Posts Tagged ‘What america wants to know’

kgb_ Fact of the Day: What are the hurricanes going to be named this year?

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
On July 15, 2003 at 12:55 EDT, the Moderate Re...
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:  What are the hurricanes going to be named this year?
A:  2009 Atlantic hurricane & tropical storm names include: Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, Henri, through to Wanda as needed.

Know more:

June 1, 2009 marked the official start of the 2009 hurricane season.  2008 saw 16 Atlantic tropical storms, ranging from May 30th’s Tropical Storm Arthur to November 5th’s Hurricane Paloma.  The eastern Pacific saw 16 storms in 2008.

Scientists are still debating if global warming influences hurricane formation.  Researchers identify factors that predict the intensity of an upcoming hurricane season.  These factors include the amount of rainfall in Africa, the presence of El Nino conditions, among others.

At this writing, the U.S. government predicts a normal hurricane season with 1-3 major hurricanes.  Around 35 million U.S. residents live in hurricane-prone areas and they are urged to prepare.

Tropical storms are given names when their sustained wind fury reaches 39 mph.  A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when the sustained winds reach 74 mph and then becomes a major hurricane if the winds hit 111 mph sustained.

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

Source: http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_news/75/2009-hurricane-predictions-plus-storm-names.html

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kgb_ Fact of the Day: Who invented the smiley? :-)

Monday, June 1st, 2009
Own work
Image via Wikipedia

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

Q:  Who invented the smiley? : – )
A:  According to Guinness World Records, the first ever smiley was written by Scott Fahlman of Carnegie Mellon University on Sept. 19, 1982.

Know more:

By the early 1980s, the Computer Science community at Carnegie Mellon was making heavy use of online bulletin boards or ‘bboards’. The range of topics of conversation was vast, and a good many of the posts were humorous.  The problem was that if someone made a sarcastic remark, a few readers would fail to get the joke, and each of them would post a lengthy diatribe in  response.This problem caused some users to suggest that maybe they should explicitly mark posts that were not to be taken seriously.

Here Falman came in with his ‘I’m joking’ : – ) and ‘I’m serious’ : – ( to save to day! The second symbol, however, came to be used for anger and sadness, rather than its original intended sentiment.

The main difficulty with on-line communication is the lack of body language or tone-of-voice cues that convey information such as sarcasm when we talk in person or on the phone.

An important study into this field was made by Albert Mehrabian, Professor Emeritus at UCLA. He studied how people decide whether they like one another. Mehrabian and his colleagues were seeking to understand the relative impact of facial expressions and spoken words and their impact on communication.

Mehrabian generalized his study findings to suggest that, in all communications: 7% happens in spoken words,38% happens through voice tone and 55% happens via general body language.

Despite some questions about validity, the study has  implications for online communications.  With no body language to access, online communicators must rely heavily on the style and tone of their communications if they wish to get their message across as it is intended.

Emoticons may be the body language of the internet.

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

Source: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~sef/sefSmiley.htm
http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/body_language/mehrabian.htm

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kgb_ Fact of the Day: Who is this guy Murphy, and why does everything bad happen to him?

Friday, May 29th, 2009
John Stapp
Image via Wikipedia

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

Q:  Who is this guy Murphy, and why does everything bad happen to him?
A:  It refers to Captain Edward A. Murphy, an engineer employed to find out how much deceleration a person can stand.  His experiment ran amuck.

Know more:

Edward A. Murphy, Jr. was a test engineer on rocket-sled experiments done by the U.S. Air Force in 1949. One experiment involved a set of sixteen accelerometers attached to different parts of the subject’s body. There were two ways each sensor could be glued and so, of course, one of the technicians methodically installed all sixteen the wrong way around.

Murphy then made the original form of his pronouncement:

‘If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it’.

This phrase was later mis-quoted by the test subject, Major John Paul Stapp, at a subsequent news conference, reportedly in the more general form ‘Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong’. (This should not be confused with the phrase ‘Anything that can go wrong, will’, as this would correctly be Finagle’s Law.)

The following are some of the best-known examples of Murphy and Finagle’s Laws:

If anything just cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.
If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which something can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way will promptly develop.
If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.
It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
The other line always moves faster.
In order to get a loan, you must first prove you don’t need it.
The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.
It is never in the last place you look; it is in the first place you look, but never discovered on the first attempt.
When a broken appliance is demonstrated for the repairman, it will work perfectly.
There’s never time to do it right, but there’s always time to do it over.
Nothing is so bad a few small repairs couldn’t make it worse.

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

Source: http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-true.html

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kgb_ Fact of the Day: So is everyone going to have to paint their roof white now?

Thursday, May 28th, 2009
By TheAlieness GiselaGiardino² on Flickr

By TheAlieness GiselaGiardino² on Flickr

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

Q:  So is everyone going to have to paint their roof white now?
A:  Not just yet,  but U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu believes it would reduce our country’s energy costs and our carbon footprint.

Know more:

At a recent climate change symposium in London, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu stated that the U.S. government supports the painting of roofs an energy-reflecting white.

Chu, who is a Nobel laureate in physics, stated that painting flat roofs white is but one measure needed in our quest to lasso climate change and rein it in.

And painting roofs white is only the beginning.  If we white-out the roads too it is the equivalent of taking every car off the road for 11 years!

Speaking of cars, still longing for that great little red sports car?  Think again.  White and other pale auto colors save significant air conditioning costs.

“White … is not a mere absence of colour; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black….” –Gilbert Keith Chesterton [British author, 1874–1936]  “A Piece of Chalk,” Tremendous Trifles (1909)

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

Source:

http://green.yahoo.com/news/afp/20090526/sc_afp/climatewarmingusbritainchu.html
http://sensology.blogs.com/sensational_color/quotes_about_color/

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kgb_ Fact of the Day: Why do onions make you cry?

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
Sentimental onion
Image by Photocapy via Flickr

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

Q:  Why do onions make you cry?
A:  When chopped, onions release a volatile gas, which actually produces a mild sulphuric acid on contact with the water in your eyes.

Know more:

Strangely enough, this volatile compound is also responsible for a lot of the great taste in onions, as well as the pleasant aroma when you cook the vegetable. In fact, sulfenic acids (produced when the onion is sliced and its amino acid sulfoxides let loose) can also be released by cutting up garlic, chives and leeks, among other vegetables, but they do not form the same irritant (propanethiol S-oxide), just a strong smell.

Drastic times…drastic measures

There are many remedies for dealing with this irritating phenomenon, some more effective than others. As a general rule, move your head as far away from the onion as you can, so the gas will mostly disperse before reaching your eyes. Of course the simplest solution – very effective if a little extreme – would be to wear a pair of goggles! However, consider the dangers of a steamy kitchen and an inability to see what you are chopping…

Some less drastic, if less result-yielding, solutions could include peeling the onion and then chilling it in the fridge. This would minimize the release of gas, because the change in temperature alters the compounds in the onion. Cooking an onion before you slice it will work also, for the same reason.

Why didn’t I think of that

Another clever solution is to cut the onion under water or run the tap over it as you slice. There are various other options as well, popular with old wives.

Some say if you hold a lemon, piece of bread or a sugar cube in your mouth, the food will absorb the gas before it reaches your eyes. Realistically, breathing with your mouth, instead of your nose, might also help because as you inhale, you suck the gas in and as you exhale, you blow it away. This keeps a lot of the gas from ever reaching your eyes.

If all else fails, call Chuck.  Chuck Norris makes onions cry.

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

Source: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question539.htm
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryfaqs/f/onionscry.htm

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kgb_ Fact of the Day: What is America’s favorite color?

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
Crayon Tips
Image by laffy4k via Flickr

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

Q:  What is America’s favorite color?
A:   According to Crayola, America’s favorite color is blue. Crayola celebrated the 50th anniversary of the famous 64-crayon box last year.

Know more:

In February 1998, in order to help celebrate the 40th anniversary, an actual 1958 Crayola box, and an assortment of advertising spanning the century became part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution‘s National Museum of American History. Although the 64-crayon box has existed for fifty years, the first Crayola crayons were created the best part of a century ago.

The first box of Crayola crayons was sold in 1903 for a nickel and included the same eight colors which are available in the eight-count box today: red, blue, yellow, green violet, orange, black and brown.

The Crayola company was established by Edwin Binney, whose wife, Alice, devised the crayons’ name. Schoolteacher Alice Binney combined the words “craie” which is French for chalk, and “ola” for oily , because crayons are made from petroleum based paraffin.

The names of the individual crayons are taken from the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Bureau of Standards book called Color: Universal Language and Dictionary of Names. Many crayon names are also borrowed from traditional artist paint palette shades.

For the most part, Crayola crayon color names do not change. However, there have been some exceptions. In 1958, Midnight Blue replaced Prussian Blue in response to teacher requests that Prussian history was not relevant to American children. Additionally, in 1962, the color flesh was changed to peach recognizing that not everyone’s flesh is the same color, partially as a result of the United States’ Civil Rights Movement. Indian Red was renamed Chestnut in 1999 in response to educators who felt some children wrongly perceived the crayon color to represent native American skin color. The name originated from a reddish-brown pigment commonly used in fine oil paints.

Who would have believed crayons could be so politically correct?

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

Source: http://www.crayola.com/colorcensus/americas_favorites/index.cfm
http://www.toy-testing.org/contents/funfacts.htm#crayola

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kgb_ Fact of the Day: Has Memorial Day always been on a Monday?

Monday, May 25th, 2009
Wreaths of artificial poppies used as a symbol...
Image via Wikipedia

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

Q:  Has Memorial Day always been on a Monday?
A:  No. Memorial Day was celebrated on May 30th up until the National Holiday Act of 1971 ensured it would be a three-day weekend.

Know more:

Memorial Day was originally called “Decoration Day” as a day of remembrance for those who died in service to the United States.  Stories on its origin vary, with many cities claiming to be the birthplace of Memorial Day.  Waterloo, NY was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966 by then President Lyndon Johnson.
It is generally understood that the day probably had many beginnings, with either planned or spontaneous gatherings of folks to honor the war dead over the years.

Memorial Day was first officially celebrated on May 30, 1868 with a graveside ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873.  Most of the other northern states came on board by 1890, with the South resisting the holiday for many years – choosing to celebrate in their own way.

The National Holiday Act of 1971 created a three-day weekend for Memorial Day, much to the disdain of many who prefer that the day remain more solemn, consistent with its early observances.  In fact there is a movement in the U.S. to return it back to its prior single day of remembrance.

Many wear red poppies on the lapel in honor of Memorial Day, inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields” as well as the following by Moina Michaels, originator of the custom:

“We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.”

If you are one to plan ahead, visit the Memorial Day Calendar Page to see what day Memorial Day falls on for the next 10 years.

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

Source: http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

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kgb_ Fact of the Day: What was the earliest film produced to be based on a boardgame?

Friday, May 22nd, 2009
Clue (film)
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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 was the earliest film produced to be based on a boardgame?
A:  According to Guinness World Records, the earliest film based on a boardgame was the comedy whodunit “Clue” (1985), starring Tim Curry.

Know more:

The six suspects are all characters from the game: Mrs Peacock (Eileen Brennan), Mrs White (Madeline Kahn), Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd), Mr Green (Michael McKean), Colonel Mustard (Martin Mull) and Miss Scarlet (Lesley Ann Warren). Three different endings were filmed, so differing endings could be shown at different theaters!

The boardgame itself was first developed as early as 1943 by Mr. Anthony Pratt and his wife, from Birmingham, England who approached Waddington’s Games Ltd in 1948 and they produced the first game of “Cluedo” in 1949. In Pratt’s original patent, there were to be 10 characters:  Doctor Black, Mr. Brown, Mr. Gold, The Rev., Mr. Green, Miss Grey, Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, Nurse White, Mrs. Silver, and Colonel Yellow.

Highlights of the original game included nine weapons: Axe, Bomb, Rope, Dagger, Pistol, Hypodermic Syringe, Poison, Poker and Shillelagh (a traditional wooden Irish weapon/walking stick).

After being on the shelves for 60 years, the beloved game got a makeover in 2008.  The latest version takes place at a mansion of the rich and famous.  New rooms include a spa, theater and guesthouse.

The new game brings Clue lovers new weapons. There is no more lead pipe and the Hasbro Company added a trophy, an ax and a baseball bat. Colonel Mustard is no longer in the military and is now a former football star.  Miss Scarlet now has a first name too, no more identity crisis.

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

Source: http://www.cluedofan.com/
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93417780

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kgb_ Fact of the Day: Why is a vodka and orange juice called a screwdriver?

Thursday, May 21st, 2009
Cocktail
Image by fibroblast via Flickr

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

Q:  Why is a vodka and orange juice called a screwdriver?
A:  In the early 50s some American men working in Iran’s oil factory mixed together vodka and orange juice and used a screwdriver to stir it!

Know more:

The origins of many cocktail names are widely disputed, such as the Margarita, but these are a selection of agreed upon origins:

The Manhattan was most likely invented in the 1870′s at New York’s Manhattan Club from which it gets its name.

Evidence suggests that Long Island Iced Tea was first served in the late 1970s by Robert (Rosebud) Butt, a bartender at the Oak Beach Inn, in the Town of Babylon, Long Island, New York.

Most sources credit South Beach, Florida bartender Cheryl Cook with the original creation of the Cosmopolitan cocktail. In an online interview, Cheryl Cook states she created the drink in 1985 or 1986:

“What overwhelmed me was the number of people who ordered Martinis just to be seen with a Martini glass in their hand. It was on this realization that gave me the idea to create a drink that everyone could palate and was visually stunning in that classic glass. This is what the Cosmo was based on.”

The drink White Russian is not traditionally Russian, but is so named due to vodka being the primary ingredient. The “White Russians” were an anti-Bolshevik group from the Russian Civil War.

By contrast, the Black Russian first appeared in 1949, thanks to the Belgian barman Gustave Tops.  He created it at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels in honor of Perle Mesta, then ambassador of the U.S. in Luxembourg.

The cocktail owes its name to the dark periods of the Cold War and is considered the ancestor of coffee cocktails. The Black Russian is a good drink for cocktail drinkers to order in strange bars/pubs instead of the White Russian because of the often questionable quality of milk/cream used in the preparation of the latter.

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

Source: http://www.cocktailtimes.com/history/

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kgb_ Fact of the Day: So what’s the deal with this bedbug epidemic in the United States?

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
Red bedbug
Image by fabrice79 via Flickr

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

Q: So what’s the deal with this bedbug epidemic in the United States?
A: Since the EPA restricted the use of several effective pesticides in the 1980s, bedbugs have built resistance to the chemicals that now are on the market.

Know more:

The United States is in the midst of the biggest bedbug outbreak since World War II.

The little buggers are reddish brown, flat and the size of a grain of rice.  These insect vampires suck human blood and love to hang out in mattress-heavy establishments like hotels, college dorms, and apartment complexes.

Bedbug calls to pest control companies are up 70 percent. Tactics to defeat the critters include extreme heat, freezing and corralling the bugs through the use of mattress covers.

Bedbugs are intriguing critters as they can actually live without food for up to a year.  They carry no known disease but bring out incessantly annoying itchy red welts on their human victims. Feelings of anxiety, embarrassment and exasperation are not uncommon among bedbug victims.  Many victims spend thousands on repeated pesticide treatments and replacement of furniture.

We’re happy to report the Feds are on the case.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently held its first “bedbug summit” and Congressman G.K. Butterfield (N.C.) is taking on the pests by introducing the $50 million “Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite Act of 2009.”

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

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090515/sc_mcclatchy/3234191_1

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