BBB Site of the Week

If retro is "in" then bring on the ASCII pictures!

For those of you unfamiliar with ASCII picts, before there were high definintion - before there was any definition - screens and Photoshop, there were clever folks who put together pictures using monospace text characters in standard "ASCII" format. Consider these or this.

Well, imagine if you could set these images in motion and recreate your favorite movie. Well, truth be told, some folks have taken this to a whole new level by reformatting actual movies into ACSII - but that seems like overkill. If you're looking for a well done, hand built ASCII movie classic, I point you to Star Wars!

News from all over - Munich & Saarland

A beer mat that calls for a refill when the pint is almost empty has been invented by scientists in Germany. The electronic beer mat was created by computer scientists Andreas Butz of the University of Munich and Michael Schmitz of Saarland University.

Beneath the cardboard surface is a small, flat baseplate which conceals pressure and acceleration sensors that react to the weight of the glass and the position and movement of the coasters. The microsensors then pass on this information via radio link to the bar, where the signal is picked up and decoded by a waiting computer.

The customer can speed the order up by "flapping" the beer mat, and can order more beers by using a stack of mats to express the number of drinks ordered. The inventors say the thinking beer mat is also capable of more than just ordering a refill.

Today in History - 1918

Will Rogers' first movie, Laughing Bill Hyde, opens at the Rivoli Theater in New York. Although Rogers appeared in many silent films, his movie career failed to thrive until the introduction of sound.

Rogers was born in 1879 in Oklahoma-before Oklahoma achieved statehood. He had started performing in childhood, showing off his rope tricks with a Wild West show that toured abroad. Later, he appeared at fairs and vaudeville shows, sprinkling his act with gentle, folksy humor.

BBB Web Toy of the Week

Introducing a new Bogus Boggess Blog feature - Web Toys. Games, graphic toys, puzzles and maybe even something you can order (the home version of ...).

This week - if you have always wanted to build your own kaleidoscope, this may be just the virtual toy for you. Or if you're looking for something a bit more complex ...

So Now You Know

Every year Disney Legends Awards are announced and celebrated. You probably know of one of this year's recipients but did you know the connection with Disney?

Wally Boag had the honor of introducing Steve Martin as the final recipient of this year's Disney Legends Awards. From the age of 10 to 18, Steve Martin worked at the park after school, on weekends and during the summer. He started his Disney career selling guidebooks at the gate, then souvenir spinning lassos in Frontierland. Steve then spent three years at the old Merlin's Magic Shop in Fantasyland. He learned all the tricks and collected all the jokes, writing down every gag.

Steve learned to juggle from the Park's Court Jester, Christopher Fair and Wally Boag, the Golden Horseshoe headliner, was another major influence. "I watched Wally's show many, many time ­ he was the first live performer I ever saw. I mostly remember Wally's performing style," Steve says. "It was fresh, sassy and very clean. Watching his comic timing was a very big influence on my own career."

Today in history - 1988

Stacy Allison of Portland, Oregon, becomes the first American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which at 29,035 feet above sea level is the highest point on earth. Allison, a member of the Northwest American Everest Expedition, climbed the Himalayan peak using the southeast ridge route.

News from all over - Appelscha

A Dutch witch has won her battle to make the cost of her brooms and spell-making lessons tax-deductible. Tax officials finally agreed that the un-named woman could declare the cost of her overheads against tax.

Earlier, a local court ruled her witching overheads were not tax deductible. The witch was a student of a witchcraft school in this Netherlands municipality which charges about £1,500 for a 13 weekend course on making spells, preparing magic portions and healing with stones.

BBB Comix of the Week

So, here's what home video consoles looked like in late 1955. No thumb joy stick but check out the functions on those buttons!

Quotable Quotes

We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.
- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962

Today in history - 1542

Portuguese explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sails into present-day San Diego Bay during the course of his explorations of the northwest shores of Mexico on behalf of Spain. It was the first known European encounter with California.

At San Diego, Cabrillo landed at Point Loma Head, now part of the Cabrillo National Monument. He then sailed on to explore much of the rest of the California coast. During one landing, he broke his leg and apparently fell sick with complications from the injury. He died in January 1543, probably on San Miguel Island off the Santa Barbara coast. Despite his reports of the appealing California coastline, the first Spanish settlement was not established in California until 1769, when Father Junípero Serra founded his mission at San Diego.

News from all over - Des Moines

A man who immigrated from Kenya to the United States found prosperity beyond his expectations on the day he became a U.S. citizen. Shortly after Moses Bittok, of West Des Moines, took the oath of citizenship on Friday, he discovered he had a $1.89 million winning ticket from the Iowa Lottery's Hot Lotto game.

BBB Etymology - Credit Card

The term was coined in 1888 by an author named Edward Bellamy, who wrote a fictional account of a young man who wakes up in the year 2000 and discovers that cash has been dumped in favor of "a credit corresponding to his share of the annual product of the nation...and a credit card is issued to him with which he procures at the public storehouses...whatever he desires, whenever he desires it."

The credit card was the successor of a variety of merchant credit schemes. It was first used in the 1920s, in the United States, specifically to sell fuel to a growing number of automobile owners. In 1938 several companies started to accept each others cards.

The concept of paying merchants using a card was invented in 1950 with Diners Club's invention of the charge card, which is similar but required the entire bill to be paid with each statement; it was followed shortly thereafter by American Express.

Today in history - 1959

Typhoon Vera, otherwise known as the Isewan Typhoon, kills 4,464 people on the Japanese island of Honshu and injures 40,000 more. 1.5 million are made homeless.

Shades of things to come?

Diners at Landmark, a stylish new restaurant in Lincoln Park, Illinois don't have to go outside or sneak to the bathroom to make or take that oh-so-important cell phone call. They get a room all to themselves.

The restaurant features a cozy alcove just off the main dining area built specifically for cell phone users. Patrons can chat away on a cushy leather banquette, surrounded by padded walls covered in faux leopard and snakeskin fabrics. Landmark's owners are even considering equipping the room with battery chargers, though they haven't quite ironed out how to supply enough compatible chargers that people won't steal.

News from all over - Edinburgh

Dr. Paul De Sousa and a research team at the Roslin Institute, told a professional audience that they had just created human embryos from female eggs without using sperm. De Sousa's team employed electrical shocks to "trick" 300 eggs into dividing as if fertilized and was successful six times, creating 50-cell "blastocysts" that could eventually produce stem cells. De Sousa denied that his embryos would be implanted into wombs to create female fetuses (and said his government license does not authorize that), but could grow replacement tissue for a faulty organ of the egg's donor.

BBB Geek-toid

Geeks must have their toys and folks out in Glendora, California have provided a way to bring pixelated images from virtual to reality. Enter ... PixelBlocks.

Today in history - 1627

Troops laying siege to Athens led by Venetian general Francesco Morosini rain cannonfire down on the Acropolis and the Turkish soldiers garrisoned inside. One cannonball penetrates the Parthenon, which happened to serve as the Turks' gunpowder magazine. The roof, walls, and 16 columns are blown off by the resulting explosion.

News from all over - Tucson

University of Arizona physicists have directly measured how close speeding atoms can come to a surface before the atoms' wavelengths change.

Theirs is a first, fundamental measurement that confirms the idea that the wave of a fast-moving atom shortens and lengthens depending on its distance from a surface, an idea first proposed by pioneering quantum physicists in the late 1920s.

The measurement tells nanotechnologists how small they can make extremely tiny devices before a microscopic force between atoms and surfaces, called van der Waals interaction, becomes a concern. The result is important both for nanotechnology, where the goal is to make devices as small as a few tens of billionths of a meter, and for atom optics, where the goal is to use the wave nature of atoms to make more precise sensors and study quantum mechanics.

BBB Site of the Week

Here's a site that presents details on global seismic activity. Cool yet disturbing.

So Now You Know

Jimmy Carter was the first U.S. president to have been born in a hospital

Today in history - 1964

The Paris Opéra unveils a stunning new ceiling painted as a gift by Belorussian-born artist Marc Chagall, who spent much of his life in France. The ceiling was typical of Chagall's masterpieces--childlike in its apparent simplicity yet luminous with color and evocative of the world of dreams and the subconscious.

News from all over - Muncie

Residents of a southwest neighborhood in this Indiana city thought the 110-year-old former school with purple doors had been vacant these past 14 months. So neighbors were surprised to find out the building which was last used as a bingo hall is home to one of Indiana's seven swingers clubs.

So Now You Know

Austrian candy executive Eduard Haas invented Pez candy in 1927. The original little candy bricks were peppermint. In fact, the word Pez is an abbreviation of the German word for peppermint.(PfeffErminZ) Pez candy was originally sold in small tins. The first Pez dispenser appeared around 1950.

Pez was originally marketed as an adult mint for people trying to quit smoking. The first Pez dispensers, known to collectors as "regulars", did not have character heads. Around 1952, cartoon heads and fruity flavored candy were introduced. Since then, over 250 different heads have been made.

By 1952, Haas wanted to market his dispensers to children in the United States and PEZ-Haas, Inc opened an office in New York City. After extensive market research on children and his product, Haas put heads on the top of the dispensers and gave the candy fruity flavours such as lemon, orange, cherry and strawberry.

PEZ-Haas, Inc. made its U.S. debut in 1953 at Chicago's candy industry convention and Curtis Allina was chosen executive vice president of the company. In 1973, the first US PEZ plant was built in Orange, CT., allowing the product to reach more customers. In 1983, Scott McWhinnie became "PEZident" and today remains the head of possibly the most prominent collectible company in the world.

The first character PEZ dispenser was the full body Santa Claus with moveable limbs and fine painted detail. Although popular with children, Haas decided to change the image of the dispenser to that which we are most familiar with today - the straight rectangular body with the character head on top that dispenses the candy.

The first licensed character was Popeye followed by Bozo the Clown, Casper the Friendly Ghost and Mickey Mouse. In the 1980s, other popular licensed characters appeared such as Garfield & Friends, the Looney Tunes and the Smurfs. As with other children's toys, PEZ followed the trend of using popular licensed characters from comics, cartoons and movies already familiar to their target market. In 1987, feet were added to PEZ dispensers to make the characters more lifelike and in the past three years, PEZ has released a series of accessories for their dispensers such as clothing and costumes.

Pez dispensers have appeared in such movies as "The Client", "Stand By Me", and "E.T. The Extraterrestrial". A Tweety-Bird Pez had a recent guest appearence on "Seinfeld." Besides popular T.V. and movie characters, Pez has created many characters of their own, the latest being the Pez-A-SAURS. Other Pez character series include "Pez 'N Pets", "Mr. Ugly and Friends", "Pez Pals", and "Pez Circus Characters."

Today in history - 1961

In an important victory for his Cold War foreign policy, President John F. Kennedy signs legislation establishing the Peace Corps as a permanent government agency. Kennedy believed that the Peace Corps could provide a new and unique weapon in the war against communism.

Kennedy hoped that by improving the lives of people in less developed countries, they would become more resistant to the charms of communism and convinced of America's sincerity and ability to help them. Many in Congress, however, were not convinced. The program carried a fairly hefty price tag. Though the participants were volunteers, they would need basic subsistence and, more important, tools and money to help the people they were sent to assist. Some members of Congress saw it as an expensive public relations ploy, foreign aid (which had never been popular with Congress or the American people) wrapped in a new ribbon. The program, however, actually turned out to have popular appeal. Stories about idealistic young Americans braving privation in foreign lands to help people grow better crops, build schools, or construct wells was good public relations material for the United States. In September 1961, Congress passed legislation establishing the Peace Corps on a permanent basis. A budget of $40 million for the next fiscal year was approved.

News from all over - Omaha

An Omaha, Neb., man has a rude message for his neighbors — mowed right into his front lawn. "When I first saw it, I saw the big 'U,' and I had to back up just to see if that's what it really said," local resident Bernie Horstmeyer told Omaha's KETV-TV.

The two-word, seven-letter, very common expletive stretches about 30 feet across the man's front yard. Neighbors said the man, identified only by the last name Miller, had long put off mowing his unruly lawn, until the city recently gave him a warning. The pithy phrase appears to have been the result.

Unfortunately for local residents, the lewd lawn is entirely legal. "As much as you might shake your head at what kind of reasoning is involved, it's not prohibited," explained Omaha city prosecutor Marty Conboy (search). "A person who wants to make a statement in public that doesn't invoke a violent response is protected by the Constitution."

BBB Comix of the Week

About time that kid pulled his, er their weight!

Wyoming Kid?

Tom Sparks (Boy Inventor)? Not to be confused with Tom Sparks (Atomic Detective)

Today in history - 1784

The nation's first daily newspaper, the Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser, began publication on this day. The New England Courant, the first independent American newspaper was published by Benjamin Franklin's older brother in 1721. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, 37 independent newspapers kept the colonists informed. The press contributed to the war effort by publishing broadsides, relaying information, chronicling the war, and sustaining community life.

So Now You Know

Florida's beaches lose 20 million cubic yards of sand annually.

News from all over - Panjin, Liaoning

The owner of a BMW in northern China returned to his car to find a note from a woman admirer declaring "I love you because you have a BMW," a news report said Tuesday. The note - including a telephone number and a brief personal description - was tucked under the car's door handle.

BBB Etymology - Ballpark Estimate

In the days when all baseball games were played in the open air during daylight hours, newsmen would have liked to know precisely how many fans showed up for a given game. But they seldom found out because owners and managers were cagey and it was hard to get a precise headcount. Besides, publicity about a low turnout might keep people away from the next game. It became a standard practice to give a very broad estimate - plus or minus a few hundred or thousand - when asked about the size of the gate on a particular day.

Today in history - 1853

On this date Elisha Graves Otis opened a small factory on the banks of the Hudson River in Yonkers, New York. In order to fulfill an unsolicited order for two freight elevators equipped with his newly invented automatic safety device, Otis abandoned plans to join the California Gold Rush.

Six months after opening his factory and still without a second order, Otis publicly demonstrate his device--a safety clamp that gripped the guide rails if tension was released on the guide rope. He mounted an elevator in New York's Crystal Palace, and while hoisted to the ceiling ordered the rope cut. His showmanship launched the passenger elevator industry, albeit slowly. In 1856, Otis's sales totaled just 27 elevators.

The world's first safety elevator for passengers was installed on March 23, 1857 in the E.V. Haughwout and Company Store in New York. It rose at a speed of 40 feet per minute. Many early passenger elevators featured steam operate cars, conductors, and posh seating. Hotels such as the St. Charles in New Orleans were among the first enthusiastic users of passenger elevators. Enhanced accessibility rendered the quiet upper floors even more desirable.

The passenger elevator and steel frame construction made the soaring skyscraper possible. Generally considered the world's first tall building, William Le Baron Jenney's ten story Home Insurance Company Building in Chicago was the first to incorporate steel as a structural material. Built in 1885, it was serviced by four passenger elevators. The 1913 Woolworth Building boasted 26 elevators; the 1931 Empire State Building required 58. The first fully automatic self-service elevators were installed in Dallas, Texas in 1950. Twenty years later, elevators in Chicago's John Hancock Center soared upward at 1800 feet per minute and, until its catastrophic destruction on September 11, 2001, the 110-story World Trade Center in New York operated 252 elevators and 71 escalators manufactured by Otis.

So Now You Know

Mars has developed a healthy snack food. Go figure.

BBB Geek-toid

There are times, no doubt, when you wonder about mythical stories or characters. Sometimes these woderings come on the heels of questions from a four-year-old, such as "What's a Jack o' Lantern?" You pause and think, "Hmm. I really have no idea." But now, thanks to this handy web site, you can look up all manner of such items in the Encyclopedia Mythica.

Among others, there are sections on Mythology (by region or type - Greek, Roman and the like), Folklore, Bestiary, and Heroes. There's an excellent search engine and you can even quiz your knowledge on things nythical. There's lots here but it can be a life saver *if* you can figure out a way to delay the answer to that four-year-old!

Today in history - 1893

With the signing of the Electoral Bill by Governor Lord Glasgow, New Zealand becomes the first country in the world to grant national voting rights to women. The bill was the outcome of years of suffragette meetings in towns and cities across the country, with women often traveling considerable distances to hear lectures and speeches, pass resolutions, and sign petitions. New Zealand women first went to the polls in the national elections of November 1893.

The United States granted women the right to vote in 1912, and Great Britain guaranteed full voting rights for women in 1928.

News from all over - Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Hundreds of cars got stuck on a German autobahn when heavy rains turned the freshly laid tarmac into sticky sludge. More than 200 cars travelling on the A20 autobahn in this northern state were damaged when they became trapped. A police spokesman said: "People are livid and even those that didn't get stuck will have major damage to their cars, which will cost thousands to repair, when the sludge dries and cannot be removed."

BBB Site of the Week

So after you've said goodbye to the magical kingdoms of Disney, you can relive some of those moments through visual and auditory delights found at this site.

So Now You Know

If you slept in a different bed each night at a Walt Disney World Resort, it would take over 70 years before you'd have slept in them all.

Disney World Quiz of the Day

What is the one snack food item that you will never find for sale on Walt Disney World property?

Gum

Hidden Mickeys

If you know not of "hidden mickeys", there's no time like the present to find out about them.

So Now You Know

More than 2,000 pounds of vegetation and browse is fed to the animals at Disney's Animal Kingdom every day, and several varieties of worms are provided to the animals, including super mealworms, yellow mealworms, red wigglers, night crawlers and wax worms -- 40,000 in a week. Dieticians also order 80,000 crickets per month as part of the healthy diet for the animals.

Disney World Quiz of the Day

What movie inspired Walt to create the the Jungle Cruise attraction?

The African Queen starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn

BBB Comix of the Week

You may be familiar with classic Mickey, Goofy and Donald comic books (not to mention Uncle Scrooge and others) but some Disney comics were focused on space - some more serious than others.

BTW, here's my personal favorite Disney comic book character and his "helper" (both from a cool site: Who's Who in Duckburg).

So Now You Know

Gertie the Dinosaur, on Echo Lake at Disney-MGM Studios (Walt Disney World), pays homage to pioneering animator Winsor McCay and his revolutionary 1914 animated cartoon, Gertie the Dinosaur.

Disney World Quiz of the Day

In 1988, magician Doug Henning was a consultant for the creation of which Walt Disney World "attraction"?

The Adventurer's Club in Pleasure Island

BBB Etymology - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

not only is it not the longest word in English, it's origins would not appear to be from the movie Mary Poppins. The word is in the Oxford English Dictionary with the following citations:

• 1949 Parker & Young (unpublished song-title) Supercalafajalistickespialadojus.
• 1951 Parker & Young (song-title) Supercalafajalistickespeealadojus; or, The super song.
• 1964 R. M. & R. B; Sherman (song-title) Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

[Ed note: so what is the longest word?]

So Now You Know

The fruits and vegetables grown at The Land pavilion are served in Epcot restaurants. Last year, more than 30 tons of fruits and veggies were harvested from The Land pavilion's greenhouses.

Disney World Quiz of the Day

What is the more common name for Disneyodendron eximus?

The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse in the Magic Kingdom

BBB Geek-toid

A rewarding site by and for the Disney Geek

So Now You Know

Cinderella's Golden Carousel - The carousel came from Olympic Park and was built in 1917 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. 90 of the horses were from there and they are carved out of wood. There are also 11 fibreglass horses made by Disney, which equals 101 horses! The horses on the very outside of the carousel are the largest, decreasing in size to the smallest horses in the centre of the carousel. Next time you're on the carousel, take a close look at the horses, only one side of them is very intricately detailed - the side that faces outwards, the inside of the horse is very plain. 23-carat gold leaf is used to decorate the horses, real silver and bronze is also used.

Disney World Quiz of the Day

How many individual panels make up the exterior shell of Spaceship Earth in EPCOT?

11,324

BBB Site of the Week

Some web sites are high brow, others down right raunchy, but few bring to you a better collection of useful items than this one.

Today in history - 1901

The first long-distance car race began in New York City on this day, ending five days and 464 miles later in Buffalo, New York. However, in these early days of automobile racing, the determining factor was not speed or endurance, but reliability. David Bishop's winning Panhard only averaged a speed of 15mph, but it managed to make the entire journey without breaking down.

News from all over - Munich

German designers are promoting a skirt for male drinkers to wear at the Munich Beer Festival. They say their Oktoberfest Frock is a lot more comfortable than traditional lederhosen.

Doreen Anders and Andreas Landinger, from Munich, say they were influenced by the Scottish kilt in creating the drinking-dress which comes in 'short' or 'calf' length. There are no tartan designs but the kilt comes in colours in-keeping with the blue-and-white Bavarian flag and other symbols of the Oktoberfest beer festival.

A spokesman for the designers say the skirt "combines softness with comfort" and does not inhibit the wearer like lederhosen, which can "be a bit tight around the calves and stomach. With all that beer flowing at the fest you need to make sure your belly is free to take it in."

So Now You Know

Technically, Ohio is not the 17th state admitted to the United States. It is the 47th. During the state's 150th anniversary, government officials went looking for the records. As it turned out, there had been a small oversight. While the constitution and boundaries had all been approved, Congress forgot to actually admit the state to the Union. A resolution was introduced to admit Ohio as a state retroactive to March 1, 1803. Congress passed a joint resolution and Eisenhower signed it on August 7, 1953.

Tax evaders have claimed that since the 16th Amendment was introduced to Congress by the Taft administration, and Taft was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, that he was not a legal president (the Constitution explicitly states that presidents must be natural-born citizens of the U.S.). Hence, Taft could not legally introduce the 16th Amendment. Also of interest is that this line of reasoning would render the actions of presidents Harding, Hayes, McKinley, Garfield, Harrison, and Grant unconsitutional.

The argument against this is that the resolution in 1953 rendered all previous events legal, since Ohio was declared to have been a state since 1803.

The tax evaders have countered this by pointing out that the Constitution also says Congress can't make an ex post facto law. The question is whether retroactive admission of a state falls under this category (probably not).

Today in history - 1900

Hurricane winds of at least 120 miles per hour ripped across the Texas coastline of the Gulf of Mexico, killing over 5000 people and decimating the city of Galveston. During the eighteen hour storm, tidal waves swept through sea-level streets, destroying homes and buildings and wiping out electricity, roads, and communication systems. As news of the disaster spread, supplies, including tents for the nearly 8000 homeless, poured into Galveston from across the nation.

News from all over - Somewhere in the UK

A man named Pete is on a mission to find 1,999 other people of the same name for a record bid. Pete Trainor has set up a website to try and collect together the individuals at the same place at the same time in order to get an entry into the Guiness Book of Records.

He had originally planned to gather together 99 other Petes, but the goal posts were moved when a man named Mohammed broke the record by gathering together 1,500 men with the same name in Dubai. Now the race is on to get the Petes to sign up at thepetecollective.co.uk.

He has so far had just 46 people sign up for his bid.

BBB Comix of the Week

Strange Adventures, indeed. It's not easy being a gorilla in a starring role. The obvious example is, of course, King Kong. But what about gorillas with a better-than-supporting-role in comics? Feast upon this.

Quotable Quotes

[W]hen the Paris Exhibition closes, electric light will close with it and no more be heard of.
- Erasmus Wilson (1878) Professor at Oxford University

Marketing 101

Casio plans to introduce two varaints of the waterproof DVD player ‘DV-900W’ (9? LCD) and ‘DV-700W’ (7? LCD). The screen has a resolution of 480×324, stereo speakers have a output of 1W x 2Ch. The DVD player can play a variety of discs DVD movies, Recorded DVD±R/RW, CD-R/W, in MP3/WMA and JPEG formats. It has Zoom (1/3, 1/2, 2, 3 and 4), Repeat playback. It has a Dolby digital decorder and preset equalizer. It also has a build in analog TV tuner and a Remote control which is again Waterproof. The Lithium Ion battery lasts for almost 3 hours 15 minutes with a full charge of 5 hours. The ‘DV-900W’ weighs 1830 grams and ‘DV-700W’ weighs 1800 grams. They will be available from September 29th.

BBB Etymology - Whippersnapper

One of the easiest skills learned by an inexperienced cowboy is that of snapping a black snake whip. Those who couldn't bulldog a steer or rope a maverick prided themselves on being able to strut into a town while calling attention to themselves by snapping their whips. Only youngsters who didn't even carry guns followed this practice. But it was common enough to lead people who never worked a trail herd to adopt whippersnapper as the perfect label for any brash, but unskilled, beginner.

Today in history - 1522

One of Ferdinand Magellan's five ships--the Vittoria--arrives at Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain, thus completing the first circumnavigation of the world. The Vittoria was commanded by Basque navigator Juan Sebastián de Elcano, who took charge of the vessel after the murder of Magellan in the Philippines in April 1521. During a long, hard journey home, the people on the ship suffered from starvation, scurvy, and harassment by Portuguese ships. Only Elcano, 17 other Europeans, and four Indians survived to reach Spain.

On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain in an effort to find a western sea route to the rich Spice Islands of Indonesia. In command of five ships and 270 men, Magellan sailed to West Africa and then to Brazil, where he searched the South American coast for a strait that would take him to the Pacific. At the end of March 1520, the expedition set up winter quarters at Port St. Julian. On Easter day at midnight, the Spanish captains mutinied against their Portuguese captain, but Magellan crushed the revolt, executing one of the captains and leaving another ashore when his ship left St. Julian in August.

On October 21, he finally discovered the strait he had been seeking. The Strait of Magellan, as it became known, is located near the tip of South America, separating Tierra del Fuego and the continental mainland. Only three ships entered the passage; one had been wrecked and another deserted. It took 38 days to navigate the treacherous strait, and when ocean was sighted at the other end Magellan wept with joy. He was the first European explorer to reach the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic. His fleet accomplished the westward crossing of the ocean in 99 days, crossing waters so strangely calm that the ocean was named "Pacific," from the Latin word pacificus, meaning "tranquil." By the end, the men were out of food and chewed the leather parts of their gear to keep themselves alive. On March 6, 1521, the expedition landed at the island of Guam.

Ten days later, they dropped anchor at the Philippine island of Cebu--they were only about 400 miles from the Spice Islands. Magellan met with the chief of Cebu, who after converting to Christianity persuaded the Europeans to assist him in conquering a rival tribe on the neighboring island of Mactan. In subsequent fighting on April 27, Magellan was hit by a poisoned arrow and left to die by his retreating comrades.

After Magellan's death, the survivors, in two ships, sailed on to the Moluccas and loaded the hulls with spice. One ship attempted, unsuccessfully, to return across the Pacific. The other ship, the Vittoria, continued west. The vessel sailed across the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at the Spanish port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

News from all over - Beijing

Farmers in impoverished central China, tempted by soaring global crude prices, are stealing oil from state pipelines in plastic bags, the official China Daily newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Villagers in dusty Shaanxi province are siphoning off enough crude every day to fill up to five bags each, which weigh around 50 kg (110 lb) when full. They sell them on to small private refineries earning and make about $1,000 (543 pounds) a month

BBB Geek-toid

Framsticks (don't miss the movies - the first one doesn't want to play in low-res)

'nuf said

A British man leapt onto the stage at a karaoke bar in Bulgaria and attacked two singers because they were out of tune. Kevin Tester, 40, from Eastbourne, was arrested after he assaulted the Bulgarians during a rendition of Queen's We are the Champions.

Today in history - 1882

The first Labor Day parade was held on this day in New York City. Becoming an annual event, these first parades were really protest rallies for the adoption of the 8-hour day, rather than the, often tame civic events they have involved into. Participants had to give up a day's pay in order to march. The New York City Central Labor Union (CLU) even levied a fine on non-participants!

In 1882, the New York City CLU was a lodge of the still-secret Knights of Labor, with a progressive tailor, Robert Blissert at its head. His right-hand man and Secretary of the CLU was Mathew Maguire, a machinist. The parade was timed to coincide with a national Kinghts of Labor conference being held in New York. This accounts for the presence of almost the entire K of L leadership on the reviewing stand. But their affiliation with labor was masked for the reporters who covered the parade. Grand Master Workman Terrence Powderley, for example, was introduced as the mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, which he, in fact, was.

News from all over - Seilpark Gantrischm

A new extreme sport which involves swinging Tarzan-style from tree-to-tree is the latest craze in Switzerland. Thousands of people are flocking to special parks to try the new adrenalin sport 100 feet above the ground.

It involves people launching themselves off specially constructed wooden platforms in the treetops and swinging on a harness to the next tree. Adventure parks in the country's Alpine mountains have reported soaring visitor numbers as the craze took hold this summer.

BBB Sites of the Week

It's the Bonus-Bogus-Boggess site sale of the summer! I've had quite a few "cool sitings" in storage and it's time to clear off the shelves for the new fall lineup so, here they are in unadorned fashion:

Bonus-BBB Site #1

Bonus-BBB Site #2

Bonus-BBB Site #3

Bonus-BBB Site #4

Bonus-BBB Site #5

Bonus-BBB Site #6

Bonus-BBB Site #7

News from all over - Marceline

This hometown of Walt Disney, will host internationally acclaimed cartoonists for Walt Disney's Hometown Toonfest Sept. 16-17. The cartoonists and their fans will celebrate Disney's boyhood in Marceline, the little rail-stop town where Disney lived from 1906-1911.

The Toonfest will recognize the influence that Marceline had on Disney's animated cartoons and toast the accomplishments of today's all-star American cartoonists. Disney returned to pastoral Marceline numerous times during his legendary career for locale and lifestyle research for his films, and for personal renewal.

Marceline is located 120 miles northeast of Kansas City. The Toonfest is sponsored in part by Andrews McMeel Universal, a Kansas City-based media company, providing the world with books, calendars, newspaper features, film/TV, online and wireless content and much more.

Today in history - 1666

A kitchen fire breaks out in Thomas Farynor's bakery on Pudding Lane, unleashing four days of destruction. 436 acres in the city are converted to ash, including 13,200 homes. 200,000 residents are rendered homeless by what comes to be known as the Great Fire of London.

Ah, Paree

Don't you wish it were sunset - in Paris - standing next to the one you love - atop the Eiffel Tower - even now ... your wish is BBB's command.

Ah, but Paris at night ... ooh, la, la

Quotable Quotes

"...As far as I can judge, I do not look upon any system of wireless telegraphy as a serious competitor with our cables. Some years ago I said the same thing and nothing has since occurred to alter my views." ... Sir John Wolfe-Barry, 1907

Patents We Don't Recall

A self-congratulatory apparatus having a simulated human hand carried on a pivoting arm suspended from shoulder supported member. The hand is manually swingable into and out of contact with the user's back to give an amusing or important pat-on-the-back.

Today in history - 1959

Elizabeth Taylor signs with 20th Century Fox to make Cleopatra. Her salary is $1 million.

BBB related story