Friday Fact!

2001
(Updated most every weekend)

Currently FF is distributed to friends and co-workers via E-mail and is updated to this web every weekend. I am working on a Java applet to better present all the FFs on this web .... stay tuned.

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Some of the material contained here has been directly copied from the named sources. It is hoped that the copyright holder will consider it "fair-use" as this site is a non-commercial one. By request, suitable links will be given to any copyright holder or the information will be removed.   All readers are encouraged to consider the purchase of the mentioned sources as I have found them interesting and highly entertaining.

Presbyopia is a vision condition in which the crystalline lens of your eye loses its flexibility, which makes it difficult for you to focus on close objects. Some signs of Presbyopia include the tendency to hold reading materials at arm's length, blurred vision at normal reading distance and eye fatigue along with headaches when doing close work. These symptoms are a natural part of the aging process and usually become noticeable in the early to mid-forties. Presbyopia is not a disease and it cannot be prevented.

Presbyopia can complicate other common vision conditions like nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Treatment includes specialized eyewear such as bifocal or trifocal lenses that can compensate for the condition. Laser surgery will not correct the symptoms but other surgical methods are under investigation.

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Word of The Week

JITNEY - (JIT-nee) - noun

:A small bus that serves a regular route on a flexible schedule Guests at the hotel could ride from its parking lot to the beach in a battered jitney that seated 15 comfortably, but that held 20 or more on most trips.

The purpose of the Great Wall of China, the monumental fortification separating China from Mongolia, was not especially to keep out the Huns from the north. The Huns could easily find places along the stretch that they could scale with ladders. But they couldn't get their horses across. Without their horses, they weren't very effective conquerors.

Source: Isacc Asimov's Book of Facts

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Word Of the Week

TCHOTCHKE - (CHAHCH-kuh) - Noun

Origin - Yiddish / Polish

: knickknack, trinket

I have several tchotchkes on my mantle from all the trips I have recently taken to South America.

The World Trade Center consisted of two 110-story buildings (known as the "Twin Towers") and five smaller buildings. The buildings were light, economical structures designed to keep the wind bracing on the outside surfaces. Architect Minoru Yamasaki studied over a hundred models before adopting the twin tower plan. Plans for a single tower were rejected because the size was cumbersome and impractical. Plans for several towers "looked too much like a housing project," Yamasaki said. The World Trade Center Towers were among the tallest buildings in the world, and contained nine million square feet of office space.

Construction:

+ Tower One was 1,368 feet (414 meters) tall
+ Tower Two was 1,362 feet (412 meters) tall
+ The Tower facades were constructed of aluminum and steel lattice
+ The Tower floors were prefabricated trussed steel, 33 inches deep
+ The Towers used tube construction with closely spaced columns and beams on the outer walls.
+ There were no interior columns in the Tower office spaces
+ The Towers rested on solid bedrock. The foundations extended more than 70 feet below ground.
+ Each tower contained 104 passenger elevators
+ Each tower had 21,800 windows.
+ About 50,000 people worked in the World Trade Center complex

Source: about.com & NYC Visitors Bureau

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I was in the air high above the Amazon Jungle when the planes crashed into the WTC. I heard about the attack from a shocked Brazilian right after landing. I didn't believe what I was told. I thought she was a nut. Sadly, she wasn't.

"Red tape", the rigid application of regulations and routine, resulting in delay in getting business done, got its name from the color of the tape that was commonly used to tie official papers. The term occurs as early as 1658.

Source: Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts

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Word of The Week

MIASMA - (mee-AZ-muh) - noun

1 : a vaporous exhalation formerly believed to cause disease; also : a heavy vaporous emanation or atmosphere

2 : an influence or atmosphere that tends to deplete or corrupt; also : an atmosphere that obscures : fog

Before 1900 golf balls were smooth. Golfers back then discovered that when their golf balls became nicked and scuffed from use, they flew farther. So golfers whipped out their pocket knifes and purposely sabotaged smooth golf balls. In the late 1800's physicists documented the phenomenon. With a smooth ball, air flows nicely around the front, but in the back it gets choppy and turbulent. All of the sudden there's suction or drag holding the ball back. A rough surface breaks up that smooth air column, there's less drag, and the ball stays in the air longer. The difference can add more than 100 yards to a swing.

The first attempt at a commercial golf ball with a rough surface contained outward dimples or "brambles" which actually looked like little pimples. Unfortunately, the brambles broke off or collected mud and grass stuck between them. In 1908 researchers got it right and a patent was issued for the first truly dimpled ball.

Source: American Way Magazine

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Word of The Week

AERIE - (AIR-ee or EER-ee) - noun

1 : the nest of a bird on a cliff or a mountaintop
2 : an elevated often secluded dwelling, structure, or position

Automobile air bags are not inflated from some compressed gas source but rather from the products of a chemical reaction. The chemical at the heart of the air bag reaction is called sodium azide. When this substance is heated it generates Nitrogen gas, which is what inflates the airbag. 

There are sensors in the front of the automobile that detect a collision. These sensors send an electric signal to the canister that contains the sodium azide, and the electric signal detonates a small amount of an igniter compound. The heat from this ignition starts the decomposition of the sodium azide and the generation of nitrogen gas to fill the air bag. What is particularly amazing is that from the time the sensor detects the collision to the time the air bag is fully inflated is only 30 milliseconds, or 0.030 second. Some 50 milliseconds after an accident, the car's occupant hits the air bag and its deflation absorbs the forward-moving energy of the occupant.

Source: Scientific American

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Word of The Week

ONUS - Noun

1 [Latin] a : BURDEN b : a disagreeable necessity : OBLIGATION c : BLAME d : STIGMA
2: BURDEN OF PROOF

In 1965 a little-known engineer named Gordon Moore made an off hand remark about the 4-year-old semiconductor industry he had no idea that his observation would become one of the tech industry's guiding principles and remain relevant all the way into the next century. That comment, now know as Moore's Law, predicted that the number of transistors on a chip would double every 18 to 24 months, driving computing power to increase at an exponential rate. Moore went on to found a small semiconductor company named Intel in 1968, and his law has remained accurate to this day.

Over the past 30 years, the number of transistors on a single chip has increased more than 18,000 times, from 2,300 on the 4004 chip developed in 1971 to 42 million transistors on the Pentium 4 processor on the market today. Far beyond a simple rule of thumb -- as it was intended -- Moore's Law has become a standard for the semiconductor industry, and is still used by scientists, business leaders, and market analysts to forecast technological development and predict the industry's future growth.

Source: TechTV

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Word of The Week

SOLON - (SOH-lun) - noun

1 : a wise and skillful lawgiver
2 : a member of a legislative body

Chicago's DePaul University is a Catholic institution whose sports teams use the nickname "The Blue Demons." When the college was founded in 1898 the board of directors did not choose a mascot or nickname for the schools teams. Players who completed a full year of varsity ball were given sweaters with a large letter "D" on them. People from Chicago began to refer to the players as D-men. Over time D-men metamorphosed into "demon." The school later voted to color its mascot blue to symbolize loyalty and the nickname Blue Demons.

Source: What are Hyenas Laughing at Anyway by David Feldman

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Word of The Week

SERENDIPITY - (ser-en-dip-i-ty) - Noun

: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for

The Zealots were a Jewish religious-political faction, known for their fanatical resistance to Roman rule in Judea during the 1st century AD. They emerged as a distinct political group during the reign (37-4 BC) of Herod the Great. In AD 6, when Judea was put under direct Roman rule and the authorities ordered a census for purposes of taxation, the Zealots, led by Judas of Galilee, called for rebellion. Acknowledging the authority of the pagan Roman emperor, they argued, would mean repudiating the authority of God and submitting to slavery. An extremist group of Zealots, called Sicarii ("dagger men"), adopted terrorist tactics, assassinating Romans and also some prominent Jews who favored cooperation with the Roman authority.

Source: Microsoft Encarta

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Word of The Week

FULSOME - (FULL sum) - Adj

1 : copious, abundant
2 : generous in amount or extent
3 : excessively flattering

Wilbur and Orville Wright were not from North Carolina, as many people believe. The famous aeronautical engineers were raised and lived most of their lives in Dayton Ohio. Neither brother graduated from high school however their keen interest in mathematics and engineering changed the world forever. Through self-study the brothers learned enough to earn a living by designing and manufacturing bicycles. Their interest in aviation came from reading about the trials of a German glider builder during the 1890's.

The brothers set out to design and build their own aircraft. 1n 1900 their first non-powered craft was flown at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Kitty Hawk was chosen for its favorable winds and sand dunes that would provide for a relatively soft landing. Through keen attention to scientific details the pair were able to perfect their designs and eventually add an engine to their craft. On December 17, 1903 the first motorized aircraft was flown at Kitty Hawk. The brothers were granted several patents for the elevator, rudder and wing-warping systems that are still in use today.

There is a fascinating article about the Wright Brothers at this site.

http://www.aero-web.org/history/wright/first.htm

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Word Of the Week

HEW - (HYOO) - verb

1 : to cut or fell with blows (as of an ax)
2 : to give shape to with or as if with an ax
3 : to conform, adhere

The word "assassin" originated as Muslim fanatics who, at the time of the Crusades, pledged themselves to ridding their lands of Christian infidels and other enemies. In preparation for their murderous forays, they would fortify themselves by consuming large quantities of hashish, and thus became known as "hashashin," or "hashish eaters." When the word was imported into English in the 17th century, it was spelled more phonetically, and "assassin" eventually came to mean anyone who commits murder, usually of a public figure, for political, psychological, monetary or religious reasons.

Source: worddetective.com

Volkswagen translates from German into "the people's car" and was the brainchild of German automobile designer Ferdinand Porsche. Porsche designed and built the first prototypes during the early 1930's in the garage of his family's villa near Stuttgart. Adolf Hitler bought into Porsche's idea of an inexpensive vehicle for the "working man". The Nazi's commissioned Diamler-Benz to build 30 more prototype cars and in May 1938 Adolf Hitler personally laid the foundation stone of the first Volkswagen factory located in present day Wolfsburg Germany. The factory was immediately diverted to production of war vehicles but after WW II British occupation authorities began the first production run of the "Beetle" and during the following years more than 20 million cars were produced by the newly formed Volkswagen company.

It is Porsche's son Ferry who is the original designer of the high-speed cars that are often found speeding around racetracks and autobahn's of the world.

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Word of The Week

CROESUS - (KREE-suss) - noun

: a very rich man

John D. Rockefeller became an American Croesus by dominating the oil business in the late 1800s.

The word "Reich" is the German for empire or realm. Historically there have been two periods when Germany was a realm ruled by an emperor (Kaiser).

The first German Reich was called the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation." It began in the 10th century and lasted 850 years until its dissolution in 1806 by Napoleon's conquest of Europe. This Reich was ruled by the dual power of the Kaiser and of the feudal nobles who elected him. From the 15th century on, the Austrian House of Hapsburg supplied the heirs to the throne.

The second German Reich was founded by the German federated states, leaving out Austria, after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. Otto von Bismarck, then Prime Minister of Prussia, played the decisive role in forging the second Reich, which lasted until Kaiser Wilhelm II's abdication in 1918 as a result of World War I.

Adolf Hitler, who became chancellor in 1933, designated National Socialist (Nazi) Germany the "Third Reich." The Third Reich ended when Germany capitulated on May 8, 1945, thus ending World War II. 

Source www.germany-info.org

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Word of The Week

GESUNDHEIT - (guh-ZOONT-hite) - interjection - German

used to wish good health especially to one who sneezed

"Gesundheit!" exclaimed the teacher when Sally gave an explosive sneeze.

Groundhog day originated as Candlemas Day and comes from the early Christians in Europe. For centuries it was the custom to have the clergy bless candles and distribute them to the people. This day marked a milestone in the winter and the weather on that day was important.

According to an old English song:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, winter, have another flight
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go, winter, and come not again.

Roman legions, during the conquest of the northern regions supposedly brought this tradition to the German peoples who picked up on it and concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, an animal, the hedgehog, would cast a shadow thus predicting six more weeks of winter.

As Europeans sailed for the new world they brought with them their beliefs and traditions but left behind the flora and fauna of their homeland. Pennsylvania's earliest European settlers were Germans, the "Pennsylvania Dutch". There were no hedgehogs in Pennsylvania, but they found groundhogs in profusion. The groundhog resembles the European hedgehog, and as it turned out the groundhog, or "woodchuck", already was esteemed by the Indians. It was observed that the groundhog is a most wise and sensible animal. If the sun did appear on Feb. 2nd (Candlemas Day), therefore, he would see his shadow and hurry to his underground home for another six weeks of winter.

Today, Punxsutawney Phil from Punxsutawney, PA is the most noted groundhog weather prognosticator.

Source: www.groundhog.org in Punxsutawney PA & The Enclycopedia Britannica

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Word of The Week

SANS - (sanz) - preposition

Without

My love to thee is sound, sans crack or flaw -- Shakespeare

Vice President Al Gore earned $181,400 last year. Dick Chaney will earn $186,300. The vice president's salary is decided separately from that of the president. Since passage of a 1989 government salary reform act, the vice president's salary has been the same as the chief justice of the United States and the speaker of the House. G. W. Bush will benefit from the first Presidential pay raise in 32 years. 

In 1999 Bill Clinton signed legislation doubling the salary of the next president to $400,000 a year. The president also gets $50,000 for expenses.

Source: Slate magazine

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The most "wired" nation in the world (on a per-capita basis) is Finland, with 244.5 Internet users per 1000 persons.

Source: Guinness World Records 2000

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Word of The Week

UNCOUTH - (uhn-KOOTH) - Adj

1 : strange, awkward, and clumsy in shape or appearance

2 : vulgar in conduct or speech : rude

Julie liked Mitch because he was so rebellious, but in her parents' minds he was disrespectful and uncouth.

The Christian expression "God bless you" often associated with a sneeze began by papal fiat in the sixth century, during the reign of Pope Gregory the Great. A virulent pestilence raged throughout Italy, one foreboding symptom being severe, chronic sneezing. So deadly was the plague that people died shortly after manifesting its symptoms; thus, sneezing became synonymous with imminent death. The Pope beseeched the healthy to pray for the sick and if no one was around the sneezer was advised to exclaim aloud, "God help me!"

Pope Gregory's post-sneeze supplications spread across Europe hand in hand with the plague, and the seriousness with which a sneeze was regarded was captured in a new expression, which survives to this day: "Not (or nothing) to be sneezed at." Today this phrase is used to emphasize the gravity of a statement or situation and is directly related to the seriousness of the plague.

Source: Panati's Extraordinary Origin of Everyday Things

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Word of The Week

FIAT - (fi'at) - noun

1 : a command or act of will that creates something without or as if without further effort
2 : an authoritative determination
3 : an authoritative or arbitrary order

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