BBB Swell Site

When it comes to facial hair, nothing beats the World Beard and Mustache Championships. Unless maybe it's the Mustache Hall of Fame. Uhh, where's Julius Henry?

So Now You Know

Proxmetics is the study of the spatial requirements of humans and animals and the effects of population density on behavior, communication, and social interaction.

Proxmetics was introduced by anthropologist Edward T. Hall in 1966 to describe measurable distances between people as they interact. The effects of proxemics, according to Hall, can be summarized by the following loose rule:

Like gravity, the influence of two bodies on each other is inversely proportional not only to the square of their distance but possibly even the cube of the distance between them.

News from all over - Nashville

Armed with Al Gore's utility bills for the last two years, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research charged Monday that the gas and electric bills for the former vice president's 20-room home and pool house devoured nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours in 2006, more than 20 times the national average of 10,656 kilowatt-hours.

"If this were any other person with $30,000-a-year in utility bills, I wouldn't care," says the Center's 27-year-old president, Drew Johnson.
Source

Quotable Quote

A man without a mustache is like a cup of tea without sugar
-English Proverb quotes

BBB Etymology - Orange

Comes from the ancient Sanskrit naga ranga, which literally means "fatal indigestion for elephants." In certain traditions the orange, not the apple, is the fruit responsible for original sin. There was an ancient Malay fable--which made its way into the Sanskrit tongue around the Seventh or Eighth Centuries B.C.--that links the orange to the sin of gluttony and has an elephant as the culprit. Apparently, one day an elephant was passing through the forest, when he found a tree unknown to him in a clearing, bowed downward by its weight of beautiful, tempting oranges; as a result, the elephant ate so many that he burst. Many years later a man stumbled upon the scene and noticed the fossilized remains of the elephant with many orange trees growing from what had been its stomach. The man then exclaimed, "Amazing! What a naga ranga (fatal indigestion for elephants)!"

Today in History - 1883

Oscar Hammerstein, of New York, NY, received patent for a "Cigar-Machine" ("Improvement in Machines for Making Cigars and Cigarettes"); first practical cigar-rolling machine. [His grandson, Oscar Hammerstein II was a lyricist who frequently worked with Richard Rogers (The Sound of Music, South Pacific, and Oklahoma!]) and Jerome Kern (Show Boat)

News from all over - San Jose

Alarmed by indicators of student stress like cheating and substance abuse, a handful of Bay Area schools are reducing an education staple: homework.

Oak Knoll Elementary in Menlo Park has mostly banned homework -- except reading, special projects or catch-up work. Palo Alto's Addison Elementary and the Berryessa School District in San Jose are discussing the issue.

Critics said homework steals time that increasingly busy children need to play or spend with family. Homework proponents argue that it teaches students to be more responsible and manage their time.

Fueled by parent complaints, the too-much-homework issue has taken root primarily in wealthy communities with high-achieving schools. Struggling schools are still trying to involve parents in their children's education.

And some schools are trying to find a balance. Ohlone Elementary School in Palo Alto assigns homework to the parents.
Source

So Now You Know

Iceland consumes more Coca-Cola per capita than any other nation

BBB Pulp Pick - Gold Medal Books

To conclude our look at Fawcett Publications, we enter the 1950s with paperback editions of original stories as "Gold Medal Books". Here's an except from a well written article by Michael Blowhard ...

What if you could trace the French New Wave, Sam Peckinpah, cyberpunk, "Pulp Fiction," "Mulholland Drive," and "Sin City" back to one business gamble taken by a third-tier publisher in 1949? In fact, you can, and without being guilty of too much overstatement. A little, sure, but not that much.

The publisher was Roscoe Kent Fawcett of Fawcett Publications, and his gamble was to try something no one else had tried before. He decided to publish original novels in paperback. In 1950, his new line of paperback originals was launched. It was called Gold Medal Books, and it became not just a tremendous commercial success but a culture-shaping one too. Read more...

Related BBB Articles:
01/15/2007 - Capt Billy's Whiz Bang
01/22/2007 - Smokehouse Monthly
01/29/2007 - Modern Mechanics and Inventions
02/05/2007 - True Confessions
02/12/2007 - Captain Marvel
02/19/2007 - Captain Midnight

Today in History - 1564

On this day, poet and playwright Christopher Marlowe is baptized in Canterbury, England, two months before the birth of his fellow playwright William Shakespeare.

Marlowe, the son of a Canterbury shoemaker, was a bright student. He won scholarships to prestigious schools and earned his B.A. from Cambridge in 1584. Historians believe Marlowe served as a spy for Queen Elizabeth while at Cambridge. He was nearly denied his master's degree in 1587, until the queen's advisers intervened, recommending he receive the degree and referring obliquely to his services for the state.

While still in school, Marlowe wrote his play Tamburlaine the Great, about a 14th-century shepherd who became an emperor. The blank verse drama caught on with the public, and Marlowe wrote five more plays before his death in 1593, including The Jew of Malta and Dr. Faustus. He also published a translation of Ovid's Elegies.

In May of 1593, Marlowe's former roommate, playwright Thomas Kyd, was arrested and tortured for treason. He told authorities that "heretical" papers found in his room belonged to Marlowe, who was subsequently arrested. While out on bail, Marlowe became involved in a fight over a tavern bill and was stabbed to death.
Source

News from all over - West Palm Beach

Played with colored soccer balls that are kicked instead of hit and jumbo-sized wickets, the hybrid soccer and croquet game is called Toequet. Another version using standard croquet mallets has been dubbed Malletball.

"I think of it as an extreme form of croquet," said Bob Alman, former manager at the National Croquet Center and editor of a croquet magazine. "I think the super-size, the extreme factor, helps take away a little bit of the wimp."

Schools, recreation departments, clubs and even a juvenile hall have already purchased sets of the balls and wickets Alman helps promote. And he has taken to staging games at and around the West Palm Beach croquet center, billed as the world's largest. Beginning in March, he will take Malletball on the road, giving free lessons everywhere from the beach to a banyan grove.

At the croquet center, the basic rules go this way: teams of two alternate turns kicking or knocking their ball through the wickets. The first person through the wicket gets a point for the team, and the whole group moves on to the next.

Janet Catalano, who played Malletball several weeks later with a group of adults said she enjoyed the sport. But Catalano, who came wearing earrings with balls the colors used in croquet, was not ready to give up the traditional game.

"My choice is still the standard croquet," she said.
Source

Quotable Quote

Above our life we love a steadfast friend.
-Christopher Marlowe

BBB Destination - Chillicothe

Sliced bread is the benchmark against which wonderful inventions are measured. Its birthplace was long claimed by Battle Creek, Michigan -- without apparent proof -- but that assertion has now been nullified. On January 26, 2007, Chillicothe, Missouri, erected not one, but two plaques proclaiming itself to be "The Home of Sliced Bread" and pegging the date as July 7, 1928. Even more majestic manifestations of its claim are in the works.

Chillicothe had no idea that it was the home of sliced bread until 2001, when a local reporter came across an old newspaper clipping that referred to the event. Further digging revealed that the son of the bread-slicing-and-wrapping machine was still alive in Arkansas. At age 88, he flew to Chillicothe with a scrapbook of clippings from the late 1920s, which proved that his father, Otto F. Rohwedder, had indeed first put his invention to use at Frank Bench's Chillicothe Baking Company.

Sliced bread was an immediate hit, according to the scrapbook: bread sales soared, orders for the machines poured in, and Otto F. Rohwedder dreamed of fame and fortune -- until the Great Depression forced him to sell his patents and he spent the rest of his life as an employee of other food industry machine companies.

Today in History - 1886

Charles M. Hall produced the first samples of aluminum after several years of intensive work. He had to fabricate most of his apparatus and prepare his chemicals, and was assisted by his older sister Julia Hall (see Craig 1986, CIM Bulletin). The basic invention involves passing an electric current through a bath of alumina dissolved in cryolite, which results in a puddle of aluminum forming in the bottom of the retort. On July 9, 1886, Hall filed for his first patent. This process was also discovered at nearly the same time by the Frenchman Paul Héroult, and it has come to be known as the Hall-Héroult process.

News from all over - UK

The price of a standard loaf of bread has broken the £1 barrier for the first time. In the early 1990s supermarket price war, a loaf dropped to as little as 7p

Tesco has been the first to move, raising the price of an 800g loaf of sliced white Warburtons to £1.03 after the Bolton bakery company raised its wholesale prices last week. The other bakery giants are expected to follow suit in the next few days, followed swiftly by the supermarkets, meaning that it will be hard to find a branded loaf under £1 by the end of the month.

Tesco insisted that it still sold plenty of cheap loaves, at less than 45p. And Warburtons justified the move saying that it had not raised its prices since March of last year and since then it has been battered by high costs — not least the price of wheat.

Roz Cuschieri, the commercial director at the bakery company, said: "Our principal raw material has gone up a lot in price because of the global shortage of wheat. Extreme weather conditions have affected harvests."
Source

So Now You Know

Assuming a sandwich was eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it would take 168 days to eat the amount of bread produced from one bushel of wheat.

BBB Geeky Novelty

A couple weeks ago the BBB focused on a somewhat pricey but all-together cool vinyl disc cleaner. We would be remiss not to offer some equally cool vinyl disc players. So, without further ado, this ... Exotic Turntables of the World.

Today in History - 1860

In San Francisco, the first organized baseball game was played.

So Now You Know

The total lunar eclipse of March 3 2007 will be visible over the eastern Americas, Europe, Africa, and western Asia.

The penumbral eclipse -- the least exciting, and hardest to see part -- will begin at 20:16:29 UT on March 3 and end at 02:25:27 UT on March 4. It will be visible from western Asia when it begins around Moonset, the rest of Asia, plus Europe and Africa, and most of the Americas as it ends at around Moonrise.

The partial eclipse will begin at 21:30:04 UT on March 3 and end over 3½ hours later at 01:11:46 UT on March 4, and will be visible from a slightly smaller area. The total eclipse lasts for over one hour; it begins at 22:43:49 UT on March 3 and ends at 23:58:01 UT on March 3, with the moment of greatest eclipse at 23:20:56 UT on March 3. It is visible over most of Asia, Europe and Africa, South America, and eastern North America.

The total eclipse should be a spectacular sight; the Moon will be well within the Earth's shadow, the umbral magnitude being 1.238, and should be deeply coloured by the Earth's atmosphere.
Source; NASA info

News from all over - Sydney

A Sydney couple showed a little bare-faced cheek to visiting royalty by water-skiing naked past the Queen Mary 2 as she moored in the harbour this morning.

"We were just sitting there - the next thing these two went straight across the back of Mary as it was tying up and everyone was saying 'they're nude, they're nude'.

"We were directly opposite John Howard's house - they came from around Kirribilli Point somewhere heading east and then they just howled off behind us. "It was a man and a woman. I think they were probably in their late 20s and let's just say they were a fairly fit looking couple."

A NSW Water Police spokesman said he was unaware of any naked water-skiiers on the harbour this morning.
Source (with pict)

BBB Swell Site

The name alone captures the imagination. Enjoy "THE ZOOMQUILT: a collaborative art project"
requires Flash Player

Today in History - 1878

The first telephone "book" - actually just a single 14 cm. x 21 cm. sheet - was issued in New Haven, Connecticut listing 50 subscribers.

News from all over - Reading

An executive coach in Pennsylvania has devised a 12 step program designed to tackle email obsessions. Developed for cases such as a golfer who checked his BlackBerry after every shot, and lost a potential client who wanted nothing to do with his obsession.

Marsha Egan’s plan taps into deepening concern that email misuse can cost businesses millions of dollars in lost productivity. "There is a crisis in corporate America, but a lot of CEOs don’t know it,” Egan said. “They haven’t figured out how expensive it is."

The first of Egan’s 12 steps is “admit that email is managing you. Let go of your need to check email every 10 minutes.” Other steps include “commit to keeping your inbox empty”, “establish regular times to review your e-mail” and “deal immediately with any email that can be handled in two minutes or less but create a file for mails that will take longer.”
Source

So Now You Know

Of all the 50 U.S. state capitals, only two rhyme -- Austin (Texas) and Boston (Massachusetts).

BBB Etymology - Dog-Days of Summer

Sometimes used as a general metaphor for good times in the past. The phrase is a translation from Latin; in classical times, the hottest period of the year, from the beginning of July to mid-August, was attributed to the rising of Sirius (the brightest star in the constellation called Greater Dog and thus known as the Dog-star) at the same time as the sun. This was believed to add to the sun's heat.

Today in History - 1792

The Postal Service Act was signed into law by President George Washington. Under the act, newspapers were allowed in the mails at low rates to promote the spread of information across the states. To ensure the sanctity and privacy of the mails, postal officials were forbidden to open any letters in their charge unless they were undeliverable. Letters delivered up to 30 miles cost six cents to mail. For letters up to 150 miles, postage was 12-1/2 cents.

News from all over - San Francisco

Everybody knows chocolate can be good for your love life, even if it's not so good for the teeth and waistline. Now there's another excuse to indulge: It may be good for your brain.

Scientists funded in part by the Mars Inc. candy company delivered the not-unwelcome news Sunday morning during what was described as the first systematic review of chocolate's effects on learning and memory.

Five years ago, a similar meeting popularized evidence suggesting that flavanols, a chemical found in the beans from which chocolate is made, have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health. Experts cautioned that chocolate usually loses its flavanols during processing. The latest studies used a specially made laboratory drink extra-rich in flavanols.

The beneficial brain effects appear to stem from flavanols' impact on the blood system. In essence, the chemicals stimulate an increase of blood flow to the brain, particularly in areas that light up during tasks that require alertness. Experiments suggest this neurovascular activity is distinct from the well-known stimulant effects of caffeine."More research examining the potential of cocoa in this important area of public health need is clearly warranted," he said in a news release.
Source

Quotable Quote

A dog has the soul of a philosopher.
-Plato

BBB Pulp Pick - Captain Midnight

Fawcett Comics were going strong through the "golden age of comics". By 1946, Captain Marvel alone was published bi-weekly on the title, Captain Marvel Adventures, which sold well over a million copies per issue.

Other Fawcett comic legends were born including Bulletman, Spy Smasher, and even Hoppy, The Marvel Bunny, who appeared monthly in Fawcett's Funny Animals magazine.

But for my dime, one of the best comics of this golden era was a spinoff from a popular radio show ... Captain Midnight. After Dell introduced the character to comic books in 1941, Fawcett Publications stepped in to publish Captain Midnight as a successful long-run comic book from June 1942 until September 1948. Otto Binder was one of the writers on the comic book, and the illustrators for this Fawcett title included Leonard Frank, Clem Weis-Becker, Lincoln Cross and Al Bare.

Dave O'Brien had the title role in Columbia Pictures' 15-episode Captain Midnight (1942) serial, and the Captain Midnight newspaper strip that same year was credited to Jonwan.

The Captain Midnight TV series, starring Richard Webb, began September 9, 1954, on CBS, continuing for 39 episodes until January 21, 1956. The series filmed at the Ray Corrigan Ranch in Simi Valley, California.

And who can forget TV Captain Midnight's jet decoder? or the bright red Ovaltine "shaker mug"?

Related BBB Articles:
01/15/2007 - Capt Billy's Whiz Bang
01/22/2007 - Smokehouse Monthly
01/29/2007 - Modern Mechanics and Inventions
02/05/2007 - True Confessions
02/12/2007 - Captain Marvel

Quotable Quote

On a mountaintop high above a large city stands the headquarters of a man devoted to the cause of freedom and justice, a war hero who has never stopped fighting against his country's enemies, a private citizen who is dedicating his life to the struggle against evil men everywhere...Captain Midnight!

Today in History - 1856

The ferrotype, or "tintype" was invented by Ohio chemistry professor Hamilton L. Smith of Gambier. Smith had made the first daguerreotype in Cleveland and had experimented with the photographic process while a professor at Kenyon College. With the assistance of a former student, Peter Neff, Jr., Smith perfected making an ambrotype on metal, which he patented on this date (patent #14,300). Smith later assigned his rights to the patent to William Neff and Peter Neff, Jr. This became the basis of a business for the Neffs, as they charged a fee for anyone using this process.

The tintype gained in popularity after the 1860s, largely due to competitive ferrotype firms, like that of another Ohioan, Victor Griswold, who held his own patent for the process, using a thinner sheet of metal. The Civil War made the tintype the most popular form of photography because of its durability, unlike the ambrotype, and its quick development time-one minute from exposure to finished product.

Source

News from all over - Bismark

Among the thousands of people frantically flapping in the snow Saturday in an attempt to set the record for the most snow angels ever made were parents, children, even snowplow drivers.

And then there was Pauline Jaeger - who on her 99th birthday, was making her very first angel. "It's fun," Jaeger said. "I feel just like a kid."

More than 8,900 people flapped their arms and legs on the state Capitol grounds Saturday in an attempt to reclaim the record, which was snatched away about a year ago in Michigan.

"That's phenomenal organization and something really to be proud of," said Paul Judge, a Michigan Tech biochemistry major who helped organize Michigan's attempt. "I'm sure once their numbers are verified, there will be a quick reorganization attempt here to reclaim our record."

Source

Today's Chuckle

BBB Destination - Thorndike

This time of year it's easy to appreciate a good hot stove. And there's no better place to find vintage stoves than in this central Maine hamlet of some 700 people. Folks come from all over to see Joe and Bea Bryant's incredible cache because, with all due respect, why else would they come? "It's pretty much the post office, the Grange [hall], and us," 72-year-old Joe Bryant says of downtown Thorndike.

But Bryant's Stove & Music, Inc., a small cluster of disparate buildings, is worth the trek. Bryant and his 73-year-old wife, Bea, oversee what is probably the largest antique-stove restoration and sales business in the country. At any given moment, you can admire about 100 pristine vintage kitchen stoves and parlor stoves on their showroom floor, another 40 or so in their adjoining "museum," and a pasture of rusted hulks waiting outside to be rejuvenated or used for parts.

But there is also all this other old stuff here, collections the Bryants have amassed during their 53 years of marriage and now display for visitors: their remarkable accumulation of mechanical music devices, their dozen or so antique cars, their doll circus, which springs to life at the flick of a switch. There is also Bea Bryant's thimble collection and her most recent devotion, old buttons, both of which impress her husband with their practicality. "They're a hell of a lot lighter than stoves," he points out.

"We collect everything but money," her father banters back. "We keep that in circulation."

Source

Today in History - 1894

Infamous gunslinger John Wesley Hardin is pardoned after spending 15 years in a Texas prison for murder. Hardin, who was reputed to have shot and killed a man just for snoring, was 41 years old at the time of his release. [His name is rendered as "John Wesley Harding" on the Dylan song and album]

What a Hoot!

M C Escher's Relativity in Lego by Andrew Lipson

News from all over - Laguna Beach

Michael Osborn and his guide dog, Hastings, were in the middle of an intersection one morning last April when the yellow Lab stopped short. Mr. Osborn took the cue and halted -- just in time to feel the breeze from a car passing right in front of them.

"Half an inch and it would have hit us ... it wasn't making any noise," says Mr. Osborn, 50, who has been blind for 12 years. Witnesses say the car was a Toyota Prius, a hybrid vehicle.

Hybrids deliver better mileage and less pollution than traditional cars by switching between a gasoline engine and an electric motor. But when operating on the electric battery, especially when idling at a stop or running at low speeds, the engine in a hybrid is almost silent. A hybrid vehicle is generally quieter than a vacuum cleaner.

"I'm an environmentalist, and I'm all for quiet cars," says Mr. Osborn. "But it poses a particular problem for somebody who has no vision."

[Wall Steet Journal]

BBB Geeky Novelty

Horntones recently introduced the ultimate in customization - customized horn sounds for your car. The San Clemente company debuted the FX-550 this week ($149.99, available in mid-2007). The unit can hold up to eight different sounds including nature sounds, voices and music.

Sounds and songs are loaded to the unit via any USB flash drive and the unit can sit on top of the dash or installed in-dash for a cleaner look. In addition to the unit, you'll have to purchase an amplifier to put in the engine. The amp will connect to your regular horn speaker.

Today in History - 1758

In 1758, mustard was first advertised for sale in America, by Benjamin Jackson who had set up business in Globe Mills, Germantown, Philadelphia, selling mustard packed in glass bottles with his label on them. In the Philadelphia Chronicle, Penn., he claimed to be "the original establisher of the mustard manufactory in American, and ... at present, the only manufacturer on the continent," and that he had brought the art with him from London to America. In his further advertisements he said he "Prepares the genuine Flour of Mustard-seed, of all Degrees of Fineness, in a Manner that renders it preferable to the European, ...and it will keep perfectly good any reasonable Time, even in the hottest Climates, and is not bitter when fresh made."

So Now You Know

Located in northern California, the Monticello Dam is the largest morning glory spillway in the world. This funnel-shaped outlet allows water to bypass the dam when it reaches capacity at a rate of 48,400 cubic feet per second (1370 m³/s).

News from all over - Deerfield Beach

A woman leaving a Department of Motor Vehicles office where she went for a state-ordered driver's license retest accidentally plowed her car into the building Wednesday, slightly injuring several people, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Therese Smith, 80, of Boca Raton, was easing out of a parking spot in front of the office at 100 S. Military Trail about 4:30 p.m. when she stepped on the gas too hard, propelling her 1990 Mercury Grand Marquis over a concrete parking block, onto the sidewalk, through a metal parking sign and into the windows of the DMV office, said Sgt. Mark Wysocky, FHP spokesman.

Seven people who were in the office waiting room when the crash happened were taken to North Broward Medical Center with minor injuries, fire officials said. Four others also were hurt but did not need to be taken to the hospital, and Smith was not injured.

Today's Chuckle

BBB Swell Site

What ... you expected roses? For over ten years The Original Internet Love Test has been helping folks detemine whether they are a good match for that special someone. Go ahead, take the test, you know you want to ... (BTW, unless you want to, when prompted you needn't enter an email address)

If you are looking for a quick Love Calculator, you could try this one. I gotta say, looking all the way back to high school, the calculator has proven very accurate for me ...

Quotable Quote

One word frees us
Of all the weight and pain in life,
That word is Love
- Socrates

Today in History - 1932

OK, "around" today in history ... in Lake Placid, NY the III Winter Olympics were held and the USA won the 2-man and 4-man bobsled races. (Actually, the USA took the Gold and Bronze in the 2-man "bobsleigh" and the Gold and Silver in the 4-man competition.)

From the "Official Report" (very nice pdf - the 291 page document will take a some time to load), this ...

"There were two events on the Olympic bobsled program, the two-man (boblet) and four-man races, each divided into four heats, two being run on one day. As a result of this schedule four days of racing were offered.

"Weather conditions made it necessary to shift the two-man races, originally scheduled for Feb 8 and 9, to Feb 9 and 10, a raging blizzard making it impossible to use the run on Feb 8. The four-man events, on the program for Feb 11 and 12, were run off on Feb 14 and 15.

"Less than two seconds separated the first two teams in the two-man event, while the first two four-man sleds across the line were only two and two-hundredths seconds apart."

News from all over - Washington DC

HOUSE HEARING ON 'WARMING OF THE PLANET' CANCELED AFTER ICE STORM
Tue Feb 13 2007 19:31:25 ET

The Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality hearing scheduled for Wednesday, February 14, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building has been postponed due to inclement weather. The hearing is entitled “Climate Change: Are Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Human Activities Contributing to a Warming of the Planet?”

The hearing will be rescheduled to a date and time to be announced later.

BBB Etymology - Head over heels

To be "head over heels" almost always means that one has fallen madly in love in an impetuous and unconstrained way. But by itself it can also refer to one's state while turning a somersault or cartwheel.

It looks so odd because during its history it got turned upside down, just like the idea it represents. When it first appeared, in the 14th century, it was written as "heels over head", to turn a somersault. It became inverted around the end of the 18th century, possibly as the result of a series of mistakes by authors who didn't stop to think about the conventional phrase they were writing, or who found the stress pattern of "head over heels" more persuasive than the older form.

The two forms lived alongside each other for most of the next century – Davy Crockett was an early user of the modern form in 1834: "I soon found myself head over heels in love with this girl.'' As late as the early 20th century L Frank Baum consistently used the older form in his Oz books: "But suddenly he came flying from the nearest mountain and tumbled heels over head beside them." And Lucy Maud Montgomery stayed with it in her Anne of Windy Poplars, published in 1936: "Gerald's pole, which he had stuck rather deep in the mud, came away with unexpected ease at the third tug and Gerald promptly shot heels over head backward into the water."

Source

Today in History - 1895

French inventors Louis and August Lumiere patent the Cinematographe, a combination movie camera and projector. Thomas Edison had patented his movie camera, the Kinetograph, and a separate viewing machine, the Kinetoscope, in 1893.

Quotable Quote

In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities.
- János Arany

So Now You Know

We’ve all seen them and wondered how they got there - a supermarket shopping cart, sitting forlornly along a residential street, far from the nearest grocery store. Was it a prank, or someone who walked to the store and bought more than they could carry? Either way, this is Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month - including milk crates and bread trays. The idea is for consumers to avoid the increased food prices that result when store owners have to replace stolen equipment.

Source: Chase's Calendar of Events 2007

News from all over - Chicago

In the largest study to date on the health effects of napping, researchers tracked 23,681 healthy Greek adults for an average of about six years. Those who napped for about half an hour at least three times weekly had a 37 percent lower risk of dying from heart attacks or other heart problems than those who did not nap.

Most participants were in their 50s, and the strongest evidence was in working men, according to the study. The researchers said naps might benefit the heart by reducing stress, and jobs are a common source of stress.

A daytime siesta has long been part of many cultures, especially those in warmer climates. Mediterranean-style eating habits featuring fruits, vegetables, beans and olive oil have been credited with contributing to relatively low rates of heart disease in those countries, but the researchers wanted to see if napping also plays a role.

"My advice is if you can (nap), do it. If you have a sofa in your office, if you can relax, do it," Trichopoulos said.

BBB Pulp Pick - Captain Marvel

Continuing the story of Fawcett Publications ... after huge growth of magazine development and sales during the early 1930s, Wilford Fawcett's sons continued the expansion of the company into the 1940s. One example: in 1940 the company launched Fawcett Comics.

Created by artist C.C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, Captain Marvel first appeared in Whiz Comics #2 (February 1940). With a premise that taps adolescent fantasy, Captain Marvel is the alter ego of Billy Batson, a youth who works as a radio news reporter and was chosen to be a champion of good by the wizard Shazam. Whenever Billy speaks the wizard's name, he instantly is struck by a magic lightning bolt that transforms him into an adult superhero empowered with the abilities of six legendary figures. Several friends and family members, most notably Marvel Family cohorts Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr., can share Billy's power and become "Marvels" themselves.

Related BBB Articles:
01/15/2007 - Capt Billy's Whiz Bang
01/22/2007 - Smokehouse Monthly
01/29/2007 - Modern Mechanics and Inventions
02/05/2007 - True Confessions

Today in History - 1924

American composer George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is performed for the first time in in Aeolian Hall, New York. The 26-year-old Brooklyn-born Gershwin played the piano part in the concert.

News from all over - Delaware

Ontario-based Book By You says it sells thousands of personalized romance novels each year with titles such as ER Fever and Pirates of Desire, where the reader is the star. It is not Brontë, but customers are going crazy for novels that make them the main characters.

Customers answer 20 to 30 questions about themselves and their beloved, ranging from body type to pet names. Then the details are woven into one of the company's eight pre-formatted novels. Clients can even have their photos added to the book jacket.

Turnaround time is quick. Publisher Michael Pocock said if customers ordered their personalised book on Monday they would get it in time for Valentine's Day. Virtually all the orders are done on the Internet, Pocock said.

Quotable Quote

I have found men who didn't know how to kiss.
I've always found time to teach them.
- Mae West

BBB Destination - Rachel

Some might think it a perfect Valentine's event to have a romantic candlelit dinner for two. But where's the best place? How about adding the mystery of a road trip with your special someone to the Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel, Nevada along the Extraterrestrial Highway. They are offering a special Valentine's Day menu consisting of:
Vegetable Appetizer Dish
Your choice of soup or Garden salad
Your choice of a Crab Salad or Shrimp Cocktail
Your choice of Prime Rib or Cornish Game Hen
Vegetable
Your choice of Baked or Mashed Potato
Our very own special Strawberry Shortcake

Place your reservations on-line and you will receive all this for the special price of only $14.99 per person. Plus, guests making reservations at least 48 hours in advance will receive a special surprise gift with their meal.

Oh, by the way: Help Wanted Immediately! People who can cook, waitress, cashier, and tend bar please call Pat at 1-866-ETHWY51 Fax resume to: 1-775-729-2551 Living arrangements and accommodations available.

Today in History - 1967

At about 8:45 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Guseman of Middletown, Delaware, were driving south on U.S. 13 toward Odessa. They had just crossed a bridge over a canal when Mr. Guseman saw two lights near the road ahead and to their left. The left light was green and the one on the right red. Suddenly two bright white lights came on between the colored ones. Thinking they were landing lights, Guseman said to his wife, "Look at the crazy plane trying to land!"

As the couple drew nearer, they could see the lights were stationary and attached to a large and unfamiliar object. Only the white lights were visible as they came up opposite to the object, across the highway from them. It sat motionless just over the trees approximately 200 feet from them at an altitude of about 70 or 80 feet.

For about two minutes the couple watched the object as it hovered motionless. Then suddenly the two forward beams of light began to swing upward until they were pointed at a 45-degree angle from horizontal, shining upwards and out into the night sky. After moving approximately two or three hundred feet to the north over the trees, the UFO seemed literally to disappear. When they drove near the field to check further they saw nothing; nor could they find any evidence on the ground where the UFO had hovered when they searched it with a flashlight.

Guseman, 29 at the time of the sighting, is president of the Delmarva Contracting Company, Middletown; his wife is a business administrator in Wilmington Memorial Hospital.

News from all over - San Jose

A personal message from Emily: Tonight the San Jose UFO Research Team will have their February Meetup. There's a lot of new information, photos, videos and issues. The new Stargates video brings up factors I never really really thought about before. Anybody here know anything about stargates?



I spoke with the author, William Henry, and we traded concerns and questions. He'll get back to us.

Jose's DVD is still hanging fire.



Now that I have a DVD player and Chinese food here, please bring what you have, to share.

See you then.
Emily

Quotable Quote

There are some hundred billion (10¹¹) galaxies, each with, on the average, a hundred billion stars. In all the galaxies, there are perhaps as many planets as stars, 10¹¹ x 10¹¹ = 10²², ten billion trillion. In the face of such overpowering numbers, what is the likelihood that only one ordinary star, the Sun, is accompanied by an inhabited planet? Why should we, tucked away in some forgotten corner of the Cosmos, be so fortunate? To me, it seems far more likely that the universe is brimming over with life. But we humans do not yet know. We are just beginning our explorations. The only planet we are sure is inhabited is a tiny speck of rock and metal, shining feebly by reflected sunlight, and at this distance utterly lost.
-- Carl Sagan

BBB Geeky Novelty

The HW-16.5 is the standard in affordable ($500) record cleaning machines but neither its build quality nor its cleaning power has been compromised. Its high-torque, 18 RPM turntable motor is more than capable of withstanding the pressure of heavy scrubbing during extended cleaning sessions, and its 35-second cleaning cycle per side makes quick work of even the dirtiest records. Now with self aligning vacuum suction tubes for even more accurate cleaning, the HW-16.5's high-powered vacuum ensures quick, deep cleaning. The newly designed vacuum pickup tube automatically adjusts to accommodate records of any thickness. The internal fluid collection system is made of stainless steel to prevent corrosion, and the fully enclosed design prevents splashing. In the VPI tradition, all components are extra heavy-duty and professional grade.

"I have found the HW-16.5 to be an outstanding performer. The record surfaces are microscopically clean and are so pristine they look new!" -- Bert Whyte, Audio Magazine

"Spectacular performance. In most cases, soiled records are returned to a pristine, like-new condition. Heavy-duty housing and sturdy components. Special adapters precisely fit 33, 45, and 78 RPM records. Powerful 19,000 RPM vacuum fan. Operation is quick, satisfying, and even – dare I say – fun." -- Roger Thomasson, Wired Magazine

Today in History - 1887

President Grover Cleveland signs the Dawes Severalty Act into law. The act split up reservations held communally by Native American tribes into smaller units and distributed these units to individuals within the tribe. Also called the “General Allotment Act,” the law changed the legal status of Native Americans from tribal members to “individuals” subject to federal laws and dissolved many tribal affiliations

Cleveland signed the act in a sincere but misguided attempt to improve the Native Americans’ lives by incorporating them into white culture, rejecting earlier policies toward Native Americans that forced them to live on desolate reservations where it was difficult to make a living.

The Dawes Act reduced Native American landholdings from 138 million acres in 1887 to 78 million in 1900 and continued the trend of white settlement on previously Native American-held land. In addition, the law created federally funded boarding schools designed to assimilate Native American children into white society. Family and cultural ties were practically destroyed by the now-notorious boarding schools, in which children were punished for speaking their native language or performing native rituals.

The Dawes Severalty Act was abolished in 1934, during President Franklin Roosevelt’s first term.

So Now You Know

How marbles are made

Quotable Quote

The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.
-- Paul Valery

BBB Swell Site

The much anticipated disney.com revamp is complete and ready for experiencing. The broadband centerpiece, called Disney XD, features both free and premium Disney video and games. Users can share videos, chat with friends in a social networking environment, listen to music, create playlists and play a “stunning array” of games.

Plus, you'll find movie sales and rentals designed to turn the site into a "digital doorway into Disney." Visitors will be able to watch movies and television shows that will be spliced by the occasional commercial. Other new features include themed character worlds and widgets for helping young multitakers watch video, surf the Web, and send text messages.

News from all over - New York

Legislation will be introduced in Albany today to lay a $100 fine on pedestrians succumbing to what State Sen. Carl Kruger calls iPod oblivion.

"We're talking about people walking sort of tuned in and in the process of being tuned in, tuned out," Kruger said. "Tuned out to the world around them. They're walking into speeding cars. They're walking into buses. They're walking into one another and it's creating a number of fatalities that have been documented right here in the city."

"That's not a distraction," said one woman, iPod securely implanted in her ears. "You have your iPod in your ears and you're crossing the street, you are looking with your eyes. You don't have to hear anything, really ... I guess."

"If you want to listen to your iPod, sit down and listen to it," Kruger declared. "You want to walk in the park, enjoy it. You want to jog around a jogging path, all the more power to you, but you should be crossing streets and endangering yourself and the lives of others."

Today in History - 1940

Movie fans watched the world premiere of the Walt Disney animation, Pinocchio, at the Center Theatre in Manhattan. One critic called the show, "The happiest event since the war." Wait, what?

So Now You Know

Walt Disney attended one year of high school. Not only did he build a vast entertainment empire with his brother Roy, he won more Oscars than anyone else -- 32.

BBB Etymology - Put the cart before the horse

The first reference to this phrase in English comes in George Puttenham's The arte of English poesie, 1589:

"We call it in English prouerbe, the cart before the horse, the Greeks call it Histeron proteron, we name it the Preposterous."

He was probably referring back to, or possibly translating directly from, a work by Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC) - On Friendship:

"We put the cart before the horse, and shut the stable door when the steed is stolen, in defiance of the old proverb."

Today in History - 1932

While dog sled racing is not an official sport of the Winter Olympics, it was introduced to the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placed USA as a demonstration sport on this day. More info (plus a game) on dog sled racing from EcoKids site.

News from all over - Philadelphia

A Philadelphia official wants the city council to look at whether the city's sidewalks should be made of rubber. City councilman Jim Kenney recently toured Chicago to see environmentally-friendly city projects there. He came back with a number of ideas on which he plans to hold hearings.

One is using rubber for sidewalks. Kenney says the rubber is very solid - probably harder than a running track. He says rubber sidewalks are made from recycled tires. They don't crack, and they last longer than concrete.

Kenney says rubber sidewalks could also reduce the number of slip-and-fall accidents and the resulting lawsuits.

So Now You Know

In 1909 the Arizona Territorial Legislature signed into law the creation of a Pioneers’ Home. The original red brick three story building with porticos was designed by local Prescott architect, W.S. Elliot and built for $25,000. The Pioneers’ Home opened its doors on February 1, 1911, situated atop a granite promontory overlooking the City of Prescott, Arizona.

Initially the home was built to house 40 men, but in 1916, pursuant to the benevolent donation from W.S. Parsons, an addition of a women’s wing was completed to provide for 20 women. Later, in 1929, the home was again expanded to include Arizona’s Hospital for Disabled Miners.

Today the Home can care for up to 150 residents, and operates via appropriations of approximately $5 million annually through state land trusts, a miners’ hospital fund, state charitable funds and the general fund.

BBB Pulp Pick - True Confessions

As noted in last week's Pulp Pick, Modern Mechanics and Inventions (et al) was hitting news stands across America in the 1920s. Another popular Fawcett publication was introduced in 1922: True Confessions - still in publication today. During the 1920s, Jack Smalley was the editor, and early issues in the run sometimes featured cover illustrations by Norman Saunders, (who also provided illustrations for Modern Mechanics).

Directed at a female readership between the ages of 20 and 35, it climbed to a circulation of two million during the 1930s, carrying such articles as "The Romantic Story of Jack Dempsey's Cinderella Bride." With True Confessions Fawcett was in competition with rival publishers Macfadden (True Story, True Romance, Experiences) and Hillman Periodicals (Real Story, Real Confessions, Real Romances, Crime Confessions).

Related BBB Articles:
01/15/2007 - Capt Billy's Whiz Bang
01/22/2007 - Smokehouse Monthly
01/29/2007 - Modern Mechanics and Inventions

News from all over - Houston

Recent research shows it could be the grumpy workers who are actually a company's most creative problem-solvers. It's the happy, cheerful folks who tend to think things are going well and that there are no problems to be solved. They're less likely to be pondering potential pitfalls and often don't see problems until there is a crisis. A mood of contentment doesn't fit with creativity.

It's a departure from the general management philosophy that a positive mood leads to creative problem-solving. The supervisors ranked the creativity of their workers and that ranking was compared to the workers' self-assessment of their moods.

Today in History - 1952

The first "Don't Walk" sign was installed in New York City on this day. The city erected the signs in response to the growing awareness of pedestrian fatalities in the increasingly crowded Manhattan streets. In 1998, in hopes of minimizing gridlock, New York City began strictly enforcing its jaywalking laws during rush hour. Pedestrians are subject to a $50 fine if they walk, or run, when faced with a Don't Walk sign.

So Now You Know

London's finest, known as Bobbies, were named after Robert aka Bobbie Peel, an English statesman who first established the Irish constabulary. The people commonly called this police organization "Peelers" after Mr. Peel.

Then, when Robert Peel became Home Secretary of England, he reorganized the London police. It was 1829 and London's populace had grown to the point that it needed an organized police force to question travelers after dark, hold all suspicious persons and quell any disturbances. (There were already special police to guard docks and markets and to serve notices and warrants.) Peel organized a paid and trained force for day and night duty called the Metropolitan Police of London. Once again, the people nicknamed the police after Peel. They have been referred to as Bobbies ever since.

BBB Destination - Who Knows?

So, you say you want a little more mystery in your life. Air New Zealand must have heard you ...

Take an Air New Zealand Mystery Break and who knows where you’ll end up. It could be any one of the popular destinations on the Air New Zealand domestic network. The mystery won’t be revealed until you’re checking in at the airport. The brochure

Today in History - 1876

Baseball's National League was born. Eight competing baseball teams met in New York City's Grand Central Hotel. The first president of the new league was Morgan Gardner Bulkeley, who later became a U.S. Senator.

The original eight charter teams:

• Athletic of Philadelphia from National Association, expelled after 1876 season
• Boston Red Stockings (some say Red Caps) from National Association (now the Atlanta Braves)
• Chicago White Stockings from National Association (now the Chicago Cubs)
• Cincinnati Red Stockings new franchise, expelled after 1880 season
• Hartford Dark Blues (later the Brooklyn Hartfords) from National Association, folded after 1877 season
• Louisville Grays new franchise, folded after 1877 season
• Mutual of New York from National Association, expelled after 1876 season
• St. Louis Brown Stockings from National Association, folded after 1877 season

So Now You Know

eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995. Though now a billionaire, Pierre started AuctionWeb (as it was then known) as a simple "side hobby." In late '95, Pierre made history when he sold eBay's first item -- a broken laser pointer he had originally bought as a cat toy. Amazingly, the buyer paid $14.00 for the kaput pointer. We imagine it was about this time Pierre realized he was on the cusp of creating something great.

News from all over - Euless

[Slooow news day] A thief took two cotton towels, two hand towels and an ashtray from a Texas Motel 6 on Monday. A police report did not have the dollar loss in the theft.

A police report states that a 28-year-old Watauga man who had been registered to the room from which the items were stolen was questioned by police officers in the motel's parking lot.

Patrol officers interviewed the man after noticing that he had been sitting in his vehicle in the parking lot for a long time. In his vehicle were the missing towels and ashtray, reports state.

BBB Geeky Novelty

Since the hand is the "most basic communication method," why not transform it into a cellphone? That's what designer Sunman Kwon did with this finger touching wearable mobile device, a concept that puts 3.5G and 4G technology on your fingertips. For easier and simpler controls, it uses the instinctive input method “finger joint”. Excluding the thumb, each finger joint makes up twelve buttons, with “the knuckle button”, using the cell phone's 3X4 keypad, likely being the most popular input method.

Today in History - 1893

Thomas Alva Edison finishes the first movie studio on his property in West Orange, N.J. The studio, a frame cabin covered with black roofing paper, was built on a pivot so it could be turned to face the sunlight throughout the day. Edison spent $638 building the studio, which he called a "revolving photographic building."

News from all over - Miami?

Let's say it's like 3 days to the Super Bowl and you haven't been following either the Bears or the Colts and are wondering who to root for. By answering five simple questions (be honest now) you can find out. Take the quiz more than once, the questions aren't always the same and the comments to your choices vary as well.

So Now You Know

The California Avocado Commission reports Americans eat 8 million pounds of guacamole on Super Bowl Sunday, more than any other day of the year. [See comments]