US Presidents
» Thomas Jefferson's father was one of the surveyors who laid out the Virginia/North Carolina border.
» President Ulysses S. Grant was once arrested during his term of office. He was convicted of exceeding the Washington speed limit on his horse and was fined $20.
» John Adams died on July 4, 1826, the same day friend as his political rival and friend Thomas Jefferson. His last words are reported to have been, “Thomas Jefferson still survives.”
» Though his wife Martha had four children by a previous marriage, George Washington left no direct descendant. He never sired a child to continue his family line.
» President William H. Taft was once offered a contract to pitch for the Cincinnati Reds.
» John Adams was central to the Revolution and to the creation of the Declaration of Independence and the government under the Constitution.
» President William Howard Taft was a seventh cousin twice removed of Richard M. Nixon, and was a distant relative of Ralph Waldo Emerson.
» John Adams was the first president to have a son become president. His wife, Abigail Smith, was very influential and known as an engaging conversationalist and a wonderful writer of letters.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Words and Numbers trivia
Words and Numbers
» The plain black dickey worn with a clerical collar by some clergymen is called a rabat.
» The female name Vanessa is Greek for "butterfly."
» Rulership by words is called logocracy.
» In Australian slang, to be “spliced” means to be married.
» The final word given at the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in 2000 was "demarche," a noun meaning a course of action or a diplomatic representation or protest; in 1999, the final word was "logorrhea," a noun meaning an excessive use of words.
» Secure, relatively high-yielding stocks came to be called blue chips, a term taken from the game of poker, where blue chips are more valuable than white or red chips.
» In British English, a booger is called a "bogey" or "bogie."
» Senectitude is another word for old age.
» The plain black dickey worn with a clerical collar by some clergymen is called a rabat.
» The female name Vanessa is Greek for "butterfly."
» Rulership by words is called logocracy.
» In Australian slang, to be “spliced” means to be married.
» The final word given at the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in 2000 was "demarche," a noun meaning a course of action or a diplomatic representation or protest; in 1999, the final word was "logorrhea," a noun meaning an excessive use of words.
» Secure, relatively high-yielding stocks came to be called blue chips, a term taken from the game of poker, where blue chips are more valuable than white or red chips.
» In British English, a booger is called a "bogey" or "bogie."
» Senectitude is another word for old age.
Structures trivia
Structures
» The seats at Fenway Park in Boston, home of the Boston Red Sox, are made of oak.
» The famed London Bridge spanned the River Thames for almost 140 years. In 1968, the city of London decided to sell its sinking bridge for $2.6 million to Robert P. McCulloch, founder of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, who needed a bridge to connect the city to an island in the lake. The island was created in order to remove an obstruction that blocked water flow from the Colorado River into Thompson Bay. It took three years to carefully dismantle, pack, ship, and reconstruct the landmark bridge in the desert state. It cost more than $7 million to rebuild it in Lake Havasu City. Finally, on October 10, 1971, London Bridge was officially dedicated in Arizona before a crowd of 100,000 in a lavish ceremony.
» The Serpentine Railway, built in 1885 at Coney Island, was the first gravity roller coaster to tie the track end together and return passengers to their starting point without them needing to disembark while the car was placed on the return track. The train, with its passengers seated sideways on a wooden bench, ran atop an undulating wooden structure. The train was slow and took several minutes to complete its circuit.
» The famed London Bridge which spanned the River Thames for almost 140 years from the 1830s until 1968, now connects Arizona's Lake Havasu City's mainland and island. The bridge survived a terrorist attack in 1884 and the bombing from the Germans in both World Wars. But it could not withstand the forces of nature, as it was sinking into the Thames River's clay bottom.
» The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History houses the world's largest shell collection, some 15 million specimens.
» The famous Citgo sign near Fenway Park in Boston is maintained not by Citgo, but by Boston's historical society.
» The famous Eden-Roc Hotel, in Cap D’Antibes in the French Riviera, is often described as the most fabulous hotel in the world. The President of the Republic, Arab princes, stars of the stage and screen – all have stayed here in this security-conscious Shangri-La where credit cards are not recognized, and hard cash is the only currency. Sara and Gerald Murphy, a rich American couple with very fashionable friends invented the summer season in the 1920s. They convinced the Eden Roc's owner to keep the place open after April, and filled it with guests like F. Scott Fitzgerald and wife Zelda, Ernest Hemingway, Cole Porter, and Pablo Picasso.
» The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History houses the world's largest shell collection, some 15 million specimens. A smaller museum in Sanibel, Florida owns a mere 2 million shells and claims to be the world's only museum devoted solely to mollusks.
» The seats at Fenway Park in Boston, home of the Boston Red Sox, are made of oak.
» The famed London Bridge spanned the River Thames for almost 140 years. In 1968, the city of London decided to sell its sinking bridge for $2.6 million to Robert P. McCulloch, founder of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, who needed a bridge to connect the city to an island in the lake. The island was created in order to remove an obstruction that blocked water flow from the Colorado River into Thompson Bay. It took three years to carefully dismantle, pack, ship, and reconstruct the landmark bridge in the desert state. It cost more than $7 million to rebuild it in Lake Havasu City. Finally, on October 10, 1971, London Bridge was officially dedicated in Arizona before a crowd of 100,000 in a lavish ceremony.
» The Serpentine Railway, built in 1885 at Coney Island, was the first gravity roller coaster to tie the track end together and return passengers to their starting point without them needing to disembark while the car was placed on the return track. The train, with its passengers seated sideways on a wooden bench, ran atop an undulating wooden structure. The train was slow and took several minutes to complete its circuit.
» The famed London Bridge which spanned the River Thames for almost 140 years from the 1830s until 1968, now connects Arizona's Lake Havasu City's mainland and island. The bridge survived a terrorist attack in 1884 and the bombing from the Germans in both World Wars. But it could not withstand the forces of nature, as it was sinking into the Thames River's clay bottom.
» The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History houses the world's largest shell collection, some 15 million specimens.
» The famous Citgo sign near Fenway Park in Boston is maintained not by Citgo, but by Boston's historical society.
» The famous Eden-Roc Hotel, in Cap D’Antibes in the French Riviera, is often described as the most fabulous hotel in the world. The President of the Republic, Arab princes, stars of the stage and screen – all have stayed here in this security-conscious Shangri-La where credit cards are not recognized, and hard cash is the only currency. Sara and Gerald Murphy, a rich American couple with very fashionable friends invented the summer season in the 1920s. They convinced the Eden Roc's owner to keep the place open after April, and filled it with guests like F. Scott Fitzgerald and wife Zelda, Ernest Hemingway, Cole Porter, and Pablo Picasso.
» The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History houses the world's largest shell collection, some 15 million specimens. A smaller museum in Sanibel, Florida owns a mere 2 million shells and claims to be the world's only museum devoted solely to mollusks.
Technology trivia
Technology
» The first flexible, rolled film for still photographs was introduced only about 4 years before the first motion picture was made.
» The first Harley Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903, and used a tomato can for a carburetor.
» The first manned spacecraft to be launched was the Soviet’s Vostok 1, which left Earth in 1961.
» The first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1935.
» "MIDI" stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It is a standard means of sending digitally encoded information about music between electronic devices, often between synthesizers and computers.
» Time magazine named the computer its "Man of the Year" in 1982.
» A 1999 survey of 25,500 standard English-language dictionary words found that 93 percent of them have been registered as dot-coms.
» A 2001 study conducted by PC Data and Information Resources Inc. showed that greeting cards, soup, breakfast cereal, and Imodium were among the most popular package goods bought online.
» The first flexible, rolled film for still photographs was introduced only about 4 years before the first motion picture was made.
» The first Harley Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903, and used a tomato can for a carburetor.
» The first manned spacecraft to be launched was the Soviet’s Vostok 1, which left Earth in 1961.
» The first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1935.
» "MIDI" stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It is a standard means of sending digitally encoded information about music between electronic devices, often between synthesizers and computers.
» Time magazine named the computer its "Man of the Year" in 1982.
» A 1999 survey of 25,500 standard English-language dictionary words found that 93 percent of them have been registered as dot-coms.
» A 2001 study conducted by PC Data and Information Resources Inc. showed that greeting cards, soup, breakfast cereal, and Imodium were among the most popular package goods bought online.
Statistics trivia
Statistics
» The most common place name in Britain is Newton, which occurs 150 times.
» Sweden is the biggest user of ketchup spending$4 a year on it. Australia comes in second with $2.50 spent on ketchup each year. Third place goes to the United States and Canada who spend $2.20 a year on ketchup. How do other countries stack up: Germany $1.70, United Kingdom $1.60, Poland and Japan $1.40, France $1.20, and Russia $0.90.
» More than 40 percent of the women in the United States were in the Girl Scouts organization. Two-thirds of the women listed in Who's Who of Women were Girl Scouts.
» If population continues to expand at its present rate, Calcutta, India, will have a population of 66 million in the year 2000.
» Tangshan, China, suffered the deadliest earthquake of the 20th century on July 28, 1976. One quarter of the population was killed or seriously injured, with an estimated 242,000 people killed.
» More than 45,000 pieces of plastic debris float on every square mile of ocean.
» If we were to up-turn the Millennium Dome at Greenwich, London, it would take 3.8 billion half-liters of beer to fill it up.
» More than 50 percent of adults surveyed said that children should not be paid money for getting good grades in school.
» The most common place name in Britain is Newton, which occurs 150 times.
» Sweden is the biggest user of ketchup spending$4 a year on it. Australia comes in second with $2.50 spent on ketchup each year. Third place goes to the United States and Canada who spend $2.20 a year on ketchup. How do other countries stack up: Germany $1.70, United Kingdom $1.60, Poland and Japan $1.40, France $1.20, and Russia $0.90.
» More than 40 percent of the women in the United States were in the Girl Scouts organization. Two-thirds of the women listed in Who's Who of Women were Girl Scouts.
» If population continues to expand at its present rate, Calcutta, India, will have a population of 66 million in the year 2000.
» Tangshan, China, suffered the deadliest earthquake of the 20th century on July 28, 1976. One quarter of the population was killed or seriously injured, with an estimated 242,000 people killed.
» More than 45,000 pieces of plastic debris float on every square mile of ocean.
» If we were to up-turn the Millennium Dome at Greenwich, London, it would take 3.8 billion half-liters of beer to fill it up.
» More than 50 percent of adults surveyed said that children should not be paid money for getting good grades in school.
Sports : Football trivia
Sports : Football
» ABC-TV's Monday Night Football premiered in September 1970. Its three original commentators were Keith Jackson, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell.
» According to the rules of Gaelic football, players may punch the ball, but the punching motion must be clearly visible to the referee. Players may not pick up the ball off the ground unless they first get their toe under the ball.
» At greatest risk of injury to a professional football player's anatomy is the knee, which is involved in 58 percent of all major football injuries.
» Because of a football's resemblance to an olive, albeit a very large one, the Chinese often call the American game of football "olive ball."
» Because of fears that the Japanese, who had attacked Pearl Harbor less than a month earlier, might attach California, the Rose Bowl game of 1942 between Oregon State and Duke University was moved east to Duke's hometown in Durham, North Carolina. It didn't, however, help the home team. Oregon won, 20-16.
» During the football season of 1905, at least 19 players died in college and high school contests.
» For the 2000 Super Bowl, about a third of the TV commercial spots were purchased by dot-com companies. The following year, the numbers dropped to just 10 percent bought by 'Net companies.
» For the first time, the play-by-play of Super Bowl XXX in 1996 was broadcast in the Navajo language and NBC-TV offered a secondary, foreign-language audio feed to its affiliates.
» ABC-TV's Monday Night Football premiered in September 1970. Its three original commentators were Keith Jackson, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell.
» According to the rules of Gaelic football, players may punch the ball, but the punching motion must be clearly visible to the referee. Players may not pick up the ball off the ground unless they first get their toe under the ball.
» At greatest risk of injury to a professional football player's anatomy is the knee, which is involved in 58 percent of all major football injuries.
» Because of a football's resemblance to an olive, albeit a very large one, the Chinese often call the American game of football "olive ball."
» Because of fears that the Japanese, who had attacked Pearl Harbor less than a month earlier, might attach California, the Rose Bowl game of 1942 between Oregon State and Duke University was moved east to Duke's hometown in Durham, North Carolina. It didn't, however, help the home team. Oregon won, 20-16.
» During the football season of 1905, at least 19 players died in college and high school contests.
» For the 2000 Super Bowl, about a third of the TV commercial spots were purchased by dot-com companies. The following year, the numbers dropped to just 10 percent bought by 'Net companies.
» For the first time, the play-by-play of Super Bowl XXX in 1996 was broadcast in the Navajo language and NBC-TV offered a secondary, foreign-language audio feed to its affiliates.
Sports : Olympics trivia
Sports : Olympics
» At the 1952 Olympic Games, Russian gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya won an overall record seven medals.
» At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Tom Malchow was the youngest member of the U.S. men’s swim team at age 19. Malchow was humorously nicknamed ”Puppy Chow” by his older teammates. Four years later, at the Olympics in Sydney, he was the 200-meter butterfly gold medallist. Malchow's time of 1:55.35 was the third-fastest performance ever. His nickname changed to “Top Dog” and "Big Dog."
» Australian swimmer Murray Rose won six Olympic medals and was the first man to swim the 1,500-metre freestyle in less than 18 minutes. He won national titles in three countries: the United States, Canada, and Australia. At age 17 in 1956, Rose became the youngest Olympian to win three gold medals during one Olympics.
» Because of the outbreak of major world wars, the modern Olympics did not hold competitions in 1916, 1940, and 1944.
» Boston-native figure skater Tenley Albright was the first American woman to win an Olympic figure-skating gold medal. In 1952, Albright placed second in women's figure skating at the Olympic Games. She was the U.S. national championship from 1952 to 1956. In 1953, Albright became the first American woman to win the world championship title. She won the title again in 1955. At the 1956 Olympics, Albright won the gold medal in women's figure skating. She was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1988. After retiring, Albright became a surgeon.
» Canada’s first Olympic gold medal was won by a man competing for the United States. George Orton of Strathroy, Ontario, took first place in the steeplechase at the 1900 Olympics in Paris, but because Canada didn’t have an official team, he entered as part of the American team instead.
» Childhood ice figure-skating partners JoJo Starbuck and Ken Shelley made skating history when, in 1968, they were the youngest pairs team America had ever sent to the Olympic Games.
» For its Olympic athletes who bring home a gold, silver, or bronze medal, the Philippines pays handsome sums of money. However, none have won in decades.
» At the 1952 Olympic Games, Russian gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya won an overall record seven medals.
» At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Tom Malchow was the youngest member of the U.S. men’s swim team at age 19. Malchow was humorously nicknamed ”Puppy Chow” by his older teammates. Four years later, at the Olympics in Sydney, he was the 200-meter butterfly gold medallist. Malchow's time of 1:55.35 was the third-fastest performance ever. His nickname changed to “Top Dog” and "Big Dog."
» Australian swimmer Murray Rose won six Olympic medals and was the first man to swim the 1,500-metre freestyle in less than 18 minutes. He won national titles in three countries: the United States, Canada, and Australia. At age 17 in 1956, Rose became the youngest Olympian to win three gold medals during one Olympics.
» Because of the outbreak of major world wars, the modern Olympics did not hold competitions in 1916, 1940, and 1944.
» Boston-native figure skater Tenley Albright was the first American woman to win an Olympic figure-skating gold medal. In 1952, Albright placed second in women's figure skating at the Olympic Games. She was the U.S. national championship from 1952 to 1956. In 1953, Albright became the first American woman to win the world championship title. She won the title again in 1955. At the 1956 Olympics, Albright won the gold medal in women's figure skating. She was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1988. After retiring, Albright became a surgeon.
» Canada’s first Olympic gold medal was won by a man competing for the United States. George Orton of Strathroy, Ontario, took first place in the steeplechase at the 1900 Olympics in Paris, but because Canada didn’t have an official team, he entered as part of the American team instead.
» Childhood ice figure-skating partners JoJo Starbuck and Ken Shelley made skating history when, in 1968, they were the youngest pairs team America had ever sent to the Olympic Games.
» For its Olympic athletes who bring home a gold, silver, or bronze medal, the Philippines pays handsome sums of money. However, none have won in decades.
» At the 1952 Olympic Games, Russian gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya won an overall record seven medals.
» At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Tom Malchow was the youngest member of the U.S. men’s swim team at age 19. Malchow was humorously nicknamed ”Puppy Chow” by his older teammates. Four years later, at the Olympics in Sydney, he was the 200-meter butterfly gold medallist. Malchow's time of 1:55.35 was the third-fastest performance ever. His nickname changed to “Top Dog” and "Big Dog."
» Australian swimmer Murray Rose won six Olympic medals and was the first man to swim the 1,500-metre freestyle in less than 18 minutes. He won national titles in three countries: the United States, Canada, and Australia. At age 17 in 1956, Rose became the youngest Olympian to win three gold medals during one Olympics.
» Because of the outbreak of major world wars, the modern Olympics did not hold competitions in 1916, 1940, and 1944.
» Boston-native figure skater Tenley Albright was the first American woman to win an Olympic figure-skating gold medal. In 1952, Albright placed second in women's figure skating at the Olympic Games. She was the U.S. national championship from 1952 to 1956. In 1953, Albright became the first American woman to win the world championship title. She won the title again in 1955. At the 1956 Olympics, Albright won the gold medal in women's figure skating. She was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1988. After retiring, Albright became a surgeon.
» Canada’s first Olympic gold medal was won by a man competing for the United States. George Orton of Strathroy, Ontario, took first place in the steeplechase at the 1900 Olympics in Paris, but because Canada didn’t have an official team, he entered as part of the American team instead.
» Childhood ice figure-skating partners JoJo Starbuck and Ken Shelley made skating history when, in 1968, they were the youngest pairs team America had ever sent to the Olympic Games.
» For its Olympic athletes who bring home a gold, silver, or bronze medal, the Philippines pays handsome sums of money. However, none have won in decades.
» At the 1952 Olympic Games, Russian gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya won an overall record seven medals.
» At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Tom Malchow was the youngest member of the U.S. men’s swim team at age 19. Malchow was humorously nicknamed ”Puppy Chow” by his older teammates. Four years later, at the Olympics in Sydney, he was the 200-meter butterfly gold medallist. Malchow's time of 1:55.35 was the third-fastest performance ever. His nickname changed to “Top Dog” and "Big Dog."
» Australian swimmer Murray Rose won six Olympic medals and was the first man to swim the 1,500-metre freestyle in less than 18 minutes. He won national titles in three countries: the United States, Canada, and Australia. At age 17 in 1956, Rose became the youngest Olympian to win three gold medals during one Olympics.
» Because of the outbreak of major world wars, the modern Olympics did not hold competitions in 1916, 1940, and 1944.
» Boston-native figure skater Tenley Albright was the first American woman to win an Olympic figure-skating gold medal. In 1952, Albright placed second in women's figure skating at the Olympic Games. She was the U.S. national championship from 1952 to 1956. In 1953, Albright became the first American woman to win the world championship title. She won the title again in 1955. At the 1956 Olympics, Albright won the gold medal in women's figure skating. She was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1988. After retiring, Albright became a surgeon.
» Canada’s first Olympic gold medal was won by a man competing for the United States. George Orton of Strathroy, Ontario, took first place in the steeplechase at the 1900 Olympics in Paris, but because Canada didn’t have an official team, he entered as part of the American team instead.
» Childhood ice figure-skating partners JoJo Starbuck and Ken Shelley made skating history when, in 1968, they were the youngest pairs team America had ever sent to the Olympic Games.
» For its Olympic athletes who bring home a gold, silver, or bronze medal, the Philippines pays handsome sums of money. However, none have won in decades.
Sports : Basketball trivia
Sports : Basketball
» Athletic Greatness: Michael Jordan was the Chicago Bulls' all-time leading scorer with 29,277 points; his career scoring average of 31.5 is the highest of any player in NBA/ABA history. Jordan was selected in 1996 as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history; he was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as NBA Most Valuable Player in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1998.
» About 30 percent of NBA players sport tattoos, compared with about 4 percent of the nation's population.
» According to manufacturer Spalding, the average lifespan of an NBA basketball is 10,000 bounces.
» Basketball got its name from the half-bushel peach baskets used as targets by the originator, James A. Naismith, in 1891.
» Basketball is the most popular sport among college women, followed by volleyball and tennis.
» Basketball's Nate Archibald, Larry Bird, Tony Kukoc, David Robinson, Bill Russell, Nick Van Exel, Bill Walton, and Lenny Wilkens are left-handed.
» Basketball's three-point field goal distance, established by the NBA, is 22 feet. Internationally, it's set at 20 feet, 6.1 inches.
» During the 1992-93 season, former Phoenix Suns coach Paul Westphal won more basketball games (62) than any rookie coach in NBA history.
» Athletic Greatness: Michael Jordan was the Chicago Bulls' all-time leading scorer with 29,277 points; his career scoring average of 31.5 is the highest of any player in NBA/ABA history. Jordan was selected in 1996 as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history; he was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as NBA Most Valuable Player in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1998.
» About 30 percent of NBA players sport tattoos, compared with about 4 percent of the nation's population.
» According to manufacturer Spalding, the average lifespan of an NBA basketball is 10,000 bounces.
» Basketball got its name from the half-bushel peach baskets used as targets by the originator, James A. Naismith, in 1891.
» Basketball is the most popular sport among college women, followed by volleyball and tennis.
» Basketball's Nate Archibald, Larry Bird, Tony Kukoc, David Robinson, Bill Russell, Nick Van Exel, Bill Walton, and Lenny Wilkens are left-handed.
» Basketball's three-point field goal distance, established by the NBA, is 22 feet. Internationally, it's set at 20 feet, 6.1 inches.
» During the 1992-93 season, former Phoenix Suns coach Paul Westphal won more basketball games (62) than any rookie coach in NBA history.
Sports trivia
Sports
trivia Baseball Trivia
trivia Basketball Trivia
trivia Football Trivia
trivia Olympics Trivia
» Until 1937, the refereee in basketball had to throw a jump ball after every basket.
» Until recently, a hockey goaltender never wore a mask. By 1959, Jacques Plante, an NHL All-Star goalie, had accumulated a hairline fracture and 200 stitches. Flying pucks had broken his jaw, both cheekbones, and his nose. Fibreglass Canada worked with Plante to develop the first-ever hockey goalie mask. While he was wearing the mask, his team, the Montreal Canadiens, won the Stanley cup for the third time.
» Up to 20,000 pounds of pressure per square inch may be absorbed by a pole vaulter on the joints of his tubular thigh bones when he lands.
» Using a graphite tennis racket reportedly helps prevent the onset of "tennis elbow."
» Hockey word play: The letters in the name Jaromir (as in Jaromir Jagr of the Pittsburgh Penguins), when rearranged, spells Mario, Jr. (as in Mario Lemieux).
» P.O.T.U.S Sports: U.S. President George Washington's favorite sport was fox hunting; Abraham Lincoln's was wrestling; Franklin D. Roosevelt's was swimming; John F. Kennedy's athletic passion was sailing; Richard M. Nixon's was football; and Ronald Reagan's favorite sport was horseback riding.
» A "tirailleur" is a sharpshooter.
» A 27-inch-high silver America's Cup holds no liquid – it is bottomless.
trivia Baseball Trivia
trivia Basketball Trivia
trivia Football Trivia
trivia Olympics Trivia
» Until 1937, the refereee in basketball had to throw a jump ball after every basket.
» Until recently, a hockey goaltender never wore a mask. By 1959, Jacques Plante, an NHL All-Star goalie, had accumulated a hairline fracture and 200 stitches. Flying pucks had broken his jaw, both cheekbones, and his nose. Fibreglass Canada worked with Plante to develop the first-ever hockey goalie mask. While he was wearing the mask, his team, the Montreal Canadiens, won the Stanley cup for the third time.
» Up to 20,000 pounds of pressure per square inch may be absorbed by a pole vaulter on the joints of his tubular thigh bones when he lands.
» Using a graphite tennis racket reportedly helps prevent the onset of "tennis elbow."
» Hockey word play: The letters in the name Jaromir (as in Jaromir Jagr of the Pittsburgh Penguins), when rearranged, spells Mario, Jr. (as in Mario Lemieux).
» P.O.T.U.S Sports: U.S. President George Washington's favorite sport was fox hunting; Abraham Lincoln's was wrestling; Franklin D. Roosevelt's was swimming; John F. Kennedy's athletic passion was sailing; Richard M. Nixon's was football; and Ronald Reagan's favorite sport was horseback riding.
» A "tirailleur" is a sharpshooter.
» A 27-inch-high silver America's Cup holds no liquid – it is bottomless.
Sports : Baseball trivia
Sports : Baseball
» Giants baseball catcher Roger Bresnahan introduced shin guards in 1907.
» Hank Aaron's first major league home run was hit off Vic Raschi of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1954.
» In 1882, Richard Higham of Troy, New York, former manager and National League baseball player, was banished from the league for advising gamblers how to bet on baseball games he umpired, thus earning the infamous distinction of being the only umpire ever judged guilty of dishonesty on the field.
» In 1897, the Washington Senators became the first baseball team ever to introduce "Ladies' Day."
» In 1963, baseball pitcher Gaylord Perry said: "They'll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run." Only a few hours after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, Perry hit the first and only home run of his career.
» In 1965, the minimum annual salary for a baseball player was $6,000, just a thousand dollars more than it had been in 1947.
» In 1977, Mike Schmidt earned the first $500,000 salary in baseball.
» In 1994, the National League and American League Baseball M.V.P.s were Jeff Bagwell and Frank Thomas, respectively. Jeff and Frank were both born on the exact same day: May 27, 1968.
» Giants baseball catcher Roger Bresnahan introduced shin guards in 1907.
» Hank Aaron's first major league home run was hit off Vic Raschi of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1954.
» In 1882, Richard Higham of Troy, New York, former manager and National League baseball player, was banished from the league for advising gamblers how to bet on baseball games he umpired, thus earning the infamous distinction of being the only umpire ever judged guilty of dishonesty on the field.
» In 1897, the Washington Senators became the first baseball team ever to introduce "Ladies' Day."
» In 1963, baseball pitcher Gaylord Perry said: "They'll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run." Only a few hours after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, Perry hit the first and only home run of his career.
» In 1965, the minimum annual salary for a baseball player was $6,000, just a thousand dollars more than it had been in 1947.
» In 1977, Mike Schmidt earned the first $500,000 salary in baseball.
» In 1994, the National League and American League Baseball M.V.P.s were Jeff Bagwell and Frank Thomas, respectively. Jeff and Frank were both born on the exact same day: May 27, 1968.
People trivia
People
» In parts of Greece and Italy, people say “no” by tossing their heads back and clucking their tongues.
» Helen Keller (1880-1968), blind and deaf from an early age, developed her sense of smell so finely that she could identify friends by their personal odors.
» Emerson Moser, who was Crayola's senior crayon maker, revealed upon his retirement that he was blue-green colorblind and couldn't see all the colors. He molded more than 1.4 billion crayons in his 37-year career.
» Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish genius who devised the naming system of living things, was a fervent believer in sea monsters, citing numerous reports of fishermen.
» Helen of Troy was queen of Sparta.
» Emily Dickinson wrote more than nine hundred poems, of which only four were published during her lifetime.
» Carrie Donovan, former fashion editor who has written for "The New York Times," "Vogue," and "Harper's Bazaar," was featured for the first time in April 1997 in Old Navy ads in "The New York Times." She is the older blondish woman with the big round glasses, known in the New York fashion industry, but apparently not as well known elsewhere.
» Emmett Kelly's classic tramp clown character "Weary Willie" provided comic relief in the Circus through the end of 1956. When Kelly left his circus career, he became the mascot for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
» In parts of Greece and Italy, people say “no” by tossing their heads back and clucking their tongues.
» Helen Keller (1880-1968), blind and deaf from an early age, developed her sense of smell so finely that she could identify friends by their personal odors.
» Emerson Moser, who was Crayola's senior crayon maker, revealed upon his retirement that he was blue-green colorblind and couldn't see all the colors. He molded more than 1.4 billion crayons in his 37-year career.
» Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish genius who devised the naming system of living things, was a fervent believer in sea monsters, citing numerous reports of fishermen.
» Helen of Troy was queen of Sparta.
» Emily Dickinson wrote more than nine hundred poems, of which only four were published during her lifetime.
» Carrie Donovan, former fashion editor who has written for "The New York Times," "Vogue," and "Harper's Bazaar," was featured for the first time in April 1997 in Old Navy ads in "The New York Times." She is the older blondish woman with the big round glasses, known in the New York fashion industry, but apparently not as well known elsewhere.
» Emmett Kelly's classic tramp clown character "Weary Willie" provided comic relief in the Circus through the end of 1956. When Kelly left his circus career, he became the mascot for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Space trivia
Space
» Without using precision instruments, Eratosthenes measured the radius of Earth in the third century B.C., and came within 1 percent of the value determined by today's technology.
» The planet Venus does not tilt as it goes around the Sun, so consequently, it has no seasons. On Mars, however, the seasons are more exaggerated and last much longer than on Earth.
» Scientists believe that hydrogen comprises approximately 90 to 99 percent of all matter in the universe.
» The planet Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love.
» Scientists have determined that most rocks on the surface of the Moon are between 3 and 4.6 billion years old.
» The point in a lunar orbit that is farthest from the moon is called an "apolune."
» Selenologists study the Moon, as geologists study Earth.
» Since Neptune's discovery in 1846, it has made about three-quarters of one revolution of the Sun.
» Without using precision instruments, Eratosthenes measured the radius of Earth in the third century B.C., and came within 1 percent of the value determined by today's technology.
» The planet Venus does not tilt as it goes around the Sun, so consequently, it has no seasons. On Mars, however, the seasons are more exaggerated and last much longer than on Earth.
» Scientists believe that hydrogen comprises approximately 90 to 99 percent of all matter in the universe.
» The planet Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love.
» Scientists have determined that most rocks on the surface of the Moon are between 3 and 4.6 billion years old.
» The point in a lunar orbit that is farthest from the moon is called an "apolune."
» Selenologists study the Moon, as geologists study Earth.
» Since Neptune's discovery in 1846, it has made about three-quarters of one revolution of the Sun.
Laws and Customs trivia
Laws and Customs
» The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that the prosecution must throw its files wide open to the defense if the accused is suffering from amnesia.
» Jaguar images and costumes were outlawed by the Catholic church in the seventeenth century because of their association with Indian religion, militia, and politics.
» The minimum age for marriage of Italian girls was raised by law to 12 years in 1892.
» Japanese bowing carries different meanings at different angles.
- A bow at an angle of five degrees means "Good day" (simple greeting).
- A bow at an angle of fifteen degrees is also a common salutation, a bit more formal it means "Good morning."
- A bow at an angle of thirty degrees is a respectful bow to indicate appreciation for a kind gesture.
- A bow at a forty-five-degree angle is used to convey deep respect or an apology.
» The New York Board of Education barred the whipping of children in its schools on March 4, 1908.
» Japanese rules for the proper use of chopsticks are many. Improper use includes wandering the chopsticks over several foods without decision, and is called mayoibashi. The unforgivable act of licking the ends of chopsticks is called neburibashi. Lack of chopstick etiquette is strictly taboo.
» King James VI and the Privy Council issued an edict in 1603 banning the use of the surname MacGregor.
» The penalty for conviction of smuggling in Bangladesh is the death penalty.
» The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that the prosecution must throw its files wide open to the defense if the accused is suffering from amnesia.
» Jaguar images and costumes were outlawed by the Catholic church in the seventeenth century because of their association with Indian religion, militia, and politics.
» The minimum age for marriage of Italian girls was raised by law to 12 years in 1892.
» Japanese bowing carries different meanings at different angles.
- A bow at an angle of five degrees means "Good day" (simple greeting).
- A bow at an angle of fifteen degrees is also a common salutation, a bit more formal it means "Good morning."
- A bow at an angle of thirty degrees is a respectful bow to indicate appreciation for a kind gesture.
- A bow at a forty-five-degree angle is used to convey deep respect or an apology.
» The New York Board of Education barred the whipping of children in its schools on March 4, 1908.
» Japanese rules for the proper use of chopsticks are many. Improper use includes wandering the chopsticks over several foods without decision, and is called mayoibashi. The unforgivable act of licking the ends of chopsticks is called neburibashi. Lack of chopstick etiquette is strictly taboo.
» King James VI and the Privy Council issued an edict in 1603 banning the use of the surname MacGregor.
» The penalty for conviction of smuggling in Bangladesh is the death penalty.
Insects trivia
Insects
» The animal responsible for the most human deaths worldwide is the mosquito.
» The animal with the largest brain in proportion to its size is the ant.
» The ant has the largest brain in the animal kingdom, in proportion to its size.
» The are more different kinds of insects on existence today than the total of all kinds of other animals put together.
» "Formication" is a hallucination that bugs or snakes are crawling on or under the skin, and is common to amphetamine and cocaine users. This hallucination is also referred to as "crank bugs."
» Bombyx mori, a silkworm moth, has been cultivated for so long that it can no longer exist without human care. Because it has been domesticated, it has lost the ability to fly.
» Drosophila, the small fruit fly, has been warmly received by the scientific community, mainly owing to the giant-sized chromosomes possessed by the cells of its salivary glands. These chromosomes, which can stretch to more than a mile long when unraveled, allow scientists to study DNA using only a sheet of white paper and a bright table lamp.
» A bee could travel 4 million miles (6.5 million km) at 7 mph (11 km/h) on the energy it would obtain from 1 gallon (3.785 liters) of nectar.
» The animal responsible for the most human deaths worldwide is the mosquito.
» The animal with the largest brain in proportion to its size is the ant.
» The ant has the largest brain in the animal kingdom, in proportion to its size.
» The are more different kinds of insects on existence today than the total of all kinds of other animals put together.
» "Formication" is a hallucination that bugs or snakes are crawling on or under the skin, and is common to amphetamine and cocaine users. This hallucination is also referred to as "crank bugs."
» Bombyx mori, a silkworm moth, has been cultivated for so long that it can no longer exist without human care. Because it has been domesticated, it has lost the ability to fly.
» Drosophila, the small fruit fly, has been warmly received by the scientific community, mainly owing to the giant-sized chromosomes possessed by the cells of its salivary glands. These chromosomes, which can stretch to more than a mile long when unraveled, allow scientists to study DNA using only a sheet of white paper and a bright table lamp.
» A bee could travel 4 million miles (6.5 million km) at 7 mph (11 km/h) on the energy it would obtain from 1 gallon (3.785 liters) of nectar.
Inventions trivia
Inventions
» There were 15,700,003 Model T Ford's manufactured, all in black.
» The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
» Thomas Edison held more than 1,300 U.S. and foreign patents.
» The father of the pink flamingo (the plastic lawn ornament) was Don Featherstone of Massachusetts. Featherstone graduated from art school and went to work as a designer for Union Products, a Leominster, Massachusetts company that manufactured flat plastic lawn ornaments. He designed the pink flamingo in 1957 as a follow-up project to his plastic duck. Today, Featherstone is president and part owner of the company that sells an average of 250,000 to 500,000 plastic pink flamingos a year.
» Thomas Edison, "the Wizard of Menlo Park," established an "invention factory," the first industrial research laboratory, with the hope of producing a new invention every ten days. In one 4-year period, he obtained 300 patents, or one every five days.
» The film for the first Kodak camera was 2¾ inches wide, or 70 millimeters. Kodak has been manufacturing 70-millimeter film continuously since 1888.
» The first "braces" were constructed by Pierre Fauchard in 1728. Fauchard's "braces" consisted of a flat strip of metal, which was connected to teeth by pieces of thread.
» Thomas Edison’s first major invention was the quadruplex telegraph. Unlike other telegraphs at the time, it could send four messages at the same time over one wire.
» There were 15,700,003 Model T Ford's manufactured, all in black.
» The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
» Thomas Edison held more than 1,300 U.S. and foreign patents.
» The father of the pink flamingo (the plastic lawn ornament) was Don Featherstone of Massachusetts. Featherstone graduated from art school and went to work as a designer for Union Products, a Leominster, Massachusetts company that manufactured flat plastic lawn ornaments. He designed the pink flamingo in 1957 as a follow-up project to his plastic duck. Today, Featherstone is president and part owner of the company that sells an average of 250,000 to 500,000 plastic pink flamingos a year.
» Thomas Edison, "the Wizard of Menlo Park," established an "invention factory," the first industrial research laboratory, with the hope of producing a new invention every ten days. In one 4-year period, he obtained 300 patents, or one every five days.
» The film for the first Kodak camera was 2¾ inches wide, or 70 millimeters. Kodak has been manufacturing 70-millimeter film continuously since 1888.
» The first "braces" were constructed by Pierre Fauchard in 1728. Fauchard's "braces" consisted of a flat strip of metal, which was connected to teeth by pieces of thread.
» Thomas Edison’s first major invention was the quadruplex telegraph. Unlike other telegraphs at the time, it could send four messages at the same time over one wire.
Humans trivia
Humans
» The “spring up, fall out” phenomenon says children grow twice as fast in the spring as they do in the fall, while they gain more weight in the fall.
» In all of history, the most destructive disease is malaria. More than 1.5 million people die from malaria every year.
» The ability to firmly grip with your hand comes from the muscles in the forearm. The muscles pull on tendons in the hand, bending the fingers.
» In ancient Rome, gold salves were used for the treatment of skin ulcers. Today, gold leaf plays an important role in the treatment of chronic ulcers.
» In dentistry, a “mulberry molar” is a tooth with more than the usual four cusps.
» In medieval Europe, alchemists mixed powdered gold into drinks to "comfort sore limbs," one of the earliest references to arthritis.
» The skeleton of an average 160 pound body weighs about 29 pounds.
» The skin is only about as deep as the tip of a ball-point pen. First-degree burns affect only the very top layers of the skin; second-degree burns, midway through the skin's thickness. Third-degree burns penetrate and damage the entire thickness of the skin.
» The “spring up, fall out” phenomenon says children grow twice as fast in the spring as they do in the fall, while they gain more weight in the fall.
» In all of history, the most destructive disease is malaria. More than 1.5 million people die from malaria every year.
» The ability to firmly grip with your hand comes from the muscles in the forearm. The muscles pull on tendons in the hand, bending the fingers.
» In ancient Rome, gold salves were used for the treatment of skin ulcers. Today, gold leaf plays an important role in the treatment of chronic ulcers.
» In dentistry, a “mulberry molar” is a tooth with more than the usual four cusps.
» In medieval Europe, alchemists mixed powdered gold into drinks to "comfort sore limbs," one of the earliest references to arthritis.
» The skeleton of an average 160 pound body weighs about 29 pounds.
» The skin is only about as deep as the tip of a ball-point pen. First-degree burns affect only the very top layers of the skin; second-degree burns, midway through the skin's thickness. Third-degree burns penetrate and damage the entire thickness of the skin.
Christmas trivia
Holidays : Christmas
» "Hot cockles" was a popular game at Christmas in medieval times. It was a game in which the other players took turns striking the blindfolded player, who had to guess the name of the person delivering each blow. "Hot cockles" was still a Christmas pastime until the Victorian era.
» "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was conceived by author Robert May in 1939. Two other names he considered before deciding on Rudolph were Reginald and Rollo.
» “The Nutcracker” is the name for the ballet performed around Christmas time each year. “The Nutcracker Suite” is the title of the music Tchaikovsky wrote.
» Holiday Headaches: Nearly one in four people said they have more headaches during the Christmas season than any other time of the year. Of those surveyed, 75 percent said that not having enough time caused them to have headaches; 73 percent said crowds and traffic created their headaches; and 51 percent said skipping meals gave them headaches.
» A boar's head is a traditional Christmas dish. According to a popular story, the unlucky boar whose head began the custom in the Middle Ages was killed by choking to death on a book of Greek philosophy. The story claims that a university student saved himself from a charging boar by ramming a book of Aristotle's writings down its throat. He then cut off the boar's head and brought it back to his college.
» A Christmas club, a savings account in which a person deposits a fixed amount of money regularly to be used at Christmas for shopping, came about around 1905.
» A traditional Christmas dinner in early England was the head of a pig prepared with mustard.
» According to a 1995 survey, 7 out of 10 British dogs get Christmas gifts from their doting owners.
» "Hot cockles" was a popular game at Christmas in medieval times. It was a game in which the other players took turns striking the blindfolded player, who had to guess the name of the person delivering each blow. "Hot cockles" was still a Christmas pastime until the Victorian era.
» "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was conceived by author Robert May in 1939. Two other names he considered before deciding on Rudolph were Reginald and Rollo.
» “The Nutcracker” is the name for the ballet performed around Christmas time each year. “The Nutcracker Suite” is the title of the music Tchaikovsky wrote.
» Holiday Headaches: Nearly one in four people said they have more headaches during the Christmas season than any other time of the year. Of those surveyed, 75 percent said that not having enough time caused them to have headaches; 73 percent said crowds and traffic created their headaches; and 51 percent said skipping meals gave them headaches.
» A boar's head is a traditional Christmas dish. According to a popular story, the unlucky boar whose head began the custom in the Middle Ages was killed by choking to death on a book of Greek philosophy. The story claims that a university student saved himself from a charging boar by ramming a book of Aristotle's writings down its throat. He then cut off the boar's head and brought it back to his college.
» A Christmas club, a savings account in which a person deposits a fixed amount of money regularly to be used at Christmas for shopping, came about around 1905.
» A traditional Christmas dinner in early England was the head of a pig prepared with mustard.
» According to a 1995 survey, 7 out of 10 British dogs get Christmas gifts from their doting owners.
History trivia
History
» Peter Minuit purchased Manhattan Island from the Manhattoe tribe for trinkets and cloth valued at 60 guilders. The price worked out to about $24.
» In 1942, because of World War II, the United States government forced all Japanese Americans on the West Coast into camps.
» Pharaohs ruled Egypt from 3110 B.C. until 332 B.C., when Egypt came under foreign rule.
» In 1950, Scottish Nationalists stole the "Stone of Destiny" from Westminster Abbey. This was Scotland's Coronation Stone, taken by the English in 1296. By tradition, all British monarchs have to be crowned while sitting on it. It was eventually recovered from Arbroath Abbey, although some claimed this was a copy, and the original remained in Scotland. In 1996, the "Stone of Destiny" was returned from London to Edinburgh Castle, exactly 700 years after being stolen by Edward I.
» In 1961, a year after the death of novelist Boris Pasternak, his friend and collaborator Olga Ivinskaya was arrested for allegedly receiving foreign royalties for Pasternak's published works. She was sentenced to eight years imprisonment and hard labor in Siberia, and her daughter received three years for alleged complicity.
» In 1964, Ray Bellisario became the first British paparazzo, and was dubbed "The Peeping Tom" by the press. He sold photographs of Princess Margaret in a swimsuit to the Sunday Express, which published them. The British monarchy instructed editors not to buy Bellisario's photos, and they agreed.
» The right arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty crossed the Atlantic Ocean three times. It first crossed for display at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition and in New York, where money was raised for the foundation and pedestal. It was returned to Paris in 1882 to be reunited with the rest of the statue, which was then shipped back to the United States.
» The Roman emperor Commodus had all of the dwarfs, cripples, and freaks collected in the city of Rome and had them brought to the Colosseum, where they were ordered to fight each other to the death with meat cleavers.
» Peter Minuit purchased Manhattan Island from the Manhattoe tribe for trinkets and cloth valued at 60 guilders. The price worked out to about $24.
» In 1942, because of World War II, the United States government forced all Japanese Americans on the West Coast into camps.
» Pharaohs ruled Egypt from 3110 B.C. until 332 B.C., when Egypt came under foreign rule.
» In 1950, Scottish Nationalists stole the "Stone of Destiny" from Westminster Abbey. This was Scotland's Coronation Stone, taken by the English in 1296. By tradition, all British monarchs have to be crowned while sitting on it. It was eventually recovered from Arbroath Abbey, although some claimed this was a copy, and the original remained in Scotland. In 1996, the "Stone of Destiny" was returned from London to Edinburgh Castle, exactly 700 years after being stolen by Edward I.
» In 1961, a year after the death of novelist Boris Pasternak, his friend and collaborator Olga Ivinskaya was arrested for allegedly receiving foreign royalties for Pasternak's published works. She was sentenced to eight years imprisonment and hard labor in Siberia, and her daughter received three years for alleged complicity.
» In 1964, Ray Bellisario became the first British paparazzo, and was dubbed "The Peeping Tom" by the press. He sold photographs of Princess Margaret in a swimsuit to the Sunday Express, which published them. The British monarchy instructed editors not to buy Bellisario's photos, and they agreed.
» The right arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty crossed the Atlantic Ocean three times. It first crossed for display at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition and in New York, where money was raised for the foundation and pedestal. It was returned to Paris in 1882 to be reunited with the rest of the statue, which was then shipped back to the United States.
» The Roman emperor Commodus had all of the dwarfs, cripples, and freaks collected in the city of Rome and had them brought to the Colosseum, where they were ordered to fight each other to the death with meat cleavers.
Holidays trivia
Holidays
trivia Christmas Trivia
» “Within the Walls Rodeo Day” is when prisoners wear black and white striped outfits and take part in volunteer rodeos within the walls of the prison.
» Mother's Day Symbolism: The pink carnation is a gesture to honor a living mother, while a white carnation is worn to symbolize remembrance.
» Pashka is a Russian Easter cake decorated with molded reliefs depicting the Passion. It traditionally has candied fruits that form the initials X and B (for Khristos voskress, meaning “Christ is risen”) in the Cyrillic alphabet.
» Pooch Passion: According to a pet owner survey, 79 percent of Americans give their dogs holiday and/or birthday presents.
» St. Swithin's Day, July 15: During the 900s, a man named Swithin (spelling also recorded as "Swithun") was the Bishop of Winchester in England. Some years after his death, and for reasons not documented, Bishop Swithin's remains were transferred to Winchester Cathedral on July 15, 971. That same day, there was a tremendous rainstorm. Legend has it that Bishop Swithin was so angry about the move from his final resting place that he caused the storm. According to old English folklore, if it should now rain on July 15th, St. Swithin will make it rain for 40 days thereafter.
» A “distich” is composed of two poetic lines matching both sound and sense. It is used during the Chinese New Year to express the people’s wish for a peaceful and happy new year.
» A baked ham has graced traditional Easter tables in America for centuries. The tradition of ham served at Easter dates back to the 1600s. The colonists got the idea from their Native American neighbors. Every year the Native Americans welcomed spring with a planting festival that included the practice of smoking meats, especially venison. The colonists were fascinated with the process and decided to try it on the hogs they had raised. They salted, smoked, and stored the meat through the winter until it was perfectly cured and ready for the table in the spring, just in time for Easter.
» A shofar is a ram’s horn used in ancient times as a signaling trumpet, and is still blown in synagogues on Rosh Hashana and at the end of Yom Kippur.
trivia Christmas Trivia
» “Within the Walls Rodeo Day” is when prisoners wear black and white striped outfits and take part in volunteer rodeos within the walls of the prison.
» Mother's Day Symbolism: The pink carnation is a gesture to honor a living mother, while a white carnation is worn to symbolize remembrance.
» Pashka is a Russian Easter cake decorated with molded reliefs depicting the Passion. It traditionally has candied fruits that form the initials X and B (for Khristos voskress, meaning “Christ is risen”) in the Cyrillic alphabet.
» Pooch Passion: According to a pet owner survey, 79 percent of Americans give their dogs holiday and/or birthday presents.
» St. Swithin's Day, July 15: During the 900s, a man named Swithin (spelling also recorded as "Swithun") was the Bishop of Winchester in England. Some years after his death, and for reasons not documented, Bishop Swithin's remains were transferred to Winchester Cathedral on July 15, 971. That same day, there was a tremendous rainstorm. Legend has it that Bishop Swithin was so angry about the move from his final resting place that he caused the storm. According to old English folklore, if it should now rain on July 15th, St. Swithin will make it rain for 40 days thereafter.
» A “distich” is composed of two poetic lines matching both sound and sense. It is used during the Chinese New Year to express the people’s wish for a peaceful and happy new year.
» A baked ham has graced traditional Easter tables in America for centuries. The tradition of ham served at Easter dates back to the 1600s. The colonists got the idea from their Native American neighbors. Every year the Native Americans welcomed spring with a planting festival that included the practice of smoking meats, especially venison. The colonists were fascinated with the process and decided to try it on the hogs they had raised. They salted, smoked, and stored the meat through the winter until it was perfectly cured and ready for the table in the spring, just in time for Easter.
» A shofar is a ram’s horn used in ancient times as a signaling trumpet, and is still blown in synagogues on Rosh Hashana and at the end of Yom Kippur.
Geography : Europe trivia
Geography : Europe
» Among the fifty-two London churches Sir Christopher Wren created from 1670 to 1711, the greatest was St. Paul's Cathedral.
» Antibes, on the eastern French Riviera, was founded by the Greeks in the fourth century B.C. After World War II, Pablo Picasso left Paris to live near the Mediterranean. He worked for six months in the Grimaldi castle where he painted La Joi De Vivre. It is now a museum that holds many of Picasso's paintings and pottery. Antibes also hosts one of the largest antique shows in Europe each spring.
» Before 1918, Slovenia belonged to Austria-Hungary; from 1918 to 1991, it was part of Yugoslavia. It declared its independence on June 25, 1991.
» Built during the fourteenth century, Amsterdam's red-light district is an attractive part of the city with charming architecture. The area originally was filled with houses of ill repute and myriad distilleries. The distilleries are gone, but the oldest of professions flourishes. Prostitutes display themselves in windows under red neon lights.
» Bulgaria’s national anthem was written by Tzvetan Radoslavov (1863-1931). The original words and music were composed by Radoslavov while he was still a student in 1885 and on his way to fight in the Serbo-Bulgarian War. The song quickly became popular. It was arranged as the National Anthem, replacing the previous Republican Anthem in 1964. Both words and music have been revised many times since 1885. At present, the anthem has no title.
» Dining while rolling down the elegant shopping street of the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, Switzerland, by streetcar is a common pleasure in the city. The Gastrotram is a favorite of locals.
» Finland has the greatest number of islands in the world: 179,584.
» Finland is smaller than the state of California.
» Among the fifty-two London churches Sir Christopher Wren created from 1670 to 1711, the greatest was St. Paul's Cathedral.
» Antibes, on the eastern French Riviera, was founded by the Greeks in the fourth century B.C. After World War II, Pablo Picasso left Paris to live near the Mediterranean. He worked for six months in the Grimaldi castle where he painted La Joi De Vivre. It is now a museum that holds many of Picasso's paintings and pottery. Antibes also hosts one of the largest antique shows in Europe each spring.
» Before 1918, Slovenia belonged to Austria-Hungary; from 1918 to 1991, it was part of Yugoslavia. It declared its independence on June 25, 1991.
» Built during the fourteenth century, Amsterdam's red-light district is an attractive part of the city with charming architecture. The area originally was filled with houses of ill repute and myriad distilleries. The distilleries are gone, but the oldest of professions flourishes. Prostitutes display themselves in windows under red neon lights.
» Bulgaria’s national anthem was written by Tzvetan Radoslavov (1863-1931). The original words and music were composed by Radoslavov while he was still a student in 1885 and on his way to fight in the Serbo-Bulgarian War. The song quickly became popular. It was arranged as the National Anthem, replacing the previous Republican Anthem in 1964. Both words and music have been revised many times since 1885. At present, the anthem has no title.
» Dining while rolling down the elegant shopping street of the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, Switzerland, by streetcar is a common pleasure in the city. The Gastrotram is a favorite of locals.
» Finland has the greatest number of islands in the world: 179,584.
» Finland is smaller than the state of California.
Geography : US trivia
Geography : US
» The muskellunge, a fierce fighting fish that can weigh in at around 70 pounds, is the official state fish of Wisconsin.
» The names of some cities in the United States are the names of other U.S. states. These include Nevada in Missouri, California Maryland, Louisiana in Missouri, Oregon in Wisconsin, Kansas in Oklahoma, Wyoming in Ohio, Michigan in North Dakota, Delaware in Arkansas, and Indiana in Pennsylvania.
» The northernmost U.S. state capital is Juneau, Alaska.
» The odd zigzag in the North Carolina-South Carolina state line, just south of Charlotte, resulted when boundary commissioners altered the line in 1772 to avoid splitting the Catawba Indians between the two British colonies.
» "Honolulu" means "sheltered harbor."
» “Q” is the only letter in the alphabet that does not appear in the name of any state of the United States.
» “Utah” is from the Navajo word meaning “upper.”
»
Some Chicago firsts...
Ferris Wheel:George W.G. Ferris created a 264-foot "bridge on an axle" for the Columbian Exposition.
Skyscraper:William Le Baron Jenney designed the Home Assurance Building on LaSalle and Adams Streets around an iron-and-steel frame in 1884.
Lie Detector:Leonarde Keeler, an employee of the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory at Northwestern University, devised the Keeler Polygraph.
Zipper:Called the "hookless fastener" when exhibited at the 1893 Columbian Exposition, the device would be dubbed "zipper" by the B.F. Goodrich Company, who used it on overshoes.
» The muskellunge, a fierce fighting fish that can weigh in at around 70 pounds, is the official state fish of Wisconsin.
» The names of some cities in the United States are the names of other U.S. states. These include Nevada in Missouri, California Maryland, Louisiana in Missouri, Oregon in Wisconsin, Kansas in Oklahoma, Wyoming in Ohio, Michigan in North Dakota, Delaware in Arkansas, and Indiana in Pennsylvania.
» The northernmost U.S. state capital is Juneau, Alaska.
» The odd zigzag in the North Carolina-South Carolina state line, just south of Charlotte, resulted when boundary commissioners altered the line in 1772 to avoid splitting the Catawba Indians between the two British colonies.
» "Honolulu" means "sheltered harbor."
» “Q” is the only letter in the alphabet that does not appear in the name of any state of the United States.
» “Utah” is from the Navajo word meaning “upper.”
»
Some Chicago firsts...
Ferris Wheel:George W.G. Ferris created a 264-foot "bridge on an axle" for the Columbian Exposition.
Skyscraper:William Le Baron Jenney designed the Home Assurance Building on LaSalle and Adams Streets around an iron-and-steel frame in 1884.
Lie Detector:Leonarde Keeler, an employee of the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory at Northwestern University, devised the Keeler Polygraph.
Zipper:Called the "hookless fastener" when exhibited at the 1893 Columbian Exposition, the device would be dubbed "zipper" by the B.F. Goodrich Company, who used it on overshoes.
Geography : Australia trivia
Geography : Australia
» “Wet” means “simpleton” in Australian slang. The Wet is the rainy season in Northern Australia.
» About one fifth of Australia is covered by its eleven deserts.
» Arguably the largest state in the world, Western Australia covers one-third of the Australian continent. It spans over 2.5 million square kilometers (1 million square miles).
» Australia is divided into two territories and six states.
» Australia is the smallest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent in the World. It is the only country which is also a whole continent — 18.6 million people live here.
» Australia’s Ayers Rock is the largest rock in the world. It rises out of the middle of the country with a diameter of 5½ miles around its base and a height of 1,000 feet.
» Australia’s Great Barrier Reef stretches for 1,242 miles along the coast of Queensland. It is a chain of small islands and more than 2,500 reefs.
» Australia's city of Sydney began as a penal colony in 1788; for the next 60 years, it received the criminal and persecuted people of British society.
» “Wet” means “simpleton” in Australian slang. The Wet is the rainy season in Northern Australia.
» About one fifth of Australia is covered by its eleven deserts.
» Arguably the largest state in the world, Western Australia covers one-third of the Australian continent. It spans over 2.5 million square kilometers (1 million square miles).
» Australia is divided into two territories and six states.
» Australia is the smallest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent in the World. It is the only country which is also a whole continent — 18.6 million people live here.
» Australia’s Ayers Rock is the largest rock in the world. It rises out of the middle of the country with a diameter of 5½ miles around its base and a height of 1,000 feet.
» Australia’s Great Barrier Reef stretches for 1,242 miles along the coast of Queensland. It is a chain of small islands and more than 2,500 reefs.
» Australia's city of Sydney began as a penal colony in 1788; for the next 60 years, it received the criminal and persecuted people of British society.
Geography : Asia trivia
Geography : Asia
» A virtual underwater playground with its breathtaking coral, the Philippines draws thousands of divers from Japan, China, and Taiwan each year.
» Bangladesh is the most densely populated non-island region in the world, with more than 1,970 humans per square mile.
» Bhutan is derived from the Indian word Bhotanta, meaning "the edge of Tibet." It is located in Asia near the southern fringes of the eastern Himalayas.
» Ceylon became a republic in 1972 and changed its name to Sri Lanka.
» China produces about 70 percent of the world's silk supply.
» In Siberia, it can get so cold that the moisture in a person’s breath freezes instead of forming vapor. It can actually be heard when it falls to earth as ice crystals.
» In the southern part of Japan, it rarely snows to any great amount except for the mountains, but the northern part usually has plenty of snow in the winter. Autumn is by far the best time to visit Japan, as far as the weather goes.
» Israel is one-quarter the size of the state of Maine.
» A virtual underwater playground with its breathtaking coral, the Philippines draws thousands of divers from Japan, China, and Taiwan each year.
» Bangladesh is the most densely populated non-island region in the world, with more than 1,970 humans per square mile.
» Bhutan is derived from the Indian word Bhotanta, meaning "the edge of Tibet." It is located in Asia near the southern fringes of the eastern Himalayas.
» Ceylon became a republic in 1972 and changed its name to Sri Lanka.
» China produces about 70 percent of the world's silk supply.
» In Siberia, it can get so cold that the moisture in a person’s breath freezes instead of forming vapor. It can actually be heard when it falls to earth as ice crystals.
» In the southern part of Japan, it rarely snows to any great amount except for the mountains, but the northern part usually has plenty of snow in the winter. Autumn is by far the best time to visit Japan, as far as the weather goes.
» Israel is one-quarter the size of the state of Maine.
Food and Drink trivia
Food and Drink
» In 1765, the sandwich was invented by John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, who gave the food its name. The Earl used to order roast beef between pieces of toast for a snack while he was at the gaming tables, it allowed him to keep one hand free to play while he ate.
» Caviar, or fish eggs, contain the same healthful omega-3 fatty acids as salmon.
» In 1889, Aunt Jemima pancake flour, invented at St. Joseph, Missouri, was the first self-rising flour for pancakes and the first ready-mix food ever to be introduced commercially.
» Celery has negative calories — it takes more calories to eat and digest a piece of celery than the celery has in it initially.
» Cellophane noodles must typically be soaked before using, as must dried porcini mushrooms and most dried beans.
» Centuries ago, men were told that the evil effects of coffee would make them sterile; women were cautioned to avoid caffeine unless they wanted to be barren.
» Nutella is a hazelnut spread made with skim milk and cocoa. It is virtually unknown in America, but European children have happily smeared it on breakfast croissants for decades.
» Of about 350 million cans of chicken noodle soup of all commercial brands sold annually in the United States, 60 percent is purchased during the cold and flu season. January is the top-selling month of the year.
» In 1765, the sandwich was invented by John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, who gave the food its name. The Earl used to order roast beef between pieces of toast for a snack while he was at the gaming tables, it allowed him to keep one hand free to play while he ate.
» Caviar, or fish eggs, contain the same healthful omega-3 fatty acids as salmon.
» In 1889, Aunt Jemima pancake flour, invented at St. Joseph, Missouri, was the first self-rising flour for pancakes and the first ready-mix food ever to be introduced commercially.
» Celery has negative calories — it takes more calories to eat and digest a piece of celery than the celery has in it initially.
» Cellophane noodles must typically be soaked before using, as must dried porcini mushrooms and most dried beans.
» Centuries ago, men were told that the evil effects of coffee would make them sterile; women were cautioned to avoid caffeine unless they wanted to be barren.
» Nutella is a hazelnut spread made with skim milk and cocoa. It is virtually unknown in America, but European children have happily smeared it on breakfast croissants for decades.
» Of about 350 million cans of chicken noodle soup of all commercial brands sold annually in the United States, 60 percent is purchased during the cold and flu season. January is the top-selling month of the year.
Geography trivia
Geography
trivia Asia Trivia
trivia Australia Trivia
trivia Europe Trivia
trivia US Trivia
» "Exurbia" is the mostly rural residential area beyond the suburbs of a city.
» "Oceania" is a name for the thousands of islands in the central and southern Pacific Ocean. It is sometimes referred to as the South Seas.
» A bar of sand or other sediment linking an island to the mainland or another island is called a tombolo.
» Acapulco got its start as a major tourist destination during the early days of World War II. German U-boats threats off the eastern United States compelled the wealthy to find new places to vacation. At one time, one had to be a millionaire to enjoy Acapulco, but that hasn't been the case for years.
» According to research presented in National Geographic, Toronto’s name was derived from a Mohawk word meaning “poles in the water,” a reference to an old fish weir in the area.
» According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the first populated land where the Sun will rise on a new day is at Kahuitara Point (44° 16' S 176° 9' W) on Pitt Island in the Chatham Islands, a dependency of New Zealand.
» Afghanistan has been known by different names. It was called Ariana or Bactria in ancient times and Khorasan during the Middle Ages.
» Although "Holland" is a popular name for the Netherlands, North Holland and South Holland are actually two provinces in the Netherlands.
trivia Asia Trivia
trivia Australia Trivia
trivia Europe Trivia
trivia US Trivia
» "Exurbia" is the mostly rural residential area beyond the suburbs of a city.
» "Oceania" is a name for the thousands of islands in the central and southern Pacific Ocean. It is sometimes referred to as the South Seas.
» A bar of sand or other sediment linking an island to the mainland or another island is called a tombolo.
» Acapulco got its start as a major tourist destination during the early days of World War II. German U-boats threats off the eastern United States compelled the wealthy to find new places to vacation. At one time, one had to be a millionaire to enjoy Acapulco, but that hasn't been the case for years.
» According to research presented in National Geographic, Toronto’s name was derived from a Mohawk word meaning “poles in the water,” a reference to an old fish weir in the area.
» According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the first populated land where the Sun will rise on a new day is at Kahuitara Point (44° 16' S 176° 9' W) on Pitt Island in the Chatham Islands, a dependency of New Zealand.
» Afghanistan has been known by different names. It was called Ariana or Bactria in ancient times and Khorasan during the Middle Ages.
» Although "Holland" is a popular name for the Netherlands, North Holland and South Holland are actually two provinces in the Netherlands.
Environment trivia
Environment
» The "French" marigold arrived in Europe with the Spanish conquistadors during the sixteenth century, who brought the delicate flower with them from its land of origin. It was from Mexico, not France.
» In Calama, a town in the Atacama Desert of Chile, it has never rained.
» The African boabab tree can have a circumference as large as 100 feet. One such tree in Zimbabwe is so wide that the hollowed-out trunk serves as a shelter at a bus stop, with a capacity to hold as many as 40 people.
» In England, vraic is a seaweed used for fuel and fertilizer. It is found in the Channel Islands.
» In living memory, it was not until February 18, 1979 that snow fell on the Sahara. A half-hour storm in southern Algeria stopped traffic. But within a few hours, all the snow had melted.
» In Los Angeles, discarded garments are being recycled as industrial rags and carpet underlay. Such recycling keeps clothing out of landfills, where it makes up 4 percent of the trash dumped each year.
» There are more than 700 species of plants that grow in the United States that have been identified as dangerous if eaten. Among them are some that are commonly favored by gardeners: buttercups, daffodils, lily of the valley, sweet peas, oleander, azalea, bleeding heart, delphinium, and rhododendron.
» There are only about fifty geyser fields known to exist on Earth and approximately two-thirds of those fifty are home to five or fewer active geysers. Yellowstone National Park in the state of Wyoming has more geysers than any other field known in the world. The park has been the site of extensive study of the properties and characteristics of geysers.
» The "French" marigold arrived in Europe with the Spanish conquistadors during the sixteenth century, who brought the delicate flower with them from its land of origin. It was from Mexico, not France.
» In Calama, a town in the Atacama Desert of Chile, it has never rained.
» The African boabab tree can have a circumference as large as 100 feet. One such tree in Zimbabwe is so wide that the hollowed-out trunk serves as a shelter at a bus stop, with a capacity to hold as many as 40 people.
» In England, vraic is a seaweed used for fuel and fertilizer. It is found in the Channel Islands.
» In living memory, it was not until February 18, 1979 that snow fell on the Sahara. A half-hour storm in southern Algeria stopped traffic. But within a few hours, all the snow had melted.
» In Los Angeles, discarded garments are being recycled as industrial rags and carpet underlay. Such recycling keeps clothing out of landfills, where it makes up 4 percent of the trash dumped each year.
» There are more than 700 species of plants that grow in the United States that have been identified as dangerous if eaten. Among them are some that are commonly favored by gardeners: buttercups, daffodils, lily of the valley, sweet peas, oleander, azalea, bleeding heart, delphinium, and rhododendron.
» There are only about fifty geyser fields known to exist on Earth and approximately two-thirds of those fifty are home to five or fewer active geysers. Yellowstone National Park in the state of Wyoming has more geysers than any other field known in the world. The park has been the site of extensive study of the properties and characteristics of geysers.
Entertainment : Television triivia
Entertainment : Television
» The television show Seinfeld was set in New York City; however, the exterior that was used for Jerry Seinfeld's apartment house is actually in Los Angeles, California.
» The TV sitcom Seinfeld was originally titled The Seinfeld Chronicles. The pilot, which was broadcast in 1989, also featured a kooky neighbor named Kessler. This character later became known as Kramer.
» The U.S. television drama Law and Order is titled New York District in France.
» The working title of the TV series Dallas was Houston.
» "Man – woman – birth – death – infinity" were the opening words of the Ben Casey television series in the 1960s.
» CBS Evening News with anchor Walter Cronkite was network TV’s first 30-minute evening newscast. It was expanded from its previous 15-minute format beginning with the September 3, 1963 telecast. At the end of that inaugural 30-minute show, Cronkite first uttered his famous tagline, “And that’s the way it is.”
» Frasier's radio station, KACL 780 AM, is named after the hit TV show’s three executive producers: David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee.
» Seinfeld creator Larry David modeled the show's character George Costanza after himself.
» The television show Seinfeld was set in New York City; however, the exterior that was used for Jerry Seinfeld's apartment house is actually in Los Angeles, California.
» The TV sitcom Seinfeld was originally titled The Seinfeld Chronicles. The pilot, which was broadcast in 1989, also featured a kooky neighbor named Kessler. This character later became known as Kramer.
» The U.S. television drama Law and Order is titled New York District in France.
» The working title of the TV series Dallas was Houston.
» "Man – woman – birth – death – infinity" were the opening words of the Ben Casey television series in the 1960s.
» CBS Evening News with anchor Walter Cronkite was network TV’s first 30-minute evening newscast. It was expanded from its previous 15-minute format beginning with the September 3, 1963 telecast. At the end of that inaugural 30-minute show, Cronkite first uttered his famous tagline, “And that’s the way it is.”
» Frasier's radio station, KACL 780 AM, is named after the hit TV show’s three executive producers: David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee.
» Seinfeld creator Larry David modeled the show's character George Costanza after himself.
Disney trivia
Disney
» According to one source, Americans buy about 5 million things that are shaped like Mickey Mouse, or have a picture of Mickey Mouse on them, in the course of one day.
» According to the folks at Disney there were 6,469,952 spots painted on the dogs in the original 101 Dalmatians.
» Actor Jeremy Irons provides the voice of the narrator for Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida.
» Animation artists love inside jokes. In the Disney film Beauty and the Beast (1991), the road signs that Belle’s father encounters in the forest show the names of two California cities: one points to Anaheim, while the other points down a dark, sinister-looking path to Valencia. In truth, Anaheim is the site of Disneyland, while the rival Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement theme park is in the city of Valencia.
» As of December 30, 1997, Disney held eight of the top ten spots on the All Time Movie Video Sales Chart: The Lion King (1); Aladdin (2); Cinderella (3); Beauty and The Beast (4); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (5); Toy Story (7); 101 Dalmatians (8); and Pocahontas (10). The two non-Disney flicks to make the list were Forrest Gump (6) and Jurassic Park (9).
» At Disneyland in California, José the Macaw, the mechanical star of the Enchanted Tiki Room, originally sat near the entrance to Adventureland. He was so popular with visitors that he created a traffic jam and had to relocated to inside the attraction.
» At Disneyland Paris, the park’s famous Sleeping Beauty Castle is known as Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant.
» At the rate of about 40 painting hours per horse on the King Arthur's Carrousel at Disneyland, it takes several years to refurbish all of the horses. Then the cycle starts again.
» According to one source, Americans buy about 5 million things that are shaped like Mickey Mouse, or have a picture of Mickey Mouse on them, in the course of one day.
» According to the folks at Disney there were 6,469,952 spots painted on the dogs in the original 101 Dalmatians.
» Actor Jeremy Irons provides the voice of the narrator for Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida.
» Animation artists love inside jokes. In the Disney film Beauty and the Beast (1991), the road signs that Belle’s father encounters in the forest show the names of two California cities: one points to Anaheim, while the other points down a dark, sinister-looking path to Valencia. In truth, Anaheim is the site of Disneyland, while the rival Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement theme park is in the city of Valencia.
» As of December 30, 1997, Disney held eight of the top ten spots on the All Time Movie Video Sales Chart: The Lion King (1); Aladdin (2); Cinderella (3); Beauty and The Beast (4); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (5); Toy Story (7); 101 Dalmatians (8); and Pocahontas (10). The two non-Disney flicks to make the list were Forrest Gump (6) and Jurassic Park (9).
» At Disneyland in California, José the Macaw, the mechanical star of the Enchanted Tiki Room, originally sat near the entrance to Adventureland. He was so popular with visitors that he created a traffic jam and had to relocated to inside the attraction.
» At Disneyland Paris, the park’s famous Sleeping Beauty Castle is known as Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant.
» At the rate of about 40 painting hours per horse on the King Arthur's Carrousel at Disneyland, it takes several years to refurbish all of the horses. Then the cycle starts again.
Entertainment : Music trivia
Entertainment : Music
» "Hang On Sloopy" is the official rock song of the state of Ohio.
» "Happy Birthday" was the first song to be performed in outer space, sung by the Apollo IX astronauts on March 8, 1969.
» "No Strings Attached," the pop album released by the band ’N Sync in March 2000, sold a whopping 2.41 million copies its first week, breaking a record many in the industry believed would stand for years. Less than a year earlier in May 1999, the former record had been set by the Backstreet Boys’ "Millennium," when 1.13 million copies were sold in the initial week of release.
» "Please Mr. Postman" has been a Number 1 hit on Billboard's record charts twice: the chart-topping versions were recorded by The Marvelettes in 1961 and The Carpenters in 1974.
» The Coffee Cantata was written by Johann Sebastian Bach.
» A concert promoter in Hawaii sold a thousand tickets to a Spice Girls concert. Unfortunately the concert was never scheduled. The man was arrested and told police he needed the money for a nose job and a sex change.
» A fantasia is a piece of music in which the composition follows the fancy, rather than any conventional form, of an improvisational character.
» A zarzuela is an operetta of a traditional type, with spoken dialogue and lyrical music. The word is derived from the Spanish after La Zarzuela, the royal palace near Madrid where the operetta was first performed in 1629. A zarzuela is also the name of a seafood stew.
» "Hang On Sloopy" is the official rock song of the state of Ohio.
» "Happy Birthday" was the first song to be performed in outer space, sung by the Apollo IX astronauts on March 8, 1969.
» "No Strings Attached," the pop album released by the band ’N Sync in March 2000, sold a whopping 2.41 million copies its first week, breaking a record many in the industry believed would stand for years. Less than a year earlier in May 1999, the former record had been set by the Backstreet Boys’ "Millennium," when 1.13 million copies were sold in the initial week of release.
» "Please Mr. Postman" has been a Number 1 hit on Billboard's record charts twice: the chart-topping versions were recorded by The Marvelettes in 1961 and The Carpenters in 1974.
» The Coffee Cantata was written by Johann Sebastian Bach.
» A concert promoter in Hawaii sold a thousand tickets to a Spice Girls concert. Unfortunately the concert was never scheduled. The man was arrested and told police he needed the money for a nose job and a sex change.
» A fantasia is a piece of music in which the composition follows the fancy, rather than any conventional form, of an improvisational character.
» A zarzuela is an operetta of a traditional type, with spoken dialogue and lyrical music. The word is derived from the Spanish after La Zarzuela, the royal palace near Madrid where the operetta was first performed in 1629. A zarzuela is also the name of a seafood stew.
Entertainment : Movies trivia
Entertainment : Movies
» When Cecil B. De Mille released his silent film The Squaw Man in 1914, it became one of the movie industry's first nationwide box-office successes. It cost only $15,000 to make and earned more than $225,000. It was also the first film that De Mille wrote and directed; prior to The Squaw Man, De Mille worked solely as a screenwriter.
» Ronald Reagan's last acting role before entering politics was in the film "The Killers" (1964).
» In the 1995 film "Boys on the Side," Matthew McConaughey played a character named Abe Lincoln.
» When directing films, Clint Eastwood dislikes overlighting, which he associates with television. He prefers a film noir effect, especially in his thrillers. During a 1993 interview, Eastwood related a story about his suspenseful 1982 film Firefox. There was a shot that was so dark only Eastwood's elbow was visible. The cameraman wanted to do another take. Eastwood asked, "Am I in the frame?" "Yeah." "Can you hear my voice?" "Yeah." "They know who I am. Let's print it and move on."
» Sandra Bullock's role in the romantic comedy hit "While You Were Sleeping" (1995) was originally offered to Demi Moore, but Moore's salary demands were out of reach.
» In the 72 years of the Academy Awards existence, only three films have swept all five categories in Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Actor and Actress, and Best Writing. They are 1934’s "It Happened One Night," 1975’s "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest," and 1991’s "The Silence of the Lambs."
» Seattle has served as the backdrop or main locality for many films, including "An Officer and a Gentleman" (1982), "McQ" (1974), "The Parallax View" (1974), "My Own Private Idaho" (1991), "Say Anything…" (1989), "WarGames" (1983), "Little Buddha" (1993), "It Happened at the World’s Fair" (1963), "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" (1992), "Harry and the Hendersons" (1987), "Give ‘em Hell, Harry!" (1975), "From Dusk Till Dawn" (1996), "The Fabulous Baker Boys" (1989), "Disclosure" (1994), "Cinderella Liberty" (1973), "Black Widow" (1986), "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999), "The Vanishing" (1993), "Twice in a Lifetime" (1985), and the ultimate Seattle romance film, "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993).
» In the beach scene near the end of the Beatles' film "Help!" (1965), John Lennon had an appointment and could not be present. Another actor stood in for him.
» When Cecil B. De Mille released his silent film The Squaw Man in 1914, it became one of the movie industry's first nationwide box-office successes. It cost only $15,000 to make and earned more than $225,000. It was also the first film that De Mille wrote and directed; prior to The Squaw Man, De Mille worked solely as a screenwriter.
» Ronald Reagan's last acting role before entering politics was in the film "The Killers" (1964).
» In the 1995 film "Boys on the Side," Matthew McConaughey played a character named Abe Lincoln.
» When directing films, Clint Eastwood dislikes overlighting, which he associates with television. He prefers a film noir effect, especially in his thrillers. During a 1993 interview, Eastwood related a story about his suspenseful 1982 film Firefox. There was a shot that was so dark only Eastwood's elbow was visible. The cameraman wanted to do another take. Eastwood asked, "Am I in the frame?" "Yeah." "Can you hear my voice?" "Yeah." "They know who I am. Let's print it and move on."
» Sandra Bullock's role in the romantic comedy hit "While You Were Sleeping" (1995) was originally offered to Demi Moore, but Moore's salary demands were out of reach.
» In the 72 years of the Academy Awards existence, only three films have swept all five categories in Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Actor and Actress, and Best Writing. They are 1934’s "It Happened One Night," 1975’s "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest," and 1991’s "The Silence of the Lambs."
» Seattle has served as the backdrop or main locality for many films, including "An Officer and a Gentleman" (1982), "McQ" (1974), "The Parallax View" (1974), "My Own Private Idaho" (1991), "Say Anything…" (1989), "WarGames" (1983), "Little Buddha" (1993), "It Happened at the World’s Fair" (1963), "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" (1992), "Harry and the Hendersons" (1987), "Give ‘em Hell, Harry!" (1975), "From Dusk Till Dawn" (1996), "The Fabulous Baker Boys" (1989), "Disclosure" (1994), "Cinderella Liberty" (1973), "Black Widow" (1986), "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999), "The Vanishing" (1993), "Twice in a Lifetime" (1985), and the ultimate Seattle romance film, "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993).
» In the beach scene near the end of the Beatles' film "Help!" (1965), John Lennon had an appointment and could not be present. Another actor stood in for him.
Entertainment trivia
Entertainment
trivia Movies Trivia
trivia Music Trivia
trivia Television Trivia
» John Lennon joined Elton John onstage at Madison Square Garden in 1974 to perform the song they co-wrote, "Whatever Gets You Through the Night." This was to be Lennon's final live performance.
» Frank Sinatra was offered the male lead in the film Funny Girl (1968), but Barbra Streisand, who had performed the role successfully on Broadway, refused to take second billing, as did Sinatra. Even though this was her film debut, Streisand would not back down, and Sinatra, in a frustrated huff, dropped out. A film deal with David Janssen to take the role fell apart. The part was ultimately given to the exotic Omar Shariff, on the heels of his success in Doctor Zhivago.
» John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, at Oxford Maternity Hospital in Liverpool, England, during an air raid.
» Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were not permitted to dance together in public, according to their movie contracts.
» Fred Astaire's favorite dance partner was Gene Kelly.
» French leading man Gérard Dépardieu was so wild as a youth that he was encouraged to enter dramatics as therapy. Dépardieu made his film debut in a bit part in Le Beatnik et le minet (1965) at age 17.
» Singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper won an Emmy for her guest performance on NBC's Mad About You.
» Singer and TV personality Andy Williams's full name at birth was Howard Andrew Williams.
trivia Movies Trivia
trivia Music Trivia
trivia Television Trivia
» John Lennon joined Elton John onstage at Madison Square Garden in 1974 to perform the song they co-wrote, "Whatever Gets You Through the Night." This was to be Lennon's final live performance.
» Frank Sinatra was offered the male lead in the film Funny Girl (1968), but Barbra Streisand, who had performed the role successfully on Broadway, refused to take second billing, as did Sinatra. Even though this was her film debut, Streisand would not back down, and Sinatra, in a frustrated huff, dropped out. A film deal with David Janssen to take the role fell apart. The part was ultimately given to the exotic Omar Shariff, on the heels of his success in Doctor Zhivago.
» John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, at Oxford Maternity Hospital in Liverpool, England, during an air raid.
» Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were not permitted to dance together in public, according to their movie contracts.
» Fred Astaire's favorite dance partner was Gene Kelly.
» French leading man Gérard Dépardieu was so wild as a youth that he was encouraged to enter dramatics as therapy. Dépardieu made his film debut in a bit part in Le Beatnik et le minet (1965) at age 17.
» Singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper won an Emmy for her guest performance on NBC's Mad About You.
» Singer and TV personality Andy Williams's full name at birth was Howard Andrew Williams.
Animals trivia
Animals
» Despite its great strength, the octopus tires easily. The oxygen-carrying component of its blood, hemocyanin, is copper-based and is less efficient than the iron-based hemoglobin of humans. Therefore, a struggling octopus will quickly go into oxygen deprivation, and becomes lethargic.
» Americans consume more than 353 million pounds of turkey during National Turkey Lovers' Month in June. By comparison, more than 675 million pounds of turkey will be consumed at Thanksgiving.
» Despite its hump, a camel has a straight spine.
» Among other well-known names, a group of fish can also be called a draught.
» Amphibians see no color; they perceive only black and white.
» Amphibians’ eyes come in a variety shapes and sizes. Some even have square- or heart-shaped pupils.
» Insectivores are animals that eat insects. They include shrews, moles and hedgehogs.
» Invertebrates are animals that don’t have a backbone. Most animals are invertebrates, 98 of every 100 animal species falls into this category.
» Despite its great strength, the octopus tires easily. The oxygen-carrying component of its blood, hemocyanin, is copper-based and is less efficient than the iron-based hemoglobin of humans. Therefore, a struggling octopus will quickly go into oxygen deprivation, and becomes lethargic.
» Americans consume more than 353 million pounds of turkey during National Turkey Lovers' Month in June. By comparison, more than 675 million pounds of turkey will be consumed at Thanksgiving.
» Despite its hump, a camel has a straight spine.
» Among other well-known names, a group of fish can also be called a draught.
» Amphibians see no color; they perceive only black and white.
» Amphibians’ eyes come in a variety shapes and sizes. Some even have square- or heart-shaped pupils.
» Insectivores are animals that eat insects. They include shrews, moles and hedgehogs.
» Invertebrates are animals that don’t have a backbone. Most animals are invertebrates, 98 of every 100 animal species falls into this category.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
7 Reasons Why You Should Start A Photography Business Today
7 Reasons Why You Should Start A
Photography Business Today
1. You don’t need a lot of money to get started. Your most expensive item is your camera. You can buy used or get by with what you have until you can upgrade your equipment.
2. You can work from your home office. You don’t necessarily need an in home studio right from the start. If you want to, you can add it later if it fits into your plans.
3. You can be your own boss. There’s nothing like the personal satisfaction of owning your own business. If being your own boss isn’t for you, you can do contract work for other photography companies or photographers.
4. You don’t have to be highly skilled to get started. With today’s high tech cameras you really can take a pretty good photo right out of the box. But don’t let that fool you, photography is highly competitive and you need to constantly improve your skill as a photographer.
5. You don’t need a formal education. Most photographers, even Ansel Adams, was self-taught. With all the resources on the Internet, there really isn’t any reason not to take advantage of it. Certainly, you can get a degree in photography or photojournalism but it is not a requirement of success.
6. You don’t have to take a big risk. For starters, you don’t really have much to lose. You probably already own your own camera. You can still work full time at your job to pay your bills and earn extra photography income on the side. The key is to spend your time developing your craft and getting better and better. Practice is always free.
7. You can have lots of fun. There are few jobs that give you the creative outlet you find in photography. Within the field of photography there are so many ways to express your creativity you’ll never get bored. The best part is you can have lots of fun and get paid to do it. What a country!
Photography Business Today
1. You don’t need a lot of money to get started. Your most expensive item is your camera. You can buy used or get by with what you have until you can upgrade your equipment.
2. You can work from your home office. You don’t necessarily need an in home studio right from the start. If you want to, you can add it later if it fits into your plans.
3. You can be your own boss. There’s nothing like the personal satisfaction of owning your own business. If being your own boss isn’t for you, you can do contract work for other photography companies or photographers.
4. You don’t have to be highly skilled to get started. With today’s high tech cameras you really can take a pretty good photo right out of the box. But don’t let that fool you, photography is highly competitive and you need to constantly improve your skill as a photographer.
5. You don’t need a formal education. Most photographers, even Ansel Adams, was self-taught. With all the resources on the Internet, there really isn’t any reason not to take advantage of it. Certainly, you can get a degree in photography or photojournalism but it is not a requirement of success.
6. You don’t have to take a big risk. For starters, you don’t really have much to lose. You probably already own your own camera. You can still work full time at your job to pay your bills and earn extra photography income on the side. The key is to spend your time developing your craft and getting better and better. Practice is always free.
7. You can have lots of fun. There are few jobs that give you the creative outlet you find in photography. Within the field of photography there are so many ways to express your creativity you’ll never get bored. The best part is you can have lots of fun and get paid to do it. What a country!
The Positive Effects of Negative Ions
The Positive Effects of Negative Ions
What most of us don't know is about the positive effects from the negative ion charges that we are surrounded by every day. Negative ion charges are amazing.
The importance of negative ion charges to a healthy, happy body are incredibly important to know and understand. For instance, if one understands why they feel so invigorated when they spend time in the mountains or at the beach, that is just the beginning of the story. The story continues whereby the negative ion charges continue to invigorate people when they are surrounded by a natural environment. For instance, these areas would include beaches, forests, areas of rapid water movement such as rivers, streams, oceans, and waterfalls, as well as areas that experience thunderstorms and lightening.
Did you know that the negative ion charges created by the rapid movement of water at Niagara Falls are perhaps the greatest energizer of all? If this interests you, then listen up! It may not be just because of the excitement of getting married and all the joys that come with it that couples honeymoon at Niagara Falls, but maybe there's something possibly even greater than getting married, and that is to do with the negative ion charges that exist at Niagara Falls and other places similar to it.
Negative ions increase the flow of oxygen to the brain, resulting in higher alertness, decreased drowsiness, and more mental energy.
Conversely, the areas that we should watch out for are those where there is a lot of smoke or smog in the air, computer terminals, fluorescent lighting, air conditioning, and modern building materials, all of which generate an overabundance of positive ions.
The bottom line to living a healthy and happy life really has everything to do with the way we choose to live and where we choose to live.
In essence, we must Think Nature First.
What most of us don't know is about the positive effects from the negative ion charges that we are surrounded by every day. Negative ion charges are amazing.
The importance of negative ion charges to a healthy, happy body are incredibly important to know and understand. For instance, if one understands why they feel so invigorated when they spend time in the mountains or at the beach, that is just the beginning of the story. The story continues whereby the negative ion charges continue to invigorate people when they are surrounded by a natural environment. For instance, these areas would include beaches, forests, areas of rapid water movement such as rivers, streams, oceans, and waterfalls, as well as areas that experience thunderstorms and lightening.
Did you know that the negative ion charges created by the rapid movement of water at Niagara Falls are perhaps the greatest energizer of all? If this interests you, then listen up! It may not be just because of the excitement of getting married and all the joys that come with it that couples honeymoon at Niagara Falls, but maybe there's something possibly even greater than getting married, and that is to do with the negative ion charges that exist at Niagara Falls and other places similar to it.
Negative ions increase the flow of oxygen to the brain, resulting in higher alertness, decreased drowsiness, and more mental energy.
Conversely, the areas that we should watch out for are those where there is a lot of smoke or smog in the air, computer terminals, fluorescent lighting, air conditioning, and modern building materials, all of which generate an overabundance of positive ions.
The bottom line to living a healthy and happy life really has everything to do with the way we choose to live and where we choose to live.
In essence, we must Think Nature First.
Happy Christmas and Merry New Year-To All
Have yourself a merry little Christmas, and oh I hope and pray that you do. At this time of year, I find it so lovely to see and hear all the songs being played and happy faces abounding, mostly saying good day, happiness and cheer. I'm sure that there are many of you out there that are not having the Christmas that you may have always dreamed of. And to those of you, I have special things to say. Unfortunately, this time of year could be the most incredibly painful time for some of you and I wish to find the right words for each of you that would be filled with great meaning down to the tips of your toes and the bottom of your nose. And so at this moment, firstly I wish that all of you had a wonderful Christmas season, filled with joy and happiness, love and aloha. In so far that most people aren't able to grasp that wonderful thing called love, and maybe are feeling frustration or despair, I wish for each and all of you to think kindly upon these times as a time of growth and learning.
There is a wonderful bit of prose that I would love to share with each and every one of you. It came from a man named Max Ehrmann and I would like share part of it with you. It is called Desiderata and it goes a little like this:
"Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy."
There is a wonderful bit of prose that I would love to share with each and every one of you. It came from a man named Max Ehrmann and I would like share part of it with you. It is called Desiderata and it goes a little like this:
"Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy."
A Smile is a Gift From God
What does a smile bring? I believe the smile is ultimately one of the most powerful tools that we have in this world. When we offer a smile, it tells people that we're open to receiving the minimum of a smile back. What a smile means is that it lets people know that we care or that we're open to conversation. What a powerful thing that we have at our access for interpersonal communication. It is really fantastic to see what a smile does to the face of an elderly person who lights up the room with her gratitude.
Smile and the whole world smiles with you but cry and you cry alone. Most people do not want to be with Debbie Downer. Do you remember Debbie Downer from Saturday Night Live? That's ok if you don't. She was just a very wonderful example in a fun way to let people know that it's a lot more fun to be around people who are jovial, who are full of laughter and good humor. What she really had was a way to make people realize that humor is the only way to attract people to yourself. Otherwise, we would be bringing all the bummer folk towards us which ultimately leaves us in a graveyard of frowns.
Why smiles make people feel good has everything to do with endorphins. What endorphins do is, by way of a chemical reaction, reduce physical and emotional stress. When you smile, it triggers one's brain to release endorphins and thereby increase feelings of wellbeing. Smiles, like magic, make people feel good about themselves and make other people feel good about the smiler. A smile with laughter alongside is very infectious. You might remember the last time somebody made you laugh and it brought out your own uproarious laughter in response. Smiles make other people feel good because they show interest and care.
A smile may even bring up the flavor of your day! All in all, my wonderful listeners, I beckon you to try and see how the world responds to your very own smiles. It may well change the course of your day and brighten the world around you!
Smile and the whole world smiles with you but cry and you cry alone. Most people do not want to be with Debbie Downer. Do you remember Debbie Downer from Saturday Night Live? That's ok if you don't. She was just a very wonderful example in a fun way to let people know that it's a lot more fun to be around people who are jovial, who are full of laughter and good humor. What she really had was a way to make people realize that humor is the only way to attract people to yourself. Otherwise, we would be bringing all the bummer folk towards us which ultimately leaves us in a graveyard of frowns.
Why smiles make people feel good has everything to do with endorphins. What endorphins do is, by way of a chemical reaction, reduce physical and emotional stress. When you smile, it triggers one's brain to release endorphins and thereby increase feelings of wellbeing. Smiles, like magic, make people feel good about themselves and make other people feel good about the smiler. A smile with laughter alongside is very infectious. You might remember the last time somebody made you laugh and it brought out your own uproarious laughter in response. Smiles make other people feel good because they show interest and care.
A smile may even bring up the flavor of your day! All in all, my wonderful listeners, I beckon you to try and see how the world responds to your very own smiles. It may well change the course of your day and brighten the world around you!
John Lennon - The Legend Lives On
John Lennon was wise beyond his years and gifted with a great talent in writing songs about life in general and about a better world. John was very committed to peace and love. In addition he wrote about relationship angst as well as his own personal struggles. He took his inspiration from many places such as in the case of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Many people don't realize, but this is not a song about an acid trip. This is a song inspired by his son Julian's drawing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." This was a little girl classmate of Julian's who was depicted in front of a starry sky, hence the diamonds in the sky. John Lennon also took poetic license in his references to the Alice in Wonderland story and the imagery he took from there.
Another beautiful song of his was Imagine. This song was and is relevant to me as I'm sure it is to many people. We all can relate to these lyrics that jump out, "living for today, living life in peace, imagine no religion [and] no possessions, imagine all the people, sharing all the world, and the world will live as one." The most poignant in my mind relate to living for today, peace, no possessions, and the world living as one. Living for today is so good and so necessary. It is in essence living for now. He also has an excellent point relating to religion. If people would spend more time relating with God as One as we are meant to be, then I think that indeed we might have a better world.
For me the most poignant songs that will live on into antiquity are All You Need is Love, Give Peace a Chance, and of course, Imagine (my very favorite of all.) It still blows my mind, perhaps a little like John felt when he was writing these wonderful lyrics. I would love to explore all these lyrics, but perhaps that is a topic for another day. So I bid you adieu, and once again remember that... all you really need is Love. :)
Another beautiful song of his was Imagine. This song was and is relevant to me as I'm sure it is to many people. We all can relate to these lyrics that jump out, "living for today, living life in peace, imagine no religion [and] no possessions, imagine all the people, sharing all the world, and the world will live as one." The most poignant in my mind relate to living for today, peace, no possessions, and the world living as one. Living for today is so good and so necessary. It is in essence living for now. He also has an excellent point relating to religion. If people would spend more time relating with God as One as we are meant to be, then I think that indeed we might have a better world.
For me the most poignant songs that will live on into antiquity are All You Need is Love, Give Peace a Chance, and of course, Imagine (my very favorite of all.) It still blows my mind, perhaps a little like John felt when he was writing these wonderful lyrics. I would love to explore all these lyrics, but perhaps that is a topic for another day. So I bid you adieu, and once again remember that... all you really need is Love. :)
BioLite Thermoelectric CampStove Update!
Earlier this year I wrote a blog post about a revolutionary new type of backpacking stove called the BioLite Thermoelectric Camp Stove. The BioLite is revolutionary because unlike nearly every other type of wood burning stove on the market, the BioLite claims to have reduced the smoke emissions from burning wood by 90% through clever engineering, and their patent-pending thermoelectric-fan technology that practically eliminates the black carbon (soot).
Not only does the BioLite stove burn anything you put into it with incredible efficiency, it can also use the leftover heat that it generates to power up your cellphone or even a small light by converting a small amount of the fire’s thermal energy into electricity using the solid state thermoelectric generator.
Back in January there were very few updates being posted about the BioLite, and despite all of the interest and comments asking how to get one and when it would be available, the BioLite stove and its inventors seemed to disappear without a trace. I had several emails and comments asking if this was real or just a prototype that would never make it into production? Well, I have some great news!
I was contacted today by the BioLite team to let me know that they were sorry for the delayed response, but had been busy field testing their production versions and getting ready for the release in Spring of 2012. Here is the comment they left on my previous blog post:
Brian, thanks for the great article. We apologize for the delay in answering folks' emails as we've been overwhelmed by the positive response to our product. The great news is that the CampStove is now in manufacture and we will begin taking pre-orders in December for early spring 2012 delivery. If you haven't already, please sign up for our mailing list to keep up to date on both CampStove and HomeStove developments. www.BioLiteStove.com/contact
Thank you again to all of our loyal fans and we look forward to getting stove in your hands in the coming months.
All the best,
The BioLite Team
I don't have any additional information on the price of the CampStove or HomeStove, but I'm very excited to discover that the stove has gone into production and that it will be available for pre-order in a few months. As I learn more I will be sure to post updates.
Here's a great video that shows you how the CampStove works. If this doesn't get you interested in one I don't know what will.
Not only does the BioLite stove burn anything you put into it with incredible efficiency, it can also use the leftover heat that it generates to power up your cellphone or even a small light by converting a small amount of the fire’s thermal energy into electricity using the solid state thermoelectric generator.
Back in January there were very few updates being posted about the BioLite, and despite all of the interest and comments asking how to get one and when it would be available, the BioLite stove and its inventors seemed to disappear without a trace. I had several emails and comments asking if this was real or just a prototype that would never make it into production? Well, I have some great news!
I was contacted today by the BioLite team to let me know that they were sorry for the delayed response, but had been busy field testing their production versions and getting ready for the release in Spring of 2012. Here is the comment they left on my previous blog post:
Brian, thanks for the great article. We apologize for the delay in answering folks' emails as we've been overwhelmed by the positive response to our product. The great news is that the CampStove is now in manufacture and we will begin taking pre-orders in December for early spring 2012 delivery. If you haven't already, please sign up for our mailing list to keep up to date on both CampStove and HomeStove developments. www.BioLiteStove.com/contact
Thank you again to all of our loyal fans and we look forward to getting stove in your hands in the coming months.
All the best,
The BioLite Team
I don't have any additional information on the price of the CampStove or HomeStove, but I'm very excited to discover that the stove has gone into production and that it will be available for pre-order in a few months. As I learn more I will be sure to post updates.
Here's a great video that shows you how the CampStove works. If this doesn't get you interested in one I don't know what will.
In Memorium: Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computer in 1976 when he dropped out of college and on April Fools Day began a the company in his parents' garage. He worked on the design, development, and marketing of one of the pioneer personal computers, the Apple II series. Then in 1984, realizing the potential of the graphical user interface (mouse and icon) invented by Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, he led the creation of the Macintosh line of computers.
After a power struggle with his board of directors in 1985, he resigned and founded NeXT Computer, which in 1996 was bought out by Apple, bringing him back as CEO again and resurrecting what was a dying brand and building it into the world's second most valuable company.
Back in 1986, he acquired what he renamed Pixar Animation Studios and successfully ran it, selling it to Disney in 2006 and joining their board of directors. He received a producer credit for their first film, "Toy Story." In fact, five of the top grossing animated films are by Pixar.
His CEO salary at Apple was $1 a year, but his millions of shares in both Apple and Disney made him the 42nd wealthiest American on Forbes' 2010 list with an estimated 8.3 billion dollar fortune.
He was renowned for his privacy, but quietly amassed over 300 Apple patents as principal inventor or "one inventor among several" for a vast variety of ideas and products, including desktop computer housings, 85 iPod patents including the revolutionary click wheel, iPhone and iPad, multi-touch gestures, packaging, keyboards, mice, monitors, Apple TV, interface ideas for the Macintosh operating system, power adapters, power plugs, and even ornamental glass staircases for Apple stores.
After working a full day in August of this year, he submitted his resignation letter as CEO for health reasons, writing "I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it" even though he had been instrumental in so many of their innovations.
He is survived by his wife, four children, and his sister.
It was fitting that I learned of his death from a news flash on my iPad, technology he was instrumental in bringing to the market.
Here's an excerpt from his Stanford University Commencement Speech in 2005:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
After a power struggle with his board of directors in 1985, he resigned and founded NeXT Computer, which in 1996 was bought out by Apple, bringing him back as CEO again and resurrecting what was a dying brand and building it into the world's second most valuable company.
Back in 1986, he acquired what he renamed Pixar Animation Studios and successfully ran it, selling it to Disney in 2006 and joining their board of directors. He received a producer credit for their first film, "Toy Story." In fact, five of the top grossing animated films are by Pixar.
His CEO salary at Apple was $1 a year, but his millions of shares in both Apple and Disney made him the 42nd wealthiest American on Forbes' 2010 list with an estimated 8.3 billion dollar fortune.
He was renowned for his privacy, but quietly amassed over 300 Apple patents as principal inventor or "one inventor among several" for a vast variety of ideas and products, including desktop computer housings, 85 iPod patents including the revolutionary click wheel, iPhone and iPad, multi-touch gestures, packaging, keyboards, mice, monitors, Apple TV, interface ideas for the Macintosh operating system, power adapters, power plugs, and even ornamental glass staircases for Apple stores.
After working a full day in August of this year, he submitted his resignation letter as CEO for health reasons, writing "I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it" even though he had been instrumental in so many of their innovations.
He is survived by his wife, four children, and his sister.
It was fitting that I learned of his death from a news flash on my iPad, technology he was instrumental in bringing to the market.
Here's an excerpt from his Stanford University Commencement Speech in 2005:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
Ground Zero 9/11 poem
Ground Zero
A ground of heroes
Trying to save those who could not evade the day
A day that will never fade
Many buried under a trouble of rubble
Graves, unmarked graves
Bodies broken and torn beyond recognition
An unthinkable strike came to fruition
The devastation of man made creation
The situation seems bleak has havoc was wreaked
The Twin Towers was a symbol of power
Took years to build knocked down in less than an hour
These buildings etched our skyline
Most took for granted they’d stand the test of time
Workers inside typing, trading, clicking, mailing, faxing, emailing, talking, telephoning, walking, waiting, goofing off, debating, thinking of tonight, that they’d make love tonight or overcome a marital fight
In an instant their lives were gone, gone, gone
Thrown into terror this should’ve been an error
It’s a nightmare instead
This fear
This smoke
Did commercial planes fly into the World Trade Center?
My mind can’t get around it
can’t understand it.
The smoke rises out of the copy room window
Thick black smoke
Smoke to choke
Smoke to kill
A smoke of death
I stare into the distance expecting to see The Towers materialize before my eyes
The words fall out of peoples mouths and rest on my ears
Did you hear! The World Trade Centers fell! They’re gone!
Trying to process
to compute, how many people worked in those buildings, how many kids will not have a mother, a father, a bother, a sister, a boyfriend a girlfriend, a close friend, an enemy, a loved one a spouse
MISSING is the word that is flashed across the TV screen
M I S S I N G
So many missing
Missing in action,
Lost, disappeared into a cloud of dust - just like that - missing
How they’re missing them
Missing them
Hoping wishing
Praying looking
Countless sleepless nights.
“What floor were they on? It’s a phrase
What floor?
How high?
In our minds we imagine
We do the math
How fast could they get down to get out
Breakdowns shout.
The trauma of the tragedy is woven deep in my mind
The trauma of the traumatized as a nation needs therapy
I saw planes crash into buildings people burned alive
We have witnesses to see thousands die.
80 stories high people jump to their deaths
In my dreams I see it again and again
A ground of heroes
Trying to save those who could not evade the day
A day that will never fade
Many buried under a trouble of rubble
Graves, unmarked graves
Bodies broken and torn beyond recognition
An unthinkable strike came to fruition
The devastation of man made creation
The situation seems bleak has havoc was wreaked
The Twin Towers was a symbol of power
Took years to build knocked down in less than an hour
These buildings etched our skyline
Most took for granted they’d stand the test of time
Workers inside typing, trading, clicking, mailing, faxing, emailing, talking, telephoning, walking, waiting, goofing off, debating, thinking of tonight, that they’d make love tonight or overcome a marital fight
In an instant their lives were gone, gone, gone
Thrown into terror this should’ve been an error
It’s a nightmare instead
This fear
This smoke
Did commercial planes fly into the World Trade Center?
My mind can’t get around it
can’t understand it.
The smoke rises out of the copy room window
Thick black smoke
Smoke to choke
Smoke to kill
A smoke of death
I stare into the distance expecting to see The Towers materialize before my eyes
The words fall out of peoples mouths and rest on my ears
Did you hear! The World Trade Centers fell! They’re gone!
Trying to process
to compute, how many people worked in those buildings, how many kids will not have a mother, a father, a bother, a sister, a boyfriend a girlfriend, a close friend, an enemy, a loved one a spouse
MISSING is the word that is flashed across the TV screen
M I S S I N G
So many missing
Missing in action,
Lost, disappeared into a cloud of dust - just like that - missing
How they’re missing them
Missing them
Hoping wishing
Praying looking
Countless sleepless nights.
“What floor were they on? It’s a phrase
What floor?
How high?
In our minds we imagine
We do the math
How fast could they get down to get out
Breakdowns shout.
The trauma of the tragedy is woven deep in my mind
The trauma of the traumatized as a nation needs therapy
I saw planes crash into buildings people burned alive
We have witnesses to see thousands die.
80 stories high people jump to their deaths
In my dreams I see it again and again
Why you shouldn't "try" to have an unmedicated birth
Why you shouldn't "try" to have an unmedicated birth
You will hear many women say they are going to "try" to have an unmedicated birth. To me, "trying" connotes sheer effort and endurance. What I hear women say when they say "try" is that they are just going to see how long they can stand the pain. My dictionary defines "to try" as "to make an attempt or effort". What happens when you try something? Either you can succeed or fail.
There's a lot of derisive talk out there about birth plans and women who "plan" an unmedicated birth - or really plan anything about their birth at all. There is a lot of fingerwaving about how birth is unpredictable and you can't PLAN anything. After seeing a lot of births, I have to say I agree. My dictionary says to plan is to "decide on and arrange in advance" - you can't really do that with your birth. What happens when you plan something? Maybe your plans work out, and maybe they don't.
What I wish more women would say, and take ownership of, is that they are preparing for an unmedicated birth. My dictionary says " to prepare" is "to make ready or able to do or deal with something".This sounds just about right! Someone who is prepared does not fail or have plans not work out - they meet what comes with their goal in mind. They have made themselves ready to handle birth and any twists and turns they might meet on the way.
I encourage women to think of birth as a marathon - it is long, challenging, sometimes painful, sometimes exciting, and can be very rewarding. Many people regard having run a marathon as difficult, but very rewarding and a huge achievement. However, if you knew someone who told you that on Saturday they were going to "try" to run a marathon, you'd probably look at them a little askance. You'd start asking questions: "Have you practiced? Did you read up about marathoning and long-distance running? Do you know anything about the route?"
What would you think if they said, "I'm just going to start running and see how long I can stand it. There will be people along the way to tell me where to go." You might have some more questions for them. "Don't you think that at some point you're going to get exhausted and want to quit? If you haven't prepared, how will you have the resources to keep going? Wouldn't you like to know something about the course - where the steep hills are, where to save your energy, where to expect things will be tough?"
If this person then tried to run a marathon, and dropped out at mile 10, or had a miserable time, and then told their friends how horrible marathons were and how stupid someone would have to be to go through that awful experience just to prove they were "tough"...wouldn't you be skeptical about their opinion? And yet that's where we're at in a lot of ways. Many women see unmedicated birth as some kind of test that you pass via sheer endurance and "feminist masochism", as one doctor in "The Business of Being Born" puts it. There's often a vague, generalized perception that drug-free is "better", but without much clear understanding of the actual risks of drugs. If you "try" to have the unmedicated birth and "fail", then you have a lot invested in trying to convince people that this "test" is silly and has no bearing on your strength, motherhood, or womanhood (a position I agree with completely). I think many of the birth horror stories and dismissive "just take the epidural, honey, you're gonna need it" comments that pregnant women here come from that place.
On the other hand, if you approach natural birth with the mindset that this is a rare and challenging event that you would like to fully experience, with interventions available whose risks you'd prefer to avoid, you can prepare for it. You can take classes, read, and find good coaches and support systems. You can remain flexible and open to changes in the situation. Let's ditch this whole "trying" thing and switch to "preparing".
You will hear many women say they are going to "try" to have an unmedicated birth. To me, "trying" connotes sheer effort and endurance. What I hear women say when they say "try" is that they are just going to see how long they can stand the pain. My dictionary defines "to try" as "to make an attempt or effort". What happens when you try something? Either you can succeed or fail.
There's a lot of derisive talk out there about birth plans and women who "plan" an unmedicated birth - or really plan anything about their birth at all. There is a lot of fingerwaving about how birth is unpredictable and you can't PLAN anything. After seeing a lot of births, I have to say I agree. My dictionary says to plan is to "decide on and arrange in advance" - you can't really do that with your birth. What happens when you plan something? Maybe your plans work out, and maybe they don't.
What I wish more women would say, and take ownership of, is that they are preparing for an unmedicated birth. My dictionary says " to prepare" is "to make ready or able to do or deal with something".This sounds just about right! Someone who is prepared does not fail or have plans not work out - they meet what comes with their goal in mind. They have made themselves ready to handle birth and any twists and turns they might meet on the way.
I encourage women to think of birth as a marathon - it is long, challenging, sometimes painful, sometimes exciting, and can be very rewarding. Many people regard having run a marathon as difficult, but very rewarding and a huge achievement. However, if you knew someone who told you that on Saturday they were going to "try" to run a marathon, you'd probably look at them a little askance. You'd start asking questions: "Have you practiced? Did you read up about marathoning and long-distance running? Do you know anything about the route?"
What would you think if they said, "I'm just going to start running and see how long I can stand it. There will be people along the way to tell me where to go." You might have some more questions for them. "Don't you think that at some point you're going to get exhausted and want to quit? If you haven't prepared, how will you have the resources to keep going? Wouldn't you like to know something about the course - where the steep hills are, where to save your energy, where to expect things will be tough?"
If this person then tried to run a marathon, and dropped out at mile 10, or had a miserable time, and then told their friends how horrible marathons were and how stupid someone would have to be to go through that awful experience just to prove they were "tough"...wouldn't you be skeptical about their opinion? And yet that's where we're at in a lot of ways. Many women see unmedicated birth as some kind of test that you pass via sheer endurance and "feminist masochism", as one doctor in "The Business of Being Born" puts it. There's often a vague, generalized perception that drug-free is "better", but without much clear understanding of the actual risks of drugs. If you "try" to have the unmedicated birth and "fail", then you have a lot invested in trying to convince people that this "test" is silly and has no bearing on your strength, motherhood, or womanhood (a position I agree with completely). I think many of the birth horror stories and dismissive "just take the epidural, honey, you're gonna need it" comments that pregnant women here come from that place.
On the other hand, if you approach natural birth with the mindset that this is a rare and challenging event that you would like to fully experience, with interventions available whose risks you'd prefer to avoid, you can prepare for it. You can take classes, read, and find good coaches and support systems. You can remain flexible and open to changes in the situation. Let's ditch this whole "trying" thing and switch to "preparing".
basic rules of conduct in diplomacy
> Diplomacy is always about making friends; never say anything that is unfriendly.
> Diplomacy is about being even-handed at all times; never take sides at anytime.
> Diplomacy is about contributing towards peace; forever hold your piece if you do not have anything constructive to contribute.
> Diplomacy is about being tactful on every occasion; never be indiscreet.
> Diplomacy is about being cautious every time; never try to be clever anytime.
So, it's basically common sense, but common sense is not so common, right?
But then again, it's really about how you want to position yourself in the situation. in business dealings as an example, you would want to be diplomatic, and be on the winning side of the deal at the same time. so, in this case, you want to be tactful, you want to be cautious, you would want to show that you want to be friends, and you want to show that the deal is for the benefit of all the parties involved.
So far, in my line of work at least, i find that being diplomatic is the key to getting things done. i am basically the middleman between the dealers (which are our business partners) and my company (the principle). so, that's the reason for all the tea and coffee and late night sessions with them. a lot of business deals have been closed and a lot of agreements have been reached over cups and mugs of teh tarik and coffee.
And the formula is again pretty much the same; you want to show the other party that you're a friend, that you come in peace, that you're on their side (ok, this is called politicking), you need to be tactful, you need to maneuver well, and you need to be cautious all the time (especially when dealing with sales people).
I believe that most of the things we have to go through on a daily basis should be done diplomatically;well, we all attend meetings, and do business presentations and attend discussions of some sort, and we all have bosses. You don't have to become a big-no-good-ass-kissing-bastard, all you need to do is be diplomatic, and make sure you do it with tact.
But again, in making or closing a deal, well, basically in dealing with people for whatever reason, you need to understand that not everyone is a diplomat.
> Diplomacy is about being even-handed at all times; never take sides at anytime.
> Diplomacy is about contributing towards peace; forever hold your piece if you do not have anything constructive to contribute.
> Diplomacy is about being tactful on every occasion; never be indiscreet.
> Diplomacy is about being cautious every time; never try to be clever anytime.
So, it's basically common sense, but common sense is not so common, right?
But then again, it's really about how you want to position yourself in the situation. in business dealings as an example, you would want to be diplomatic, and be on the winning side of the deal at the same time. so, in this case, you want to be tactful, you want to be cautious, you would want to show that you want to be friends, and you want to show that the deal is for the benefit of all the parties involved.
So far, in my line of work at least, i find that being diplomatic is the key to getting things done. i am basically the middleman between the dealers (which are our business partners) and my company (the principle). so, that's the reason for all the tea and coffee and late night sessions with them. a lot of business deals have been closed and a lot of agreements have been reached over cups and mugs of teh tarik and coffee.
And the formula is again pretty much the same; you want to show the other party that you're a friend, that you come in peace, that you're on their side (ok, this is called politicking), you need to be tactful, you need to maneuver well, and you need to be cautious all the time (especially when dealing with sales people).
I believe that most of the things we have to go through on a daily basis should be done diplomatically;well, we all attend meetings, and do business presentations and attend discussions of some sort, and we all have bosses. You don't have to become a big-no-good-ass-kissing-bastard, all you need to do is be diplomatic, and make sure you do it with tact.
But again, in making or closing a deal, well, basically in dealing with people for whatever reason, you need to understand that not everyone is a diplomat.
Translate in the Catskills 2011
Translate in the Catskills 2011
Ever since hearing from Corinne McKay so many good things about Translate in the Catskills, a conference focused on target language writing skills for translators, I had longed to go. Yet, I had doubts: the event was aimed, seemingly, only at translators who work from French into English or the other way round, and I was unsure how useful it would be for me. After all, I can barely understand spoken French, and though I can read it, still I was afraid any session on English into French translation would be wasted on me. I knew I would be able to follow discussions about French into English, but how applicable would they be for me, since, after all, I do not normally translate into English?
I mentioned my doubts to Corinne; she said last time there had been some people who translated neither from nor into French. She suggested I should contact Chris Durban (translator extraordinaire and the event’s organizer) to ask for details. Chris was friendly and helpful, and provided me with a list of former participants I could contact. In the end, she suggested I give it a try, and see for myself.
So I took the plunge: enrolled, and went. I am just back (after a far more complicated journey than expected – but that’s another story I may tell in a separate post). I’m very happy I took a chance on this event: I attended most of the into-English sessions, and even a few of the French ones, finding much to help improve my work. I won’t try to give a blow-by-blow of what was said during the various sessions (but if you go to Corinne’s Tweeter page, you’ll find hundreds of tweets sent in the real time from the conference); I will concentrate, instead, on the main ideas I found valuable.
Translators are writers
To be a good translator, you have to remember you are a writer. That means concentrating on making your target text effective. Translate accurately, of course. But that, by itself, is not enough to craft an effective, well-written target text that does not feel translated: If you only concentrate on accuracy, neglecting effectiveness, you’ll produce, in Chris Durban’s words, “a description of a text, rather than a text in its own right”.
Sometimes (or at least in certain fields) your translation may need to wander rather far from the source to achieve the desired effect in the target language. Sometimes, you’ll need to shorten, lengthen or even change your text, because often what your customer needs but cannot articulate is rather different than a run-of-the-mill translation. A translator who sees himself as a “humble servant of the source text” (Ros Schwartz’ definition of this gun-shy attitude) is unlikely to be as effective as one who makes the text her own.
In certain fields at least, use of translation memory is a hindrance – unless you find ways to ensure the target text flows well and is effective. I’ll suggest a technique to achieve this in a later article.
Techniques to achieve more effective translations
Use statistical analysis to see what a translated text should look like, comparing it to similar documents written originally in your target language.
To give an example presented by David Jemielity, if in translating into English CEO’s letters to shareholders you follow your source language conventions, you might refer to the company in the third person. You may even be asked by your customer to follow this path... after all, they are French (or Italian), and they are accustomed to writing of themselves this way (“Nel 2010 ACME ha fatto questo e quest’altro...”). However, if we can show our customers that CEO’s letters written originally in English are overwhelmingly in the first person (“In 2010, we did this and that at ACME...”), we may convince our customers to let us translate their letter this way, to make it more effective for them.
Similar strategies, buttressed by clear documentation, may show us other ways to improve our translation: sentence length and variety, use (or not) of the article before a company’s name, use of nominalizations, and so on.
Marketing ideas
Look for direct customers by taking part in their industry’s events. When you attend such events, don’t ask if they need translations. Try other tactics, such as asking questions, complimenting the speaker, letting slip in the fact you are a translator. Gently point out to someone you have met at such an event, that something in their presentation was unclear, or that it should be phrased differently in your target language, offering (for free) to suggest improvements to the text. Don’t do this, however, in an aggressive way (“gotcha!”), nor when you are asking a question during an open session.
And let’s not market against ourselves: Be careful in what you say in online fora, tweets or blogs. Translators all too easily fall into bitching mode (about bad agencies, expensive software, opaque tools, cheap wannabe translators, or whatever). Remember, however, that what you write online may come back to haunt you.
But I don’t want to give you the idea it was all work all the time: those who arrived early went for a hike to the top of one of the mountains (I guess we would call them hills in Colorado). We went out for dinner on Friday. On Saturday Ros Schwartz presented her new translation of Le Petit Prince (you’ll have to order it from the UK, though: for copyright reasons it won’t be sold in the USA). Movie night on Saturday: an exclusive showing of The Woman with the Five Elephants – an interesting documentary on Svetlana Geier, a veteran Russian-German translator, who passed away last November, after completing new translations of Dostoyevsky’s major novels.
It was interesting to see this old translator (Geier was over eighty-five, at the time) dictating her translations to an elderly typist, who clacked away on a mechanical typewriter or editing by having her translation read out loud (and commented) by an old musician (not exactly what we Trados users are accustomed to!). If you have a chance, don’t miss this film; even if you are not a translator, you’ll be fascinated by the underlying history: Geier directly witnessed Stalin’s purges (her father was tortured an imprisoned for 18 months) and the German invasion. Her knowledge of German helped her and her mother getting away from Ukraine. They ended up in Germany, where she remained, working as a translator and teaching at the university.
So, this highly regarded German translator was a native speaker of a different language. Just to show you that even one of the most cherished principles of our profession (that translators should only work into their native tongue) has its exceptions.
A big thanks to Chris Durban for organizing this energizing conference, and to all the presenters who did so much to make this a fruitful and memorable event!
Ever since hearing from Corinne McKay so many good things about Translate in the Catskills, a conference focused on target language writing skills for translators, I had longed to go. Yet, I had doubts: the event was aimed, seemingly, only at translators who work from French into English or the other way round, and I was unsure how useful it would be for me. After all, I can barely understand spoken French, and though I can read it, still I was afraid any session on English into French translation would be wasted on me. I knew I would be able to follow discussions about French into English, but how applicable would they be for me, since, after all, I do not normally translate into English?
I mentioned my doubts to Corinne; she said last time there had been some people who translated neither from nor into French. She suggested I should contact Chris Durban (translator extraordinaire and the event’s organizer) to ask for details. Chris was friendly and helpful, and provided me with a list of former participants I could contact. In the end, she suggested I give it a try, and see for myself.
So I took the plunge: enrolled, and went. I am just back (after a far more complicated journey than expected – but that’s another story I may tell in a separate post). I’m very happy I took a chance on this event: I attended most of the into-English sessions, and even a few of the French ones, finding much to help improve my work. I won’t try to give a blow-by-blow of what was said during the various sessions (but if you go to Corinne’s Tweeter page, you’ll find hundreds of tweets sent in the real time from the conference); I will concentrate, instead, on the main ideas I found valuable.
Translators are writers
To be a good translator, you have to remember you are a writer. That means concentrating on making your target text effective. Translate accurately, of course. But that, by itself, is not enough to craft an effective, well-written target text that does not feel translated: If you only concentrate on accuracy, neglecting effectiveness, you’ll produce, in Chris Durban’s words, “a description of a text, rather than a text in its own right”.
Sometimes (or at least in certain fields) your translation may need to wander rather far from the source to achieve the desired effect in the target language. Sometimes, you’ll need to shorten, lengthen or even change your text, because often what your customer needs but cannot articulate is rather different than a run-of-the-mill translation. A translator who sees himself as a “humble servant of the source text” (Ros Schwartz’ definition of this gun-shy attitude) is unlikely to be as effective as one who makes the text her own.
In certain fields at least, use of translation memory is a hindrance – unless you find ways to ensure the target text flows well and is effective. I’ll suggest a technique to achieve this in a later article.
Techniques to achieve more effective translations
Use statistical analysis to see what a translated text should look like, comparing it to similar documents written originally in your target language.
To give an example presented by David Jemielity, if in translating into English CEO’s letters to shareholders you follow your source language conventions, you might refer to the company in the third person. You may even be asked by your customer to follow this path... after all, they are French (or Italian), and they are accustomed to writing of themselves this way (“Nel 2010 ACME ha fatto questo e quest’altro...”). However, if we can show our customers that CEO’s letters written originally in English are overwhelmingly in the first person (“In 2010, we did this and that at ACME...”), we may convince our customers to let us translate their letter this way, to make it more effective for them.
Similar strategies, buttressed by clear documentation, may show us other ways to improve our translation: sentence length and variety, use (or not) of the article before a company’s name, use of nominalizations, and so on.
Marketing ideas
Look for direct customers by taking part in their industry’s events. When you attend such events, don’t ask if they need translations. Try other tactics, such as asking questions, complimenting the speaker, letting slip in the fact you are a translator. Gently point out to someone you have met at such an event, that something in their presentation was unclear, or that it should be phrased differently in your target language, offering (for free) to suggest improvements to the text. Don’t do this, however, in an aggressive way (“gotcha!”), nor when you are asking a question during an open session.
And let’s not market against ourselves: Be careful in what you say in online fora, tweets or blogs. Translators all too easily fall into bitching mode (about bad agencies, expensive software, opaque tools, cheap wannabe translators, or whatever). Remember, however, that what you write online may come back to haunt you.
But I don’t want to give you the idea it was all work all the time: those who arrived early went for a hike to the top of one of the mountains (I guess we would call them hills in Colorado). We went out for dinner on Friday. On Saturday Ros Schwartz presented her new translation of Le Petit Prince (you’ll have to order it from the UK, though: for copyright reasons it won’t be sold in the USA). Movie night on Saturday: an exclusive showing of The Woman with the Five Elephants – an interesting documentary on Svetlana Geier, a veteran Russian-German translator, who passed away last November, after completing new translations of Dostoyevsky’s major novels.
It was interesting to see this old translator (Geier was over eighty-five, at the time) dictating her translations to an elderly typist, who clacked away on a mechanical typewriter or editing by having her translation read out loud (and commented) by an old musician (not exactly what we Trados users are accustomed to!). If you have a chance, don’t miss this film; even if you are not a translator, you’ll be fascinated by the underlying history: Geier directly witnessed Stalin’s purges (her father was tortured an imprisoned for 18 months) and the German invasion. Her knowledge of German helped her and her mother getting away from Ukraine. They ended up in Germany, where she remained, working as a translator and teaching at the university.
So, this highly regarded German translator was a native speaker of a different language. Just to show you that even one of the most cherished principles of our profession (that translators should only work into their native tongue) has its exceptions.
A big thanks to Chris Durban for organizing this energizing conference, and to all the presenters who did so much to make this a fruitful and memorable event!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The Gift Of Knowing You poem
The Gift Of Knowing You
There are gifts of many treasures
For both the young and old,
From the tiniest little trinkets
To great boxes filled with gold.
But, put them all together
And they could not stand in lieu,
Of the greatest gift of all
The gift of knowing you.
When your times are filled with troubles
Sadness, grief, or even doubt,
When all those things you planned on
Just aren't turning out.
Just turn and look behind you
From the place at which you stand,
And look for me through the shadows
And reach out for my hand.
I will lift from you your burden
And cry for you your tears,
Bear the pain of all your sorrows
Though it may be for a thousand years.
For in the end I would be happy
To have helped you start anew,
It's a small price to pay
For the gift of knowing you.
- Dave Stout -
There are gifts of many treasures
For both the young and old,
From the tiniest little trinkets
To great boxes filled with gold.
But, put them all together
And they could not stand in lieu,
Of the greatest gift of all
The gift of knowing you.
When your times are filled with troubles
Sadness, grief, or even doubt,
When all those things you planned on
Just aren't turning out.
Just turn and look behind you
From the place at which you stand,
And look for me through the shadows
And reach out for my hand.
I will lift from you your burden
And cry for you your tears,
Bear the pain of all your sorrows
Though it may be for a thousand years.
For in the end I would be happy
To have helped you start anew,
It's a small price to pay
For the gift of knowing you.
- Dave Stout -
For Those Lost In 9/11 poem
For Those Lost In 9/11
If I could catch a rainbow
I would do it just for you,
And share with you its beauty
On the days you're feeling blue
If I could build a mountain
You could call your very own,
A place to find serenity,
A place to be alone
If I could take your troubles
I would toss them in the sea,
But all these things I'm finding
Are impossible for me
I cannot build a mountain,
Or catch a rainbow fair,
But let me be what I know best,
A friend who's always there
- Author Unknown -
If I could catch a rainbow
I would do it just for you,
And share with you its beauty
On the days you're feeling blue
If I could build a mountain
You could call your very own,
A place to find serenity,
A place to be alone
If I could take your troubles
I would toss them in the sea,
But all these things I'm finding
Are impossible for me
I cannot build a mountain,
Or catch a rainbow fair,
But let me be what I know best,
A friend who's always there
- Author Unknown -
The Miracle Of Friendship poem
The Miracle Of Friendship
There is a miracle called Friendship
that dwells within the heart
and you don't know how it happens
or when it even starts.
But the happiness it brings you
always gives a special lift
and you realize that Friendship
is God's most precious gift.
- Jean Kyler McManus -
There is a miracle called Friendship
that dwells within the heart
and you don't know how it happens
or when it even starts.
But the happiness it brings you
always gives a special lift
and you realize that Friendship
is God's most precious gift.
- Jean Kyler McManus -
A Friend's Greeting poem
A Friend's Greeting
I'd like to be the sort of friend that
you have been to me;
I'd like to be the help that
you've been always glad to be;
I'd like to mean as much to you
each minute of the day
As you have meant, old friend of mine,
to me along the way.
I'd like to do the big things and
the splendid things for you,
To brush the gray from out your skies
and leave them only blue;
I'd like to say the kindly things that
I so oft have heard,
And feel that I could rouse your soul
the way that mine you've stirred.
I'd like to give you back the joy
that you have given me,
Yet that were wishing you a need
I hope will never be;
I'd like to make you feel as rich as I,
who travel on
Undaunted in the darkest hours with you to
lean upon.
I'm wishing at this time that I
could but repay
A portion of the gladness that
you've strewn along my way;
And could I have one wish this year,
this only would it be:
I'd like to be the sort of friend
that you have been to me.
- Edgar A Guest -
I'd like to be the sort of friend that
you have been to me;
I'd like to be the help that
you've been always glad to be;
I'd like to mean as much to you
each minute of the day
As you have meant, old friend of mine,
to me along the way.
I'd like to do the big things and
the splendid things for you,
To brush the gray from out your skies
and leave them only blue;
I'd like to say the kindly things that
I so oft have heard,
And feel that I could rouse your soul
the way that mine you've stirred.
I'd like to give you back the joy
that you have given me,
Yet that were wishing you a need
I hope will never be;
I'd like to make you feel as rich as I,
who travel on
Undaunted in the darkest hours with you to
lean upon.
I'm wishing at this time that I
could but repay
A portion of the gladness that
you've strewn along my way;
And could I have one wish this year,
this only would it be:
I'd like to be the sort of friend
that you have been to me.
- Edgar A Guest -
My Love... Everlasting poem
My Love... Everlasting
You were a dream...
A dream that filled my thoughts
and my loneliest nights.
You were the dream I held on to,
the dream my heart longed to one day have.
You were the dream that made me smile...
an escape from my reality,
a fantasy I longed to one day come true.
Once only my dream, my escape, my fantasy,
came true the day when I first saw you.
My dream that used to be
is now my reality.
A fantasy waiting for its happy ending
is now a fairytale come true.
Once my only escape...
is now the comfort that I live for.
Together we have been through the heartaches...
the pain of walking away or being left behind.
Every new road we had to take
because of the choices we had to make,
only paved the road
that brought us closer to one another.
Life may not be easy,
with all the burdens and drama
that life hands to us,
but when you find someone
to share your life with,
no drama is hard to handle...
no burden is hard to bare.
When you have someone...
the one that you've dreamed of...
then your life becomes the escape you both take
to get away from the reality that surrounds.
I know because...
I found the love...
my lifetime partner
my soul mate
in YOU!
- Jenny C Phillips -
You were a dream...
A dream that filled my thoughts
and my loneliest nights.
You were the dream I held on to,
the dream my heart longed to one day have.
You were the dream that made me smile...
an escape from my reality,
a fantasy I longed to one day come true.
Once only my dream, my escape, my fantasy,
came true the day when I first saw you.
My dream that used to be
is now my reality.
A fantasy waiting for its happy ending
is now a fairytale come true.
Once my only escape...
is now the comfort that I live for.
Together we have been through the heartaches...
the pain of walking away or being left behind.
Every new road we had to take
because of the choices we had to make,
only paved the road
that brought us closer to one another.
Life may not be easy,
with all the burdens and drama
that life hands to us,
but when you find someone
to share your life with,
no drama is hard to handle...
no burden is hard to bare.
When you have someone...
the one that you've dreamed of...
then your life becomes the escape you both take
to get away from the reality that surrounds.
I know because...
I found the love...
my lifetime partner
my soul mate
in YOU!
- Jenny C Phillips -
Our Second First Kiss poem
We dwell on the past, while living the present
But I admit, the past was unpleasant
Full of ups and downs, less pleasure more pain
We wished for the sun, but only got rain
We both made mistakes, put pain in our hearts
But here we are again, promising to never part
Counting our blessings and letting go of the past
Starting all over and making it last
Feelings and memories flow deep in my mind
Of those days our love was genuine and kind
Holding you close, feeling your skin
You look into my eyes and make my head spin
Those feelings are back, but stronger than ever
I know you're the one I wanna hold on to forever
We both smile again, nothing's better than this
Kissing you again was like our second first kiss.
- Giselle Simental -
But I admit, the past was unpleasant
Full of ups and downs, less pleasure more pain
We wished for the sun, but only got rain
We both made mistakes, put pain in our hearts
But here we are again, promising to never part
Counting our blessings and letting go of the past
Starting all over and making it last
Feelings and memories flow deep in my mind
Of those days our love was genuine and kind
Holding you close, feeling your skin
You look into my eyes and make my head spin
Those feelings are back, but stronger than ever
I know you're the one I wanna hold on to forever
We both smile again, nothing's better than this
Kissing you again was like our second first kiss.
- Giselle Simental -
The Reason Is You poem
The Reason Is You
You're the reason for these butterflies
That are fluttering uncontrollable inside of me
These butterflies will never calm
They've taken over my whole body
You're the reason for this smile
That brightens my whole face
This smile will never frown
You've unknowingly became my all
You make me feel alive once again
You've erased my past with just a touch
Chased my fears with just one glance
You broke my mold with that first kiss
I thought my happiness was forbidden
Until you took my world and killed my demons
Read into all my deepest dreams
And gave them beautiful wings
You're the reason I believe in love
- Ashlei Dankenbring -
You're the reason for these butterflies
That are fluttering uncontrollable inside of me
These butterflies will never calm
They've taken over my whole body
You're the reason for this smile
That brightens my whole face
This smile will never frown
You've unknowingly became my all
You make me feel alive once again
You've erased my past with just a touch
Chased my fears with just one glance
You broke my mold with that first kiss
I thought my happiness was forbidden
Until you took my world and killed my demons
Read into all my deepest dreams
And gave them beautiful wings
You're the reason I believe in love
- Ashlei Dankenbring -
Timeless Valentine poem
Timeless Valentine
As time goes by from year to year,
One thing is surely true, my dear;
Though decades come and decades go,
Just seeing you sets me aglow.
Time shifts my body; I start to sag,
When I pass a mirror, it can make me gag.
My joints all ache; I can hardly move;
Still a smile from you, and I'm in the groove.
Getting older can be a pain,
But with you along, I can't complain.
Despite the things that we go through,
I know I'll never stop loving you.
Your loving heart turns life to play,
As we laugh at time from day to day.
So I write this poem, and I'll hang my sign,
Saying, "Always Be My Valentine."
- Priya Shroff -
As time goes by from year to year,
One thing is surely true, my dear;
Though decades come and decades go,
Just seeing you sets me aglow.
Time shifts my body; I start to sag,
When I pass a mirror, it can make me gag.
My joints all ache; I can hardly move;
Still a smile from you, and I'm in the groove.
Getting older can be a pain,
But with you along, I can't complain.
Despite the things that we go through,
I know I'll never stop loving you.
Your loving heart turns life to play,
As we laugh at time from day to day.
So I write this poem, and I'll hang my sign,
Saying, "Always Be My Valentine."
- Priya Shroff -
A Valentine's Wish poem
A Valentine's Wish
To the one who owns this heart of mine
Comes this lovely wish dear valentine
That you'll feel special all day through
Because I think the world of you!
- Joanne Griffiths -
To the one who owns this heart of mine
Comes this lovely wish dear valentine
That you'll feel special all day through
Because I think the world of you!
- Joanne Griffiths -
Beauty Beyond Memory poem
Beauty Beyond Memory
When memories cry
When memories fade and die
I'm going to grow old
My passion
My fiery passion
My flaming lust is going to grow cold
But my heart will always flow with a molten, love lava
In your name this lava flows through my veins
My heart beats for you
My heart will never cease to beat your name
When I lose my charm and my glamour
When I lose my physique and my game
When I'm old and wrinkly
When I cannot look myself in the mirror
I'll still stare at you
When memories fade
When I forget the days of the week
And the months of the year
When I mix names
And faces
The memory of you
Will always shine bright and clear
Your image
Has been burnt to my memory
I will never forget your radiance and beauty
I will die happy
With the image of your sweet smile
On my mind
And love
On my lips and in my heart
- Hamzah Gani -
When memories cry
When memories fade and die
I'm going to grow old
My passion
My fiery passion
My flaming lust is going to grow cold
But my heart will always flow with a molten, love lava
In your name this lava flows through my veins
My heart beats for you
My heart will never cease to beat your name
When I lose my charm and my glamour
When I lose my physique and my game
When I'm old and wrinkly
When I cannot look myself in the mirror
I'll still stare at you
When memories fade
When I forget the days of the week
And the months of the year
When I mix names
And faces
The memory of you
Will always shine bright and clear
Your image
Has been burnt to my memory
I will never forget your radiance and beauty
I will die happy
With the image of your sweet smile
On my mind
And love
On my lips and in my heart
- Hamzah Gani -
Love Does Separate Us (L'Amour Nous Sépare) poem
Love Does Separate Us (L'Amour Nous Sépare)
Through all time, love has strung beautiful art,
Does love now weave this vision in my heart?
Have two stars been taken straight from the sky,
Do they look back at me as I look into your eyes?
Love does separate us in lands so far,
Love does make this a trial so hard.
May I ask for one night to shrink this land,
May I have you just one night, just to reach your hand?
If my wish I may have not, let us kiss with our minds,
Let our words carry us together on winds of divine.
Love does separate us in lands far away,
But if love does ring true, I'll get to you some way.
- Joshua Blackwelder -
Through all time, love has strung beautiful art,
Does love now weave this vision in my heart?
Have two stars been taken straight from the sky,
Do they look back at me as I look into your eyes?
Love does separate us in lands so far,
Love does make this a trial so hard.
May I ask for one night to shrink this land,
May I have you just one night, just to reach your hand?
If my wish I may have not, let us kiss with our minds,
Let our words carry us together on winds of divine.
Love does separate us in lands far away,
But if love does ring true, I'll get to you some way.
- Joshua Blackwelder -
Missing Treasure poem
Missing Treasure
The missing treasure of this sinking vessel
On the seafloor, where it would nestle
Against the base for years it'd lay
Patiently waiting for that special day
When I would come to claim my prize
Hoping the chest to my surprise
Would hold the heart that I've been missing
The talks, the laughs, the hugs, the kissing
That day has come and now I'll find
What lies ahead, no longer behind
I've searched through darkness, to the deepest sea
And found that chest staring back at me
What lies inside, I do not know
Unlock the latch and open slow
I peek within, with nerves I'm shaking
The prize inside could stop the aching
Cause within the chest that I've searched for
I found the heart and even more
The talks, the laughs, they all were there
The hugs, the kisses, for me to share
The most beautiful treasure I've finally seized
Did not imagine I could be so pleased
I searched so long through the deep sea blue
I love you baby, my prize is you
- Jordan Schnarr -
The missing treasure of this sinking vessel
On the seafloor, where it would nestle
Against the base for years it'd lay
Patiently waiting for that special day
When I would come to claim my prize
Hoping the chest to my surprise
Would hold the heart that I've been missing
The talks, the laughs, the hugs, the kissing
That day has come and now I'll find
What lies ahead, no longer behind
I've searched through darkness, to the deepest sea
And found that chest staring back at me
What lies inside, I do not know
Unlock the latch and open slow
I peek within, with nerves I'm shaking
The prize inside could stop the aching
Cause within the chest that I've searched for
I found the heart and even more
The talks, the laughs, they all were there
The hugs, the kisses, for me to share
The most beautiful treasure I've finally seized
Did not imagine I could be so pleased
I searched so long through the deep sea blue
I love you baby, my prize is you
- Jordan Schnarr -
Thank You poem
Thank You
The sun sets
Upon the golden sand
We sit together
Hand in hand
We gently embrace
And look into each other's eyes
I wonder if you are
An angel in disguise
You hold me
Like there's no tomorrow
I suddenly forget
The past sorrow
I kiss your soft lips
And you kiss mine
I never knew
Loving someone could be this fine
You pick me up
And carry me to our room
Oh how a love can blossom
And a heart can bloom.
Your touch is so gentle
But your hands so strong
How could a love like this
Ever go wrong?
My heart is beating
200 times a minute
Because my love
You are in it
The sound of your heartbeat
All through the night
We fall asleep in each other's arms
And wake to the morning light.
I look into your eyes
And this is when
I say "Thank You"
For teaching me to love again.
- Jody Perrin -
The sun sets
Upon the golden sand
We sit together
Hand in hand
We gently embrace
And look into each other's eyes
I wonder if you are
An angel in disguise
You hold me
Like there's no tomorrow
I suddenly forget
The past sorrow
I kiss your soft lips
And you kiss mine
I never knew
Loving someone could be this fine
You pick me up
And carry me to our room
Oh how a love can blossom
And a heart can bloom.
Your touch is so gentle
But your hands so strong
How could a love like this
Ever go wrong?
My heart is beating
200 times a minute
Because my love
You are in it
The sound of your heartbeat
All through the night
We fall asleep in each other's arms
And wake to the morning light.
I look into your eyes
And this is when
I say "Thank You"
For teaching me to love again.
- Jody Perrin -
Saying I Do poem
Saying I Do
Saying I do
Is more than saying I love you
It goes beyond describing how my love is true
Because words are not enough to express my love for you.
Saying I do
Is like saying I am here for you
That I am ready to see what the future may bring
Because we are together in everything.
Saying I do
Is saying I am now complete because of you
That the pieces of the puzzle called "my life"
Becomes a beautiful picture called "our love".
And now I am saying "I DO"
As I walk down the aisle with you
This is a lifetime promise that I will hold
A promise I make until we grow old.
- M. Pascual -
Saying I do
Is more than saying I love you
It goes beyond describing how my love is true
Because words are not enough to express my love for you.
Saying I do
Is like saying I am here for you
That I am ready to see what the future may bring
Because we are together in everything.
Saying I do
Is saying I am now complete because of you
That the pieces of the puzzle called "my life"
Becomes a beautiful picture called "our love".
And now I am saying "I DO"
As I walk down the aisle with you
This is a lifetime promise that I will hold
A promise I make until we grow old.
- M. Pascual -
Blessed poem
Blessed
How blessed I am that you are in my life
Not a day goes by when I do not think of you
You make everything alright
To you I do not have to prove myself
For you know me
I love you
How blessed I am that you are in my life
How honoured I am to be a part of yours
Memories made and shared
With you the one I love
My friend, my lover, my queen
'Til the end
- Moses TuTesigensi -
How blessed I am that you are in my life
Not a day goes by when I do not think of you
You make everything alright
To you I do not have to prove myself
For you know me
I love you
How blessed I am that you are in my life
How honoured I am to be a part of yours
Memories made and shared
With you the one I love
My friend, my lover, my queen
'Til the end
- Moses TuTesigensi -
A Heart Remembers poem
A Heart Remembers
A memory burned within, from a heartfelt second long ago
a moment... one single moment, that only a heart can remember
a fleeting thought, gone astray, but the feeling looms inside you
a boy and a girl... so far apart, so long the days
that it took their hearts to remind them...
how fortunate they are, that a heart...
can return a fleeting thought,
one single moment, or a memory burned within...
so they can now live as one
as only inside true love, can such a past remain
until... it's found again
- Desi D. Williams -
A memory burned within, from a heartfelt second long ago
a moment... one single moment, that only a heart can remember
a fleeting thought, gone astray, but the feeling looms inside you
a boy and a girl... so far apart, so long the days
that it took their hearts to remind them...
how fortunate they are, that a heart...
can return a fleeting thought,
one single moment, or a memory burned within...
so they can now live as one
as only inside true love, can such a past remain
until... it's found again
- Desi D. Williams -
Love Letter poem
Love Letter
A fire that is carefully stoked and tended will not burn out.
It will blaze so brightly that its warmth lingers in your heart.
It will beckon your tired soul and embrace you in its radiance.
The familiar smell of its smoke can bring a wistful smile,
and the occasional blast of fireworks can take your breath away.
Its sizzle can enthrall you; its flickering flames entrance you.
The glowing embers provide comforting heat,
and the knowledge that a subtle movement or gentle breeze
can rekindle a bonfire.
My love, the spark that ignited the day we met
remains an eternal flame.
- Lori Naumann -
A fire that is carefully stoked and tended will not burn out.
It will blaze so brightly that its warmth lingers in your heart.
It will beckon your tired soul and embrace you in its radiance.
The familiar smell of its smoke can bring a wistful smile,
and the occasional blast of fireworks can take your breath away.
Its sizzle can enthrall you; its flickering flames entrance you.
The glowing embers provide comforting heat,
and the knowledge that a subtle movement or gentle breeze
can rekindle a bonfire.
My love, the spark that ignited the day we met
remains an eternal flame.
- Lori Naumann -
One Fateful Day poem
One Fateful Day
No river's span is quite as vast
No mountain's reach so high.
No rose's scent is quite as sweet
As the love I hold inside.
Every time I see your face and
Every time you smile,
Every time I kiss your lips,
My love grows all the while
I’m the luckiest man to walk the earth
To know a love like yours
Loving is so easy now
You’ve opened my heart’s doors.
And I'll love you 'til my life has ceased
And still more with my soul
Because that fateful day we met,
My heart you forever stole.
- Ryan Brennan -
No river's span is quite as vast
No mountain's reach so high.
No rose's scent is quite as sweet
As the love I hold inside.
Every time I see your face and
Every time you smile,
Every time I kiss your lips,
My love grows all the while
I’m the luckiest man to walk the earth
To know a love like yours
Loving is so easy now
You’ve opened my heart’s doors.
And I'll love you 'til my life has ceased
And still more with my soul
Because that fateful day we met,
My heart you forever stole.
- Ryan Brennan -
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