Fun Fact Friday, Number Seventeen!

Today’s fun fact comes from the category: Geography.

Do you know which state is the easternmost state in the United States?

If you guessed Maine (or anywhere else on the “east” coast), you would have guessed wrong!  As you may be figuring out on this line of postings, what is sometimes considered to be the obvious answer is not always the case.

The easternmost state is actually Alaska.  Really?  How is this so?  Well, some of the Aleutian Islands (the Rat Islands and the Near Islands) lie west of the eightieth meridian (the dividing line between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres).

Source: Sorry, Wrong Answer: Trivia Questions That Even Know-It-Alls Get Wrong by Dr. Rod L. Evans.

Let’s Erase That!

On this date in history (in 1858) . . . the first pencil with an attached eraser was patented  by Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.   This was forty-six (46) years after the first pencil factory was established by William Monroe of Concord, Massachusetts (in 1812).  It wasn’t until 1979 that this capability (erasure) became made possible with ink (i.e., erasable pens).

Source: Famous First Facts by Joseph Nathan Kane, Steven Anzovin, and Janel Podell.

Dare to Be Different!

They have done it again!  Here is another wonderful demotivator (courtesy of www dot despair dot com).  And, while some of the more obvious and traditional synonyms for non-conformist include:  dissenter, dissident, individualist, and loner, I was able to track down quite a few more that are not quite as traditional:

• beatnik
• bohemian
• freak
• heretical
• heterodox
• hippies
• maverick
• oddball
• offbeat
• original
• rebel
• schismatic
• sectarian
• swinger
• unorthodox
• weird

Source: http://www.dictionary.com, http://www.despair.com

Amazing Adjectives, Number Fourteen!

Sometimes you run across words that are highly descriptive!  Here’s one that takes us back to Bacchanalian orgies.   Per The Highly Selective Dictionary of Golden Adjectives for the Extraordinarily Literate, “A Supreme Court justice is reputed to have said of ithyphallic writing, ‘I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it.'”

ithyphallic

\ ith-uh–fal-ik \, adjective;

1. of or relating to the phallus carried in ancient festivals of Bacchus.

2. grossly indecent; obscene.

3. (Classical Prosody). noting or pertaining to any of several meters employed in hymns sung in Bacchic processions.

noun;

4. a poem in ithyphallic meter.

5. an indecent poem.

Source: The Highly Selective Dictionary of Golden Adjectives for the Extraordinarily Literate by Eugene Ehrlich.

March Madness 2017, Final Four!

The second weekend of the NCAA Tournament has come to a close and we have reached the pinnacle of the tournament — the Final Four teams!  And as usual, probably not the four teams that the majority of fans would have picked.  Only two of the #1 seeds survived along with a number three seed and a number seven seed.  Cinderella is alive and well.  What another exciting tournament for college basketball fans.

The upsets in the tournament during the second round this second weekend included:
Kansas (#1) losing to Oregon (#3).
Florida (#4) losing to South Carolina (#7)

The Final Four teams remaining (by regional):

East Regional
South Carolina (#7)

Midwest Regional
Oregon (#3)

South Regional
North Carolina (#1)

West Regional
Gonzaga (#1)

The Borrower!

Happy Sunday!  As we begin the wrap-up th weekend, how about a bit of library humor?  Enjoy!

A blonde stormed up to the front desk of the library and said, “I have a complaint!”

“Yes, Ma’am?” said the librarian looking up at her.
“I borrowed a book last week and it was horrible.”

Puzzled by her complaint the librarian asked, “What was wrong with it?”
“It had way too many characters and there was no plot whatsoever,” said the blonde.

The librarian nodded and said, “Ahhh. So you must be the person who took our phone book.”

March Madness 2017, Elite Eight!

Happy Saturday!  As we reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, the field has been halved yet again to the Elite Eight with the Final Four yet to be determined by the end of the weekend.  Three (3) number one seed still remain (Kansas, North Carolina, and Gonzaga), but a couple of Cinderellas are still hanging around (South Carolina [#7 seed] and Xavier [#11 seed]) so it will be fun to see how the games go today and Sunday.

The upsets in the tournament during the first round of the second weekend included:
Baylor (#3) losing to South Carolina (#7).
Arizona (#2) losing to Xavier (#11).

The teams remaining (by regional):

East Regional
Florida (#4)
South Carolina (#7)

Midwest Regional
Kansas (#1)
Oregon (#3)

South Regional (top four seeds advanced)
North Carolina (#1)
Kentucky (#2)

West Regional
Gonzaga (#1)
Xavier (#11)

Fun Fact Friday, Number Sixteen!

Well that’s just peachy!  Today’s unique facts will center on peaches.  Were you aware that peaches were . . .

• members of the almond family (Real Fact #21)? — hmm, their pits do look a bit like almonds?
• also members of the rose family, along with apples and raspberries (Real Fact #422)?
• the first fruit to be eaten on the moon (Real Fact #722)?

In addition, did you know that . . .

• the game of basketball (as we enter NCAA March Madness) was first played using a soccer ball and two peach baskets (Real Fact #221)?
• the phrase “you’re a real peach” originated from the tradition of giving peaches to loved ones (Real Fact #1017)?
• George Washington was a successful liquor distributor, making rye whiskey, apple brandy, and peach brandy in his Mount Vernon distillery (Real Fact #1140)?

Source: https://www.snapple.com/real-facts

So, Would You Like to Live Longer?!

No one knows exactly how long they will live, but who doesn’t want to maximize their time in this world?  Here is a list of fifty (50) ways that if put into practice, could help you extend your life (obviously any medically-related “advice” should be vetted through your personal physician).

1. Consider extra vitamin D (but too much could also be bad).
2. Cut back on pain pills (including over-the-counter types)
3. Please go to bed (get more than six hours per night)
4. But don’t always go right to sleep (ah, the benefits of sex)
5. Get (or stay) hitched
6. Ripeness matters (fully ripe = more benefits)
7. Say yes to that extra cup (of coffee)
8. Frozen is fine (fruits and veggies)
9. Go green (as in tea)
10. Don’t sweeten with sugar
11. Eat whole grains
12. Spice it up (chili peppers)
13. Drink whole milk (dairy fat can be good)
14. Just add water (stay hydrated)
15. Be food safe (keep and store food correctly)
16. Eat less (stop when you feel full)
17. End the day’s eating by 9:00 PM
18. Eat your veggies
19. Eat like the Greeks (i.e., Mediterranean diet)
20. Or live like the Amish (tend to live longer with less hospitalization)
21. Drink less
22. Save your pennies (higher income = live longer)
23. Or move to one of these states (California, New York, Vermont)
24. Ponder a ponderosa (experience a sense of awe; nature, music, art)
25. Go nuts (10 grams a day)
26. Find your purpose (have something to look forward to)
27. Embrace your faith
28. Vacation or else (take some time off)
29. Consider mountain life (live in higher altitude)
30. Get a friend with four legs (pet ownership)
31. Keep watching lol cat videos (laughter is important)
32. Get social (reduce lonliness)
33. Watch your grandkids
34. Try to stay out of the hospital
35. Monitor yourself (don’t wait for annual checkup)
36. Visit the hardware store (monitor carbon monoxide, radon, and lead levels)
37. You need to read (30 minutes per day)
38. Toss that rug (risk for fall)
39. Practice home fire drills (know what to do in advance, have a plan)
40. Find a woman doctor
41. Make peace with family
42. Take the stairs – every day
43. Trade in ol’ Bessie (news car all have high-tech safety features)
44. Beware the high-tech dash (distracted driving)
45. And drive less
46. Better yet, walk (exercise best prescription for long life)
47. Just not in the street
48. And go a little faster  (exceed one meter per second)
49. Get fidgety (don’t “sit” too long)
50. Read the AARP Bulletin (shameless plug)

Source: AARP Bulletin, March 2017, p. 23-30.

Are You Responsible?!

Happy Wednesday!  Congratulations, you are nearly halfway through the week.  I ran across a great joke the other day  . . .

EMPLOYER: We need someone who is highly responsible.

APPLICANT: In that case, I’m your man.  At my last job, every time something went wrong, they told me I was responsible.

As I pondered the whole idea of responsible (and responsibility) I remembered a couple of quotations on the topic that really hit the mark:

“Responsibilities are given to him on whom trust rests. Responsibility is always a sign of trust.”  (James Cash Penney)

“The price of greatness is responsibility.”  (Winston Churchill)