lines, like those found at Nazca, can be made by simply planting two sticks in the earth, using them to line up a third, and then repeating the pattern for any distance needed.
As for his theories that the astronauts mated with human beings, it seems unlikely that visitors from space would be so biologically close to humans that they could interbreed. Also DNA evidence seems to suggest all human beings alive today can trace their ancestry back to a very small group of pre-humans living in Africa some 100 thousand years ago (It is fair to note this information was not available when Von Daniken wrote his books). If this is true any genes introduced by visiting aliens have not survived to modern man.
Of course these discrepancies don't prove that Earth wasn't visited by ancient astronauts, but it is unlikely such an astounding claim will be accepted without some equally astounding proof (Like a 23rd century watch found on the wrist of a recently unearthed mummy).
Strangely enough some scientists have speculated that we may indeed had ancient extraterrestrial visitors, but they didn't wear shiny suits or arrive in flying saucers.
Discovery of a meteorite from Mars that contains what looks like fossil microbes have led some experts to suggest that if Mars did have life some of it may have traveled here via a rock blasted out of that planet when the planet was struck by a large asteroid. While objects found in this Mars rock are definitely dead, there is speculation there maybe other microbes that could have survived the journey. If so, they could have influenced life on Earth.
As intriguing as the idea of ancient astronauts might be, Von Daniken's "evidence" is less then convincing when examined closely. The great pyramid's height is not a 1,000 millionth the distance to the sun. Archaeologists have found evidence that simple techniques like barges and earth ramps were used to build the monuments of ancient Egypt. Straight lines, like those found at Nazca, can be made by simply planting two sticks in the earth, using them to line up a third, and then repeating the pattern for any distance needed.
As for his theories that the astronauts mated with human beings, it seems unlikely that visitors from space would be so biologically close to humans that they could interbreed. Also DNA evidence seems to suggest all human beings alive today can trace their ancestry back to a very small group of pre-humans living in Africa some 100 thousand years ago (It is fair to note this information was not available when Von Daniken wrote his books). If this is true any genes introduced by visiting aliens have not survived to modern man.
Of course these discrepancies don't prove that Earth wasn't visited by ancient astronauts, but it is unlikely such an astounding claim will be accepted without some equally astounding proof (Like a 23rd century watch found on the wrist of a recently unearthed mummy).
Strangely enough some scientists have speculated that we may indeed had ancient extraterrestrial visitors, but they didn't wear shiny suits or arrive in flying saucers.
Discovery of a meteorite from Mars that contains what looks like fossil microbes have led some experts to suggest that if Mars did have life some of it may have traveled here via a rock blasted out of that planet when the planet was struck by a large asteroid. While objects found in this Mars rock are definitely dead, there is speculation there maybe other microbes that could have survived the journey. If so, they could have influenced life on Earth.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Today in history - August 18th...
1227: Genghis Khan, the Mongol leader who forged an empire stretching from the east coast of China west to the Aral Sea, died in camp during a campaign against the Chinese kingdom of Xi Xia.
1920: The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote, was ratified by Tennessee, giving it the two-thirds majority of state ratification necessary to make it the law of the land.
1960: The first commercially produced oral contraceptives went on the market.
1963: James Meredith graduated from the University of Mississippi. He was the first African-American to attend the school and his enrollment touched off deadly riots, necessitating the use of armed guards.
1977: Comedian Julius Groucho Marx, leader of the wacky Marx Brothers, died at the age of 87.
1982: Lebanon and the Palestine Liberation Organization approved a plan for withdrawal of PLO fighters from besieged West Beirut. Israel approved it the following day.
1992: A convoy of 17 buses carrying 1,000 women and children left war-torn Sarajevo in the second such evacuation from Bosnia in a week.
1998: In the wake of his admission of an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, U.S. President Bill Clinton was urged to resign by several members of Congress and more than 100 daily newspapers.
2002: Abu Nidal, one of the most feared of the Palestinian terrorists, was found shot to death, an apparent suicide.
2003: Authorities estimated as many as 10,000 people had died in heat-related deaths in France during the ongoing European heat wave.
2005: Dennis Rader, the Kansas man who called himself the BTK killer -- for bind, torture, kill -- and confessed to slaying 10 people, was sentenced to 10 consecutive life-in-prison terms.
1920: The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote, was ratified by Tennessee, giving it the two-thirds majority of state ratification necessary to make it the law of the land.
1960: The first commercially produced oral contraceptives went on the market.
1963: James Meredith graduated from the University of Mississippi. He was the first African-American to attend the school and his enrollment touched off deadly riots, necessitating the use of armed guards.
1977: Comedian Julius Groucho Marx, leader of the wacky Marx Brothers, died at the age of 87.
1982: Lebanon and the Palestine Liberation Organization approved a plan for withdrawal of PLO fighters from besieged West Beirut. Israel approved it the following day.
1992: A convoy of 17 buses carrying 1,000 women and children left war-torn Sarajevo in the second such evacuation from Bosnia in a week.
1998: In the wake of his admission of an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, U.S. President Bill Clinton was urged to resign by several members of Congress and more than 100 daily newspapers.
2002: Abu Nidal, one of the most feared of the Palestinian terrorists, was found shot to death, an apparent suicide.
2003: Authorities estimated as many as 10,000 people had died in heat-related deaths in France during the ongoing European heat wave.
2005: Dennis Rader, the Kansas man who called himself the BTK killer -- for bind, torture, kill -- and confessed to slaying 10 people, was sentenced to 10 consecutive life-in-prison terms.
Cannibalism
Cannibalism (from Spanish caníbal, in connection with alleged cannibalism among the Caribs) is the act or practice of humans consuming other humans. In zoology, the term cannibalism is extended to refer to any species consuming members of its own kind.Among humans it has been practiced by various tribal groups in the past in the Amazon Basin, North America, Africa, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, and New Guinea, usually in rituals connected to tribal warfare. Fiji was once known as the 'Cannibal Isles'. The Chaco Canyon ruins of the Anasazi culture have been interpreted by some archaeologists as containing evidence of ritual cannibalism.
The term originated from Christopher Colombus' interpretation of the word 'Carib', which was the name of the first indigenous people he found in the Americas, as he believed that they were man-eaters. Richard Hakluyt's "Voyages" introduced the word to English and Shakespeare transposed it, in an anagram-fashion, to name his monster servant in "The Tempest" as Caliban.
The Carib tribe acquired a longstanding reputation as cannibals following the recording of their legends by Fr. Breton in the 17th century. Some controversy exists over the accuracy of these legends and the prevalence of actual cannibalism in the culture.
According to a decree by Queen Isabella of Castile and also later under British colonial rule, slavery was considered to be illegal unless the people involved were so depraved that their conditions as slaves would be better than as free men. This legal requirement may have led to conquerors exaggerating the extent of cannibalistic practices, or inventing them altogether, as demonstrations of cannibalistic tendencies were considered evidence of such depravity.
The Korowai tribe of southeastern Papua could be one of the last surviving tribes in the world engaging in cannibalism.
Marvin Harris has analyzed cannibalism and other food taboos. He argued that it was common when humans lived in small bands, but disappeared in the transition to states, the Aztecs being an exception.
A well known case of mortuary cannibalism is that of the Fore tribe in New Guinea which resulted in the spread of the disease Kuru. It is often believed to be well-documented, although no eyewitnesses have ever been at hand. Some scholars argue that although post-mortem dismemberment was the practice during funeral rites, cannibalism was not. Marvin Harris theorizes that it happened during a famine period coincident with the arrival of Europeans and was rationalized as a religious rite.
Cannibalism was documented in Egypt during a famine caused by the failure of the Nile to flood for eight years (AD 1064-1073).
St. Jerome, in his letter "Against Jovinianus", tells of meeting members of a British tribe, the 'Atticoti', while traveling in Gaul. According to Jerome, the Britons claimed that they enjoyed eating "the buttocks of the shepherds and the breasts of their women" as a delicacy (ca. 360 AD). In 2001, archaeologists at the University of Bristol found evidence of Iron Age cannibalism in Gloucestershire.
Cannibalism was reported in Mexico, the "flower wars" of the Aztec Empire being considered as the most massive manifestation of cannibalism, but the Aztec accounts, written after the conquest, reported that human flesh was considered by itself to be of no value, and usually thrown away and replaced with turkey. There are only two Aztec accounts on this subject: one comes from the Ramirez codex, and the most elaborated account on this subject comes from Juan Bautista de Pomar, the grandson of Netzahualcoyot, "tlatoani" of Texcoco. The accounts differ little. Juan Bautista wrote that after the sacrifice, the Aztec warriors received the body of the victim, then they boiled it to separate the flesh from the bones, then they would cut the meat in very little pieces, and send them to important people, even from other towns; the recipient would rarely eat the meat, since they considered it an honour, but the meat had no value by itself. In exchange, the warrior would get jewels, decorated blankets, precious feathers and slaves; the purpose was to encourage successful warriors. There were only two ceremonies a year where war captives were sacrificed. Although the Aztec empire has been called "The Cannibal Kingdom", there is no evidence in support of its being a widespread custom.
Cannibalism features prominently in many mythologies; cannibal ogresses appear in folklore around the world, the witch in "Hansel and Gretel" being a popular example.
A number of stories in Greek mythology involve cannibalism, in particular cannibalism of close family members, for example the stories of Thyestes, Tereus and especially Cronus, who was Saturn in the Roman pantheon. The story of Tantalus also parallels this. These mythologies inspired Shakespeare's cannibalism scene in "Titus Andronicus".
In Hindu mythology, cannibals are usually forest-dwellers that refuse to join society and are known as "Rakshas".
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Today in history - August 15th...
Today India celebrates 60 years of freedom. On August 15, 1947, India attained freedom from British colonial rule. This day is celebrated as Indian Independence Day.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Today in recent history - August 14th...
1784: Grigory Shelikhov, a Russian fur trader, founded the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska on Kodiak Island.
1900: Some 2,000 U.S. Marines joined with European forces to capture Beijing, ending the Boxer Rebellion against the Western presence in China.
1945: U.S. President Harry Truman announced that Japan had accepted terms for unconditional surrender, ending World War II.
1966: The unmanned U.S. Orbiter 1 spacecraft began orbiting the moon.
1994: The notorious international terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal was captured in Sudan. He was extradited to France the next day.
2003: A massive power failure spread through Ohio, Michigan, the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada, leaving 50 million people in eight states and the province of Ontario without electricity for as long as two days.
2003: The French health ministry said sweltering heat in Europe could be responsible for as many as 3,000 deaths in France.
2004: In the US, Hurricane Charley raked the coast of the Carolinas and moved back ashore at Georgetown, S.C., with 75 mph winds. Meanwhile, Florida, hard hit the day before, searched for more victims and assessed damage.
2004: At least 115 people were reported killed by Typhoon Rananim, the 14th typhoon to hit China this year.
2005: Authorities say the crash of a Helios Airways plane in Greece with 121 people aboard could have been caused by a sudden drop in cabin pressure. A report from the scene said there were no survivors.
1900: Some 2,000 U.S. Marines joined with European forces to capture Beijing, ending the Boxer Rebellion against the Western presence in China.
1945: U.S. President Harry Truman announced that Japan had accepted terms for unconditional surrender, ending World War II.
1966: The unmanned U.S. Orbiter 1 spacecraft began orbiting the moon.
1994: The notorious international terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal was captured in Sudan. He was extradited to France the next day.
2003: A massive power failure spread through Ohio, Michigan, the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada, leaving 50 million people in eight states and the province of Ontario without electricity for as long as two days.
2003: The French health ministry said sweltering heat in Europe could be responsible for as many as 3,000 deaths in France.
2004: In the US, Hurricane Charley raked the coast of the Carolinas and moved back ashore at Georgetown, S.C., with 75 mph winds. Meanwhile, Florida, hard hit the day before, searched for more victims and assessed damage.
2004: At least 115 people were reported killed by Typhoon Rananim, the 14th typhoon to hit China this year.
2005: Authorities say the crash of a Helios Airways plane in Greece with 121 people aboard could have been caused by a sudden drop in cabin pressure. A report from the scene said there were no survivors.
Yesterday in recent history - August 13th...
1889: William Gray patented the coin-operated telephone.
1930: Capt. Frank Hawkes set an air speed record by flying from Los Angeles to New York in 12 hours, 25 minutes.
1961: East Germany closed the Brandenburg Gate and prepared to start building the Berlin Wall.
1980: U.S. President Jimmy Carter was nominated for a second term by the Democratic National Convention in New York but lost in November to Ronald Reagan.
1990: Singer/songwriter Curtis Mayfield was left paralyzed when he was hit by a wind-blown lighting rig on an outdoor stage in New York. He died in 1999.
1992: A gunman dressed in military fatigues went on a shooting spree in a plant nursery in Watsonville, California, killing three and wounding four others before killing himself.
1993: Israel agreed for the first time to negotiate with a Palestinian delegation whose members belonged officially to the PLO.
1994: North Korea agreed to allow U.N. monitors to inspect a secret nuclear laboratory.
1930: Capt. Frank Hawkes set an air speed record by flying from Los Angeles to New York in 12 hours, 25 minutes.
1961: East Germany closed the Brandenburg Gate and prepared to start building the Berlin Wall.
1980: U.S. President Jimmy Carter was nominated for a second term by the Democratic National Convention in New York but lost in November to Ronald Reagan.
1990: Singer/songwriter Curtis Mayfield was left paralyzed when he was hit by a wind-blown lighting rig on an outdoor stage in New York. He died in 1999.
1992: A gunman dressed in military fatigues went on a shooting spree in a plant nursery in Watsonville, California, killing three and wounding four others before killing himself.
1993: Israel agreed for the first time to negotiate with a Palestinian delegation whose members belonged officially to the PLO.
1994: North Korea agreed to allow U.N. monitors to inspect a secret nuclear laboratory.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Today in recent history - August 12th...
2004 - The California Supreme Court invalidated more than 4,000 same-sex marriage licenses issued earlier in San Francisco.
2002 - Monsoons in Asia claimed more than 1,600 lives while floodwaters tore through central Europe and in southwestern Russia, killing 58.
1998 - The two largest Swiss banks and representatives of Holocaust survivors and their heirs agreed on a settlement of claims against the banks.
1997 - Hudson Foods, Inc., a meat processor in Rogers, Ark., announced it was recalling 20,000 lbs. of beef due to possible contamination by the E.coli bacterium. The recall ultimately was expanded to 25 million pounds of beef.
1996 - Delegates to the Republican National Convention passed a platform calling for a constitutional amendment against abortions.
2002 - Monsoons in Asia claimed more than 1,600 lives while floodwaters tore through central Europe and in southwestern Russia, killing 58.
1998 - The two largest Swiss banks and representatives of Holocaust survivors and their heirs agreed on a settlement of claims against the banks.
1997 - Hudson Foods, Inc., a meat processor in Rogers, Ark., announced it was recalling 20,000 lbs. of beef due to possible contamination by the E.coli bacterium. The recall ultimately was expanded to 25 million pounds of beef.
1996 - Delegates to the Republican National Convention passed a platform calling for a constitutional amendment against abortions.
Funny laws in Arizona, USA
• A man can legally beat his wife, but not more than once a month.
• Any misdemeanor committed while wearing a red mask is considered a felony (This goes back in the days of the Wild West).
• Cards may not be played in the street with a Native American.
• Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs.
• Due to a typographical error in the Tempe, Ariz., code, a shooting range can be run by the "Amateur Crapshooting Association."
• Glendale: Cars may not be driven in reverse.
• Hayden: If you bother the cottontails or bullfrogs, you will be fined.
• In 1985, an Arizona legislator proposed that each candidate for the legislature take a reading and an I.Q. test three months before the election. The scores would have been posted on the ballot, had the bill passed. But a majority of legislators, for whatever reason, voted it down.
• In Arizona it is illegal to take naked photographs before noon on Sunday.
• It is illegal for men and women over the age of 18 to have less than one missing tooth visible when smiling.
• It is illegal to hunt camels in the state of Arizona.
• It is unlawful to refuse a person a glass of water.
• Maricopa County: No more than six girls may live in any house.
• Mesa: It is illegal to smoke cigarettes within 15 feet of a public place unless you have a Class 12 liqueur license.
• Mohave County: A decree declares that anyone caught stealing soap must wash himself with it until it is all used up.
• Nogales: An ordinance prohibits the wearing of suspenders.
• Prescott: No one is permitted to ride their horse up the stairs of the county court house.
• There is a possible 25 years in prison for cutting down a cactus.
• Tucson: Women may not wear pants.
• When being attacked by a criminal or burglar, you may only protect yourself with the same weapon that the other person posseses.
• Any misdemeanor committed while wearing a red mask is considered a felony (This goes back in the days of the Wild West).
• Cards may not be played in the street with a Native American.
• Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs.
• Due to a typographical error in the Tempe, Ariz., code, a shooting range can be run by the "Amateur Crapshooting Association."
• Glendale: Cars may not be driven in reverse.
• Hayden: If you bother the cottontails or bullfrogs, you will be fined.
• In 1985, an Arizona legislator proposed that each candidate for the legislature take a reading and an I.Q. test three months before the election. The scores would have been posted on the ballot, had the bill passed. But a majority of legislators, for whatever reason, voted it down.
• In Arizona it is illegal to take naked photographs before noon on Sunday.
• It is illegal for men and women over the age of 18 to have less than one missing tooth visible when smiling.
• It is illegal to hunt camels in the state of Arizona.
• It is unlawful to refuse a person a glass of water.
• Maricopa County: No more than six girls may live in any house.
• Mesa: It is illegal to smoke cigarettes within 15 feet of a public place unless you have a Class 12 liqueur license.
• Mohave County: A decree declares that anyone caught stealing soap must wash himself with it until it is all used up.
• Nogales: An ordinance prohibits the wearing of suspenders.
• Prescott: No one is permitted to ride their horse up the stairs of the county court house.
• There is a possible 25 years in prison for cutting down a cactus.
• Tucson: Women may not wear pants.
• When being attacked by a criminal or burglar, you may only protect yourself with the same weapon that the other person posseses.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Paper launches Diana portrait competition
Top-selling German daily Bild invited its readers on Friday to take part in a competition to paint the best portrait of Princess Diana to mark the 10th anniversary of her death.
"Ten years ago, on August 31, Lady Diana died in Paris," the paper said on its front page. "She lives on in millions of hearts ... Dear readers, paint Diana, how she was, how she is remembered."
Diana died in 1997 as she was being driven with her boyfriend Dodi al-Fayed at high speed through a tunnel in Paris.
Editors will choose the three best paintings and announce the winner on the anniversary. The artists can win a trip to London and a helicopter flight over Diana's grave at Althorp Park north of the city.
A selection of portraits will be printed in the paper, Bild said.
"Ten years ago, on August 31, Lady Diana died in Paris," the paper said on its front page. "She lives on in millions of hearts ... Dear readers, paint Diana, how she was, how she is remembered."
Diana died in 1997 as she was being driven with her boyfriend Dodi al-Fayed at high speed through a tunnel in Paris.
Editors will choose the three best paintings and announce the winner on the anniversary. The artists can win a trip to London and a helicopter flight over Diana's grave at Althorp Park north of the city.
A selection of portraits will be printed in the paper, Bild said.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
You're fired! Worst sacking stories.
# "I went to a work function, drank too much, fell down the stairs, knocked myself unconscious, ambulance was called, taken to hospital. Woke up the next day in hospital with a roaring hangover/headache and a fractured skull. Got sacked Monday! Such is life."
# "My boss came to work wearing straight legged black jeans with RM Williams. Turns out he was going to some investment seminar. This is a man who was pushing 60. Anyway I sent an email to my friend telling her that my boss looked like he was entering a Johnny Cash line dancing competition. His daughter who was the receptionist intercepted the email, told her dad about it, I got called into his office the day after the seminar and was fired."
# "My boss was an insane Irish git who, after he heard me use the phrase ‘bang for your buck’, called me into his office and closed the mini vertical blinds (something he never did) and proceeded to tell me that he had no idea what that phrase meant only that it was surely offensive and that he was sick and tired of me using phrases designed to belittle him and that I was free to leave as soon as I could find another job."
# "I was fired for attending my grandfather’s funeral. I gave them four days notice of the funeral but they said I didn’t give them enough notice. How much notice did they expect? He passed away five days before the funeral."
# "I was sacked once for having an affair with the fiancee of my boss and once for having an affair with the wife of my boss … not bad for a tubby bald bloke."
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Monday, August 6, 2007
WORDS, WORDS, WORDS
You may, perhaps, already know that the word ‘honeymoon’ stems from the old Germanic custom of drinking hydromel or liquid honey for 30 days following the wedding feast. But would it ever have occurred to you that the unlikely source of the word ‘school’ is ‘schole’ – the Greek word for leisure? Or that the word ‘tee-total’ was literally spoused by a stammer? The stutterer being one Joseph Turner of Preston, who, at an anti-alcohol rally in 1833 vowed, with more conviction than coherence that “nothing but t-t-t-t-t-total abstinence will do…”
Some of the words and phrases we use originated in the oddest ways. Take, for example, the story of why a Hollywood Motion Picture Academy Award is called an Oscar. The term Oscar was coined by a secretary’s stray remark that the expression of the bronze-gilt statuette, annually awarded since 1927 for outstanding performance in the motion picture industry, reminded her of her uncle Oscar. Immortal words, these, and undoubtedly the stuff of which history is made.
The phrase “to steal someone’s thunder” is not meteorological in origin, but was coined from bitter experience by John Dennis, major 18th century critic, very minor playwright, and inventor of the theatrical thunder sheet. Dennis was understandably angry at the fact that while the theatres belittled his plays, “they steal my thunder”. And thereby hangs a phrase.
India has contributed a lot to the growth of the English language. There are numerous words and concepts in the language of Indian origin, adapted (primarily during the zenith of the British Raj) from the languages and customs of the country to expand and supplement everyday English speech. The word ‘pariah’, for instance, with its current implication of an outcast, is derived from the Tamil ‘pariyar’ or drummer, one of the hereditary callings of those beyond the pale of the Hindu social structure. The prevalent custom in British India of shunting wives and families off to the cool hills during the hot season engendered the epithet ‘grass widow’ for a woman temporarily separated from her spouse. The original juggernaut – a word now used to evoke images of some titanic, irresistible force, crushing everything in its path – was the Hindu God Vishnu (Jaggannath) whose image was installed in a chariot 45 feet high, borne aloft on 16 massive wheels, each nearly 7 feet in girth. And as this vast structure rumbled by, devotees would cast themselves beneath its wheels, in the belief that such a death would ensure their going to heaven.
The word ‘peccavi’ also has an Indian connection – though in a different way. ‘Peccavi’ is Latin for “I have sinned’. And when General Charles Napier seized the Indian state of Sind in 1843 and reported his victory in a terse communiqué, this unfortunate word became the subject of one of history’s most outrageous puns. The communiqué said: ‘Peccavi’ – ‘I have Sind.’
Some of the words and phrases we use originated in the oddest ways. Take, for example, the story of why a Hollywood Motion Picture Academy Award is called an Oscar. The term Oscar was coined by a secretary’s stray remark that the expression of the bronze-gilt statuette, annually awarded since 1927 for outstanding performance in the motion picture industry, reminded her of her uncle Oscar. Immortal words, these, and undoubtedly the stuff of which history is made.
The phrase “to steal someone’s thunder” is not meteorological in origin, but was coined from bitter experience by John Dennis, major 18th century critic, very minor playwright, and inventor of the theatrical thunder sheet. Dennis was understandably angry at the fact that while the theatres belittled his plays, “they steal my thunder”. And thereby hangs a phrase.
India has contributed a lot to the growth of the English language. There are numerous words and concepts in the language of Indian origin, adapted (primarily during the zenith of the British Raj) from the languages and customs of the country to expand and supplement everyday English speech. The word ‘pariah’, for instance, with its current implication of an outcast, is derived from the Tamil ‘pariyar’ or drummer, one of the hereditary callings of those beyond the pale of the Hindu social structure. The prevalent custom in British India of shunting wives and families off to the cool hills during the hot season engendered the epithet ‘grass widow’ for a woman temporarily separated from her spouse. The original juggernaut – a word now used to evoke images of some titanic, irresistible force, crushing everything in its path – was the Hindu God Vishnu (Jaggannath) whose image was installed in a chariot 45 feet high, borne aloft on 16 massive wheels, each nearly 7 feet in girth. And as this vast structure rumbled by, devotees would cast themselves beneath its wheels, in the belief that such a death would ensure their going to heaven.
The word ‘peccavi’ also has an Indian connection – though in a different way. ‘Peccavi’ is Latin for “I have sinned’. And when General Charles Napier seized the Indian state of Sind in 1843 and reported his victory in a terse communiqué, this unfortunate word became the subject of one of history’s most outrageous puns. The communiqué said: ‘Peccavi’ – ‘I have Sind.’
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Pizza history
Basic pizza most likely began in prehistoric times with the 'dough' or bread cooked outdoors on hot flat stones. Roughly 1,000 years ago herb-and-spice-covered circles of baked dough grew exceptionally popular in Naples, Italy. Known as focaccia, these rounds were served as an appetizer or a snack. (Source: Smithsonian)
Pizza developed in Italy in pre-refrigerator times. After focaccia, its most direct ancestor was "Casa de nanza," which means "take out before." Housewives would pound out dough into a thin crust and place leftovers to bake. Pizza was a peasant food designed to be eaten without utensils and, like the French crepe and the Mexican taco, was a way to make use of fresh produce available locally and to get rid of leftovers.
Pizza as we know it could not have evolved until the late 1600s when Old World Europeans overcame their fear of a New World discovery - tomatoes. Native to Peru and Ecuador, a plant which produced yellow or red fruit (later called tomatoes) was introduced to Europe in the early 1500s. Brought back by Conquistadors to Spain, the tomato was thought to be poisonous and was viewed with suspicion. It wasn't until the late 1600s that Europeans began to eat the tomato. (Source: Smithsonian and PIZZA TODAY)
The peasants of Naples, Italy, who lived mostly off of bread and little else, were the first to add tomatoes to their focaccia bread rounds. In 1830 pizza truly began with the opening of the world's first pizzeria. Named Port'Alba, the pizzas were cooked in an oven lined with lava from Mount Vesuvius, a volcano located on the Bay of Naples. (Source: Smithsonian)
Modern pizza was born in 1889 when Queen Margherita Teresa Giovanni, the consort of Umberto I, King of Italy, visited Naples. Don Raffaele Esposito, who owned a tavern-like place called Pietro Il Pizzaiolo, was asked to prepare a special dish in honour of the Queen's visit. Esposito developed a pizza featuring tomatoes, mozzarella cheese (a never before used ingredient made from the milk of water buffalo) and basil - ingredients bearing the colors red, white and green for the Italian flag. He named it the Margherita Pizza, after the guest of honour. Thus, the modern-day tomato-and-cheese pizza was born. (Source: Smithsonian and PIZZA TODAY)
Shops in the volcano-devastated city of Pompeii bear the characteristics of a pizzeria. Marie Antionette's sister, Marie Carolina, wife of Ferdinand I of Sicily and Naples, had ovens built in the forest so she could enjoy pizza while the Royal Hunting Party feasted on wild ducklings and pigs killed in the hunt.
The popularity of pizza exploded throughout the country when World War II servicemen returning from Italy began opening pizzerias and raving about that "great Italian dish."
In 1905, Gennaro Lombardi opened the first licensed American pizzeria, Lombardi's Pizzeria Napoletana, at 53-1/2 Spring Street in New York City.
America is the new pizza renaissance leader in the world and is exporting technology of pizza production and promotion on an ever-increasing basis.
Pizza restaurants are opening in such unlikely locations as the Caribbean islands of Curacao and Bonaire; the South Pacific atoll of Palau; and in most Arab countries. The deep-dish pizza was invented in Chicago by pizza entrepreneur Ike Sewell; his restaurant Pizzeria Uno, is still going strong today.
Pizza developed in Italy in pre-refrigerator times. After focaccia, its most direct ancestor was "Casa de nanza," which means "take out before." Housewives would pound out dough into a thin crust and place leftovers to bake. Pizza was a peasant food designed to be eaten without utensils and, like the French crepe and the Mexican taco, was a way to make use of fresh produce available locally and to get rid of leftovers.
Pizza as we know it could not have evolved until the late 1600s when Old World Europeans overcame their fear of a New World discovery - tomatoes. Native to Peru and Ecuador, a plant which produced yellow or red fruit (later called tomatoes) was introduced to Europe in the early 1500s. Brought back by Conquistadors to Spain, the tomato was thought to be poisonous and was viewed with suspicion. It wasn't until the late 1600s that Europeans began to eat the tomato. (Source: Smithsonian and PIZZA TODAY)
The peasants of Naples, Italy, who lived mostly off of bread and little else, were the first to add tomatoes to their focaccia bread rounds. In 1830 pizza truly began with the opening of the world's first pizzeria. Named Port'Alba, the pizzas were cooked in an oven lined with lava from Mount Vesuvius, a volcano located on the Bay of Naples. (Source: Smithsonian)
Modern pizza was born in 1889 when Queen Margherita Teresa Giovanni, the consort of Umberto I, King of Italy, visited Naples. Don Raffaele Esposito, who owned a tavern-like place called Pietro Il Pizzaiolo, was asked to prepare a special dish in honour of the Queen's visit. Esposito developed a pizza featuring tomatoes, mozzarella cheese (a never before used ingredient made from the milk of water buffalo) and basil - ingredients bearing the colors red, white and green for the Italian flag. He named it the Margherita Pizza, after the guest of honour. Thus, the modern-day tomato-and-cheese pizza was born. (Source: Smithsonian and PIZZA TODAY)
Shops in the volcano-devastated city of Pompeii bear the characteristics of a pizzeria. Marie Antionette's sister, Marie Carolina, wife of Ferdinand I of Sicily and Naples, had ovens built in the forest so she could enjoy pizza while the Royal Hunting Party feasted on wild ducklings and pigs killed in the hunt.
The popularity of pizza exploded throughout the country when World War II servicemen returning from Italy began opening pizzerias and raving about that "great Italian dish."
In 1905, Gennaro Lombardi opened the first licensed American pizzeria, Lombardi's Pizzeria Napoletana, at 53-1/2 Spring Street in New York City.
America is the new pizza renaissance leader in the world and is exporting technology of pizza production and promotion on an ever-increasing basis.
Pizza restaurants are opening in such unlikely locations as the Caribbean islands of Curacao and Bonaire; the South Pacific atoll of Palau; and in most Arab countries. The deep-dish pizza was invented in Chicago by pizza entrepreneur Ike Sewell; his restaurant Pizzeria Uno, is still going strong today.
Pizza statistics
Pizza Hut is the largest pizza purveyor in the world, with 12,583 total restaurants and combination delivery/takeout units in 90 countries; 6,590 units are company-owned.
Domino's Pizza is the world leader in delivery, with 5,500 stores in 46 international markets.
Papa John's is considered the fastest growing franchise in the USA, with 1,160 units generating £383 million in sales in 1996. (source: "Chain Store Guide".)
Of 31,386 pizza franchise units in the United States, roughly 83 percent (24,381 stores) offer delivery, 91% offer takeout, and 51% offer dine-in service.
Domino's Pizza is the world leader in delivery, with 5,500 stores in 46 international markets.
Papa John's is considered the fastest growing franchise in the USA, with 1,160 units generating £383 million in sales in 1996. (source: "Chain Store Guide".)
Of 31,386 pizza franchise units in the United States, roughly 83 percent (24,381 stores) offer delivery, 91% offer takeout, and 51% offer dine-in service.
Pizza trivia
October is National Pizza Month in America. It was first so designated in 1987. Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, or 350 slices per second. Pizza is a £30 billion per year industry
There are approximately 10,000 pizzerias in the UK and 61,269 in the United States. (Source: American Business Lists). Each man, woman and child in America eats an average of 46 slices of pizza a year.
Over 5 billion pizzas are sold worldwide each year. According to a recent Gallup Poll, kids between the ages of 3 to 11 prefer pizza over all other food groups for lunch and dinner
There are approximately 10,000 pizzerias in the UK and 61,269 in the United States. (Source: American Business Lists). Each man, woman and child in America eats an average of 46 slices of pizza a year.
Over 5 billion pizzas are sold worldwide each year. According to a recent Gallup Poll, kids between the ages of 3 to 11 prefer pizza over all other food groups for lunch and dinner
Friday, August 3, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
The creation of Mickey Mouse
Walt Disney got his start in Kansas City, where, beginning in 1922, he produced animated advertisements and small vignettes for a local movie house. “Newman's Laugh-O-Grams” (named after the theater where they were shown) soon grew to be full-length (four to seven minutes) animated shorts. The people who worked with Disney on this series included Ub Iwerks, Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising, and Isadore "Friz" Freleng, all of whom would later achieve fame in animation. Very few of the cartoons in this series survive today.In 1923, Disney moved to Hollywood, taking his crew with him, and started producing shorts for national distribution. His first series there was the "Alice" Comedies, about a live-action little girl's adventures with animated cartoon characters. Only Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell series is better remembered as an early example of mixing live action with animation. For financing, and getting the Alice series into theaters, Disney teamed up with distributor M.J. (Margaret) Winkler.
Disney produced Alice shorts at an average rate of about one every three weeks from 1923-27. After a few dozen, however, they grew stale, and were replaced in 1927 by Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Oswald was a big hit, but the cost to produce his cartoons rose sharply — driven largely by Disney's constant efforts to improve his studio's output. In 1928, Disney asked Charles Mintz (Winkler's husband, who was by then running her business) for a budget increase, but Mintz had what he thought was a better idea. Disney must accept a cut in his budget, or Mintz would assign Oswald (which the distributor legally controlled) to another studio — and he'd already secured agreements from most of Disney's key employees to man it.
Disney let Oswald go, and returned to a studio that consisted only of himself, his brother Roy, and Ub Iwerks, vowing never again to let anyone else own his work.
According to the official legend, Mickey Mouse was the result of a brilliant burst of inspiration, which struck Walt Disney during the train ride from New York to Los Angeles -- having left New York in a huff after he'd just seen his popular character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, hijacked by his distributor and farmed out to another animation outfit. By the time he arrived in Hollywood, he was ready to roll with Oswald's replacement. A more realistic story might be that he and key staff members, particularly Ub Iwerks, labored long hours to craft a gag vehicle incorporating various characteristics they'd seen work in popular cartoons — particularly Felix the Cat, who functioned as a template for many characters of the time whose design varied mainly in their ears.
Whether Mickey was more a result of inspiration or perspiration, he first appeared in Plane Crazy (1928) — and for the very first time, a Disney series failed to become an instant hit. He had trouble getting distributors interested in a character that looked more-or-less like Oswald with round ears.
However, very soon, Mickey eclipsed Oswald. (The latter was the subject of a series of second-rate cartoons by animation director/producer Walter Lantz, who is more famous for his work on Woody Woodpecker, and is virtually forgotten today.)
When movies started talking, Disney couldn't wait to bring the new technology to cartoons. Steamboat Willie (1928) was the first synchronized sound cartoon, and from then on, there was no stopping The Mouse. (Though it wasn't, as commonly thought, the first sound cartoon altogether — that honor went to a 1924 Max Fleischer "Song Cartune".) Mickey acquired supporting characters, including a girlfriend, Minnie; an arch-enemy, Pegleg Pete; a bunch of pals such as Horace Horsecollar and Goofy; and a dog, Pluto. He switched to color with The Band Concert (1935), and never looked back. Mickey was launched as a comic strip star by King Features Syndicate, in 1930. Within a few weeks, Floyd Gottfredson, the plotter and artist who would make Mickey his life's work, took it over. There followed a long series of well-remembered stories, including "Blaggard Castle" (1933) (scripted by Webb Smith), "The Bat Bandit of Inferno Gulch" (1934) (scripted by Ted Osborne), "The Seven Ghosts" (1936) (scripted by Osborne) and "The Phantom Blot" (1939) (scripted by Merrill de Maris). This era ended in the 1950s, as the strip switched to a gag-a-day format. Gottfredson retired in 1975 and died in 1986. Today, comic book stories about Mickey are written and drawn by dozens of people, and are published all over the world.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Funny laws in Alaska
• A law in Fairbanks does not allow moose to have sex on city streets.
• Even though it is legal to hunt a bear, it is illegal to wake a bear and take a picture for photo opportunities.
• Fairbanks: It is considered an offense to feed alcoholic beverages to a moose.
• In Alaska it is illegal to whisper in someone's ear while they are moose hunting.
• It is considered an offense to push a live moose out of a moving airplane.
• Kangaroos are not allowed in barber shops at any time.
• Moose may not be viewed from an airplane.
• State policy states that emergencies are held to a minimum and rarely found to exist.
• Even though it is legal to hunt a bear, it is illegal to wake a bear and take a picture for photo opportunities.
• Fairbanks: It is considered an offense to feed alcoholic beverages to a moose.
• In Alaska it is illegal to whisper in someone's ear while they are moose hunting.
• It is considered an offense to push a live moose out of a moving airplane.
• Kangaroos are not allowed in barber shops at any time.
• Moose may not be viewed from an airplane.
• State policy states that emergencies are held to a minimum and rarely found to exist.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
GLOBAL WARMING
Global warming was once an uncommon term used by a few scientists who were growing concerned over the effects of decades of pollution on long-term weather patterns. Today, the idea of global warming is well known, if not well understood. It is not unusual to hear someone complaining about a hot day or a freak storm and remark: "It's global warming."
Well, is it?
What actually is "global warming"?
What actually is global warming? What causes it? What are its effects? Is it something we need to worry about?
Even small changes in climate can have major effects. When scientists talk about "the Ice Age," you probably envision the world frozen, covered with snow and suffering from frigid temperatures. In fact, during the last ice age (ice ages recur roughly every 50,000 to 100,000 years), the earth's average temperature was only 5 Celsius degrees cooler than modern temperature averages [Source: NASA].
Is the earth warming up?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of over 2,500 scientists from countries across the world, convened in Paris in February, 2007 to compare and advance climate research. The scientists determined that the Earth has warmed 0.6 degrees Celsius between 1901 and 2000. When the time frame is advanced by five years, from 1906 to 2006, the scientists found that the temperature increase was 0.74 degrees Celsius.
Any concrete evidence of this temperature increase?
Yes, lots of evidence. The IPCC has observed:
# Of the last 12 years, 11 have ranked among the warmest years since 1850.
# The warming trend of the last 50 years is nearly double that of the last 100 years, meaning that the rate of warming is increasing.
# The ocean’s temperature has increased at least to depths of 3,000 meters (over 9,800 feet); the ocean absorbs more than 80 percent of all heat added to the climate system.
# Glaciers and snow cover have decreased in regions both in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, which has contributed to the rise of sea levels.
# Average Arctic temperatures increased by nearly twice the global average rate over the last 100 years (the IPCC also noted that Arctic temperatures have are highly variable from decade to decade).
# The area covered by frozen ground in the Arctic has decreased by approximately 7 percent since 1900, with seasonal decreases of up to 15 percent.
# Precipitation has increased in eastern regions of the Americas, northern Europe and parts of Asia; other regions such as the Mediterranean and southern Africa have experienced drying trends.
# Westerly winds have been growing stronger.
# Droughts are more intense, have lasted longer and covered larger areas than in the past.
# There have been significant changes in extreme temperatures – hot days and heat waves have become more frequent while cold days and nights have become less frequent.
# While scientists have not observed an increase in the number of tropical storms, they have observed an increase in the intensity of such storms in the Atlantic correlated with a rise in ocean surface temperatures.
The Greenhouse Effect
Global warming is caused by an increase in the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is not a bad thing by itself -- it's what allows Earth to stay warm enough for life to survive.
.jpg)
When the sun's rays hit the Earth's atmosphere and the surface of the Earth, approximately 70 percent of the energy stays on the planet, absorbed by land, oceans, plants and other things. The other 30 percent is reflected into space by clouds, snow fields and other reflective surfaces [Source: NASA].
But even the 70 percent that gets through doesn't stay on earth forever (otherwise the Earth would become a blazing fireball). The Earth's oceans and land masses eventually radiate heat back out. Some of this heat makes it into space. The rest of it ends up getting absorbed when it hits certain things in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane gas and water vapor. After these components in our atmosphere absorb all this heat, they emit energy (also in the form of heat).
The heat that doesn't make it out through Earth's atmosphere keeps the planet warmer than it is in outer space, because more energy is coming in through the atmosphere than is going out. This is all part of the greenhouse effect that keeps the Earth warm.
Earth Without the Greenhouse Effect
What would Earth look like if there weren't any greenhouse effect at all? It would probably look a lot like Mars. Mars doesn't have a thick enough atmosphere to reflect enough heat back to the planet, so it gets very cold there.
Global Warming: What's Happening?
The greenhouse effect happens because of certain naturally occurring substances in the atmosphere. Unfortunately, since the Industrial Revolution, humans have been pouring additional huge amounts of those substances into the air.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a colorless gas that is a by-product of the combustion of organic matter. It makes up less than 0.04 percent of Earth's atmosphere, most of which was put there by volcanic activity very early in the planet's life. Today, human activities are pumping huge amounts of CO2 into the at.jpg)
mosphere, resulting in an overall increase in carbon dioxide concentrations.
What is the consequence of this increase in carbon dioxide concentrations?
These increased concentrations are considered the primary factor in global warming, because carbon dioxide absorbs infrared radiation. Most of the energy that escapes Earth's atmosphere comes in this form, so extra CO2 means more energy absorption and an overall increase in the planet's temperature.
The Worldwatch Institute reports that carbon emissions worldwide have increased from about 1 billion tons in 1900 to about 7 billion tons in 1995. The Institute also notes that the average surface temperature of Earth has gone from 14.5 degrees C in 1860 to 15.3 degrees C in 1980.
The IPCC says that the pre-industrial amount of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere was about 280 parts per million (ppm), meaning that for every million molecules of dry air, 280 of them were CO2. In contrast, 2005 levels of CO2 were measured at 379 ppm [Source: IPCC].
Any other problem causing pollutant?
Nitrous oxide (NO2) is another important greenhouse gas. Although the amounts being released by human activities are not as great as the amounts of CO2, nitrous oxide absorbs much more energy than CO2 (about 270 times as much). For this reason, efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions have focused on NO2 as well [Source: Soil Conservation Council of Canada]. The use of large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer on crops releases nitrous oxide in great quantities, and it is also a by-product of combustion.
The danger from global warming:
What will actually happen if the entire planet warms up a few degrees?
We have seen that an average drop of just 5 degrees Celsius over thousands of years can cause an ice age; so what will happen if the Earth's average temperature increases a few degrees in just a few hundred years?
Glaciers and ice shelves around the world are melting [Source: Guardian Unlimited]. An immediate resu
lt of melting glaciers would be a rise in sea levels. Initially, the rise in sea level would only be an inch or two. Even a modest rise in sea levels could cause flooding problems for low-lying coastal areas. However, if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet were to melt and collapse into the sea, it would push sea levels up 10 meters (more than 32 feet), and many coastal areas would completely disappear beneath the ocean [Source: NASA].
What are the dangers to humans?
The human cost of global warming is hard to quantify. Thousands of lives per year could be lost as the elderly or ill suffer from heat stroke and other heat-related trauma. Poor and underdeveloped nations would suffer the worst effects, since they would not have the financial resources to deal with the problems that come with an increase in temperature. Huge numbers of people could die from starvation if a decrease in precipitation limits crop growth and from disease if coastal flooding leads to widespread water-borne illness.
The Carnegie Institution estimates that around $5 billion in crop losses per year are due to global warming. Farmers see a decrease of about 40 million metric tons of cereal grains like wheat, barley and corn each year. Scientists discovered that an increase of 1 degree Fahrenheit in average temperature results in a 3 to 5 percent drop in crop yields [Source: Science Daily].
Can We Stop Global Warming?
Though scientists warn that global warming will likely continue for centuries because of the long natural processes involved, there are a few things we can do to decrease the effects. Basically, they all boil.jpg)
down to this: Don't use as much of the stuff that creates greenhouse gases. On a local level, you can help by using less energy. The electricity that operates many of the devices in our homes comes from a power plant, and most power plants burn fossil fuels to generate that power. Turn off lights when they're not in use. Take shorter showers to use less hot water. Use a fan instead of an air conditioner on a warm day.
Any other ways to help decrease greenhouse-gas emissions?
Here are some other specific ways you can help decrease greenhouse-gas emissions:
# Make sure your car is properly tuned up. This allows it to run more efficiently and generate fewer harmful gases.
# Walk or ride your bike if possible, or carpool on your way to work. Cars burn fossil fuel, so smaller, more fuel-efficient cars emit less CO2, particularly hybrid cars.
# Turn lights and other appliances off when you're not using them. Even though a light bulb doesn't generate greenhouse gas, the power plant that generates the electricity used by the light bulb probably does. Switch from incandescent light bulbs to fluorescent bulbs, which use less energy and last longer.
# Recycle. Garbage that doesn't get recycled ends up in a landfill, generating methane. Recycled goods also require less energy to produce than products made from scratch.
# Plant trees and other plants where you can. Plants take carbon dioxide out of the air and release oxygen.
# Don't burn garbage. This releases carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons into the atmosphere.
The need for non-fossil fuel energy sources
To really stem the emission of greenhouse gases, we need to develop non-fossil fuel energy sources. Hydro-electric power, solar power, hydrogen engines and fuel cells could all create big cuts in greenhouse gases if they were to become more common.
The Kyoto treaty
At the international level, the Kyoto treaty was written to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Thirty-five industrialized nations have committed to reducing their output of those gases to varying degrees. Unfortunately, the United States, the world's primary producer of greenhouse gases, did not sign the treaty.
Well, is it?
What actually is "global warming"?
What actually is global warming? What causes it? What are its effects? Is it something we need to worry about?
Global warming is a significant increase in the Earth's climatic temperature over a relatively short period of time as a result of the activities of humans.
In specific terms, an increase of 1 or more degrees Celsius in a period of one hundred to two hundred years would be considered global warming. Over the course of a single century, an increase of even 0.4 degrees Celsius would be significant.
What are the effects of climate change?
Even small changes in climate can have major effects. When scientists talk about "the Ice Age," you probably envision the world frozen, covered with snow and suffering from frigid temperatures. In fact, during the last ice age (ice ages recur roughly every 50,000 to 100,000 years), the earth's average temperature was only 5 Celsius degrees cooler than modern temperature averages [Source: NASA].
Is the earth warming up?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of over 2,500 scientists from countries across the world, convened in Paris in February, 2007 to compare and advance climate research. The scientists determined that the Earth has warmed 0.6 degrees Celsius between 1901 and 2000. When the time frame is advanced by five years, from 1906 to 2006, the scientists found that the temperature increase was 0.74 degrees Celsius.
Any concrete evidence of this temperature increase?
Yes, lots of evidence. The IPCC has observed:
# Of the last 12 years, 11 have ranked among the warmest years since 1850.
# The warming trend of the last 50 years is nearly double that of the last 100 years, meaning that the rate of warming is increasing.
# The ocean’s temperature has increased at least to depths of 3,000 meters (over 9,800 feet); the ocean absorbs more than 80 percent of all heat added to the climate system.
# Glaciers and snow cover have decreased in regions both in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, which has contributed to the rise of sea levels.
# Average Arctic temperatures increased by nearly twice the global average rate over the last 100 years (the IPCC also noted that Arctic temperatures have are highly variable from decade to decade).
# The area covered by frozen ground in the Arctic has decreased by approximately 7 percent since 1900, with seasonal decreases of up to 15 percent.
# Precipitation has increased in eastern regions of the Americas, northern Europe and parts of Asia; other regions such as the Mediterranean and southern Africa have experienced drying trends.
# Westerly winds have been growing stronger.
# Droughts are more intense, have lasted longer and covered larger areas than in the past.
# There have been significant changes in extreme temperatures – hot days and heat waves have become more frequent while cold days and nights have become less frequent.
# While scientists have not observed an increase in the number of tropical storms, they have observed an increase in the intensity of such storms in the Atlantic correlated with a rise in ocean surface temperatures.
The Greenhouse Effect
Global warming is caused by an increase in the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is not a bad thing by itself -- it's what allows Earth to stay warm enough for life to survive.
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When the sun's rays hit the Earth's atmosphere and the surface of the Earth, approximately 70 percent of the energy stays on the planet, absorbed by land, oceans, plants and other things. The other 30 percent is reflected into space by clouds, snow fields and other reflective surfaces [Source: NASA].
But even the 70 percent that gets through doesn't stay on earth forever (otherwise the Earth would become a blazing fireball). The Earth's oceans and land masses eventually radiate heat back out. Some of this heat makes it into space. The rest of it ends up getting absorbed when it hits certain things in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane gas and water vapor. After these components in our atmosphere absorb all this heat, they emit energy (also in the form of heat).
The heat that doesn't make it out through Earth's atmosphere keeps the planet warmer than it is in outer space, because more energy is coming in through the atmosphere than is going out. This is all part of the greenhouse effect that keeps the Earth warm.
Earth Without the Greenhouse Effect
What would Earth look like if there weren't any greenhouse effect at all? It would probably look a lot like Mars. Mars doesn't have a thick enough atmosphere to reflect enough heat back to the planet, so it gets very cold there.
Global Warming: What's Happening?
The greenhouse effect happens because of certain naturally occurring substances in the atmosphere. Unfortunately, since the Industrial Revolution, humans have been pouring additional huge amounts of those substances into the air.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a colorless gas that is a by-product of the combustion of organic matter. It makes up less than 0.04 percent of Earth's atmosphere, most of which was put there by volcanic activity very early in the planet's life. Today, human activities are pumping huge amounts of CO2 into the at
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mosphere, resulting in an overall increase in carbon dioxide concentrations.What is the consequence of this increase in carbon dioxide concentrations?
These increased concentrations are considered the primary factor in global warming, because carbon dioxide absorbs infrared radiation. Most of the energy that escapes Earth's atmosphere comes in this form, so extra CO2 means more energy absorption and an overall increase in the planet's temperature.
The Worldwatch Institute reports that carbon emissions worldwide have increased from about 1 billion tons in 1900 to about 7 billion tons in 1995. The Institute also notes that the average surface temperature of Earth has gone from 14.5 degrees C in 1860 to 15.3 degrees C in 1980.
The IPCC says that the pre-industrial amount of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere was about 280 parts per million (ppm), meaning that for every million molecules of dry air, 280 of them were CO2. In contrast, 2005 levels of CO2 were measured at 379 ppm [Source: IPCC].
Any other problem causing pollutant?
Nitrous oxide (NO2) is another important greenhouse gas. Although the amounts being released by human activities are not as great as the amounts of CO2, nitrous oxide absorbs much more energy than CO2 (about 270 times as much). For this reason, efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions have focused on NO2 as well [Source: Soil Conservation Council of Canada]. The use of large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer on crops releases nitrous oxide in great quantities, and it is also a by-product of combustion.
The danger from global warming:
What will actually happen if the entire planet warms up a few degrees?
We have seen that an average drop of just 5 degrees Celsius over thousands of years can cause an ice age; so what will happen if the Earth's average temperature increases a few degrees in just a few hundred years?
Glaciers and ice shelves around the world are melting [Source: Guardian Unlimited]. An immediate resu
lt of melting glaciers would be a rise in sea levels. Initially, the rise in sea level would only be an inch or two. Even a modest rise in sea levels could cause flooding problems for low-lying coastal areas. However, if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet were to melt and collapse into the sea, it would push sea levels up 10 meters (more than 32 feet), and many coastal areas would completely disappear beneath the ocean [Source: NASA].What are the dangers to humans?
The human cost of global warming is hard to quantify. Thousands of lives per year could be lost as the elderly or ill suffer from heat stroke and other heat-related trauma. Poor and underdeveloped nations would suffer the worst effects, since they would not have the financial resources to deal with the problems that come with an increase in temperature. Huge numbers of people could die from starvation if a decrease in precipitation limits crop growth and from disease if coastal flooding leads to widespread water-borne illness.
The Carnegie Institution estimates that around $5 billion in crop losses per year are due to global warming. Farmers see a decrease of about 40 million metric tons of cereal grains like wheat, barley and corn each year. Scientists discovered that an increase of 1 degree Fahrenheit in average temperature results in a 3 to 5 percent drop in crop yields [Source: Science Daily].
Can We Stop Global Warming?
Though scientists warn that global warming will likely continue for centuries because of the long natural processes involved, there are a few things we can do to decrease the effects. Basically, they all boil
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down to this: Don't use as much of the stuff that creates greenhouse gases. On a local level, you can help by using less energy. The electricity that operates many of the devices in our homes comes from a power plant, and most power plants burn fossil fuels to generate that power. Turn off lights when they're not in use. Take shorter showers to use less hot water. Use a fan instead of an air conditioner on a warm day.Any other ways to help decrease greenhouse-gas emissions?
Here are some other specific ways you can help decrease greenhouse-gas emissions:
# Make sure your car is properly tuned up. This allows it to run more efficiently and generate fewer harmful gases.
# Walk or ride your bike if possible, or carpool on your way to work. Cars burn fossil fuel, so smaller, more fuel-efficient cars emit less CO2, particularly hybrid cars.
# Turn lights and other appliances off when you're not using them. Even though a light bulb doesn't generate greenhouse gas, the power plant that generates the electricity used by the light bulb probably does. Switch from incandescent light bulbs to fluorescent bulbs, which use less energy and last longer.
# Recycle. Garbage that doesn't get recycled ends up in a landfill, generating methane. Recycled goods also require less energy to produce than products made from scratch.
# Plant trees and other plants where you can. Plants take carbon dioxide out of the air and release oxygen.
# Don't burn garbage. This releases carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons into the atmosphere.
The need for non-fossil fuel energy sources
To really stem the emission of greenhouse gases, we need to develop non-fossil fuel energy sources. Hydro-electric power, solar power, hydrogen engines and fuel cells could all create big cuts in greenhouse gases if they were to become more common.
The Kyoto treaty
At the international level, the Kyoto treaty was written to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Thirty-five industrialized nations have committed to reducing their output of those gases to varying degrees. Unfortunately, the United States, the world's primary producer of greenhouse gases, did not sign the treaty.
Monday, July 30, 2007
The Story Of Coffee
Today, the 'coffee culture' has spread all over the world. To those countries with great coffee traditions of their own, such as Italy, Germany, and Scandinavia, have been added new converts to the pleasures of good coffee. Today it is possible to find good coffee in every major city of the world, from London to Sydney to Tokyo; tomorrow the world will drink more - and more importantly, better - coffee. The story of how coffee growing and drinking spread around the world is one of the greatest and most romantic in history. It starts in the Horn of Africa, in Ethiopia, where the coffee tree probably originated in the province of Kaffa. There are various fanciful but unlikely stories surrounding the discovery of the properties of roasted coffee beans. One story has it that an Ethiopian goatherd was amazed at the lively behaviour of his goats after chewing red coffee berries. What we know with more certainty is that the succulent outer cherry flesh was eaten by slaves taken from present day Sudan into Yemen and Arabia, through the great port of its day, Mocha, now synonymous with coffee. Coffee was certainly being cultivated in Yemen by the 15th century and probably much earlier than that.
Mocha was also the main port for the one sea route to Mecca, and was the busiest place in the world at the time. But the Arabs had a strict policy not to export any fertile beans, so that coffee could not be cultivated anywhere else. The coffee bean is the seed of the coffee tree, but when stripped of its outer layers it becomes infertile. The race to make off with some live coffee trees or beans was eventually won by the Dutch in 1616, who brought some back to Holland where they were grown in greenhouses.
Initially, the authorities in Yemen actively encouraged coffee drinking as it was considered preferable to the extreme side effects of Kat, a shrub whose buds and leaves were chewed as a stimulant. The first coffeehouses were opened in Mecca and were called 'kaveh kanes'. They quickly spread throughout the Arab world and became successful places where chess was played, gossip was exchanged, and singing, dancing and music were enjoyed. They were luxuriously decorated and each had an individual character. Nothing quite like the coffeehouse had existed before: a place where society and business could be conducted in comfortable surroundings and where anyone could go, for the price of coffee.
The Arabian coffeehouses soon became centres of political activity and were suppressed. Coffee and coffeehouses were subsequently banned several times over the next few decades, but they kept reappearing. Eventually a solution was found when coffeehouses and coffee were taxed.
COFFEE COMES TO ASIA
The Dutch were also growing coffee at Malabar in India, and in 1699 took some to Batavia in Java, in what is now Indonesia. Within a few years the Dutch colonies had become the main suppliers of coffee to Europe. Today Indonesia is the fourth largest exporter of coffee in the world.
COFFEE COMES TO EUROPE
Venetian traders first brought coffee to Europe in 1615. This was a period when the two other great hot beverages also appeared in Europe. Hot chocolate was the first, brought by the Spanish from the Americas to Spain in 1528; and tea, which was first sold in Europe in 1610.
At first coffee was mainly sold by lemonade vendors and was believed to have medicinal qualities. The first European coffeehouse opened in Venice in 1683, with the most famous, Caffe Florian in Piazza San Marco, opening in 1720. It is still open for business today.
The largest insurance market in the world, Lloyd's of London, began life as a coffeehouse. It was started in 1688 by Edward Lloyd, who prepared lists of the ships that his customers had insured.
At first coffee was mainly sold by lemonade vendors and was believed to have medicinal qualities. The first European coffeehouse opened in Venice in 1683, with the most famous, Caffe Florian in Piazza San Marco, opening in 1720. It is still open for business today.
The largest insurance market in the world, Lloyd's of London, began life as a coffeehouse. It was started in 1688 by Edward Lloyd, who prepared lists of the ships that his customers had insured.
COFFEE COMES TO THE AMERICAS
The first reference to coffee being drunk in North America is from 1668 and, soon after, coffee houses were established in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and other towns. The Boston Tea Party Of 1773 was planned in a coffee house, the Green Dragon. Both the New York Stock Exchange and the Bank of New York started in coffeehouses, in what is today the financial district known as Wall Street.
It was in the 1720s that coffee first came to be cultivated in the Americas, through what is perhaps the most fascinating and romantic story in the history of coffee. Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu was a French naval officer serving in Martinique who in 1720, went to Paris on leave. With assistance and no little personal charm he acquired a coffee tree which he took with him on the ship back. The plant was kept in a glass case on deck to keep it warm and prevent damage from salt water. The journey was eventful, or at least Mr. Mathieu de Clieu's journal of the voyage was. Pirates from Tunis threatened the ship, there was a violent storm and the plant had to be tied down. Our hero faced an enemy on board who was jealous and tried to sabotage the plant. There was a violent struggle in which a branch was torn off, but the plant survived this horror.
Then the ship was becalmed and drinking water was rationed. De Clieu had his priorities right and gave most of his allowance of precious water to the coffee plant. It survived, as did he.
Finally, the ship arrived in Martinique and the coffee tree was re-planted at Preebear, where it was surrounded by a thorn hedge and watched over by slaves. It grew, and multiplied, and by 1726 the first harvest was ready. It is recorded that by 1777, there were between 18 and 19 million coffee trees on Martinique, and the model for a new cash crop that could be grown in the New World was in place.
It was the D
utch who first started the spread of the coffee plant in Central and South America, where today it reigns supreme as the main continental cash crop. Coffee first arrived in the Dutch colony of Surinam in 1718, to be followed by plantations in French Guyana and the first of many in Brazil at Para. In 1730 the British introduced coffee to Jamaica, where today the most famous and expensive coffee in the world is grown in the Blue Mountains. By 1825, South and Central America were on track towards their coffee destiny. That date is also important as it was when coffee was first planted in Hawaii which produces the only US coffee, and one of the finest.
utch who first started the spread of the coffee plant in Central and South America, where today it reigns supreme as the main continental cash crop. Coffee first arrived in the Dutch colony of Surinam in 1718, to be followed by plantations in French Guyana and the first of many in Brazil at Para. In 1730 the British introduced coffee to Jamaica, where today the most famous and expensive coffee in the world is grown in the Blue Mountains. By 1825, South and Central America were on track towards their coffee destiny. That date is also important as it was when coffee was first planted in Hawaii which produces the only US coffee, and one of the finest.COFFEE - AN ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE
The impor
tance of coffee in the today's world economy cannot be overstated. It is one of the most valuable primary products in world trade, in many years second in value only to oil as a source of foreign exchange to developing countries. Its cultivation, processing, trading, transportation and marketing provide employment for millions of people worldwide. Coffee is crucial to the economies and politics of many developing countries; for many of the world's Least Developed Countries, exports of coffee account for a substantial part of their foreign exchange earnings in some cases over 80%. Coffee is a traded commodity on major futures and commodity exchanges, most importantly in London and New York.
tance of coffee in the today's world economy cannot be overstated. It is one of the most valuable primary products in world trade, in many years second in value only to oil as a source of foreign exchange to developing countries. Its cultivation, processing, trading, transportation and marketing provide employment for millions of people worldwide. Coffee is crucial to the economies and politics of many developing countries; for many of the world's Least Developed Countries, exports of coffee account for a substantial part of their foreign exchange earnings in some cases over 80%. Coffee is a traded commodity on major futures and commodity exchanges, most importantly in London and New York.
Fashion Flashback - Wigs
Queen Elizabeth-I of England was completely bald as she lost her hair early after suffering from small pox at the age of twenty nine. To disguise her loss she created and always wore a wig - thus creating a fashion for wigs in Europe that lasted several hundred years.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
THE INVENTION OF TELEVISION: THE EARLY PIONEERS
Although the Scotsman John Logie Baird is generally considered to be the creator of television, this would of course be an over simplification of the truth, and to accept it as such would be to ignore the contributions of many others, whose names deserve to be preserved in the history of its development and ultimate inception. The most difficult decision to make in writing about television history is exactly where to begin.
Most inventions begin with a vision and so for the sake of argument we can begin our story as far back as 1869. For that was the year that the French artist Albert Robida, a contemporary of Jules Verne, published a picture of a man, reclining in an armchair in the comfort of his own home, whilst watching a 'televised' performance of Faust. And this more than two decades before the American inventor Thomas Alva Edison had caught one of his assistants, Fred Ott, sneezing on camera, which was then copyrighted as 'Record of a Sneeze', on 7th January 1894. But whilst scientists and photographers the world-over had been trying to invent the movies for years, television had its own definite requirements, and these were not the result of a single discovery, but of successive and independent developments.
In 1817 the Swedish scientist Berzelius discovered selenium, a metalloid in the oxygen group with electrical properties. But it wasn't until 1873 that a telegraph operator named Joseph May, working at the Velentia Cable Station in the West of Ireland, accidentally discovered that some selenium rods which were used as resistances, altered in value under the influence of strong sunlight. The photosensitive properties of selenium led to the possibility of converting light waves into electrical impulses. In between these discoveries Alexandre Edmond Becquerel (in 1839) had discovered the electrochemical effects of light. In 1875 George R. Carey of Boston, Mass. outlined a suggestion for television based on the functioning of the human eye, but it wasn't until 1881 that another American, Shelford Bidwell, demonstrated a method for transmitting silhouettes. There were many attempts and suggestions for transmitting moving pictures through the ether before the end of the century, Paul Nipkov's disc scanner made use of the selenium cell, but like other inventors and demonstrators around that time his equipment lacked the means of amplifying the impulses.
Karl Ferdinand Braun introduced the first cathode-ray tube for commercial use in 1897 and four years later Dr Ambrose Fleming patented the two-diode thermionic valve. After this there was little in the way of public recognised progress until 1923 when a number of scientists in the US, France and England had progressed to the point where they were able to transmit shadows. This was also the year that Vladimir Zworkin, a Russian who had moved to the USA in 1919, patented his Iconoscope -the first practical television transmission tube. It's at this point, (or rather the following year), that Baird came onto the scene in a big way. Although he had been developing his own methods of televised images for many years it was in 1924 that he first demonstrated a mechanically scanned television system which transmitted objects in outline and went on the following year to show the head of a dummy, not just in outline but as a real image.
Since the time of Baird, the dizzyingly rapid development of the medium of television has taken many of the disperate elements chanced upon by those early, far-sighted, pioneers and consolidated them into a unified whole which has arguably become one of the key cornerstones of modern society.
Most inventions begin with a vision and so for the sake of argument we can begin our story as far back as 1869. For that was the year that the French artist Albert Robida, a contemporary of Jules Verne, published a picture of a man, reclining in an armchair in the comfort of his own home, whilst watching a 'televised' performance of Faust. And this more than two decades before the American inventor Thomas Alva Edison had caught one of his assistants, Fred Ott, sneezing on camera, which was then copyrighted as 'Record of a Sneeze', on 7th January 1894. But whilst scientists and photographers the world-over had been trying to invent the movies for years, television had its own definite requirements, and these were not the result of a single discovery, but of successive and independent developments.
In 1817 the Swedish scientist Berzelius discovered selenium, a metalloid in the oxygen group with electrical properties. But it wasn't until 1873 that a telegraph operator named Joseph May, working at the Velentia Cable Station in the West of Ireland, accidentally discovered that some selenium rods which were used as resistances, altered in value under the influence of strong sunlight. The photosensitive properties of selenium led to the possibility of converting light waves into electrical impulses. In between these discoveries Alexandre Edmond Becquerel (in 1839) had discovered the electrochemical effects of light. In 1875 George R. Carey of Boston, Mass. outlined a suggestion for television based on the functioning of the human eye, but it wasn't until 1881 that another American, Shelford Bidwell, demonstrated a method for transmitting silhouettes. There were many attempts and suggestions for transmitting moving pictures through the ether before the end of the century, Paul Nipkov's disc scanner made use of the selenium cell, but like other inventors and demonstrators around that time his equipment lacked the means of amplifying the impulses.
Karl Ferdinand Braun introduced the first cathode-ray tube for commercial use in 1897 and four years later Dr Ambrose Fleming patented the two-diode thermionic valve. After this there was little in the way of public recognised progress until 1923 when a number of scientists in the US, France and England had progressed to the point where they were able to transmit shadows. This was also the year that Vladimir Zworkin, a Russian who had moved to the USA in 1919, patented his Iconoscope -the first practical television transmission tube. It's at this point, (or rather the following year), that Baird came onto the scene in a big way. Although he had been developing his own methods of televised images for many years it was in 1924 that he first demonstrated a mechanically scanned television system which transmitted objects in outline and went on the following year to show the head of a dummy, not just in outline but as a real image.
Since the time of Baird, the dizzyingly rapid development of the medium of television has taken many of the disperate elements chanced upon by those early, far-sighted, pioneers and consolidated them into a unified whole which has arguably become one of the key cornerstones of modern society.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
A list of funny laws in Washington, USA
•"It shall be unlawful for a candidate for office or for nomination thereto whose name appears upon the ballot at any election to give to or purchase for another person, not a member of his or her family, any liquor in or upon any premises licensed by the state for the sale of any such liquor by the drink during the hours that the polls are open on the day of such election."
• A law to reduce crime states: "It is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions to stop at the city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town."
• All lollipops are banned.
• All motor vehicles must be preceded by a man carrying a red flag (daytime) or a red lantern (nighttime) fifty feet in front of said vehicle.
• An old Washington law sent duelists to jail for ten years, assuming they didn't lose the duel.
• A proposed Washington law protects sports referees from civil suit unless their actions were "willful, wanton, reckless, malicious or grossly negligent."
• Auburn: Men who deflower virgins, regardless of age or marital status, may face up to five years in jail.
• A Washington state law offers the presumption that youngsters will read comic books.
• Bremerton: You may not shuck peanuts on the street.
• Everett: It is illegal to display a hypnotized or allegedly hypnotized person in a store window.
• In Electric City, WA, it is illegal to "keep or permit to remain, in any location . . . anything whatsoever in which flies or rats may breed or multiply."
• In Olympia, Wash., minors are prohibited from frequenting pool halls.
• In Seattle, Washington, it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon that is over six feet in length.
• In Spokane, Wash., it used to be illegal to interrupt a religious meeting by having a horse race.
• In the state of Washington, there is a law against having sex with a virgin under any circumstances.
• In the state of Washington it's illegal to catch a fish by throwing a rock at it.
• In Washington state it's illegal for a candidate to buy anyone a drink on Election Day.
• In Washington state it's illegal to sleep in an outhouse without the owner's permission.
• In Washington state it's illegal to sell to minors comics that might incite them to violence or depraved or immoral acts.
• In Washington it's illegal to pretend you're the child of a rich person and entitled to his estate.
• In Washington, anyone under the age of 18 must have parental permission to throw a tear gas canister.
• In Washington state, until quite recently, you could have been fined up to $500 for removing or defacing the label on a pillow.
• It is illegal to deflower a virgin even on their wedding day.
• It is illegal to paint polka dots on the American flag.
• It is illegal to pretend that one's parents are rich.
• It's illegal in Wilbur, Washington, to ride an ugly horse.
• Lynden: Dancing and drinking may not occur at the same establishment.
• People may not buy a mattress on Sunday.
• A law to reduce crime states: "It is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions to stop at the city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town."
• All lollipops are banned.
• All motor vehicles must be preceded by a man carrying a red flag (daytime) or a red lantern (nighttime) fifty feet in front of said vehicle.
• An old Washington law sent duelists to jail for ten years, assuming they didn't lose the duel.
• A proposed Washington law protects sports referees from civil suit unless their actions were "willful, wanton, reckless, malicious or grossly negligent."
• Auburn: Men who deflower virgins, regardless of age or marital status, may face up to five years in jail.
• A Washington state law offers the presumption that youngsters will read comic books.
• Bremerton: You may not shuck peanuts on the street.
• Everett: It is illegal to display a hypnotized or allegedly hypnotized person in a store window.
• In Electric City, WA, it is illegal to "keep or permit to remain, in any location . . . anything whatsoever in which flies or rats may breed or multiply."
• In Olympia, Wash., minors are prohibited from frequenting pool halls.
• In Seattle, Washington, it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon that is over six feet in length.
• In Spokane, Wash., it used to be illegal to interrupt a religious meeting by having a horse race.
• In the state of Washington, there is a law against having sex with a virgin under any circumstances.
• In the state of Washington it's illegal to catch a fish by throwing a rock at it.
• In Washington state it's illegal for a candidate to buy anyone a drink on Election Day.
• In Washington state it's illegal to sleep in an outhouse without the owner's permission.
• In Washington state it's illegal to sell to minors comics that might incite them to violence or depraved or immoral acts.
• In Washington it's illegal to pretend you're the child of a rich person and entitled to his estate.
• In Washington, anyone under the age of 18 must have parental permission to throw a tear gas canister.
• In Washington state, until quite recently, you could have been fined up to $500 for removing or defacing the label on a pillow.
• It is illegal to deflower a virgin even on their wedding day.
• It is illegal to paint polka dots on the American flag.
• It is illegal to pretend that one's parents are rich.
• It's illegal in Wilbur, Washington, to ride an ugly horse.
• Lynden: Dancing and drinking may not occur at the same establishment.
• People may not buy a mattress on Sunday.
Monday, July 23, 2007
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