Trivia & Miscellaneous

[Daniel E.]

Vitamin A - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

During World War II, German bombers would attack at night to evade British defenses. In order to keep the 1939 invention of a new on-board Airborne Intercept Radar system secret from German bombers, the British Ministry of Information told newspapers that the nighttime defensive success of Royal Air Force pilots was due to a high dietary intake of carrots rich in vitamin A, propagating the myth that carrots enable people to see better in the dark.

 

[Daniel E.]

Pizza Hut - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

​

Book It!​

Pizza Hut has sponsored the Book It! reading-incentive program since it started in January 1985.[69][70] Students who read books according to the goal set by the classroom teacher, in any month from October through March, are rewarded with a Pizza Hut certificate good for a free, one-topping Personal Pan Pizza; and the classroom whose students read the most books is rewarded with a pizza party. Book It! was conceived in 1984 during a dinner with Art Gunther, President of Pizza Hut, and Bud Gates, SVP of Marketing at Pizza Hut, as a way to help Gunther's son read more.[71]

The program has been criticized by some psychologists on the grounds it may lead to overjustification and reduce children's intrinsic interest in reading.[72] Book It! was also criticized by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood in 2007 who described it as "one of corporate America's most insidious school-based brand promotions." A pamphlet produced by the group argued the program promoted junk food to a captive market, made teachers into promoters for Pizza Hut, and undermined parents by making visits to the chain an integral part of bringing up their children to be literate.[73] However, a study of the program found participation in the program neither increased nor decreased reading motivation.[72] The program's 25th anniversary was in 2010. The Book It! program in Australia ceased in 2002.

 

[Daniel E.]

Ernest Hemingway - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Hemingway's behavior during his final years had been similar to that of his father before he killed himself;[161] his father may have had hereditary hemochromatosis, whereby the excessive accumulation of iron in tissues culminates in mental and physical deterioration.[162] Medical records made available in 1991 confirmed that Hemingway had been diagnosed with hemochromatosis in early 1961.[163] His sister Ursula and his brother Leicester also killed themselves.[164] Other theories have arisen to explain Hemingway's decline in mental health, including that multiple concussions during his life may have caused him to develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), leading to his eventual suicide.[165][166][167] Hemingway's health was further complicated by heavy drinking throughout most of his life.[114]

 

[Daniel E.]

Why Elite White-Collar Criminals Are Rarely Punished

The system protects white-collar criminals.

www.psychologytoday.com

According to the FBI, the annual cost of street crime is $15 billion compared to nearly $1 trillion for white-collar crime...

The term white-collar crime—reportedly coined in 1939 by criminologist Edwin Sutherland—is now synonymous with the full range of crimes committed by business and government professionals...

As far back as 1956, the late sociologist C. Wright Mills observed that a small group of wealthy and powerful individuals control America’s dominant institutions (i.e., politics, economy, and the military) and they are insulated from public scrutiny. Mills called this group the power elite. Interestingly, Mills was echoed in 1961 by President Eisenhower in his farewell address when he warned of the self-serving and criminal acts of the “military-industrial complex”—that is, his term for the power elite.

Military–industrial complex - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Within decades of its inception, the idea of the military–industrial complex gave rise to other similar Industrial complexes, including the animal–industrial complex, prison–industrial complex, pharmaceutical–industrial complex, entertainment-industrial complex, and medical–industrial complex...According to Steven Best, all these systems interrelate and reinforce one another...

An alternative term to describe the interdependence between the military-industrial complex and the entertainment industry is coined by James Der Derian as "Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment-Network".

 

[Daniel E.]

Human Terrain System - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Human Terrain System (HTS) was a United States Army, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) support program employing personnel from the social science disciplines – such as anthropology, sociology, political science, regional studies, and linguistics – to provide military commanders and staff with an understanding of the local population (i.e. the "human terrain") in the regions in which they are deployed.

With the end of major American presences in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a shift towards electronic data collection, the need for HTS became less apparent. On 30 September 2014, funding ended for the program.

On 31 October 2007, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) published a statement opposing HTS as an "unacceptable application of anthropological expertise".

In 2007, the Network of Concerned Anthropologists (NCA) was founded by a group of anthropologists, largely in response to the HTS program. In 2010, the Network wrote an "Anthropologists' Statement on the Human Terrain System Program" to the United States House of Representatives, which was signed by over 700 anthropologists. The statement called for Congress to halt governmental support to HTS and cancel plans for its expansion, giving the following reasons: "There is no evidence that HTS is effective"; "HTS is dangerous and reckless"; "HTS wastes taxpayers money"; "HTS is unethical for anthropologists and other social scientists".

 

[Daniel E.]

Afghanistan Population 2024 (Live)

Afghanistan Population 2021​

40,115,652

Why is Afghanistan's population so high?

The country is seeing negative net migration due to internal conflict; however, its fertility rate of 4.56 births per woman still pushes the population up. Because of the high fertility rate, the population is very young, with a median age of 18.4 years.

 

[Daniel E.]

Canada Population 2024 (Live)

Canada Population 2021​

38,168,367

The population is growing at a steady pace and, based on current projections will surpass 50 million by 2070.

Canada’s growth rate has been anywhere between 0.8% and 1.2% for the past ten years.

While Canada’s fertility rate is 1.53 births per woman, below the population replacement rate, the population continues to grow as migration plays an increasing role in the population. Canada’s net migration rate is 6.375 per 1,000 people, the eighth-highest in the world.

Unlike many other countries, Canada is “underpopulated” and celebrates a growing population. There are many job vacancies to be filled and more people means more economic growth and prosperity for Canada.

Nearly 22% of Canadians identify themselves as immigrants.

An impressive 2.8 million Canadian citizens live outside of Canada itself; that's equivalent to 9% of the overall Canadian population. For comparison, only 1.7% of US citizens live abroad but more than 20% of New Zealanders live abroad.

Around 1 million Canadians live in the United States. The next most popular destination is Hong Kong, where approximately 300,000 Canadians are based. Around 4 in 10 Canadians living abroad were born in Canada, but a larger proportion (6 in 10) are naturalized Canadian citizens who have moved back abroad -- most but not all, to their country of origin.

 

[Daniel E.]

10 Reasons Being a Pilot Isn’t as Cool as You Think (and 1 That Makes It All Worthwhile)

How often do pilots work? And how many hours? Do pilots get holidays? Do pilots get free flights? Here, downsides and rewards of flying planes for a living.

matadornetwork.com

I’ve always found it a little ironic that the temporary housing for pilots is called a crash pad.

 

[Daniel E.]

The ‘Untranslatable’ Emotions You Never Knew You Had

From gigil to wabi-sabi and tarab, there are many foreign emotion words with no English equivalent. Learning to identify and cultivate these experiences could give you a richer and more successful life.

getpocket.com

Many of the terms referred to highly specific positive feelings, which often depend on very particular circumstances:

• Desbundar (Portuguese) – to shed one’s inhibitions in having fun
• Tarab (Arabic) – a musically induced state of ecstasy or enchantment
• Shinrin-yoku (Japanese) – the relaxation gained from bathing in the forest, figuratively or literally
• Gigil (Tagalog) – the irresistible urge to pinch or squeeze someone because they are loved or cherished
• Yuan bei (Chinese) – a sense of complete and perfect accomplishment
• Iktsuarpok (Inuit) – the anticipation one feels when waiting for someone, whereby one keeps going outside to check if they have arrived

But others represented more complex and bittersweet experiences, which could be crucial to our growth and overall flourishing.

• Natsukashii (Japanese) – a nostalgic longing for the past, with happiness for the fond memory, yet sadness that it is no longer
• Wabi-sabi (Japanese) – a “dark, desolate sublimity” centred on transience and imperfection in beauty
• Saudade (Portuguese) – a melancholic longing or nostalgia for a person, place or thing that is far away either spatially or in time – a vague, dreaming wistfulness for phenomena that may not even exist
• Sehnsucht (German) – “life-longings”, an intense desire for alternative states and realisations of life, even if they are unattainable

In addition to these emotions, Lomas’s lexicography also charted the personal characteristics and behaviours that might determine our long-term well-being and the ways we interact with other people.

• Dadirri (Australian aboriginal) term – a deep, spiritual act of reflective and respectful listening
• Pihentagyú (Hungarian) – literally meaning “with a relaxed brain”, it describes quick-witted people who can come up with sophisticated jokes or solutions
• Desenrascanço (Portuguese) – to artfully disentangle oneself from a troublesome situation
• Sukha (Sanskrit) – genuine lasting happiness independent of circumstances
• Orenda (Huron) – the power of the human will to change the world in the face of powerful forces such as fate

 

[Daniel E.]

Halloween - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Girl in a Halloween costume in 1928 in Ontario, Canada, the same province where the Scottish Halloween custom of "guising" is first recorded in North America.

 

[Daniel E.]

Inside a UPS training school where workers haul boxes across slick 'ice,' perform high-stakes driving drills, and deliver packages to empty homes in a mock neighborhood

I came away from a visit to a UPS training school thinking that UPS workers might be among some of the safest drivers on the road.

www.businessinsider.com

UPS drivers learn how to safely walk on ice...

UPS has in the past brought live penguins to a delivery center in Cincinnati to help drivers learn how to mimic their gait.

 

[Daniel E.]

The college term paper behind FedEx only received an average grade:

FedEx history | FedEx

Explore the history of FedEx, a global transportation and logistics company which began operations in 1973 and has grown to 450,000 team members worldwide.

www.fedex.com

In 1965, Yale University undergraduate Frederick W. Smith wrote a term paper that invented an industry and changed what’s possible. In the paper, he laid out the logistical challenges facing pioneering firms in the information technology industry. Most airfreight shippers relied on passenger route systems, but those didn’t make economic sense for urgent shipments, Smith wrote.

He proposed a system specifically designed to accommodate time-sensitive shipments such as medicine, computer parts, and electronics. Smith’s professor apparently didn’t see the revolutionary implications of his thesis, and the paper received just an average grade.

In August 1971, following a stint in the military, Smith bought controlling interest in Arkansas Aviation Sales, located in Little Rock, Arkansas. While operating his new firm, he saw firsthand how difficult it was to get packages and other airfreight delivered within one to two days. With his term paper in mind, Smith set out to find a better way. Thus the idea for Federal Express was born: A company that has revolutionized global business practices and that now defines speed and reliability.

Smith named the company Federal Express because he believed the patriotic meaning associated with the word “federal” suggested an interest in nationwide economic activity. He also hoped the name would resonate with the Federal Reserve Bank, a potential customer. Although the bank denied his proposal, Smith kept the name because he thought it was memorable and would help attract public attention...

 

[Daniel E.]

The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

The long read: Most chairs aren’t designed to serve human bodies – but a better seat is possible

www.theguardian.com

For most of human history, a mix of postures was the norm for a body meeting the world. Squatting has been as natural a posture as sitting for daily tasks, and lying down was a conventional pose for eating in some ancient cultures.

So why has sitting in chairs persisted in so many modern cultures? As with all material objects, Cranz reminds us, function tells only part of the story. The other part, always, is culture – the inherited and sometimes arbitrary ways that things have always been done, and therefore continue as common practice. “Biology, physiology and anatomy have less to do with our chairs than pharaohs, kings and executives,” she writes...

How can a nice cushioned chair that screams comfort be so ill-suited to most actual bodies? The real science of ergonomics, Cranz argues, should point designers toward chair design that supports and enables the body’s need for movement, not stillness – with seats that angle downward in front, for example, and have a base that’s flexible enough for the sitter to shift their body weight from leg to leg. But for the most part, these principles are ignored in favour of fashion and cheap manufacturing.

 

[Daniel E.]

An Introduction to Mediterranean Food

What do you think of when you hear the term Mediterranean food? Luckily, you don't have to guess. Learn about what constitutes a Mediterranean Cuisine.

www.alepposkitchen.com

When many people think of “Mediterranean cuisine”, their first thought is typically Greek food. But much of Greek cuisine has roots in Turkish, Persian, and Arabic foods and ideas. (With so many neighboring countries of Greece, it’s unavoidable!) For example, you may recognize tzatziki as authentically Greek, but its roots—right down to the name—are Turkish.

 

[Daniel E.]

A Brief History of the Cheez-It

America's iconic orange cracker turns 100 this year

getpocket.com

Cheez-It’s 11-month shelf life is impressive, but so is the company’s history. In May 2021, America’s iconic orange cracker turned 100. But the Cheez-It story stretches even further back than that...

Crackers were considered health food...

“Welsh Rarebit, at its most basic form, is essentially a cheese sauce spread on toast,” says Rachael Spears, a living history specialist at Dayton’s Carillon Historical Park. “Some 19th-century English recipes specifically call for cheddar cheese. To this day, Cheez-It still advertises 100 percent real cheese, which draws a connection to its rarebit roots.”

 

[Daniel E.]

Return to normalcy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"Return to normalcy" was United States presidential candidate Warren G. Harding's campaign slogan for the election of 1920. It evoked a return to the way of life before World War I, the First Red Scare, and the Spanish flu pandemic.

Harding's position attracted support and was important during the 1920 United States presidential election, which he won with 60.3% of the popular vote.

 

[Daniel E.]

6 Famous Writers Injured While Writing

Even the toughest of poets and strongest of Hemingways would have to admit that “writer” is not a particularly dangerous job. (Unlike, say, fisherman, miner, logger, knife-thrower assis…

lithub.com

Herman Melville “dove with such intensity into his whale book that his entire family circulated letters conspiring to make him rest. Ignoring their pleas, he emerged from Moby-Dick plagued with eye spasms, anxiety attacks, and debilitating back pain.”

 

[Daniel E.]

Jingle Bells - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...

In the winter in New England in pre-automobile days, it was common to adorn horses' harnesses with straps bearing bells as a way to avoid collisions at blind intersections, since a horse-drawn sleigh in snow makes almost no noise. The rhythm of the tune mimics that of a trotting horse's bells.

 

[Daniel E.]

The Tamagotchi Was Tiny, but Its Impact Was Huge

It’s been 25 years since the little device first hit store shelves, but its simple brilliance lives on in today’s most popular games.

www.wired.com

The Tamagotchi, which was first released by Bandai in Japan on November 23, 1996, had only a 32x16 pixel screen and three small buttons. Each of these buttons served some simple function, like feeding your Tamagotchi (which was both the name of the device and the little creature you were tasked with taking care of), turning off the lights in its room, or playing a game with it. Functions also included cleaning up your Tamagotchi’s poop...

The Tamagotchi's success, according to Bandai, is because it appeals to the human nurturing instinct, in this case the urge to care for a digital pet—following its growth and development and making sure it doesn’t die. It offered children a sense of responsibility, and they accepted it with extreme enthusiasm.

 

[Daniel E.]

Classic on-air fight between anchor and reporter

Jim Ryan vs. Dick Olive on Fox 5's Good Day New York, July 19, 2001. So great that the network itself uploaded this wonderful moment to YouTube. Of course Oliver…

boingboing.net

Jim Ryan vs. Dick Olive on Fox 5's Good Day New York, July 19, 2001.

So great that the network itself uploaded this wonderful moment to YouTube.

Of course Oliver was the inspiration for Bill Hader's "Herb Welch" character on Saturday Night Live.

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A summary of the above video by a Youtube commenter: "First floor Lady being interviewed in a bathrobe about elevator issues, building manager acting cordial then giving the "**** off" gesture when he thought he was off camera, anchor acting like there's more to this pulitzer winning story, and reporter bitter about his former underling calling the shots"