States (source "Columbus Dispatch")

Some information about the states

click here http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/now/index.html

Olympics

In the 2008 Summer Olympics India (second biggest population in the world) won its FIRST INDIVIDUAL GOLD MEDAL in AIR RIFLE.
source "Time" magazine Dec. 22, 2008

Zimbabwe

officially the Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia, the Republic of Rhodesia and Zimbabwe Rhodesia)

landlocked country in Africa
official language is English but majority speak Shona
dictated by Robert Mugabe since elections in 1980

currently facing a political and humanitarian crisis

source "Parade" magazine Dec 14, 2008, Wikipedia

click here http://http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwe

Lou Gehrig

Who was the first athlete to be on the Wheaties cereal box? Lou Gehrig

Seven Deadly Sins

pride, gluttony, melancholy (which was dropped in the 17th century in favor of sloth), lust, greed, envy, anger

opera

"La Traviata"
Verdi's opera is the story of the beautiful Parisian courtesan, Violetta, who falls in love with Alfredo. They set up house together, but his family's disapproval forces them apart. In the end, the lovers are briefly united, only to be separated again by death.

"Madame Butterfly"
Puccini's opera takes place at the turn of the 20th century in the pretty harbor town of Nagasaki. Cio-Cio-San marries a United States naval lieutenant, who then leaves her for three years. In the meantime, she has their child and names him "Trouble," waiting for the day when Lt. Pinkerton will return, and she will rename their son "Joy."

Some Ohio "Firsts"

In 1967 what Clevelander became the first black elected mayor of a major American city?
Answer: Carl B. Stokes (Cleveand)

Who in 1669 is believed to have been the first European explorer to visit the Ohio area?
Answer: La Salle

In 1922 she was the first woman in the nation to sit as a judge on a state supreme court.
Answer: Florence E. Allen

Native American Heritage

Ohio was home to five major American Indian tribes - the Delaware, Miami, Ottawa, Shawnee and Wyandot - plus several smaller tribes.

some names and their native ties:

Erie - From the Erie Indians, whose name means"cat" or "wildcat."

Miami - For the Miami tribe, whose principal village, Pickawillany, was in western Ohio

Scioto - From an Indian word "scionto" meaning "deer."

Chillicothe - The Shawnee word "Chalahgawtha" translates as "principal town" or "town at the leaning bank."

Ohio - From an Iroquois word for "beautiful river."

source The Columbus Dispatch November 19, 2008

Distinguished 18th century Shawnee chief Keigh-tugh-qua was known by what name to the white settlers? Answer: Cornstalk

In 1763 what Ottawa chief unsuccessfully attempted to unite Indian tribes in Ohio country to wipe out the whites west of the Alleghenies? Answer: Pontiac

Seneca John, chief of the Senecas, was executed in 1828 for what crime against his brother, Cornstalk? Answer: "Witchcraft murder"

What Mohawk Indian leader, born in Ohio Country in 1742, became a colonel in the British Army? Answer: Thayendanega, or Joseph Brant

Mersenne

A Mersenne number is a number that can be expressed in the form 2 to the nth -1. Searching for higher and higher Mersenne primes is the unofficial national sport of mathematicians. The 45th and 46th Mersenne primes were found in 2008. The 46th has almost 13 million digits.
source Time magazine November 10, 2008.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Opened 2008 on Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. It keeps seed samples. Even if the facility loses power, the Arctic climate should keep the seeds viable for thousands of years.
source Time magazine November 10, 2008

A Cappella

Italian "in chapel style" ancient form of singing without instrumental accompaniment.

see June 6, 2009, trivia

Acronyms

ICANN International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

MRI magnetic resonance imaging
a. possible to make pictures of almost all the tissue in the body
b. possible to take pictures from almost every angle

PET position emission tomography
type of nuclear medicine imagery

CT computerised tomography
shows pictures only horizontally

HMMWV (humvee) High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (debuted in 1985)

TARP Troubled Asset Relief Program
program proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in fall 2008
(way for government to take bad mortgages off the loans of the nation's financial institutions)
(U.S government to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions)

U.S. Presidential Succession

1. President
2. Vice President
3. Speaker of the House
4. Senate Pro Tem
5. Secretary of State
6. Secretary of the Treasury
7. Secretary of Defense
8. Attorney General

American Involvement in Wars from Colonial Times to the Present

(1.) DATES (2.) WAR in Which American Colonists or
United States Citizens Officially Participated
(3.) MAJOR COMBATANTS


July4, 1675- August 12, 1676 King Philip's War New England Colonies vs.
Wampanoag, Narragansett, and Nipmuck Indians

1689-1697 King William's War The English Colonies vs. France

1702-1713 Queen Anne's War The English Colonies vs. France

1744-1748 King George's War The French Colonies vs. Great Britain

1756-1763 French and Indian War The French Colonies vs. Great Britain
(Seven Years War)

1759-1761 Cherokee War English Colonists vs. Cherokee Indians

1775-1783 American Revolution English Colonists vs. Great Britain

1798-1800 Franco-American Naval War United States vs. France

1801-1805; Barbary Wars United States vs. Morocco, Algiers,
1815 Tunis, and Tripoli

1812-1815 War of 1812 United States vs. Great Britain

1813-1814 Creek War United States vs. Creek Indians

1836 War of Texas Independence Texas vs. Mexico

1846-1848 Mexican War United States vs. Mexico

1861-1865 Civil War Union vs. Confederacy

1898 Spanish-American War United States vs. Spain

1914-1918 World War I Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, and
Austria-Hungary vs. Triple Entente:
Britain, France, and Russia. The
United States joined on the side of
the Triple Entente in 1917.

1939-1945 World War II Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan
vs. Major Allied Powers: United
States, Great Britain, France and
Russia

1950-1953 Korean War United States (as part of the United
Nations) and South Korea vs.
North Korea and Communist China

1960-1975 Vietnam War United States and South Vietnam
vs. North Vietnam

1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion United States vs. Cuba

1983 Grenada United States Intervention

1989 US Invasion of Panama United States vs. Panama

1990-1991 Persian Gulf War United States and Coalition Forces
vs. Iraq

1995-1996 Intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina United States as part of NATO acted peacekeepers in former Yugoslavia

2001 Invasion of Afghanistan United States and Coalition Forces vs.
the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to fight terrorism.

2003 Invasion of Iraq United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq


Source: The New York Public Library DeskReference, 3rd Edition

Some Pseudonyms and Pen names

Mary Ann Evans b. 1819 pen name George Eliot wrote Silas Marner and other novels

Clive Staples Lewis known as C.S. Lewis author of The Chronicles of Narnia

Charles L. Dogson pen name is Lewis Carroll author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland published in 1865

Samuel Clemens b. 1835 known as Mark Twain author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and other
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) used pen name Sieur Louis de Conte for his fictional biography of Joan of Arc

Leonard Slye known as Roy Rogers b. Cincinnati raised in Scioto County

Theodor Geisel 1904-1991 pen name is Dr. Seuss

Marshall Mathers b.1972 American singer known as Eminem

David Cornwell pen name is John Le Carre author of popular spy novels

Stephan King pen name Richard Bachman for many of his early works including The Long Walk and Roadwork

James Oliver Rigney, Jr.b.1948 is the real name Robert Jordan best known for Wheel of Time fantasy series

William Sidney Porter 1862-1910 pen name is O. Henry

Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790 used the pen name Silence Dogood for some of his publications
Benjamin Franklin first published Poor Richard's Almanac in 1732 under the name Richard Saunders

Nora Roberts b. 1950 (romance novelist) writes In Death novels (futuristic science-fiction police procedurals) under the pseudonym J. D. Robb
Also writes under the name Jill March and by error was published in the UK as Sarah
Hardesty

What is the difference between All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day?

All Saints' Day, also called Allhallows or Allhallowmas, is observed Nov. 1 by Protestants and Roman Catholics in celebration of Christian saints - particularly those who don't have their own feast days. All Souls' Day is recognized Nov. 2, mainly by Catholics, in remembrance of the dead.

source Columbus Dispatch Nov. 1, 2008, - (Holidays, Festivals and Celebrations of the World Dictionary)

Ambitious parents

When Alexander the Great ascended the throne following the assassination of his father, Philip II, in 336 B.C., his mother Olympias, his fervent promoter, arranged to have his potential rivals killed. Some evidence suggests Olympias, one of several wives to Philip, arranged for Philip's murder when he began turning against his son. Alexander went on to conquer most of the known world, and is credited with spreading Greek civilization.


Leopold Mozart insisted that his children become musical virtuosi at a very early age. Leopold was the first teacher for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and Maria Anna, called Nanneri, and eventually gave up his own musical career to showcase their talent in European tours.


Though Edward Barrett Moulton encouraged the education of his daughter Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861),he "did his best to limit her private life." He forbade the renowned poet and her siblings from marrying, for unclear reasons, and never spoke with Elizabeth again after she eloped with Robert Browning, at the age of 40.


Mama Rose gained notoriety as the ultimate stage mother in the Broadway musical "Gypsy," based on the 1957 memoir of her daughter, Gypsy Rose Lee. In the play, Mama Rose pushes her daughters into the spotlight. After her daughter June runs away, Mama Rose transforms the mousy teenaged Louise (Gypsy Rose Lee) into a feted stripper.


Earl Woods started teaching his son Tiger (b. 1975), to play golf when he was 2 years old. Mr. Woods used to try to break his son's concentration by dripping a bag of clubs during his swing. By the time Tiger was a teenager, he'd been touring all over the country under his father's strict guidance. Mr. Woods has won 14 major tournaments and is expected to be the first athlete to earn more than $1billion in prize money and endorsements.

source Wall Street Journal October 4-5, 2008

DOBRO & OUD

The dobro is a resonating guitar with the "hubcap" top. It was introduced in the late 1920's for playing oozing Hawaiian music. The dobro is used in country and bluegrass music and has even moved into jazz.

source Wall Street Journal Oct. 9, 2008

The oud is a stringed Arab instrument that, after it was brought to Andalusian Spain in the eighth century spawned the European lute, guitar and mandolin.

Today's ouds are usually walnut or rosewood, and have a pear-shaped shell, a short neck with no frets - allowing the musician a broader tonal range - and typically one single bass and five double strings. When expertly plucked, the oud emits an earthy sound with a hint of melancholy, eliciting an emotional response similar to that of the cello. Played in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey for centuries, it continues to be integral to Arabic orchestras and ensembles.

source Wall Street Journal March 31, 2009

Do women still ride sidesaddle?

The interest in "riding aside" is actually growing, with the choice made for many reasons - such as a desire for style and elegance but also a result of religious beliefs, or injuries. In face, "Properly constructed and ridden, the aside seat is so secure that some therapeutic riding programs use them for disabled riders."

source The Columbus Dispatch Oct. 4, 2008 (International Side Saddle Organization,www.sidesaddle.com; http://www.equisearch.com/)

Why is the European country called both Holland and the Netherlands?

The Netherlands, a small nation on the North Sea, is often dubbed Holland, but the latter officially refers only to the western part. The people of the Netherlands call themselves Nederlanders. They are also known as the Dutch.

source The Columbus Dispatch oct. 4, 2008 (World Book Encyclopedia)

Who was the last serving senator to be elected president?

John F. Kennedy was the last senator to move directly from the Senate to the White House - in 1961.

source The Columbus Dispatch October 4, 2008 (http://www.senate.gov/)


click here

Do hummingbirds fly backwards?

They fly backward as well as up, down, forward and sideways. They flap their wings 60 to 70 times a second, making a humming sound. The smallest birds in the world , most reach 2 to 6 inches in length.

source The Columbus Dispatch Oct. 4, 2008 (World Book Encyclopedia)

Does the Internet run faster in some places?
A site called the Internet Traffic Report lists the response time and "packet loss" for specific locations by continent, assigning each a rating from zero to 100. As of midday yesterday (October 3, 2008), for example, various routers in North America showed scores ranging from 98 in Las Vegas and Los Angeles to a low of 71 in Cincinnati.

source The Columbus Dispatch Oct.4, 2008 (http://www.internettrafficreport.com/)

When did the naming of hurricanes begin?

Before 1950, hurricanes were usually given the names of women and of saints of both sexes - although a formal system hadn't been set. From 1950 to 1952, they had names from the military alphabet (Baker, Charlie, etc.) The World Meteorological Organization initiated the use of only female names in 1953, adding male names in 1979. Before they become hurricanes, tropical storms are christened - in alphabetical order each season - from lists of names popular in the nations affected.

source The Columbus Dispatch October 4, 2008 (World Book Encyclopedia)

Some Western Legends

1813-1890
John Charles Fremont
Nicknamed "the Pathfinder," Mr. Fremont made trail-blazing expeditions west of the Rockies. He later served as one of California's first senators and ran, unsuccessfully, as the first Republican candidate for president in 1856.

1837-1876
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok helped bring order to frontier towns as a lawman, and earned a reputation as a top-notch gunfighter. He found wide-spread fame after publications like Harper's New Monthly Magazine gave accounts (some fictionalized) of his exploits.

1848-1929
Wyatt Earp
The lawman and gunslinger is best known for taking part in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881, which pit the Earp brothers against Ike Clanton's gang in Tombstone, Ariz. Three of Clanton's gang were killed; the Earps survived.

1860-1926
Annie Oakley
The expert markswoman could hit coins tossed in the air and cigarettes from a person's lips, and became a star attraction in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. (Born in Ohio.)

1902
The Virginian
The title character of the book, by Owen Wister, is considered the first fully realized cowboy hero in American literature. His most famous quote:"When you call me that, smile." The story was made into several films, including a 1929 version starring Garry Cooper.

1907-1979
John Wayne
The "Duke" acted in more than 175 movies, including "The Searchers" and "Red River." His legacy lives on: His name will appear on a home decor line of wooden signs and hat racks.

1911-2004
Ronald Reagan
The former president appeared in more than 50 films, including several stints playing a cowboy - an association he cultivated in his political life, helping him win the election for governor of California in 1966 and, in 1980, the presidency.

1930
Clint Eastwood
Mr. Eastwood first rose to fame on the TV series "Rawhide," and then as the star of Sergio Leone's Western trilogy. He briefly brought his tough image to a political role, serving as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, in Calif., in the '80's.

Taiwan

1895 China cedes Taiwan to Japan



1912 Establishment of Republic of China, headed by Sun Yat-sen of the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang



1925 Chiang Kai-shek succeeds Sun as head of Nationalists



1945 Civil war between Nationalists and Communist Party



1947 Rebellion on Taiwan against Nationalists. Brutal suppression with thousands dead



1949 Chiang's Nationalists lose civil war; 2 million Nationalist soldiers and civil servants flee to Taiwan. Although the Nationalist government claims to be the sole representative for all of China, it only controls Taiwan and a few outlying islands



Mao Zedong announces founding of the People's Republic of China, with capital Beijing



1950s Taiwan develops export-oriented industries; beginning of Taiwan economic take-off



1971 People's Republic of China (Beijing) takes over China's seat in the United Nations. Taiwan, or Republic of China, leaves U.N.



1987 Martial law lifted on Taiwan, slow democratization under way



1992 Talks between Taiwan and China over how to define Taiwan's status end in stalemate. Other meetings in 1993 and 1998 yield no result



First democratic election of the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan's parliament



1996 First democratic election for president. Lee Teng-hui elected



China fires missiles toward Taiwan to warn Taiwan against seeking independence



U.S. deploys carrier Nimitz to emphasize its commitment to defend Taiwan



2000 Lee retires. New election won by Chen Shui-bian



2004 Chen wins presidency again. Term limit means his term expires in 2008

2008 Ma Ying-jeou elected president

Severo Ochoa (RNA)

Severo Ochoa is best known for being the first to synthesize ribonucleic acid (RNA) outside the cell. He also discovered several important metabolic processes. For his work with RNA he received half the 1959 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. (Shared with Arthur Kornberg - US).

born in SPAIN 1905
immigrated to US 1941
became US citizen 1956

2nd Spaniard to become a Nobel winner in science. Ochoa's scientific hero, Santiago Ramon y Cajal, was the first in 1906.

click here

vice presidents trivia

Name two vice presidents who shot people while they were in office.

Aaron Burr, v p under Thomas Jefferson, shot Alexander Hamilton to death in a duel July 11, 1804. Burr was a candidate for governor of New York at the time. He lost the election.

Dick Cheney, v p under George W. Bush, accidentally wounded friend and hunting companion Harry Whittington on Feb. 11, 2006. Whittington recovered.



Why was John Tyler the vice president with the shortest term in office?

Because he became president upon the death of William Henry Harrison, who served the shortest term as president.



What did Vice Presidents Elbridge Gerry, Thomas Hendricks, Henry Wilson, Garret Hobart, George Clinton, William King and James Sherman have in common?

They all died in office.



How many vice presidents have become president upon the death of a president?

Eight, starting with John Tyler; Millard Fillmore succeeded Zachary Taylor; Andrew Johnson succeeded Abraham Lincoln; Chester Arthur succeeded James Garfield; Teddy Roosevelt succeeded William McKinley; Calvin Coolidge succeeded Warren G. Harding; Harry Truman succeeded Franklin Roosevelt; and Lyndon Johnson succeeded John Kennedy.



How many vice presidents have held the office for less than 90 days?

Four, Tyler for 31 days, Andrew Johnson for 42 days and Truman for 82 days, all became presidents upon the deaths of presidents. William R. King, vice president under Millard Fillmore died of tuberculosis, April 18, 1853, after only 45 days in office.



What two vice presidents were not elected to the office?

Following adoption of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which allows for appointment to fill the office if it becomes vacant, Gerald Ford was appointed by Richard Nixon to replace Spiro Agnew, who had resigned. When Ford became president after Nixon resigned, he appointed Nelson Rockefeller to the vice presidency.

NAACP

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was started on Feb.12, 1909, in a small apartment in New York City by a multi-racial group of social activists and progressive thinkers in response to racial unrest that was taking place in Springfield, IL, the boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln. The date is significant in that it was Lincoln's birth date. Their original name for the organization: The National Negro Committee.

Today it is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization, boasting thousands of members. Ensuring equal treatment and access to education, the legal process and voting for people regardless of their race is a main goal. The activists have included Rosa Parks, W.E.B. Du Bois (one of the founders), Medgar Evers and Thurgood Marshall.

The 2008 convention was held in July in Cincinnati.
http://www.naacp.org/home/index.htm
click here

What makes a pepper hot?

Some peppers are hot due to a class of chemical compounds called capsaicinoids. One way to measure capsaicins in a pepper is using the Scoville Heat Unit scale.

Capsaicinoids are not soluble in water, but are soluble in fats, oils and alcohol. This is why drinking water after eating a hot pepper will not take away the burning sensation. Try drinking milk or eating ice cream instead.

Johann Strauss, Jr.

Austrian composer
b. Oct 25, 1825 Vienna
d. June 3, 1899 Vienna

In Vienna, Johann Strausss, Sr., and his sons wrote much of the greatest dance music composed during the 19th century. The elder Strauss, the son of a poor tavern-keeper, apprenticed his son to a bookbinder, but the lure of the music was great. With a few violin lessons and a smattering of music theory, he worked his way up from a performer and composer of dance music to the directorship of the Imperial Court Balls in Vienna.

Johann, Jr., wrote 500 pieces of dance music and more than a dozen operas and operettas. He was greatly admired by the "serious" composers of his time. He might almost have been called "the Polka King," because he wrote about 150 of these lively dances.

His operatic masterpiece Die Fledermaus ("The Bat") of 1874 has spouses and lovers, masters and servants, nobility and workers, jailers and prisoners - all dancing the polka until dawn. The polka originated in Poland and arrived in Austria via Czechoslovakia. By the younger Strauss's time, it was danced in Vienna in several different versions, including the polka-mazurka, polka-quadrille, French polka and the fast polka. Most of the Strauss polkas are closest to this last style, and many are orchestrated with clever, novel effects.

John Adams, president

John Adams second president of the United States

Term: 1797-1801, Federalist

Born 1735, Died 1826

VP - Thomas Jefferson

father to John Quincy Adams 6th president of United States 1825-1829

Nobel Peace Prize 2007

Albert Gore shared the prize with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

IPCC is a scientific body tasked to evaluate the risk of climate change caused by human activity. The panel was established in 1988 by the World Meterological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), two organizations of the United Nations.

Related info:

1992 - adoption of the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - major step in tackling global warming

Yet greenhouse gas emission (GHG) levels continued to rise.

KYOTO PROTOCOL - an international agreement linked to the existing treaty, but standing on its own. Adopted at the third Conference of the Parties to the UNFCC (COP3) in Kyoto, Japan, Dec. 11, 1997.

Major distinction - The convention encouraged developed countried to stabilize GHG emissions. The Protocol commits them to do so.

Detailed rules for implementation were adopted at COP7 in Marrakesh in 2001 and are called the "Marrakesh Accords."

Nepal

World History
Nepal - capital= KATMANDU (KATHMANDU)

modern state formed last part 18th century
until 2006 - only nation with Hinduism as official religion; now a secular country

Dec 2007 declared a Federal Democratic Republic
June 2008 King Gyanendra handed over crown & scepter (last in line of monarchs)
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Seven Elements of Art

1. Line the type or quality of movement between 2 points
2. Shape
3. Space a line that is enlarged and connected (generally refers to a 2 dimensional object)
4. Color
5. Texture the quality or character of the surface (giving it 2 dimensional qualities even if the surface is only 2 dimensional)
6. Value
7. Form

(#1, #3, #5 asked in competition 2007-2008)

Ohio Government Leaders Feb 2008

Governor - TED STRICKLAND
Lt. Governor - LEE FISHER
Auditor of State - MARY TAYLOR
Attorney General - NANCY H. ROGERS
Secretary of State - JENNIFER BRUNNER
Treasurer of State - RICHARD CORDRAY

State Representative - TODD BOOK democrat 89th district
State Senator - TOM NIEHAUS republican 14th district (Majority floor leader)

Representative to Congress - JEAN SCHMIDT republican 2nd congressional district

Senator to Congress SHERROD BROWN democrat
Senator to Congress GEORGE VOINOVICH republican

Chief of Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court THOMAS J. MOYER (since 1987)

Nobel

Check Nobel Laureate Facts and Women Nobel Laureates click here