Down Under Trivia

The official Royal New Zealand Air Force logo is the kiwi, a flightless bird.

Australia’s tallest mountain and most populous city were named for people who never visited the country. Mount Kosciuszko was named after Polish military hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko, because of its resemblance to a prehistoric mound in Kraków, and Sydney was named for British politician Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney.

Greatest Quotes of the Century

“I gave at the office,” “The check is in the mail,”  “This is a risk-free investment,” “They are too big to fail,” “I do” (when uttered by Kim Kardashian), "I did not have sexual relations. . .", "Trust me" (when spoken by any politician), "The facts prove" (When proffered by the media).

SpongeBob Facts

Each of the main characters in SpongeBob Squarepants was inspired by one of the seven deadly sins. These seem to fit the characters.

1. Greed (Mr. Krabs) - Eugene Krabs is constantly thinking of ways to turn a profit, even if it involves taking advantage of his friends or putting them in harmful situations.

2. Envy (Plankton) - Sheldon Plankton owns a struggling restaurant called “The Chum Bucket” and is consumed with the desire to achieve the success of his adversary and steal the Krabby Patty formula.

3. Sloth (Patrick) - In one episode Patrick is given an award for ‘doing absolutely nothing longer than anyone else’. He then proceeds go back under his rock to protect his title.

4. Pride (Sandy) - The fact that Sandy Cheeks is from Texas alone should almost suffice for this one. She is a squirrel that is very proud of her heritage. Sandy also takes a great deal of satisfaction in being the only land critter living down in Bikini Bottom among all the fish. Sandy is quick to spout off about the greatness of the Lone Star state or to show off her athleticism in a karate match or a weightlifting contest.

5. Wrath (Squidward) - Squidward Tentacles has no qualms about expressing his negative outlook on life by describing how much he hates his job at the Krusty Krab or through outward disdain for his two obnoxious neighbors. He is portrayed as a general failure who refuses to acknowledge his own personal flaws. He has a sarcastic sense of humor and resentment toward the society that doesn't appreciate his creativity and clarinet skills.

6. Gluttony (Gary) - Gary doesn't do much other than eating and meowing, and the meowing is often due to the fact that he is hungry. Gary was shown eating parts of their couch. In another episode, Gary ran away from home because SpongeBob forgot to feed him for a while. Another time Gary ate a year’s supply of snail food and became morbidly obese.

7. Lust (SpongeBob) - The alternative definition for lust is simply “a passionate desire for something”. In this sense, it cannot be denied that he is an extremely lustful creature. SpongeBob has a lust for life that is incomparable to most other cartoon characters. He yearns for the affections of both friend and foe alike, is eager to please, and will often stop at nothing to complete a task.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and Obesity

HFCS entered the American food supply in the 1970s and the rates of obesity began to rise about the same time. Consequently, many blame HFCS.

However, the calories in HFCS are no different from those in refined white sugar. The makeup of HFCS (55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose) is close to that of white sugar (50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose) and our bodies digest HFCS and sugar in very similar ways. Nutritionally speaking, the two are virtually identical.

Interesting Fact: Coca Cola produced in Mexico is still made with sugar (as opposed to corn syrup in the US), and many people claim to be able to taste the difference, but after numerous tests, results vary widely in their conclusions.

Vowel-less Words

English is a funny language with many interesting words.
BRR – The way you tell people that it is very chilly.

HMM – Accepted (in addition to “hm”) as a sound of contemplation. When you are thinking more, it is “hmm” instead of “hm.”

NTH – Having the quality of being the last in a series of infinitely increasing or decreasing values. (As in, “the nth degree.”)

PHT – An interjection used to signify mild annoyance or disagreement.

SHH – A way to urge someone to be quiet.

TSK – An interjection often used in quick repetition like “tsktsk” to express contempt or disdain.

PFFT – A way to express that something is dying or fizzling out.

PSST – Used to attract someone’s attention.

The Real Batmania

In 1835, John Batman settled in what was to eventually become Melbourne, Australia. He named it “Batmania”. Two years later it was renamed Melbourne in honor of the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne.
---------------

Happy Friday

A mediocre person tells. A good person explains. A superior person demonstrates. A great person inspires others to see for themselves.

I may not always tell, or explain, or inspire, but I do always demonstrate having a Happy Friday!

February

February came into English from French. The French feverier became English feverere, or feverell. During the 16th and 17th centuries writers began re-Latinizing their spelling to make words look more like original ancient language sources. It was a way to make documents look more intelligent, so along with many other words, they made February look more like Februarius.

Happy Birthday Puck

The word “puck” was first recorded in the February 7, 1876 edition of the Montreal Gazette. The NHL regards this date as the hockey puck’s birthday, even though they were in use for decades before.

Early pucks were made from frozen cow dung. The first rubber pucks were made from lacrosse balls, which were sliced in thirds and only the middle third was used. Now they are constructed of vulcanized rubber.

Players are required to use frozen pucks to reduce bouncing and make them easier to control. These tend to thaw quickly and are replaced by officials on average of 12 per game. Don Rickles might have called people who started the NHL strike 'hockey pucks'.

First Down Line

The big game will be played this weekend so I thought it might be interesting to review the technology behind the lines that TV adds to the field for down markers. Before the game begins, technicians make a digital 3-D model of the field, which is not flat. It is subtly curved with a crown in the middle to help water flow away. Each field is unique.

Technicians also put together two separate color palettes before each game. One palette contains the colors for the field’s turf to automatically be converted into yellow (or whatever color is used) when the line is drawn onto the field. All other colors, such as player and official uniforms, shoes, the ball, etc., go into the other palette. Colors that appear on this second palette are never converted. If a player’s foot is situated on the line, everything around it will turn yellow, but not his foot.

Each camera used for the game contains sensors that record its location, tilt, pan, zoom and transmit this data to the graphics computers. These sensors allow the computers to process exactly where each camera is within the 3-D model, along with the perspective of each camera so the lines can be added to the picture.

One version requires a four-man crew and costs about $25,000 per game to project the lines onto the field.

Beer Myths Debunked

More game day stuff. The myth says if cold beer gets warm, cooling it again will make it stale. This is a myth was started by marketing people. Beer experiences substantial fluctuations in temperature during shipping, although excessive heat will ruin beer. The notion that beer can only be refrigerated once is a total myth.

Are Bottles Better Than Cans - Canned beer is often associated with mass-market, “cheap” beer. However, craft brewers are beginning to can their beer. In fact, at least 212 breweries, according to CraftCans.com now sell canned beer.

The Huffington Post conducted a blind taste test and found participants preferred the taste of canned beer to bottled three times out of four. During the game you can pop or twist or flip a top and know the beer is all the same.

Table Salt vs. Kosher Salt

Salt is another game day treat that goes on almost everything. The primary ingredient in each type is sodium chloride. US requires food-grade salt be a minimum of 97.5% pure.

Table salt usually contains an anti-clumping agent, like calcium silicate, and also iodine. Kosher salt usually does not contain either. In the old days, people used to put a few grains of rice in their salt shaker to keep the salt from clumping.

The main difference between Kosher salt and regular salt is the grain size, with table salt being much smaller, because Kosher salt is less processed.

Kosher salt is not called “Kosher” because the salt is certified as kosher, but because this type of salt was used in the process of koshering meat to remove surface blood from meat without making the meat too salty.

Incidentally, iodine was first added to salt commercially in the United States in 1924 by the Morton Salt Company at the request of the government, because people weren't getting enough iodine in their diets. This caused many people to develop goiters or swelling of the thyroid gland. The practice was taken from the Swiss, who began adding iodine to salt many years earlier. Today most people get enough iodine in their diets, but many government health agencies around the world still recommend adding it to salt.

Africa Size Comparison

This interesting picture shows the size of Africa compared to other continents and countries.

Wordology, Meme

The vast expanse of the internet makes communication around the world immediate, and with it copying and sharing of interesting (and not so interesting) information. The neologism (a new word or phrase) 'meme' (rhymes with team) has reached widespread use to describe the viral spread of jokes, ideas, and more via the internet.

“Meme” was coined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins before the web was in use, in his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene. He stated, "We need a name for the new replicator, a noun that conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. ‘Mimeme’ comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like ‘gene’. I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate mimeme to meme. If it is any consolation, it could alternatively be thought of as being related to ‘memory’, or to the French word même."

The French word même means “same” or “alike.” The Greek word “mimeme” he takes “meme” from comes from the Ancient Greek meaning “that which is imitated” / “something imitated” / “something copied”.

Dawkins was hoping that the word would be used as a unit of human cultural transmission, such as a melody, fashion, or catch-phrase. People refine memes as they sometimes alter the information when they transmit it to another human. Bacon, while being still being delicious has also become a meme.