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FORMER YANKEES WORLD SERIES MVP BUCKY DENT WILL BE A KGB “SPECIAL AGENT FOR THE DAY” DURING GAME ONE OF THE YANKEES’ AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009


DENT WILL ATTEND GAME AND ANSWER BASEBALL QUESTIONS BEING HURLED AT kgb 542542 TEXT ANSWER SERVICE

NEW YORK – Oct. 6, 2009 – Former Yankees shortstop Bucky Dent, who hit the clutch three-run homer that helped win a one-game playoff against Boston in 1978, is stepping up to the plate to become a kgb “Special Agent for the day” when he attends Game 1 of the American League Division Series between the Yankees and the Tigers or Twins. Dent will answer baseball questions being asked of kgb 542542 text answer service.

“It should be lots of fun to talk baseball and answer questions as a kgb Special Agent during the first game of the playoffs,” said Dent. “I’m looking forward to a fantastic game and I expect we’ll get lots of great questions. I’ll even take questions from Red Sox fans.”

Working alongside Dent through the experience as a kgb Special Agent will be one of the service’s regular Special Agents, Steve Bass, who has been answering questions for kgb’s 542542 text answer service since May.  Bass, a native New Yorker and life-long Yankee fan who grew up in the Bronx, will attend the game with Dent and relay game-related questions that come into the service.

“The opportunity to attend Game One of the ALDS with Bucky Dent is just unbelievable,” said Bass. “I have always been a Yankees fan but this will by my first opportunity to see the new stadium. I feel like I’ve grown up with Bucky, and the opportunity to discuss the game with him while we’re watching the Yankees in the playoffs will be amazing.”

Here’s how kgb works: if you have a baseball-related question (or any question for that matter), send it via text message to 542542 (kgbkgb), the number for the kgb’s text answer service, where a specially-trained kgb Special Agent is waiting to provide a quick, accurate answer.

“We are launching our “Agent for the Day” program because we’re committed to delivering unique and uniquely useful answers to everyone who texts us at 542542 “said Bruce Stewart, CEO of Mobile and Digital at kgb. “With Bucky Dent as our kgb Special Agent answering many of the baseball questions we get during the first game of the ALDS, we are assured to have the best content anywhere when it comes to playoff baseball.”

In January kgb launched its flagship text answer service, 542542 (kgbkgb) following the success of kgb’s similar “Ask Us Anything” premium text answer service in the United Kingdom.

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kgb_ Text of the Day: Why are Life Savers named Life Savers?

Thursday, September 10th, 2009
life savers
Image by AMagill via Flickr

Often, our Special Agents answer questions that melt so nicely, they are inclined to do further research. So here is our Agents choice for question of the day:

Q:  Why are Life Savers named Life Savers?
A:  Life Savers got their name from Clarence Crane in 1912. He thought they resembled life preservers. They first were “Crane’s Peppermint Life Savers.”

Know more:

Chocolatier, Clarence Crane was pondering the woes of trying to sell chocolate in the summer when he had a brainstorm.  He decided to make a mint in order to boost summer sales.  In 1912, candy maker Clarence Crane first marketed “Crane’s Peppermint Life Savers.”

The story behind his life saver creation is a good one.  At the time, life preservers (the round kind with the hole in the middle that you throw overboard to a passenger in need) were just being used, hence they were a novelty of sorts.

The mints of the time were primarily square in shape.  Crane sauntered into his local drug store one day to pick up some bottles of flavoring and noticed the druggist was stamping out pills with a pill-making machine.  It was a hand-operated contraption and made nice round, flat pills.

Clarence thought making his mints round (instead of the standard square-shape of the time) would be a novelty.  He used the machine to make his mints round and discovered that he could even use the machine to punch an additional tiny hole in the center.

Innovative round mints was one thing…but then to add a small center hole.  Voile!  A  trendy Life Saver mint!

Of note:  One year later in 1913, Crane sold his rights to his Life Saver mints to one Edward Noble for the sum of $2,900.  Noble expanded from peppermint to other flavors and their popularity exploded.

Life savers, part of the Kraft Foods Company, was sold to the Wrigley Company in 2004.  Wrigley paid Kraft $1.48 billion, yes billion, for the acquisition of Life Savers, Creme Savers(R), and Altoids.

kgb_   Text your question to 542542. We answer to you.

Source:  Life Savers Candy by Clarence Crane in 1912

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King of Pop, Michael Jackson, passes away at 50

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

kgb has been inundated tonight with questions tonight about the shocking news that Michael Jackson, “King of Pop”,  has died from a cardiac arrest. He was 50 years old.

Customers have been asking 542542 (kgbkgb) for a few hours to confirm rumors about Jackson passing away.

kgb has been tracking the reports as they come in.  Initially, it seems the that TMZ broke the news.  Colleagues in the UK reported that Sky News then further confirmed the report.  Eventually, CNN also concurred.  In this world of real-time information and rumor, it is important to get information validated before publishing, but now it can be confirmed that Michael Jackson is indeed dead.

Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office said an autopsy would probably be done on the singer Friday, with results expected that afternoon.

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kgb_ Fact of the Day: Which creatures can regrow/regenerate an eye?

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
Salamandra salamandra in the Scheiterhau fores...
Image via Wikipedia

Often, our Special Agents answer questions that are so compelling that they are inclined to do further research. So here is our Agents choice for question of the day:

Q: Which creatures can regrow/regenerate an eye?
A: The salamander can regenerate the lens and retina of its eye and limbs. Amphibians and some fish can regenerate a variety of body parts.

Know more:

“Salamander” is the common name applied to approximately 500 amphibian vertebrates with slender bodies, short legs, and long tails (order Caudata or Urodela). The moist skin of the amphibians limits them to habitats either near water or under some protection on moist ground, usually in a forest. Some species are aquatic throughout life, some take to the water intermittently, and some are entirely terrestrial as adults. Salamanders superficially resemble lizards, but are easily distinguished by their lack of scales.

The mythical salamander resembles the real salamander somewhat in appearance, but makes its home in fires, the hotter the better. (Similarly, the salamander in heraldry is shown in flames, but is otherwise depicted as a generic lizard). These myths originate in Europe from the fire salamander, Salamandra salamandra, which hibernates in and under rotting logs. When logs were brought indoors and put on the fire, the animals mysteriously appeared from the flames.

kgb_ Text your question to 542542. We answer to you.

Source:
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Salamandra_salamandra.html

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kgb Fact of the Day: cinco de mayo no big deal!

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Contrary to what many Americans believe, Cinco de Mayo is a relatively insignificant holiday celebrated primarily in Puebla, a small state in the central-eastern part of Mexico.

And the widely held notion that Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day is also incorrect. That holiday is celebrated on September 16.

According to Mexonline.com, Cinco de Mayo commemorates  the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. The outnumbered Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army that had not been defeated in almost 50 years. 

http://trailfire.com/goodstuff/marks/93549

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How can you tell if someone has a crush on you?

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
The Flirt direct shot
Image by creativeFlutter AKA MazerDesign via Flickr


Often, our Special Agents answer questions that are so intriguing that they are inclined to do further research. So here is our Agents choice for question of the day:

Q:  How can you tell if someone has a crush on you?
A:  You can tell if someone has a crush on you if you always catch them looking at you.

More details:

Studies of body language suggest that we humans send out signals when we are “interested.”  So if you are wondering if Leah likes you, Danny digs you, or Anya is excited by your presence, check out these “into you” clues:

  • Raises eyebrows and parts lips
  • Makes an exaggerated movement to attract your attention
  • Shifts away from a group of friends to appear available
  • Smoothes, fluffs, or grooms hair in some way
  • Hands move to rest on the hips
  • Enters your personal space, leans forward, toward you
  • Curious about you, asks questions

The expression “crush” actual surfaced in the 1800’s as a term for a social gathering such as a dance or reception.  These events were often very overcrowded, hence the term “crush.”  As these crowded events were the typical way potential couples met in the 19th century, the expression eventually evolved into its usage today.

kgb_   Text your question to 542542. We answer to you.

Sources:
http://love.ivillage.com/lnsunderstandmen/0,,qdsv,00.html
http://www.askmen.com/dating/curtsmith_100/128_dating_advice.html
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-cru1.htm

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When did the Girl Scouts first sell cookies?

Monday, April 27th, 2009
Girl Scout Cookies
Image by Merelymel13 via Flickr

Often, our Special Agents answer questions that are so intriguing that they are inclined to do further research. So here is our Agents choice for question of the day:

Q:  When did the Girl Scouts first sell cookies?

A:  The sale of cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917, the girls and their moms made them together.

More details:

For more than 80 years, Girl Scout Cookies have been a yummy staple of American culture.  Within a few years of the launch of the Girl Scout organization, girl members and their mothers began baking cookies to support troop activities.  The earliest cookie sale is believed to have been held by the Mistletoe troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma in December, 1917.

In 1922, a simple sugar cookie recipe was distributed to over 2,000 members to further support the young entrepreneurs.  The cookies were packed in paper bags and sold door-to-door for 25 to 35 cents a dozen.

Sales were brisk over the next decade until World War II rationing brought cookie sales to a standstill due to flour, sugar and butter shortages.  Girl Scouts sold calendars during this cookie drought.  After the war, the Girl Scout organization began to license local bakeries to produce the cookies.

It was 1951 when the much beloved Thin Mint came on the Girl Scout Cookie scene.

Today, two licensed bakers produce our nation’s supply of Girl Scout Cookies.  They produce up to eight varieties each year including three mandated varieties, Thin Mint, Shortbread and Peanut Butter Sandwich.  All Girl Scout Cookies are kosher.

kgb_   Text your question to 542542. We answer to you.

Source: http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/cookie_history/

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Bruce Stewart interviewed by Dave Graveline about kgb’s 542542 service

Friday, April 24th, 2009

Dave Graveline, a leading expert in consumer electronics, interviewed Bruce Stewart today about the kgb’s 542542 service for his “Into Tomorrow with Dave Graveline” show.

http://www.graveline.com/pastshows/042409.html

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kgb in the press: Baltimore Sun & Popular Science

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

Things have been moving really fast here at kgb, and we are getting mentioned in the press a lot!

Two of our favourite publications had kind words to say about us this week.

Firstly, the Baltimore Sun’s Andrew Ratner profiled the service (here), saying:

“I probably could have used it a couple of weeks ago. I was struggling to get my GPS to find Manayunk, Pa., and probably could have done so faster if I’d thought to ask kgb how to spell it correctly. One new technology sometimes needs another.”

Yet another great reason for using kgb!

Meanwhile, Popular Science’s Amanda Schupak was researching ways to make quick money on the web (here). Second on her list was becoming an Agent for the KGB:

“Become an agent for the KGB—the Knowledge Generation Bureau — at
 kgb.com. Inquiring minds text questions (say, “What are hot dogs made of?”) to 542542 (kgbkgb), which are relayed to agents online. You do some digging, send back a quick, accurate response, and pocket a cool dime each time.”

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kgb_ Fact of the Day: What is a Wampus cat?

Friday, April 17th, 2009
Itasca Wampus Cat
Image by meknits via Flickr


Often, our Special Agents answer questions that are so intriguing that they are inclined to do further research. So here is our Agents choice for question of the day:

Q:  What’s a Wampus cat?
A:  The Wampus cat in folklore looks like a mountain lion, but it was walks upright like a man.

More details:

Tennessee folklore suggests that the Wampus cat was once a beautiful Native American woman.  She secretly followed her husband on a hunting trip and spied on the hunting party from behind a rock, clutching the hide of a mountain cat.  The men sat around a campfire telling sacred stories and performing magic.

The presence of the woman was forbidden, so when she was discovered she was punished by binding her into the mountain skin she held.  She became half woman and half mountain cat and howled endlessly in misery.

Modern hunters tell the tale of the Wampus cat, including the glowing yellow eyes and the huge fangs.  They describe the mountain lion that walks upright like a man and the bone-chilling howl.

Today, the Wampus cat is a popular sport’s team mascot.

kgb_   Text your question to 542542. We answer to you.

Source: http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/tn3.html

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