Facebook's Original Membership

 The founders of Facebook had initially limited the website's membership to Harvard students; however, later they expanded it to higher education institutions in the Boston area, the Ivy League schools, and Stanford University. Facebook gradually added support for students at various other universities, and eventually to high school students as well. Since 2006, anyone age 13 and older has been allowed to become a registered user of Facebook, though variations exist in the minimum age requirement, depending on applicable local laws.

Gimlet

 

The gimlet is a cocktail made of gin and lime juice. The cocktail was described as having gin and a hint of lime in a 1928 advertisement. "A true gimlet is half gin and half Rose's lime juice cordial and nothing else," according to a description in Raymond Chandler's 1953 novel The Long Goodbye. This corresponds to the proportions recommended by The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), which call for half gin and half lime juice. Modern tastes, on the other hand, are less sweet, with at least two parts gin to one part lime and other non-alcoholic ingredients.

The origin of the cocktail's name is a point of contention. It may be named after a tool used to drill small holes (alluding to the drinker's "piercing" effect) or after the surgeon Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Gimlette (27 November 1857 - 4 October 1943), who is said to have first added lime cordial to the daily gin tot of the Royal Navy's men to help combat the ravages of scurvy on long voyages.

The vodka gimlet is a variation of the beverage that uses vodka instead of gin. The Daiquiri is a lime juice drink that is made with light rum rather than vodka or gin. In the "Pimmlet," 2 parts Pimm's No. 1 Cup and 1 part London Dry Gin are substituted.

Rapper/Actor Ice-T

 The man who would become famous as Ice-T was born Tracy Marrow in Newark, New Jersey. Ice-T is known for his raps about street life and violence, as well as his influence on the genre of gangster rap. After losing his parents at a young age, he became involved with inner city crime and hustling. His talent for rhyme saved him from a life on the streets, and he released his debut album, Rhyme Pays, in 1987. His pseudonym, Ice T, is an homage to the legendary pimp and raconteur Iceberg Slim. The rapper also has a career as an actor, most notably playing a detective on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 2000.

Silk Production

 

Silk was first produced in China during the Neolithic period, by the Yangshao civilisation (4th millennium BC). Until the Silk Road opened in 114 BC, the art of silk manufacture remained limited to China, albeit China retained a virtual monopoly over silk production for another thousand years. Silk was not just used for clothes in China; it was also utilised for a variety of other purposes, such as writing. During the Tang dynasty, the colour of silk worn had social significance and served as an essential indicator of social position.

Around 300 AD, silkworm agriculture expanded to Japan, and by 552 AD, the Byzantine Empire had obtained silkworm eggs and was able to begin silkworm cultivation; around the same time, the Arabs began to weave silk. Chinese silk exports have declined as a result of the expansion of sericulture, however they continue to dominate the premium silk market. The Crusades introduced silk manufacturing to Western Europe, particularly to numerous Italian kingdoms, which experienced a boom in silk exports to the rest of Europe. During the Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) in Europe, advances in industrial technology began to emerge, with equipment such as the spinning wheel making their debut. During the 16th century, France joined Italy in building a flourishing silk trade, despite the failure of most other nations to create their own silk industry.

Much of Europe's silk business was transformed during the Industrial Revolution. Cotton became more cheaper to make as a result of advancements in cotton spinning, leading to cotton production being the major emphasis for many factories and driving the more expensive production of silk to diminish. New weaving methods, on the other hand, boosted the efficiency of silk fabric manufacturing; one of them was the Jacquard loom, which was designed to produce extremely intricate silks with embroidery-like motifs. Production fell due to an outbreak of many silkworm illnesses at the time, notably in France, where the industry never fully recovered.

Donald Trump's Yearbook Award

 Hailing from the 1964 graduating class of New York Military Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, former President Donald Trump was voted "Ladies' Man" by his graduating class in his high school yearbook's "popularity poll." The yearbook shows that Trump, was a member of the varsity soccer, baseball, and football teams. He also won numerous athletic awards and a "neatness and order medal" in 1960. “I did very well under the military system,” Trump said in an interview. “I became one of the top guys at the whole school.” Trump further claimed he was "the best athlete" in every sport at his school.

The Gettysburg Address

 

The Gettysburg Address is a speech given by US President Abraham Lincoln on the afternoon of November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after Union soldiers defeated Confederate armies in the Battle of Gettysburg. It is considered to be one of the most well-known addresses in American history.

Despite the fact that it was not the day's principal speech, Lincoln's meticulously planned address is regarded as one of the finest and most significant expressions of American national purpose. In just 271 words, Lincoln described the United States as a nation "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," making reference toward the signing of the Declaration of Independence 87 years prior, and portrayed the Civil War as a test which would decide whether such a nation, fractured by the secession crisis, could survive.

Despite the speech's significant position in American history and popular culture, its precise phrasing is contested. The five known copies of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address differ in several points, as well as from contemporary newspaper editions of the address. The location of the platform from where Lincoln gave his address is also unknown. The speakers' platform was moved 40 yards (or more) away from the customary location at Soldiers' National Cemetery at the Soldiers' National Monument, and was wholly contained within the private, neighboring Evergreen Cemetery, according to modern research.

Polo Field

 When you watch a polo match, it’s readily apparent that the field is significantly larger than those fields utilized in many outdoor sports, such as soccer, baseball, and football. The Polo Field is a vast rectangular field of grass defined by two goal posts on opposing ends. Polo Fields are 300 yards in length and 160 yards in width, covering a total area of 432,000 square feet. The field is approximately the size of nine football fields. Ideally, the field is also top-dressed with sand to enhance traction for the horses, making it easier to reach faster speeds.

Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone

 

The Twilight Zone is an American media brand based on Rod Serling's anthology television series. The episodes cover a wide range of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, supernatural drama, dark comedy, and psychological thrillers, and they usually end with a macabre or surprising twist and a moral. It was a critical and popular success, and it introduced many Americans to popular science fiction and fantasy motifs. From 1959 until 1964, the initial series, which was shot entirely in black and white, aired on CBS for five seasons.

Rod Serling was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen presenter best known for his 1950s live television plays and the anthology television series The Twilight Zone. On and off the screen, Serling was involved in politics and worked to shape television industry standards. He was known as Hollywood's "angry young man," arguing with television executives and sponsors on a variety of subjects such as censorship, racism, and war.  

McDonald's Filet-O-Fish

 The Filet-O-Fish was the brainchild of Lou Groen, a McDonald's franchise owner in Cincinnati, in response to falling hamburger sales on Fridays resulting from the Roman Catholic practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays. McDonald's CEO Ray Kroc originally hated the idea and said, "I don't care if the Pope himself comes to Cincinnati. He can eat hamburgers like everybody else. " Kroc eventually reconsidered, and the Filet-O-Fish was added to the menu throughout 1963 until reaching nationwide status in 1965. The Filet-O-Fish represented the first major expansion of McDonald's original menu, and has since become a Micky D's staple around the globe.

Curling

 

Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across an ice sheet toward a goal area divided into four concentric circles. It's connected to shuffleboard, boules, and bowls. Two teams of four players take turns sliding large, polished granite rocks, also known as stones, across the ice curling sheet toward the home, which is marked on the ice as a circular target. Each team has eight stones, with two stones being thrown by each participant. The goal is to get the highest score possible in a game; points are awarded for stones that are closest to the center of the house at the end of each end, which ends when both teams have thrown all of their stones. A game typically has eight or ten ends.

Since 1998, curling has been a medal sport in the Winter Olympics. Men's, women's, and mixed doubles competitions are now available (the mixed doubles event was held for the first time in 2018).

The International Olympic Committee ruled in February 2002 that the curling competitions from the 1924 Winter Olympics (formerly known as Semaine des Sports d'Hiver, or International Winter Sports Week) would be recognized legitimate Olympic events rather than demonstration events. The first Olympic medals in curling, which was played outdoors at the time, were awarded at the 1924 Winter Olympics, with the gold medal going to Great Britain, two silver medals to Sweden, and a bronze medal going to France. During the 1932 Winter Olympic Games, a demonstration competition was staged between four Canadian teams and four American teams, with Canada winning 12 games to 4.  

John Wayne Airport

 John Wayne Airport is a commercial airport located in Santa Ann, California and serves Orange County and the greater Los Angeles area. Originally named Orange County Airport, it was renamed in 1979 in honor of actor John Wayne, who lived in neighboring Newport Beach and died that year. A 9-foot bronze statue of "The Duke" was installed at the airport in 1982. In June 2020, a name change was requested in response to racist and bigoted comments the actor made in a 1971 Playboy interview. The resolution has asked the board to restore the airport's name back to Orange County Airport.

LaGuardia Airport

 

LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport that is located in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. The facility, which now spans 680 acres, was founded in 1929 and began functioning as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, and it is sometimes referred to as the "USS LaGuardia" by pilots because of its short runways that are surrounded by Flushing Bay, giving the impression of landing on a ship.

Airline service to domestic (and limited international) destinations is the primary focus of the airport. It was the third busiest airport in the New York metropolitan area, behind John F. Kennedy and Newark, and the twenty-first busiest in the United States by passenger volume, as of 2019. While the airport serves as a hub for both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, commercial service is restricted by a curfew, a slot system, and a "perimeter rule" that prohibits nonstop flights to or from destinations more than 1,500 miles.

LaGuardia was known in the 2000s and 2010s for having outdated and filthy buildings, inefficient air operations, and low customer service metrics. In response to these critiques, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) stated in 2015 that a multibillion-dollar rebuild of the airport's passenger infrastructure would be completed by 2025.  

O. J. Simpson

 Orenthal James Simpson was born in San Francisco, California, on July 9, 1947. His aunt named him Orenthal, allegedly after a French actor she admired. Following a high-profile 1995 criminal trial, O.J. Simpson was famously acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Simpson was eventually sentenced to 33 years in jail for kidnapping and armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2008. After nearly nine years in prison, O.J. was released on October 1, 2017.

Clark Gable

 

Clark Gable, also known as "The King of Hollywood," was an American film actor who was born William Clark Gable. During a 37-year career that included three decades as a leading man, he appeared in more than 60 films in a variety of genres. Gable died of a heart attack at the age of 59, and his final on-screen role was as an old cowboy in The Misfits, which was released after his death in 1961.

Gable was one of the most dependable box-office performers in history, featuring sixteen times in Quigley Publishing's annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll. The American Film Institute voted him the seventh-greatest male movie star of classic American film. He starred alongside some of the most well-known actresses of the time. Joan Crawford was one of his favorite actresses to work with, and they collaborated on eight films together. He collaborated with Myrna Loy seven times, while he appeared in six productions with Jean Harlow. He also appeared in four films with Lana Turner, as well as three with Norma Shearer and Ava Gardner.

It Happened One Night is a 1934 American romantic comedy film directed and co-produced by Frank Capra in partnership with Harry Cohn, in which a pampered socialite (Claudette Colbert) seeks to get out from under her father's thumb and falls in love with a roguish reporter (Clark Gable). The screenplay by Robert Riskin is based on Samuel Hopkins Adams' short tale "Night Bus," which provided the film's title in August 1933. The film, which is considered a "pre-Code" production, is one of the final romantic comedies made before the MPPDA began strictly enforcing the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code in July 1934. It Happened One Night was only four months old when the law was enacted.  

Tornadoes

 Tornadoes are one of Mother Nature’s most destructive forces and can come in all shapes and sizes. Rope tornadoes, which get their name from their rope-like appearance, are among the smallest and most common types of tornadoes. Most tornadoes begin and end their life cycle as a rope tornado before growing into a larger twister or dissipating into thin air. A stovepipe tornado is generally more dangerous than rope tornadoes as their paths tend to be wider, and can leave a larger trail of damage. Wedges are usually major tornadoes, and are given the rating of an EF-3 or higher. Wedge tornadoes have produced some of the most powerful and catastrophic tornadoes in history.

Steven Spielberg

 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 American science fiction film starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut, written and directed by Steven Spielberg. It depicts the story of Roy Neary, an ordinary Indiana blue-collar worker whose life is turned upside down after an encounter with an unexplained flying object (UFO).

For Spielberg, Close Encounters had been a long-awaited project. He had an agreement with Columbia Pictures for a science-fiction feature in late 1973. Though Spielberg gained sole credit for the screenplay, it was co-written by Paul Schrader, John Hill, David Giler, Hal Barwood, Matthew Robbins, and Jerry Belson, who all contributed in different ways. The title comes from Ufologist J. Allen Hynek's taxonomy of close encounters with extraterrestrials, in which the third type refers to human sightings of extraterrestrials or "animate entities." The visual effects supervisor was Douglas Trumbull, while the extraterrestrials were conceived by Carlo Rambaldi.

The film's roots can be traced back to director Steven Spielberg's boyhood in New Jersey, where he and his father witnessed a meteor shower. Spielberg completed the full-length science fiction film Firelight when he was 18 years old. On a shot-for-shot basis, many moments from Firelight were included into Close Encounters. In 1970, he published "Experiences," a short story about a lovers' lane in a Midwestern rural village and the "light display" seen in the night sky by a group of teens. After finishing The Sugarland Express in late 1973, Spielberg negotiated a deal with Columbia Pictures for a science-fiction feature. The offer had previously been rejected down by 20th Century Fox. Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips have agreed to serve as producers.  

Celebrities Who Worked for the USPS

 Some of America’s most well-known actors, businessmen, and cultural icons began their careers as postal employees. As a young man, Walt Disney worked as a delivery worker, as did actors Bing Crosby and Rock Hudson. Before becoming famous, Charles Lindbergh spent much of his time flying as an airmail pilot. Although many people are aware that Benjamin Franklin served as the first Postmaster General, the USPS also employed Abraham Lincoln before he became president. Other notable postal employees include funnyman Steve Carell, businessman Conrad Hilton and Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Owls

 Because all raptors are protected by state, federal, and international law, private individuals are prohibited from keeping a native owl as a pet without a falconry license. They may only be possessed by trained, licensed individuals while undergoing rehabilitation, as "foster parents" in a rehabilitation facility, in a breeding program, or for educational purposes. Even in these instances, the person licensed to keep the owl does not "own" the bird. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service retains "stewardship" of the birds so that they may recall them at any time if permit conditions are not being met.

Scarab Beetles

 

Several kinds of beetle, most notably Scarabaeus sacer (often known as the sacred scarab), were considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians.

The picture of a beetle is used in Egyptian hieroglyphic script to signify a triliteral phonetic that Egyptologists translate as xprw or hpr(w) and means "to come into being," "to become," or "to transform." Depending on the context, the derivative term xprw or hpr(w) is translated as "shape," "transformation," "happening," "way of being," or "what has come into being." It could be significant in terms of existential, fictional, or otologic terms. The scarab was associated with Khepri, the god of the rising sun ("he who has come into being"). The dung beetle was thought to be only male-sexed and reproduced by depositing semen inside a dung ball, according to the ancients. The beetle's alleged self-creation matches that of Khepri, who builds himself from nothing. Furthermore, a dung beetle's dung ball mimics the sun.

Khepri, according to the ancient Egyptians, renewed the sun every day before rolling it above the horizon, then carried it into the other realm after sunset, only to renew it the following day. A tripartite depiction of the sun god, with the beetle as a sign of the morning sun, can be found in certain New Kingdom royal tombs. The nightly "death" and "rebirth" of the sun is depicted in the astronomical ceiling of Ramses VI's tomb as the sun being swallowed by Nut, goddess of the sky, and re-emerging from her womb as Khepri.

The scarab is a symbol of metamorphosis, renewal, and resurrection that appears frequently in ancient Egyptian religious and funerary art.  

Robin Williams' Roommate at Juilliard

 Both Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve received their training at Juilliard, a performing arts college in New York City, in the early 1970s. While pursuing their degrees that would lead to successful Hollywood careers, Williams and Reeve became best friends and roommates. On the surface, they seemed to have little in common. Reeve noted, "We clicked right away because we were exact opposites." The friends made a pact that whoever first broke through as an actor would help the other. Although neither performer is still with us today, the comedian and 'Superman' star struck up a death-do-us-part friendship that would last decades.

Count

 

Count is a historical title of nobility in some European countries, with varied degrees of relative status and generally occupying a middle position in the nobility system. A count's land was denoted by the etymologically similar English term "county." In the aristocracy structures of several non-European countries, such as hakushaku during the Japanese Imperial Empire, equivalents of the rank of count exist or have existed.

Doctor Hannibal Lecter M.D. is a fictitious Lithuanian-American serial murderer who is known for eating his victims, earning him the moniker "Hannibal the Cannibal." Hannibal Lecter was born in a wealthy aristocratic family in a historic castle in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 1933. His father, simply known as Count Lecter, was a descendent of the warlord "Hannibal the Grim" (1365-1428), who defeated the Teutonic Order at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. He is the eighth generation in his family to carry his ancestor's surname.

The main adversary of A Series of Unfortunate Events and its various adaptations is Count Olaf. He is a crook, mastermind, and serial killer who commands the Volunteer Fire Department's Fire-Starting members. He is a Baudelaire foe who plots to deprive them of the Baudelaire fortune.

The titular character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula is Count Dracula. In succeeding works of fiction, he is regarded as both the prototypical and quintessential vampire. Some features of the character are said to be based on the 15th-century Wallachian Prince Vlad the Impaler, better known as Dracula, and Sir Henry Irving, an actor for whom Stoker worked as a personal assistant.  

Leghorn Chickens

 

Leghorns are a chicken breed from Tuscany in central Italy. Birds were first exported to North America in 1828 from Livorno, on the Tuscan coast. Originally termed "Italians," the breed was renamed "Leghorn" in 1865, an anglicization of "Livorno." The breed arrived in Britain from America in 1870. Many countries employ white Leghorns as layer hens. Other Leghorn species are rare.

The Leghorn's origins are unknown, however it looks to be descended from light Tuscan breeds. They were first shipped to North America from the Tuscan port of Livorno. The first exports were reported in 1828, "about 1830," and 1852. They were called "Italians" until 1865, when they were called "Leghorns" in Worcester, Massachusetts.

American Standard of Perfection 1874 Leghorn, black, white, and brown (light and dark). It was followed in 1886 by rose comb white. Red, black-tailed red, and Columbian followed in 1929. Black, buff, silver and golden duckwing were added in 1981.

The breed was first imported to Britain in 1870, and then re-exported to Italy. White Leghorns from the 1868 New York Show arrived in Britain in 1870, and brown Leghorns in 1872. These birds were little, weighing around 1.6 kg, and were bred with Minorca and Malay stock to gain weight. Gold and silver duckwings evolved in Britain in the 1890s, from crosses with Phoenix or Japanese Yokohama birds. Observations of Buff Leghorns in England began in 1888.  

Detroit Lions NFL Football Team

 The Detroit Lions have hosted the NFL’s Thanksgiving Classic every year since 1945. Detroit was the only team to do so until the Dallas Cowboys began hosting their game in 1966. The format was then changed again in 2006, when the NFL scheduled a third Thanksgiving game that would rotate between different teams to highlight key matchups of that week. In the 71 games that the Detroit Lions have hosted on Thanksgiving Day, they currently have a record of 33 wins, 36 losses and two ties. This year's Thanksgiving opponent, the Green Bay Packers, have played on Thanksgiving Day 33 times, with 13 wins, 18 losses and two ties.

Which Actor Starred in the Ten Commandments?

 

Cecil B. DeMille produced, directed, and narrated The Ten Commandments, a 1956 American epic religious drama film. The Ten Commandments dramatizes the biblical story of Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince who becomes the deliverer of his real brethren, the enslaved Hebrews, and then leads the Exodus to Mount Sinai, where he receives the Ten Commandments from God. It is based on Dorothy Clarke Wilson's 1949 novel Prince of Egypt, J. H. Ingraham's 1859 novel Pillar of Fire, A. E. Southon's 1937 novel On Eagle's Wings Charlton Heston plays the primary role in the picture.

The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1957, including Best Picture and Best Visual Effects, and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (John P. Fulton, A.S.C.). DeMille was named Best Director by the Foreign Language Press Film Critics Circle. Charlton Heston was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture in the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama).

DeMille considered casting a middle-aged man in the part of Moses during the early phases of pre-production. He offered the position to William Boyd, a quinquagenarian actor and star of Hopalong Cassidy, but Boyd declined because he feared his cowboy reputation would interfere with his depiction of Moses. Charlton Heston, who had already worked with DeMille on The Greatest Show on Earth, was finally cast after impressing DeMille (at his audition) with his knowledge of ancient Egypt and his striking similarity to Michelangelo's Moses sculpture. Heston was also cast as God's voice in the form of a flaming bush, albeit his voice was toned down to a softer and lower register.

Who Is the Godmother of Thanksgiving?

 Much of the credit for President Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation should probably go to a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale. Lincoln issued a proclamation designating "a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise" in 1863, capping a 36-year campaign launched by Sarah Hale, a magazine editor who wrote the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb." For more than three decades, Hale had published numerous articles and letters advocating for a national day of Thanksgiving. Hale's September 28, 1963 letter to Lincoln is often cited as the main factor for Lincoln's Proclamation, earning her the nickname, the "Godmother other of Thanksgiving."

What Fruit is Prunes Made From?

 

Prunes are dried plums, usually from the European plum. Prunes cannot be made from all plum species or types. Prunes are the firm-fleshed fruits (plums) of Prunus domestica cultivars with a high soluble solids content that do not ferment when dried. The term "prune" is no longer used for fresh plums, save when referring to plum cultivars grown for drying.

The majority of prune cultivars are freestone cultivars (the pit is easy to remove), but the majority of plums grown for fresh consumption are clingstone varieties (the pit is more difficult to remove).

Prunes include 64 percent carbohydrates, including dietary fiber, 2 percent protein, are high in vitamin K, and have a moderate amount of B vitamins and minerals. The laxative effect associated with eating prunes is most likely due to the sorbitol concentration of dietary fiber. Sugar plums are not made from boiling plums or prunes, despite their name.

The Food and Drug Administration gave plum producers in the United States permission to call prunes "dry plums" in 2001. Some distributors ceased using the word "prune" on container labels in favor of "dry plums" due to a perception that prunes treat constipation (seen as disparaging).  

Were Forks Used at the First Thanksgiving Dinner?

 According to what traditionally is known as "The First Thanksgiving," the 1621 feast between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag at Plymouth Colony contained waterfowl, venison, ham, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin, and squash. There is no definitive proof they ate turkey, and sweet potatoes were not yet grown in North America. The pilgrims didn't use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers. Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts introduced the fork 10 years later, but it did not really catch on until the 18th century.

Thomas Edison Inventions

 

The first strand of electric lights was created by Thomas Edison, the developer of the first successful practical light bulb. During Christmas 1880, strands of lights were hung outside his Menlo Park, New Jersey, laboratory, providing the first glimpse of an electrical light display to railroad travelers commuting by. Electric Christmas lights, on the other hand, would take nearly 40 years to become a tradition.

Families used candles to illuminate their Christmas trees before electric Christmas lights became popular. This was a risky technique that resulted in numerous house fires. Edison's buddy and associate Edward H. Johnson put together the first string of electric lights for a Christmas tree in 1882. He wound 80 red, white, and blue light bulbs around his Christmas tree by hand. The tree was not only illuminated by electricity, but it also rotated.

However, the rest of the world was not yet ready for electrical illumination, since many people still had reservations about it. When President Grover Cleveland requested that the White House family Christmas tree be illuminated by hundreds of colorful electric light bulbs in 1895, some credit him for encouraging the introduction of indoor electric Christmas lights.

Electric strands of lights may have been invented originally by Thomas Edison and Edward H. Johnson. Albert Sadacca, whose family owned a novelty lighting company, saw a business opportunity in selling them. Albert proposed that the company sell vividly colored strands of Christmas lights to the public when he was still a youngster in 1917. Albert and his brothers then formed the National Outfit Manufacturers Association Electric Company, which became the National Outfit Manufacturers Association Electric Company. Until the 1960s, it had a monopoly on the Christmas light market.

Brigham Young

 Brigham Young was an religious leader and politician. He was the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877. Young founded Salt Lake City and served as the first governor of the Utah Territory. Young also worked to establish the learning institutions which would later become the University of Utah and Brigham Young University. Young was a polygamist who had fifty-five wives and fathered fifty-seven children. Many of his wives were widows or elderly women for whom he merely cared or gave the protection of his name.

Bruce Springsteen

 

Bruce Springsteen is a singer, songwriter, and musician from the United States. He has twenty studio albums to his credit, many of which feature his E Street Band as his backup band. Springsteen has been known for his poetic, socially concerned lyrics and passionate stage performances, which may run up to four hours, during the course of his five-decade career. 

Springsteen was born and raised in Freehold, New Jersey, in a mill town where his father worked as a laborer. Springsteen became a solo singer-songwriter in 1972 after an apprenticeship in bar bands throughout the mid-Atlantic coast. He auditioned for talent scout John Hammond, Sr., who promptly signed him to Columbia Records. Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, both released in 1973, reflect folk rock, soul, and rhythm-and-blues influences, particularly Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, and Stax/Volt Records. 

Springsteen's rough baritone voice, which he used to shout on up-tempo numbers and to a more sensual effect on slower songs, was showcased well there, but his sometimes spectacular guitar playing, which ranged from dense power chord effects to straight 1950s rock and roll, had to be toned down to fit the singer-songwriter format. 

Around the time of his signing, is when he acquired the nickname "the Boss", as he took on the task of collecting his band's nightly pay and distributing it amongst his bandmates.

Springsteen developed into a full-fledged rock and roller with his third album, Born to Run (1975), largely influenced by Phil Spector and Roy Orbison. By then, he was most known for his three- and four-hour stage concerts with his E Street Band, which mixed rock, folk, and soul with dramatic intensity and flamboyant comedy. Springsteen's position as the top writer-performer of his rock-and-roll time was cemented with Born in the U.S.A. (1984) and his subsequent 18-month world tour.

Springsteen's albums during this time period, beginning with Tunnel of Love (1987) and encompassing Human Touch and Lucky Town reflect the other side of his career (released simultaneously in 1992). Those CDs contain songs that are deep personal reflections on intimate relationships. 

Lou Costello

 In his hometown of Patterson, New Jersey, stands a life-size bronze statue of comic legend Lou Costello, titled "Lou's On First." The landmark is marked with an entryway sign for "Lou Costello Memorial." Lou was born in Paterson in 1906. Costello dropped out of high school to team up with Bud Abbott to form what would become the most popular comedy duo of the 1940s and early 1950s. The baseball bat held by Costello in the statue is a nod to their famous "Who's on First?" routine. Abbott, the duo's straight man, was also from New Jersey; his hometown of Asbury Park has yet to honor him with a statue.

Vicky Lawrence as "Mama" Thelma Harper

 

Vicki Lawrence is an American actress, comedian, and pop music singer best remembered for her roles on CBS's The Carol Burnett Show, where she appeared for the whole run from 1967 to 1978. Thelma Harper/Mama, the cruel, uncaring mother of the neurotic, unfortunate Eunice (Burnett), was one of these characters, despite the fact that Lawrence is 16 years younger than Burnett. On NBC and then in first-run syndication, Thelma Harper was the principal character of the television situation comedy series Mama's Family. She also starred in The Cool Kids, a Fox sitcom.

Lawrence has been nominated for many Emmy Awards and has won one in 1976. She has also been nominated for many Golden Globes, all for her work on The Carol Burnett Show. Lawrence has reprised her iconic Thelma Harper/Mama character in a number of post-Family Mama's guest TV appearances. Lawrence made an appearance in a special sketch for Betty White's 2nd Annual 90th Birthday on February 5, 2013. Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show, which she hosts on a regular basis, is an untelevised stage show.

With "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia," she became a one-hit wonder in the United States in 1973. It topped the charts in both the United States and Canada.

Politicians Who Hosted SNL

 The only host of Saturday Night Live who went on to become President of the United States is Donald Trump, who hosted in 2004 and 2015. Al Gore, who hosted in 2002, is the only former vice president to host the show. Other presidential candidates that served as hosts include Ralph Nader (1977), Jesse Jackson and George McGovern (both 1984), Steve Forbes (1996), Rudy Giuliani (1997), John McCain (2002), and Al Sharpton (2003). Although not a host, Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren have all made appearances on the show in 2008, 2015, 2016, and 2020, respectively.

Iris

 

The iris is a flat, ring-shaped membrane behind the cornea of the eye with a pupil in the center that may be adjusted. This is the structure that determines a person's eye color. The iris, along with the pupil, is responsible for controlling the amount of light that enters the eye.

Vision can be hampered by too much or too little light. If there is too much light, the muscular iris shrinks the pupil, and if there isn't enough, it widens it. This is a brain-controlled, involuntary function. Connective tissue and smooth muscle fibers make up almost all of the iris.

Contrary to popular opinion, genuine iris color changes are uncommon. While an eye's color may appear to vary, this is usually due to changes in lighting or perception based on neighboring colors. Eye color is determined by the quantity of pigment in the iris. The eye appears blue when there is very little pigment. The color changes from deep brown to black as the pigment level rises.

Emmental, Roquefort and Ricotta

 

Emmental, Roquefort and Ricotta are various types of cheeses that come from different regions of the world.

Emmental is a yellow, medium-hard Swiss cheese that originated in the Emmental district of the canton of Bern. It's referred to as a Swiss or Alpine cheese. Emmental was first referenced in written documents in 1293, but it wasn't until 1542 that it was given its current name. It has a flavorful but not overpowering flavor.

Roquefort is a blue cheese made from sheep's milk that originated in Southern France. It is one of the most well-known blue cheeses in the world. Despite the fact that comparable cheeses are made elsewhere, EU legislation states that only those aged in Roquefort-sur-natural Soulzon's Combalou caves are allowed to use the name Roquefort, as it is a protected geographical indicator.

Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese created from whey left over from the making of other cheeses from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk. It's manufactured the same way as other whey cheeses by coagulating the proteins left over after casein has been used to form cheese, namely albumin and globulin. 

Epidermis

 

The epidermis is the outermost of the skin's three layers, with the dermis and hypodermis being the innermost. The epidermis layer protects the body against infection by pathogens in the environment and regulates the quantity of water lost to the atmosphere through transepidermal water loss.

The epidermis is made up of many layers of flattened cells that sit on top of a base layer (stratum basale) made up of perpendicularly aligned columnar cells. The basal layer's stem cells give rise to the layers of cells. The human epidermis, particularly a stratified squamous epithelium, is a well-known example of epithelium.

All of the body's surfaces are covered by skin. An average adult's skin weighs 8-10 pounds and covers around 22 square feet. The aim of this organ is to protect the body from damage, infection, heat, and cold, as well as to store water, fat, and vitamins. Every four weeks or so, the human skin gets renewed.

Considering your skin as an organ rather than a tool to be used and abused puts things in perspective. Your skin is a remarkably durable organ that, for the most part, can withstand almost any sort of abuse. The body's barrier is the skin, which is robust enough to withstand all kinds of environmental assaults while also being delicate enough to feel a breeze. 

7 Dwarfs

 

The Seven Dwarfs first appeared in the 1812 fairy tale "Snow White." They were first given individual names in the 1912 Broadway play Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and then given different names in Walt Disney's 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Every morning, the dwarfs leave their tiny cottage and march to the mine singing "Heigh-Ho" where they dig for diamonds. Each dwarf has a specific job: Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, and Sneezy dig to unearth diamonds; Sleepy collects the diamonds in a mine cart and transports them to Doc, who determines which diamonds should be kept; rejected diamonds are swept up and thrown away by Dopey.

U.S. Whitehouse

 

The structure was formerly known as the "President's Palace," "Presidential Mansion," or "President's House." In official circumstances, the name "Executive Mansion" was used until President Theodore Roosevelt established the formal name in 1901 by having "White House–Washington" engraved on the stationery. 

The White House is the president of the United States' official house and workplace. It has been the home of every US president since John Adams in 1800, and is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. The phrase "White House" is frequently used to refer to the president and his or her aides.

James Hoban, an Irish-born architect, created the home in the neoclassical style. Hoban based the structure on Leinster House in Dublin, which now houses the Irish legislature, the Oireachtas. Between 1792 and 1800, Aquia Creek sandstone painted white was used in the construction. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he erected low colonnades on either wing to hide stables and storage (with the help of architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe). The mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington in 1814, during the War of 1812, destroying the interior and charring much of the façade. Reconstruction began almost quickly, and in October 1817, President James Monroe moved into the partially rebuilt Executive Residence. The semi-circular South portico and the North portico were added to the outside in 1824 and 1829, respectively.

Polyglot

 

Polyglots are people who speak numerous languages as a pastime or as a profession. A multilingual individual is someone who can actively communicate in multiple languages (through speaking, writing, or signing). Multilingual persons can write in any language they speak, although they can't always write in the same language they speak. Bilingual and trilingual people, on the other hand, are those who are in similar settings involving two or three languages, respectively. At least one language, the so-called first language, has been acquired and retained by multilingual speakers since childhood. The first language (also known as the mother tongue) is learned without formal education, through mechanisms that are hotly debated. Simultaneous bilinguals are children who learn two languages simultaneously. Even among simultaneous bilinguals, one language usually takes precedence over the other.

The concept of a "native speaker" is intimately linked to first language acquisition in linguistics. Linguists agree that a natural speaker of a language has a level of skill that a second (or subsequent) language learner cannot readily achieve. As a result, descriptive empirical language studies are typically conducted with just native speakers. This viewpoint is, however, somewhat problematic, given that many non-native speakers not only successfully engage with and in their non-native language societies, but may also contribute culturally and linguistically to their non-native language (as writers, politicians, media personalities, and performing artists, for example). Linguistic research has recently focused on the usage of widely spoken world languages, such as English, as a lingua franca or shared common language within professional and commercial communities. Most speakers of the common language are functionally multilingual in lingua franca contexts. 

A&W Rootbeer

 

In 1919, Roy W. Allen opened a roadside root beer stand in Lodi, California, using a formula that he had purchased from a pharmacist. The following year, Allen teamed up with Frank Wright and combined their initials to create the A&W brand. In 1924, Allen bought Wright out of the business and began selling restaurant franchises — creating one of the first restaurant chains in the United States. It is a popular misconception that the initials were derived from Alice and J. Willard Marriott. This mistake stems from the fact that Marriott's first business, was an A&W franchise he purchased in Washington, D.C.

Gladiator

 

Gladiator is a 2000 epic historical drama film written by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson and directed by Ridley Scott. DreamWorks Pictures and Universal Pictures collaborated on the film's production and distribution. The film was distributed in North America by DreamWorks Pictures, while it was released worldwide by United International Pictures on behalf of Universal Pictures. Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed (in his penultimate appearance), Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel, Richard Harris, and Tommy Flanagan are among the cast members. Crowe plays Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman general who is deceived when Commodus, Emperor Marcus Aurelius' ambitious son, murders his father and seizes the throne. Maximus is sold into slavery and becomes a gladiator, rising through the ranks of the arena to avenge the assassinations of his family and emperor.

Gladiator had its world debut on May 1, 2000, in Los Angeles, and was released in theaters in Australia on May 4, the United States on May 5, and the United Kingdom on May 11, 2000. Critics praised the acting (especially Crowe and Phoenix's), Scott's direction, graphics, storyline, action sequences, musical score, and production qualities of the picture. It was a box office hit, generating $187.7 million in the US and $457 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of the year. The film won a total of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Crowe, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects at the 73rd Academy Awards. At the 54th British Academy Film Awards, it won four BAFTAs for Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Editing. Gladiator has also been credited with revolutionizing the sword-and-sandal genre and rekindling interest in ancient Greece and Rome-themed entertainment, such as the television series Rome, after its premiere. 

Ground Rule Double

 

A ground rule double in baseball is an award of two bases to all baserunners, including the batter-runner, as a result of the ball leaving play after being hit fairly and leaving the field under a condition of the ground rules in place at the game's location. A ground rule double occurs when a batted ball hits the ground in fair territory and lands out of play due to some distinctive feature of the grounds, most usually by bouncing over a fence or wall in the outfield.

Any baserunners ahead of the batter are entitled to advance two bases from their positions at the time of pitch when two bases are given by ground rule or league-wide rule. They may not move any further. Because a fast runner beginning from first base must halt at third base, this can sometimes deny a team a run. A sluggish runner on second base immediately scores on a ground rule double, which can be an advantage.

Home runs were previously counted on all batted balls that cleared the fence after a bounce in fair area or on a fly. The American League amended the regulation prior to the 1930 season, and the National League followed suit on December 12, 1930. 

Postcard

 

Before the internet, the smartphone, and Instagram it was a lot harder for people to share their travel adventures. In fact, when postcards were initially introduced, the average person didn't even own a camera. You simply can’t beat the personal touch of a handwritten postcard. The standard size of a postcard is 6 x 4 inches. A U.S Postal Service—regular postcard stamp currently costs $0.40 and will get your postcard to anywhere in the United States. Mailing a postcard is less expensive than mailing a letter, so if you don’t mind the postman reading your message you can save yourself eighteen cents.

Harry Houdini

 

Harry Houdini, one of the world's most famous magician, died on Halloween in 1926 from peritonitis and a ruptured appendix.

Harry Houdini was a famous escape artist, illusionist, stunt performer, and mysteriarch who was born in Hungary. He originally gained notoriety in vaudeville in the United States, and then on a tour of Europe as "Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini," where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. He soon added chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets submerged, and escaping from and holding his breath inside a sealed milk container with water to his repertoire.

Thousands watched in awe in 1904 as he attempted to break free from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror, which kept them waiting for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and barely managed to fight his way to the top before collapsing in a state of near-death. While many people felt the escapes were staged, Houdini portrayed himself as the scourge of imposters. He was keen to protect professional standards and expose fraudulent performers as President of the Society of American Magicians. He was also quick to sue anyone who tried to copy his daring escapes. 

Plymouth Rock Massachusetts

 

The legendary landing place of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims, who founded Plymouth Colony in December 1620, is Plymouth Rock. The Pilgrims did not mention Plymouth Rock in any of their writings; the first recorded reference to it dates from 1715, when it was described as "a big rock" in the town border documents. Old Thomas Faunce made the first documented allegation that Plymouth Rock was the landing spot of the Pilgrims in 1741, 121 years after the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth.

The granite was broken in half during an attempt to transport it to Plymouth's Town Square in 1774. In 1834, a part of the statue was transported from Town Square to Pilgrim Hall Museum. In 1880, it was reunited with the remaining portion of the rock, which was remained on the beach of Plymouth Harbor. At the time, the year 1620 was engraved. The rock is currently protected by a McKim, Mead & White-designed granite canopy.

While the original Pilgrims may never have visited Plymouth Rock, it still attracts people of all kinds, even today. It attracts upwards of a million visitors each year. Sure, the stone's little size and hazy historical provenance are a letdown, but thanks must also be given that such a massive icon of America has survived for so many years. 

Tic-Tac-Toe's Tie Game

 

 If you know what you are doing, you can't lose at Tic-Tac-Toe. If your opponent knows what they are doing, you can't win at Tic-Tac-Toe. If both players are playing with an optimal strategy, every game will end in a tie. In all other cases, the player that goes first wins 58.7% of the time, the player who moves second wins 28.2% of the time, and 13.1% of the games end in a tie. A tie in Tic-Tac-Toe is called a cat’s game. The term is thought to stem from the idea that a cat cannot catch its own tail just like a player in tic-tac-toe cannot win a game that is already tied.

Barbara Feldon: Get Smart's Agent 99

 

Barbara Feldon plays "Agent 99" in the TV show "Get Smart." She acted alongside comic Don Adams, who played Secret Agent 86 Maxwell Smart. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1968 and 1969, and she played the part for the whole run of the show from 1965 to 1970.

Get Smart is an American comedy television series that parodies the secret agent genre, which became popular in the early 1960s thanks to the introduction of James Bond films. Mel Brooks and Buck Henry devised the show, which premiered on NBC on September 18, 1965. Agent Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) is played by Don Adams (who also directed the series), Agent 99 is played by Barbara Feldon, and Thaddeus the Chief is played by Edward Platt. They produced the show at Daniel Melnick's request to capitalize on James Bond and Inspector Clouseau, "the two biggest things in the entertainment world today," according to Henry. "An absurd blend of James Bond and Mel Brooks comedy," Brooks said.

In 1969, the show moved from ABC to CBS. It aired for five seasons, from May 15, 1970, to May 15, 1970, with a total of 138 episodes. The show is remembered by the Museum of Broadcast Communications for "expanding the parameters for the presentation of comedy on television." 

Taoism

 

Taoism is a Chinese philosophical and spiritual tradition that focuses on living in accordance with the Tao. The Tao is the source, pattern, and substance of all that exists in Taoism. Taoism teaches about the different disciplines that might be used to achieve "perfection" by becoming one with the unplanned rhythms of the universe, which are referred to as "the way" or "Tao." Taoist ethics differ by school, but in general, they emphasize wu wei (intentionless action), "naturalness," simplicity, spontaneity, and the Three Treasures: "compassion," "frugality," and "humility."

Taoism has roots dating back to the 4th century BCE. Early Taoism derived its cosmological ideas from the School of Yinyang (Naturalists) and was profoundly affected by the I Ching (Yi Jing), one of China's oldest scriptures, which expounds a philosophical system about how to keep human behavior in harmony with nature's alternating cycles. Shen Buhai, a "Legalist" who preached wu wei realpolitik, could have also been a big influence. Together with Zhuangzi's later publications, the Tao Te Ching, a short book containing teachings attributed to Lao Tzu, is often regarded as the foundational work of the Taoist tradition.

The Taoist tradition is now one of the five official religious doctrines of the People's Republic of China. It is also a major religion in Taiwan, with followers in a variety of different societies, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia.

Oprah Winfrey's "You Get a Car" Episode

 On September 13, 2004, TV talk-show host Oprah Winfrey gave away a brand-new Pontiac G6 sedan, worth $28,500, to everyone in her studio audience: a total of 276 cars in all. Oprah had told her producers to fill the crowd with people who “desperately needed” the cars, and when she announced the prize (by jumping up and down and yelling "You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!”), mayhem–crying, screaming and delirium broke out all around her. The "You get a car" episode became one of the biggest promotional stunts in the history of television.

Florida-Full of Flowers

 

In 1513, explorer Ponce de Leon gave the state of Florida its name. The word "Florida" is derived from the Spanish word "florido," which meaning "flowery" or "full of flowers." Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León became the first known European to make landfall, calling the region by that name due to its lush greenery and the Easter season.  With the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, founded in 1565, being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the continental United States, Florida became the first location in the continental United States to be permanently colonized by Europeans. Florida was contested by Spain and the United Kingdom several times before being given to the United States in 1819; it became the 27th state on March 3, 1845. The Seminole Wars (1816–1858), the longest and most extensive of the Indian Wars in American history, were fought mostly in Florida. On January 10, 1861, the state seceded from the Union, becoming one of the seven initial Confederate States. On June 25, 1868, Florida was returned to the Union following the Civil War.

Florida's climate ranges from subtropical to tropical in the north and south. It is the only state in the continental United States with both a tropical climate (near the lowest extremity of the peninsula) and a coral reef, aside from Hawaii. As a result, Florida is home to multiple distinct ecosystems, the most famous of which is Everglades National Park, the largest tropical wilderness in the United States and one of the largest in the Americas. The American alligator, American crocodile, American flamingo, Roseate spoonbill, Florida panther, bottle-nose dolphin, and manatee are among the region's unique species. The Florida Reef is the world's third-largest coral barrier reef system and the only extant coral barrier reef in the continental United States (after the Great Barrier Reef and Belize Barrier Reef).

The state's huge population and economy give it significant clout in national politics; it has been a prominent battleground in presidential elections since the late twentieth century, most notably in 2000. Miami is regarded as a global metropolis, along with Orlando and Tampa. 

Laika-Soviet Space Dog

 

Laika was a Soviet space dog that was one of the first animals to travel to space and orbit the Earth. Laika, a stray mongrel from Moscow's streets, was chosen as the first occupant of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2, which was launched into low orbit on November 3, 1957.  

At the time of Laika's voyage, nothing was understood about the effects of spaceflight on live organisms, and the technology to de-orbit had not yet been invented, therefore Laika's survival was never predicted. Because some scientists feared that humans would not be able to survive the launch or the harsh environment of space, engineers saw animal expeditions as an essential prelude to human missions. The goal of the experiment was to show that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and surviving in a micro-g environment, paving the door for human spaceflight and providing scientists with some of the first data on how living beings react to micro-g situations.

Russian officials raised a monument to Laika on April 11, 2008. In her honor, a tiny monument was erected at the Moscow military research complex that developed Laika for her space mission. It featured a dog perched on a rocket. She is also shown on the Monument to the Space Conquerors in Moscow. 

Back to the Future-DeLorean

 

Marty McFly and Doc Brown were transported to the future in a DeLorean DMC-12 sports car. The DeLorean was the brainchild of John Z. DeLorean, an automobile engineer who founded the DeLorean Motor Company. A total of 9,200 automobiles were produced, consisting of three model years: 1981, 1982, and 1983. In 1982, the DeLorean Motor Company filed for bankruptcy, only days after its founder, John DeLorean, was arrested on drug trafficking charges. Though its production was short-lived, the car became widely known when it was featured as the time machine in the Back to the Future film franchise.

Scurvy

 

Scurvy is an illness caused by a deficiency in vitamin C. Weakness, fatigue, and painful arms and legs are early signs of deficiency. Reduced red blood cells, gum problems, hair changes, and skin bleeding may occur if left untreated. Scurvy can cause poor wound healing, personality changes, and death from infection or bleeding as it progresses.

During the Age of Sail, it was estimated that 50% of sailors would succumb to scurvy during a long voyage. In 1753, James Lind, a Scottish surgeon in the Royal Navy, is widely credited for establishing that scurvy may be successfully cured with citrus fruit. Nonetheless, it took health reformers like Gilbert Blane until 1795 to persuade the Royal Navy to administer lemon juice to its men on a regular basis.  

Before symptoms appear, it takes at least a month of eating little or no vitamin C. Scurvy is especially common in those with mental illnesses, strange eating habits, drunkenness, and elderly people who live alone in modern times. Intestinal mal-absorption and dialysis are two further risk factors. Humans and a few other species do not manufacture vitamin C on their own. Vitamin C is necessary for the formation of collagen's building blocks. Physical signs, X-rays, and improvement following treatment are commonly used to make a diagnosis.

When compared to other dietary deficits, scurvy is a rare occurrence. It is more common in developing countries and is linked to malnutrition. According to reports, refugee rates range from 5% to 45 percent. Scurvy has been documented from the time of ancient Egypt. It was a stumbling block to long-distance marine transport, which killed a large number of people. 

Million Dollar Baby

 

Million Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored, and starring Clint Eastwood, based on short stories by F.X. Toole, the pen name of fight manager and cutman Jerry Boyd, and based on a screenplay written by Paul Haggis. Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank also star in the film.

The story is about Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald is an Ozarks waitress who turns up at the Hit Pit, a run-down Los Angeles gym owned and maintained by Frankie Dunn. Dunn is a grumpy Irish-American trainer who has just announced that he is estranged from his daughter. Maggie asks Frankie to coach her, but he declines since he doesn't train women and Maggie is too elderly to start boxing. Frankie's buddy and coworker, Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris, who also serves as the film's narrator, supports and assists Maggie.

Clint Eastwood plays Frankie Dunn, an aging boxing trainer who is grumpy yet well-intentioned. Mary Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald, played by Hilary Swank, is a determined wannabe boxer who is taught by Frankie Dunn. Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris, Dunn's gym assistant, is played by Morgan Freeman; an aging former boxer, he was blinded in one eye in his 109th and final battle. 

Stayin' Alive

 

The Bee Gees wrote and performed "Stayin' Alive" for the Saturday Night Fever motion picture soundtrack. The song was released in 1977 as the second single from the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever. Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson collaborated on the song's production. It's one of the Bee Gees' most well-known tunes. "Stayin' Alive" was ranked No. 189 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list in 2004. "Stayin' Alive" was ranked No. 99 on the new Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs list in 2021. It was named No. 9 on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs poll of top movie songs in 2004. It was rated fifth in "The Nation's Favorite Bee Gees Song" in a UK television poll on ITV in December 2011.

"Stayin' Alive" climbed the charts quickly after its debut, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in a row on February 4, 1978. As a result, it became one of the band's most well-known songs, thanks in part to its inclusion in the opening credits of Saturday Night Fever. It was the second of six consecutive number-one singles in the United States, tying the Beatles for the most consecutive number ones in the country at the time (a record broken by Whitney Houston who achieved seven consecutive number-ones).

"Stayin' Alive" was utilized in a study to teach medical workers how to conduct CPR with the proper number of chest compressions per minute. The music is close to 104 beats per minute, while the British Heart Foundation and the Resuscitation Council recommend 100–120 chest compressions per minute (UK). A study of medical professionals discovered that thinking about "Stayin' Alive" improves the quality of CPR. The song was imitated in the Season 5 episode "Stress Relief" of the comedy series The Office, and it was featured in a season 11 episode of the medical drama Grey's Anatomy in 2015. 

Blue Suede Shoes

 

Elvis Presley was a singer and actor from the United States. He is known as the "King of Rock and Roll" and is considered one of the most important cultural symbols of the twentieth century. His energizing interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, along with a uniquely potent blend of inspirations spanning color lines during a pivotal period in racial relations, led to both immense success and initial controversy.

"Blue Suede Shoes" was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1956 and is the first tune on his self-titled first album. On national television, Presley performed his version of the song three times. It was also covered by Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, and a slew of other artists.  

It was standard practice in the 1940s and 1950s to record and release cover versions of popular songs, often in different styles or genres. RCA Victor intended to promote Elvis Presley as a rock-and-roll artist, and he thought a Presley rendition of "Blue Suede Shoes" would outsell the Carl Perkins/Sun Records original, especially given RCA's distribution and radio contacts. Presley was hesitant to record a competing version because he was signed to Sun Records and knew Perkins and Phillips. He eventually agreed to record the song in exchange for the label delaying the single's release. Scotty Moore plays two guitar solos in Presley's version, which also features Bill Black on bass and D.J. Fontana on drums. 

Claustrophobia

 

Claustrophobia is a terror of being trapped in small spaces. It is caused by a variety of conditions and stimuli, including packed elevators, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with locked doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms with a lock on the outside, compact cars, and clothing with a tight neck can trigger claustrophobia. It's usually categorized as an anxiety disorder, and it frequently leads to panic episodes. Many factors have been linked to the start of claustrophobia, including a reduction in the size of the amygdala and classical conditioning.

According to one study, severe claustrophobia affects 5-10% of the global population, although only a small number of these people obtain therapy.

For most anxiety disorders, cognitive therapy is a commonly regarded treatment option. It's also regarded to be particularly beneficial in treating problems where the patient doesn't fear the circumstance itself, but rather the consequences of being in it. Cognitive therapy's ultimate goal is to change distorted thinking or misconceptions about whatever is being feared; the theory is that changing these thoughts will reduce anxiety and avoidance of particular situations. For example, cognitive therapy can try to persuade a claustrophobic patient that elevators aren't scary and can actually help you get where you want to go faster. According to a study conducted by S.J. Rachman, cognitive therapy reduced fear and negative thoughts/connotations by roughly 30% in claustrophobic patients examined, demonstrating that it is a reasonable successful treatment. 

Churros

 

A churro is a fried dough dish that originated in Spanish and Portuguese cuisine. They can also be found in Latin American and Philippine cuisines, as well as in other locations where immigrants from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking nations have settled, such as the Southwestern United States and France.

Churros can be narrow (and sometimes knotted) or long and thick in Spain, where they are referred to as porras or jeringos in some areas. They're usually served with champurrado, hot chocolate, dulce de leche, or café con leche for breakfast. Cinnamon sugar is frequently strewn on top.

In Portugal, there are two slightly distinct appetizers called porra and fartura, which are filled with jelly rather than the doce de leite found in Brazilian churros. 

New York Jets

 

The New York Jets are an American football professional team situated in the New York metropolitan area. The New York Jets are a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) East division of the National Football League (NFL). The Jets play their home games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 5 miles (8.0 km) west of New York City (shared with the New York Giants). Florham Park, New Jersey is the team's headquarters. Under the moniker New York Jets, LLC, the franchise is legally formed as a limited liability business.

The Titans of New York were created in 1959 as an original member of the American Football League (AFL), and eventually joined the NFL after the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The Polo Grounds hosted the team's first game in 1960. The current name was adopted in 1963 under new ownership, and the franchise relocated to Shea Stadium in 1964, then to the Meadowlands Sports Complex in 1984. In 1968, the Jets made the playoffs for the first time and went on to upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, becoming the first AFL team to defeat an NFL team in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game. The Jets have made the playoffs 13 times since 1968, including four times in the AFC Championship Game, most recently falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010. The Jets, however, have never returned to the Super Bowl, making them one of only two NFL teams to win their lone Super Bowl appearance, along with the New Orleans Saints, and one of only four teams to never win an AFC championship (along with the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans). The Jets' drought is the longest among current NFL franchises, aside from the Browns and the Detroit Lions, who have never reached the Super Bowl (despite both winning NFL championships prior to 1966). 

Palace of Versailles

 

The Palace of Versailles is a former royal house in Versailles, France, approximately 12 miles west of Paris. The French Republic owns the palace, which has been managed by the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum, and National Estate of Versailles since 1995, under the leadership of the French Ministry of Culture. Every year, 15,000,000 people visit the Palace, Park, and Gardens of Versailles, making it one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.

King Louis XIII established a hunting lodge on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in 1623, and Louis XIV extended it in three parts from 1661 to 1715. Both kings favored the palace, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles, effectively making the palace the de facto capital of France. Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI maintained this state of affairs, mostly making interior changes to the palace, but the royal family and capital of France returned to Paris in 1789. The Palace of Versailles was entirely abandoned and emptied of its possessions throughout the rest of the French Revolution, while the population of the neighboring city dropped.

Following his conquest of France, Napoleon Bonaparte used Versailles as a summer house from 1810 until 1814, but did not repair it. When the French monarchy was restored, it stayed in Paris, and significant renovations to the palace were not performed until the 1830s. It was converted into a museum of French history, with the flats in the southern wing being demolished.

UNESCO declared the palace and park as a World Heritage Site in 1979 due to its significance as a center of power, art, and science in France throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The palace, its gardens, and several of its auxiliary constructions have been added to the French Ministry of Culture's list of culturally significant monuments.

Sommelier

 

A sommelier, often known as a wine steward, is a trained and skilled wine specialist who specializes in all areas of wine service as well as wine and food pairing in fine restaurants. In today's fine dining, the function of the wine steward is far more specialized and informed than that of a "wine waiter." According to Sommeliers Australia, the function is strategically comparable to that of the chef de cuisine.

A sommelier may be in charge of creating wine lists and books, as well as providing wine service and instruction to other restaurant employees. They pair and suggest wines that will best suit each meal menu item in collaboration with the culinary crew. This necessitates a thorough understanding of how food and wine, beer, spirits, and other beverages interact. A skilled sommelier also works on the restaurant floor, where he or she is in direct touch with customers. The sommelier is responsible for working within the patron's taste preferences and economic constraints.

In today's world, a sommelier's job may entail more than just working with wines; it may also include all areas of the restaurant's service, with an emphasis on wines, beers, spirits, soft drinks, cocktails, mineral waters, and tobaccos.

What Is Eagle Mean in Golf?

 

Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which competitors strike balls into a succession of holes on a course in the fewest number of strokes feasible.

Unlike most ball sports, golf does not have a standardized playing area, and navigating the various terrains seen on different courses is an important component of the game. The game is usually played on a course with an 18-hole ordered sequence, though leisure courses are sometimes smaller, with nine holes. Each hole on the course must have a teeing ground to begin with, as well as a putting green with the actual hole or cup, which must be 4 1/4" in diameter. Other basic terrain types in between include the fairway, rough (long grass), bunkers (or "sand traps"), and different hazards (water, rocks), but each hole on a course is unique in its layout and design.

Individuals or teams compete for the lowest score on the most individual holes in a whole round, known as stroke play, or the lowest score on the most individual holes in a complete round, known as match play. At all levels, but notably at the elite level, stroke play is the most popular format.

Golf as we know it now began in Scotland in the 15th century. In 1764, the Old Course at St Andrews developed the 18-hole round. The Open Championship, often known as the British Open, is golf's first major and the world's oldest tournament. It was originally held in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland. The Masters, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship are the other three major tournaments in men's professional golf, all of which are held in the United States: The Masters, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship.

A birdie occurs when a player achieves a score of one under par on a hole. The term "Eagle" refers to a score of 2 under par. An albatross occurs when a player achieves a score of 3 under par on a hole.

Kentucky: The Bluegrass State

 

Kentucky, formally the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the United States that is bordered to the north by Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, to the east by West Virginia and Virginia, to the south by Tennessee, and to the west by Missouri. The Ohio River defines the Commonwealth's northern contours. Frankfort is the state capital, and Louisville and Lexington are the two major cities. In 2020, the state's population is expected to be around 4.5 million.

On June 1, 1792, Kentucky was admitted to the Union as the 15th state, separating from Virginia in the process. It is known as the "Bluegrass State," a moniker derived from Kentucky bluegrass, a grass species found in many of the state's pastures and which has aided the thoroughbred horse industry in the state's central region.

Mammoth Cave National Park in the state has the world's longest cave system, as well as the longest navigable canals and streams in the contiguous United States and the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River. Horse racing, bourbon, moonshine, coal, the historic state park "My Old Kentucky Home," automobile manufacture, tobacco, bluegrass music, college basketball, Louisville Slugger baseball bats, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the Kentucky colonel are all popular in Kentucky. 

Elvis Presley's Final Concert

Elvis Aaron Presley was a singer and actor from the United States. He is known as the "King of Rock and Roll" and is considered one of the most important cultural symbols of the twentieth century. His energizing interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, along with a uniquely potent blend of inspirations spanning color lines during a pivotal period in racial relations, led to both immense success and initial controversy.

Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and moved to Memphis, Tennessee, when he was 13 years old with his family. In 1954, he began his music career with Sun Records, working with producer Sam Phillips to promote the sound of African-American music to a larger audience. Presley, with lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black on rhythm acoustic guitar, was a pioneer of rockabilly, an up-tempo, backbeat-driven mix of country music and rhythm & blues. Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage Presley for more than two decades, arranged for drummer D. J. Fontana to join the lineup of Presley's classic four in 1955, and RCA Victor bought his contract in a deal negotiated by Colonel Tom Parker. "Heartbreak Hotel," Presley's debut RCA Victor record, was released in January 1956 and became a number-one smash in the United States. RCA would sell 10 million Elvis Presley singles in a year. Presley became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll after a string of successful network television performances and chart-topping singles.

On June 26, 1977, Presley gave his final concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. 

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary

 

The Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary or United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island (often just referred to as Alcatraz or The Rock) was a maximum high-security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) off the coast of San Francisco, California, which operated from August 11, 1934, until March 21, 1963.

The main prison building was built in 1910–1912 during its time as a United States Army military prison; Alcatraz had been the site of a citadel since the 1860s. The United States Disciplinary Barracks, Pacific Branch on Alcatraz had been acquired by the United States Department of Justice on October 12, 1933, and the island became a prison of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in August 1934 after the buildings were modernized to meet the requirements of a top-notch security prison. Given this high security and the location of Alcatraz in the cold waters and strong currents of San Francisco Bay, the prison operators believed Alcatraz to be escape-proof and America's strongest prison.

Alcatraz was designed to hold prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons. One of the world's most notorious and best known prisons over the years, Alcatraz housed some 1,576 of America's most ruthless criminals including Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud (the "Birdman of Alcatraz"), George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Bumpy Johnson, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Mickey Cohen, Arthur R. "Doc" Barker, Whitey Bulger, and Alvin "Creepy" Karpis (who served more time at Alcatraz than any other inmate). It also provided housing for the Bureau of Prisons' staff and their families. A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts during the 29 years of the prison's existence, the most notable of which were the violent escape attempt of May 1946 known as the "Battle of Alcatraz", and the arguably successful "Escape from Alcatraz" by Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin in June 1962 in one of the most intricate escapes ever devised. Faced with high maintenance costs and a poor reputation, Alcatraz closed on March 21, 1963.

The Las Vegas Golden Knights

 

The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team headquartered in Las Vegas. They are a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Golden Knights are the first major sports club to represent Las Vegas, having been founded as an expansion team in 2017. Black Knight Sports & Entertainment, a consortium led by Bill Foley and the Maloof family, owns the franchise. Their home games are held at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, which is located on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Golden Knights are one of the few expansion teams to have rapid success, having qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of their first four seasons and reaching the Stanley Cup Finals.

The team's name incorporates the word "Knights" as a nod to the owner's alma mater, the United States Military Academy's Black Knights, and because knights were "the epitome of the warrior class," according to the owner. The owner had planned to call his squad the Black Knights, but after facing opposition from federal officials, he changed his mind. Due to the London Knights' ownership of the "Knights" moniker in Canada, the owner was forbidden to call the team the "Vegas Knights." 

Billings, Montana

 

With a population of 117,116 as of 2020, Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana. It is the capital of Yellowstone County and the largest city in the Billings Metropolitan Area, which has a projected population of 184,167 in 2020. It has a trade area of nearly 500,000 square kilometres.

Because of its quick expansion after its establishment as a railroad town in March 1882, Billings was dubbed the "Magic City." Billings is the trading and distribution centre for much of Montana east of the Continental Divide, northern Wyoming, and western North Dakota and South Dakota, with one of the largest trade regions in the country. For most of the same area, Billings is also the biggest retail destination.

The city has experienced and continues to experience rapid expansion and a robust economy; it has experienced and continues to experience the most growth of any city in Montana. Parts of the metro area are experiencing rapid expansion. Lockwood, an eastern suburb, grew at a pace of 57.8% from 2000 to 2010, the most of any Montana municipality. Billings escaped both the economic slump and the housing bust that afflicted the rest of the country from 2008 to 2012. The city accommodates a variety of conventions, concerts, athletic events, and other rallies, with more hotel accommodations than any other town within a five-state region. The city's growth rate remained high throughout the shale oil boom, thanks to the Bakken oil development in eastern Montana and western North Dakota, the greatest oil discovery in US history, as well as the Heath shale oil discovery just north of Billings. Although the city is expanding, the rate of growth has slowed significantly as oil prices have fallen in recent years.

Zoo Montana, Yellowstone Art Museum, Pompey's Pillar, Pictograph Cave, and Chief Plenty Coups State Park are among the attractions in and surrounding Billings. The Beartooth Highway connects Red Lodge and Yellowstone National Park and includes the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Red Lodge Mountain Resort, and the Beartooth Highway. Yellowstone National Park's northeast gate is around 100 miles from Billings. 

Frank Sinatra: Strangers in the Night

 

Frank Sinatra made the song popular in 1966, but it was first offered to Melina Mercouri, who declined because she thought a man's vocals would better complement the music.  Bert Kaempfert created the song "Strangers in the Night," which was written in English by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder. It was first recorded as part of the instrumental soundtrack for the film A Man Could Get Killed by Kaempfert under the title "Beddy Bye."  

It was the title song for Frank Sinatra's 1966 album Strangers in the Night, which became his most commercially successful album, reaching #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Easy Listening charts. The song also charted at No. 1 in the United Kingdom.

At the Grammy Awards in 1967, Sinatra's recording earned him the Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Record of the Year, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist or Instrumentalist for Ernie Freeman.

The single was recorded one month before the rest of the album, on April 11, 1966. Glen Campbell played rhythm guitar and Hal Blaine played drums on the album. Blaine claims that he rearranged the renowned drum rhythm from the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" in a slower and softer arrangement. 

The Forbidden City: Beijing, China

 

The Forbidden City is a palace complex located in Beijing's Dongcheng District, in the Imperial City of Beijing. The 54-acre Zhongshan Park, the sacrificial Imperial Ancestral Temple, the 171-acre Beihai Park, and the 57-acre Jingshan Park are among the many lavish imperial gardens and temples that surround it.

From the Ming dynasty (from the Yongle Emperor) through the end of the Qing dynasty, between 1420 and 1924, the Forbidden City served as the old Chinese imperial palace and winter residence of the Emperor of China. For over 500 years, the Forbidden City was the home of Chinese emperors and their families, as well as the ceremonial and political core of the Chinese government. The Palace Museum has been in charge of the Forbidden City since 1925, and its large collection of artwork and antiquities was built on the imperial treasures of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In 1987, the Forbidden City was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There are 980 structures in total, with 8,886 rooms and a total area of 178 acres. The palace epitomizes the richness of the Chinese emperor's homes and traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and it has impacted cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and beyond. UNESCO has designated it as the world's biggest collection of surviving old wooden constructions. The Forbidden City has experienced an average of 14 million visitors per year since 2012, with more than 19 million in 2019. The market value of the Forbidden City has been estimated at US$70 billion, making it both the world's most valuable palace and the world's most valuable piece of real estate.

How Is Sound Measured?

 

Sound is all around us, and it can be measured in order to inform and protect us, as some noises are dangerous. Loud noise, in fact, can be quite harmful to one's hearing.  Hearing loss can be caused by the degree of noise, the distance a person is from the noise (distance from the noise), and the amount of time they listen to it.

Sound is a form of energy that travels in waves and is quantified in terms of frequency and amplitude. The number of sound vibrations in one second is measured by frequency, which is expressed in Hertz (Hz). The decibel (dB) scale is used to measure amplitude, which is a measure of pressure or forcefulness. The louder a sound is, the greater its amplitude.

A logarithmic decibel scale differs from a linear scale in terms of measurement. For example, a 10-fold increase in sound pressure level is equal to a 10 dB rise on the decibel scale (SPL). Near silence is measured in decibels (dB), whereas a sound measured in decibels (dB) is 10 times louder. A sound with a decibel level of 20 is 100 times louder than relative silence.