Stock Ticker's Birthday

Photo of early stock ticker courtesy FreeImagesLive.co.uk

The stock ticker is 144 years old today.  Prior to this invention by Edward Augustin Calahan (1838-1912), information from the New York Stock Exchange was delivered by mail or messenger.

For more information in addition to the above links, see the article at History.com.

Fish Schools' Rules

Photo courtesy FreeImagesLive.co.uk

New studies of the movement of schools of fish indicate that each fish in the school eyes only the one or two nearest neighbors, and moves in the direction and with the same speed of their nearest neighbor(s).

For more information, see the article in ScienceNews.org.

The Most Peaceful Era in the History of the World

Photo of one of Edward Hicks' "The Peaceful Kingdom" paintings courtesy AllPaintings.org

According to the historical research by Steven Pinker, New College of the Humanities in London visiting professor and Harvard University experimental psychologist, we are now living in the least violent and most peaceful era in the history of the world.

For more information, see information on his book, The Better Angels of Our Nature, and his website, StevenPinker.com.

11-12-11, 11:12 A.M., In Harm's Way

Photo courtesy Naval History & Heritage Command

On November 16, 1778, American Navy Captain John Paul Jones (1747-1792) wrote a letter to the French government hoping they would provide for him a ship to use in the Americans' rebellion against the British.  In the letter he stated, "I wish to have no Connection with any Ship that does not Sail fast for I intend to go in harm's way."  His phrase "in harm's way" has most often been used to refer to people in the military who are sent "in harm's way" during wartime.

For more information, in addition to the above links, see the websites of the U.S.S. John Paul Jones and The Top 10 Quotes About & By the U.S. Marines.

11-11-11, 11:11 A.M., Remembrance Day

Photo courtesy FreeImagesLive.co.uk

Today is Remembrance Day, also known as Armistice Day, Veterans Day, and Poppy Day in the United States and British Commonwealth countries except Mozambique.  There are similar celebrations in other countries around the world.  This is the day celebrating the signing of the armistice that ended World War I on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918.  It is also a day for remembering the service of all war veterans.

For more information in addition to the above links, see the websites of the National WWI Museum, the BBC World War I History, World War I Trenches on the Web, and the Teacher Oz History Website.

History of Scrabble

Photo courtesy FreeImagesLive.co.uk

The board game, Scrabble, was invented by New York architect and artist Alfred Mosher Butts (1899-1993) in 1938.  To date, one hundred fifty million games have been sold worldwide, and between one and two million sets are sold annually in the United States alone.

Butts initially named the game Criss Cross Words, but when entrepreneur James Brunot (1902-1984)bought the rights to the game in 1948 he changed the name to Scrabble, a word meaning "to grope frantically", from the Dutch "Schrabben," to scrape or scratch.  Brunot converted an abandoned school-house into the Scrabble factory.

For more information in addition to the above links, including information about Scrabble associations and tournaments, see the websites of IdeaFinder.com, North American Scrabble Players Association, Anagrammer.com, and, of course, the official Scrabble website.

Asteroid Passes Close to Earth

Photo courtesy FreeImageFinder.com

Yesterday and today people in both the northern and southern hemispheres are able to easily see the asteroid 2005 YU55 as it passes close to Earth.  An event of this type--when we will know in advance about an object this large that will pass this close to Earth--will not happen again until 2028.

For more information, see the websites of UniverseToday.com and SpaceDaily.com, which has an animation of the trajectory.

Folklore and Nandina

Photo courtesy FreeImageFinder.com

I've always liked nandina bushes and have always had them in my yard, however not because I planted them there but because they were already there when I moved into the house.  What I didn't know was the folklore about nandinas.  In the Japanese language nandina is homonymic for "difficulties" and "changing", so the nandina is believed to have the power to make bad fortune disappear.  In the western world nandina branches are used in New Year's arrangements, coats of arms, art, and textile design where it symbolizes longevity,

For more information, see the websites NandinaBushes.com and CherryBlossom.co.nz.

Largest Woodpecker in History Now on Film

Photo courtesy FreeImageFinder.com

It is believed that the Imperial Woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in history, became extinct in the late 1900's and had never been photographed or filmed.  A 16mm film shot by Pennsylvania Dentist William L. Rhein in 1956 has been discovered and is now being analyzed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which has one of my favorite websites about birds.  The film can been seen at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/imperial.

For more information in addition to the above links, see the website of ScienceDaily.com and BirdLifeInternational.org.

Where is the Driest Desert on Earth?

Photo courtesy of FreeImageFinder.com

The Atacama Desert is a 600-mile (1,000 km) strip of land on the South American Pacific Coast, running through Chile and Peru.  Outlying less-dry areas of the desert run through Bolivia and Argentina.  The Atacama Desert is the driest desert in the world with no rainfall having been recorded since rainfall records began being kept.  It is also the highest desert on earth, and one of the coldest deserts on earth.  Since certain bacteria and sea-life fossils have been found in gypsum boulders (similar to rocks on the planet Mars), it is believed that the Atacama Desert was once underwater.

For more information in addition to the above links, see the websites of the Gypsum Association and the ALMA telescope, which is the Atacama Large Millimeter Array telescope erected in the Atacama Desert by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Golden Section & Stradivarius Violins

Photo courtesy FreeImageFinder.com

The golden section (also known as the golden mean, the golden ratio, and divine proportion), is a mathematical calculation that produces what is considered to be the most aesthetically pleasing proportion.  What I didn't know is that Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737), the greatest violin maker in history, was aware of the golden section and used it to place the f-holes (pictured above) in his famous violins. 

I also didn't know that there has been quite a bit of research to find the golden section intentionally and unintentionally used in classical music compositions.

For more information, see the links above and the website on Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Section in Art, Architecture, and Music.

The bel and Mr. Bell

Photo of Decible Meter courtesy of  FreeImagesLive.co.uk

The decibel (symbol dB, one-tenth of a bel) is a unit used in electrical engineering and acoustics to express relative loudness.  What I didn't know is that the bel was named after Alexander Graham Bell(1847-1922).

For more information, in addition to the links above see the website of The Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers at the Library of Congress.

Automatic Brain Remodeling

Photo courtesy FreeImagesLive.co.uk

Recent studies in charting the brain’s genetic activity from before birth to old age--particularly when, where and for how long each gene in the brain is turned on over the course of a person’s life--reveal that the brain continually remodels itself in predictable ways throughout life.

For more information, see the article at the ScienceNews.org website.

Steam Powered Church Organ

Photo courtesy freeimageslive.co.uk

Pope Sylvester II (946-1003), also known as Gerbert, built church organs powered by steam, a great innovation of the time, which eliminated having people force air through the organ pipes by physically operating bellows while another person actually played the organ keys.

He also constructed the precursor to Galileo's telescope, and became one of the first great collectors of books.

For more information, see the websites of Christian Classics Ethereal Library, and Encyclopedia Britannica.

Rattlesnakes & Ambulance Sirens

Photo courtesy FreeImages.com

The frequency of the rattle-sound produced by the rattlesnake can reach 5000 hertz to 8000 hertz, which is the same as that of the ambulance siren.

For more information on rattlesnakes, see the websites of the American International Rattlesnake Museum, Kidzone, and Reptile Knowledge.

Haunted White House

Photo courtesy CherylHarness.com

In addition to many former presidents, presidents' wives, a black cat, and a British soldier, probably the most widely reported spectre to haunt the White House is Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).  Many guests of the White House, including Queen Wihelmina of the Netherlands (1880-1962), has reported seeing him in rooms or in the halls.

Not only have ghosts been reported just sitting or walking in the White House, some have been seen hard at work.  Abigail Adams (1880-1962), wife of John Adams (1735-1826), used to do her own laundry, and has been reported hanging her laundry in the East Room to dry just as she did during the time she lived in the White House.

For more information, see this topic on the websites of Suite101.com, Haunted-Places.com, and History.com.  Also see the book by Cheryl Harness, Ghosts of the White House (photo above).

Klicks

Photo courtesy military.com

The term "klick", used by the U.S. Military, is slang for kilometer, which is 1000 meters or 0.62 miles.  Its use by the American military is speculated to have begun in the 1950's or 1960's, possibly when American soldiers heard this or a similar term used by Germans, or Canadians, or Australians when referring to kilometers.

For more information on this and other U.S. military history, visit the Olive-Drab website for a listing of military history websites.

Can You Recite the Aeneid By Heart In Latin?

Photo:  Public Domain

James Garfield (1831-1881), 20th president of the United States of America, was a great intellect.  In addition to his accomplishments both greater and lesser, he could recite the entire Aenid by heart in Latin!

For more information, see the interview with Candice Millard about her book, Destiny of the Republic.

A Natural Hole in the Head

Photo courtesy of 123rf.com

Johns Hopkins has developed a new brain surgery technique that leaves no scar, because entry to the brain is gained through a "natural hole" in the head:  inside the mouth behind the molars, above the jawbone, and beneath the cheekbone.

For more information, see the article at MedicalNewsToday.com.

Bark Cloth

Photo courtesy National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka

For centuries cloth has been made out of tree bark by people in parts of Africa, India, Polynesia, Hawaii, Fiji, Malay Peninsula, Samoa, and Central America.  The outer tree bark is stripped away, then the inner bark is cut or stripped from trees such as fig, paper mulberry, and breadfruit.  The soft inner-bark of these trees is flexible to begin with, then it is soaked and beaten until it's very flexible, then decorated and used as clothing, house decoration, and in religious ceremonies.

For more information see the article on Questia.com.

Would You Fly In A Plastic Plane?

Photo courtesy of boeing787.net

The newest airplane in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner series landed its inaugural flight in Hong Kong a couple of hours ago.  This new plane is made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, not the metal of traditional planes.  It is comparatively light-weight, therefore is requires less fuel and maintenance, and so is cheaper to operate.

For more information, see an older news-story on the website for BBC News, and a current update from the Associated Press story in the Peoria, IL Journal Star newspaper's website.

Golden & Orange & Red, Oh My!

Photo courtesy of freeimages.co.uk

My favorite tree is the Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum (pictured above).  I love the red, lacy leaves that are beautiful in the summer and even more brilliant in the fall.  What I didn't know is that there are more than 400 varieties of Japanese Maple trees divided into five types based on size, leaf shape, and color; and that some have golden or yellow or orange leaves!  I also didn't know that some Japanese Maples are cultivars, which means they are not propagated by seed, but by cuttings, tissue cultures, budding or grafting.

For more information, see the websites of the National Gardening Association and the National Plant Data Center.

The World's Best Diamonds Are...

Photo of the Hope Diamond courtesy of the Smithsonian

Most people in the U.S. know that the largest deep blue diamond in the world, the Hope Diamond, is housed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.  What you may not know--I did not know--is that it is believed to have been mined from the legendary and now depleted Golconda diamond mine in India.  The diamonds that came from the Golconda mine are identified by a complete lack of nitrogen, making them the most beautiful diamonds in existence, with their own special classification of IIa.  Only 2% of all diamonds qualify for this classification.  Golconda diamonds are some of the largest diamonds in the world, and are also characterized by their unique "old-world" cuts.

The Golconda mines were opened in about the 4th century B.C., and were depleted by the mid-1800's.  Some of the most famous diamonds in the world come from the mine, including the pink Darya-i-Nur (Sea of Light) that is set in a brooch, and the pink Noor-ol-Ain that is set in a tiara, both of which are in the collection of the Iranian Crown Jewels; and the Orlov that is set in the sceptre of Catherine the Great.

For more information, see the DiamondVues website, and the AllAboutGemstones website.

Getting Mushy About Mushrooms

Photo of matsutake mushrooms courtesy of JapanGuidebook.com

There are over 10,000 types of mushrooms.  The mushroom is a member of the Fungi Kingdom classification (separate from plants, animals, and bacteria).  Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi.  The most expensive mushroom in the world is Japan's matsuki mushroom, which can sell for $1,000 per pound.

Here is a cookbook, Wild About Mushrooms, published by the Mycological Society of San Francisco.

For more information about mushrooms, visit the websites for The Mushroom Council, The American Mushroom Institute, and Mushroom-Appreciation.com.

Tokyo Governor's Crazed Fruit

Photo courtesy of ProductWiki

Considered by some to be the Japanese equivalent of Rebel Without a Cause, Ko Nakahira's Crazed Fruit has long been one of my favorite movies (see View My Complete Profile near the bottom of this page).  It is a 1956 film based on the novel, Season of the Sun, by Ishahara Shintaro (born 1932), which won the Akutagawa Prize in 1955.  It is about the "Sun Tribe", which was a discontented-youth culture in 1950's Japan. 

What I didn't know was that one of the film's stars was the brother of Ishihara Shintaro, Ishihara Yujiro (1934-1987).  I also didn't know that Ishihara Yujiro became an icon of 1950's and 1960's Japanese films, and achieved a status in Japan much like that of James Dean in the United States.  I also didn't know that since 1999 Ishihara Shintaro has been governor of Tokyo.

Here's the Toronto Japanese Film Appreciation Pow-Wow blog about The Top Ten Films that Changed Japanese Cinema; Crazed Fruit is number six.

Here's an interview on FORA.tv with Donald Richie, writer, journalist, and a leading authority on Japanese films.