Spotlight on ..

by **Lily** Fri Apr 03, 2009 2:48 pm

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Post n°101

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Fri Apr 03, 2009 2:48 pm

Thinker Chimp View Poster

Can you tell the difference between a monkey and a chimpanzee? For one, most monkeys have tails; chimps, gorillas, orangutans and gibbons — all members of the category of apes — do not. Apes swing from branch to branch, something most monkeys are unable to do because of the structure of their shoulder bones. Monkeys run along the tops of the branches, instead. Apes more closely resemble humans than do monkeys. Happy 75th birthday to one of the world's experts on chimpanzees,primatologist and ethologist Jane Goodall, whose research showed that the behavior of chimps is startlingly close to that of humans.

by **Lily** Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:50 am

Lily

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Post n°102

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:50 am

Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was said to have told his mother, "First you must endure a lot, then you get famous." Born on this date in 1805 to a poor family in Denmark, he was 14 when he left home for Copenhagen, hoping to gain fame and fortune as an actor. An actor who tutored Andersen privately advised him to find another career path. Patrons paid his way to university, but he was not a good student, and though he graduated, he never learned to write in the more elegant Danish of the upper-crust. It may have been this common touch that made Andersen's stories so beloved. He wrote poetry, travel books, plays and novels, but his fairy tales made him famous. His colloquial way of writing made the characters in his stories more real to his readers. "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Mermaid" and dozens of his other stories have become children's classics.

Quote: "Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale."— Hans Christian Andersen

by **Lily** Wed Apr 01, 2009 11:14 am

Lily

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Post n°103

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Wed Apr 01, 2009 11:14 am

Court Jesters

"Better a witty fool than a foolish wit." So says Feste in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Shakespeare indeed suffered fools gladly: he wrote of fools, populated his plays with them, and gave them some of his best lines. Consider: "Lord what fools these mortals be." That line comes from A Midsummer's Night's Dream, with the mischievous fairy Puck blaming the mortal lovers for actions that were actually brought on by his own mistake. In Shakespeare's As You Like It, Jacques cries, "A fool, A fool! I met a fool i' the forest, A motley fool" — the term motley referring to the multicolored dress of the jesters at that time. And, in The Merchant of Venice, the play's jester, Gratiano, defends himself with this sentiment, "Let me play the fool, With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come." Today is April Fool's Day.

Quote: "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool." — William Shakespeare, As You Like It

by **Lily** Thu Mar 26, 2009 3:28 pm

Lily

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Post n°104

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Thu Mar 26, 2009 3:28 pm

Robert Frost

"And you read your Emily Dickinson, and I my Robert Frost." Troubadours Simon and Garfunkel Robert Frost in their song, "The Dangling Conversation," not just because his name rhymed with "lost," but because they knew he was a poet whose name would be recognized and admired, far and wide. He was still a cultural icon decades later when he made it into an episode of The Simpsons. The only writer so far to have won four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry, Frost was asked to write a poem for John F. Kennedy's inaugural ceremony in 1961. Unable to see in the bright glare of the sun, he recited a poem he had committed to memory, "The Gift Outright," rather than the one written for the occasion, "Dedication." Frost was born on this date in 1874.

by **Lily** Wed Mar 25, 2009 10:00 pm

Lily

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Post n°105

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Wed Mar 25, 2009 10:00 pm

Gloria Steinem

When Ms. magazine debuted in 1972, it was the first magazine about women's issues that was actually begun by women. Founders Gloria Steinem and Letty Cottin Pogrebin envisioned a magazine that would speak to the politics of being a woman in American society. It was less about recipes and fashion and more about getting women into the workforce and lobbying for a new understanding of the equal roles of men and women in the home and in the world. Steinem, one of the feminist movement's most outspoken advocates of the last four decades, was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993. She is a journalist who has written several books, including one on her friend, Marilyn Monroe. Happy birthday to Gloria Steinem, who turns 75 today.

by **Lily** Mon Mar 23, 2009 12:00 pm

Lily

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Post n°106

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Mon Mar 23, 2009 12:00 pm

Roger Bannister
Happy 80th birthday to Roger Bannister, the first man to break the four-minute mile. Bannister was 17 years old the first time he ran on a track. After just three short training sessions, he was already clocked running a mile at 4:24:6. Over the next eight years, Bannister trained; he participated in the 1952 Olympics, set a British running record, but didn't manage to win any medals. Then — though they said it couldn't be done — on May 6, 1954, Bannister was clocked at 3:59:04, at a meet at Oxford University. Because of his achievement he was chosen as Sports Illustrated's first "Sportsman of the Year." About six weeks later, Australian John Landy broke Bannister's record, finishing the mile in 3:57:9.

by **Lily** Mon Mar 23, 2009 12:33 am

Lily

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Post n°107

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Mon Mar 23, 2009 12:33 am

Every Drop Counts

Water makes up about 60% of the human body; it covers some 70% of the earth's surface, with only 3% being from fresh water sources. In the US it is estimated that the average person uses about 50 gallons (190 l.) of water a day. With the world population growing, and the increasing pollution of our natural resources, we are facing a water crisis. The World Health Organization has estimated that over 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and about 4000 children die every day from water borne disease. The United Nations has declared today the World Day for Water; this year's theme is "transboundary water."

by **Lily** Sat Mar 21, 2009 11:22 am

Lily

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Post n°108

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Sat Mar 21, 2009 11:22 am

Original Cast of 'Dallas'
"Would you believe?" "Who was that masked man?" "Who loves ya, baby?" "How YOU doin'?" "Can we talk?" "Seriously?" Recognize these questions? They're all TV catch phrases. They come from Get Smart (by bumbling agent Maxwell Smart), The Lone Ranger (asked by various people whom the Lone Ranger had helped), Kojak (Lt. Theo Kojak, played by Telly Savalas), Friends(Joey Tribbiani's favorite pick-up line), talk show host Joan Rivers and Grey's Anatomy (asked and declared in conversations between the residents).One of the most famous TV questions came to be on this date in 1980 when an episode of Dallas posed the question, "Who shot J.R?."

by **Lily** Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:40 pm

Lily

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Post n°109

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:40 pm

B.F. Skinner
With His Skinner Box View Poster

Both Ivan Pavlov and B.F. (Burrhus Frederick) Skinner taught the world a great deal about behaviorism. Pavlov demonstrated how animals learned a behavioral response to stimuli. Skinner showed that animals could learn that their actions would bring a desired response — operant conditioning. His Skinner box was a sound-and light-proof chamber with a response lever. When the rat that was kept in the box pressed the lever, a food pellet was released. Skinner showed that an aspect of the rat's behavior could be conditioned. B.F. Skinner was born on this date [b]in 1904.

by **Lily** Wed Mar 18, 2009 1:32 pm

Lily

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Post n°110

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Wed Mar 18, 2009 1:32 pm

Walking in Space
On this date in 1965, cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov took the first walk in space. Leonov was the pilot of Voskhod 2. His 12-minute walk, tethered up to five meters (16.4 ft.) away from the craft, took him from north-central Africa to eastern Siberia. While he was outside, Leonov's spacesuit had inflated so much that he was unable to reenter the capsule until after he had released some of the air. After overcoming a few other problems, the crew's capsule landed back on Earth in the Ural Mountains; they waited overnight for a rescue team, surrounded by wolves. Later, doctors reported that Leonov's body temperature had increased so much during the walk that he nearly suffered heatstroke.

by **Lily** Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:40 pm

Lily

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Post n°111

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:40 pm

Are you wearing green today? An Irish saying holds that "If you're lucky enough to be Irish, then you're lucky enough." On St. Patrick's Day it seems that everyone is Irish. Ireland's patron saint, St. Patrick, performed baptisms and founded churches and schools where he taught about the Trinity and converted his countrymen to Christianity. When he died on this date in 461, Christians took a break in Lent to celebrate the saint's life, to renew themselves spiritually and to offer prayers for missionaries worldwide.Nowadays, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated with parades and fireworks, dances and parties, drinking Irish beer and whiskey and wearing green.

Finding a Pot O' Gold
at the Rainbow's End

by **Lily** Tue Mar 17, 2009 12:17 am

Lily

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Post n°112

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Tue Mar 17, 2009 12:17 am

The Letter 'A'
A is not always for apples. Just ask Hester Prynne. The protagonist ofNathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter — a book about adultery, shame, guilt, labeling and loyalty — chose to turn her symbol of shame into a mark of beauty and individuality. The novel, published on this date in 1850, is considered one of America's greatest literary works. Hawthorne set The Scarlet Letter, like most of his novels, in 17th-century Puritan America,painting a picture of the society as intolerant, repressive and authoritarian.

by **Lily** Sun Mar 15, 2009 11:50 am

Lily

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Post n°113

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Sun Mar 15, 2009 11:50 am

College Basketball
The madness is beginning. March Madness, that is. It's three weeks of college basketball at its best, culminating in the competition for the NCAA Basketball Championship. The whole process starts today with Selection Sunday: the 65 NCAA Tournament participants will be announced, placed and seeded. The thirty teams that won their conference tournament automatically win bids, as does the Ivy League regular season champion. The selection committee chooses the other 35 teams and the seeding committee determines in which order and against which teams each will play.

by **Lily** Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:20 pm

Lily

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Post n°114

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:20 pm

The Greek letter π (pi) is the symbol for the number you get when you divide the circumference of a circle by its diameter; it can't be expressed as a fraction and it goes on forever. Equal to approximately 3.14, it's an irrational and transcendental number with an infinite, non-repeating decimal expansion. So far, it has been calculated out to over a trillion decimal places. We honor π today, on 3/14, Pi Day: some college math departments have parties or ceremonies discussing π and how it has affected our lives. Some celebrate by eating pie — pizza, fruit and otherwise, drinking piña colada and playing piñata. It's fitting that today is also Albert Einstein's birthday; he was born in 1879.

by **Lily** Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:01 am

Lily

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Post n°115

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:01 am

When wine goes through a second fermentation, it develops bubbles; the sparkling wine that is made from pinot noir grapes grown in France's Champagne region is called... champagne. The 17-century Benedictine monk, Dom Pierre Pérignon, developed a way to blend the wine, choosing to store it bottles, rather than casks. This created more bubbles and there was a constant danger of bursting bottles, so Dom Pérignon used a cork which was secured to the bottle with a wire thread. Lawrence Welk, born on this date in 1903, was a band leader and accordionist. The music he favored was so light and bubbly it was compared to champagne and the tag "champagne music" stuck. While Welk's band played big-band era pop songs and polkas, bubbles floated gently over the singers and dancers on stage.

Pop!

by **Lily** Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:26 am

Lily

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Post n°116

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:26 am

President Barbie Barbie is 50!! The iconic fashion doll — who doesn't look a day over 20 — made her debut on the shelves on this date in 1959. Although she and her longtime beau, Ken, split in 2004, they are still the best of friends. Barbie and Ken were named for the children of Ruth Handler, creator of the dolls and president of Mattel, Inc. Great Barbie battles have been waged between those who saw Barbie as an exploitation of women and an unrealistic physical image for girls, and those who viewed Barbie as a role model who would encourage girls to become astronauts and businesswomen, scientists and world leaders.

President Barbie

by **Lily** Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:15 am

Lily

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Post n°117

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:15 am

A mole, a rat, a toad and a badger become friends. They travel, have adventures, and take care of each other in the way that friends do. Their story is told in the children's classic, The Wind in the Willows, written by Kenneth Grahame and published a century ago. Grahame, born on this date in 1859, based his book on stories he told to his young son. The anthropomorphized animals act in a way that is very human, with strengths and flaws that both children and adults can relate to. The book has been adapted for the stage and screen, and even inspired its own ride in Disneyland — Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

Kenneth Grahame

by **Lily** Sat Mar 07, 2009 12:46 pm

Lily

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Post n°118

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Sat Mar 07, 2009 12:46 pm

"There's a yellow rose in Texas, I'm going there to see..." With a song as famous as that, how could we NOT think that the state flower of Texas is the yellow rose? And yet... on this date in 1901, the Bluebonnet was adopted as the state flower of Texas. The bluebonnet is one of the state's most popular wildflowers, carpeting huge areas of Texas when it blooms in the spring. Here are some other tidbits about the Lone Star State: the state bird is the mockingbird; the state motto is "Friendship"; and the name Texas is based on a word used by Native Americans of the Caddo tribe, meaning "friends."

Texas Bluebonnets View Poster

by **Lily** Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:03 pm

Lily

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Post n°119

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by Lily Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:03 pm

On this date in 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev presented his periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society. Earlier, Mendeleev had developed his periodic law, stating that the property of an element is the periodic function of the elements' atomic mass. He referred to the tendency of those chemical elements with similar properties to recur at regular intervals as periodicity. Mendeleev's table arranged the elements in ascending order of their atomic mass, while leaving gaps for the elements that he predicted would be discovered at a later date.

Periodic Table View Poster

by **Lily** Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:12 pm

Lily

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Post n°120

Re: Spotlight on ..

by Lily Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:12 pm

Computerized Mercator Projection Map

The Mercator Projection is a way of showing the earth on a flat map. With the equator at its center, the spacing of parallels of latitude increases with the distance from the equator, so areas closer to the poles are shown in a disproportionately greater size. The Mercator Projection is named for its creator, Gerardus Mercator, the Flemish cartographer who was born on this date in 1512. Mercator was the first mapmaker to divide America into two separate continents, naming them "Americae pars septentrionalis" (northern part of America) and "Americae pars meridionalis" (southern part of America).

by **Lily** Wed Mar 04, 2009 2:25 am

Lily

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Post n°121

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by Lily Wed Mar 04, 2009 2:25 am

Charles H. Goren was studying law at McGill University when a girlfriend made fun of his ineptitude at the game of bridge, a game similar to whist. For Goren, the gauntlet had been thrown down. He immersed himself in the game, began to compete, and became a leading authority on contract bridge, developing a new high card point counting system. He taught the game through his books — especially, Contract Bridge Complete and Winning Bridge Made Easy — columns, articles and TV shows. Charles Goren was born on this date in 1901.
Playing Bridge

by **Lily** Tue Mar 03, 2009 7:44 pm

Lily

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Post n°122

Spotlight on ..

by Lily Tue Mar 03, 2009 7:44 pm

Alexander Graham Bell
Calls Chicago from New York
Alexander Graham Bell is synonymous with telephone. But that wasn't his only invention. He considered his most important creation to be the photophone — a device that transmitted sound on a beam of light. Although the photophone never met with the success that Bell hoped for, it became one of the key elements in the invention of fiber optics, which today transport over 80 percent of the world's telecommunications. Bell, born on this date in 1847, always considered himself first a teacher of the deaf; but his other interests made him an early leader of the National Geographic Society, and his inventions ranged from a prototype of the iron lung to methods of removing salt from sea water. His work with tetrahedrons led to the creation of the hydrofoil; in 1919, a hydrofoil he built with Casey Baldwin set a world water-speed record that was not broken until 1963.

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