extra! (pgs. A7,8) - Oct. 8, 2009

Oct 08, 20090

The History Channel

• On Oct. 20, 1774, the First Continental Congress creates the Continental Association, which calls for a complete ban on all trade between America and Great Britain of all goods, wares or merchandise. It was one of the first acts of Congress behind which every colony firmly stood.

• On Oct. 22, 1797, the first parachute jump of note is made by Andre-Jacques Garnerin from a hydrogen balloon 3,200 feet above Paris. As he failed to include an air vent at the top of the prototype, Garnerin oscillated wildly in his descent, and he landed shaken but unhurt.

• On Oct. 24, 1861, workers of the Western Union Telegraph Company link the nation’s eastern and western telegraph networks, completing the first transcontinental line. The obstacles to building the line were huge. Among other things, Sioux warriors had cut a completed part of the line and took a long section of wire for making bracelets.

• On Oct. 19, 1931, David Cornwell, later known as spy novelist John le Carre, is born in Poole, England. He joined the British Foreign Service in 1959. His 1986 book, “A Perfect Spy,” was the first of his novels not submitted to the British government for approval and possible censorship, given his former intelligence status.

• On Oct. 25, 1944, during the Battle of the Leyte Gulf, the Japanese deploy kamikaze (“divine wind”) suicide bombers against American warships for the first time. More than 1,321 Japanese aircraft crash-dived their planes into Allied warships during the war.

• On Oct. 21, 1962, Chubby Checker sings his 1960 No. 1 hit, “The Twist,” on Ed Sullivan’s variety show. His appearance boosted sales of the record, and in January the song hit No. 1 again, making “The Twist” the only record ever to top the charts twice.

• On Oct. 23, 1989, 23 people die in a series of explosions sparked by an ethylene leak at the Phillips Petroleum Company factory in Pasadena, Texas. A subsequent investigation found that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had not done a comprehensive inspection of the plant since 1975.

TRIVIA TEST

By Fifi Rodriguez

1. GEOGRAPHY: What is the tallest mountain in Western Europe?

2. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin phrase “in media res” mean?

3. FAMOUS QUOTATIONS: What famous writer said, “I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me”?

4. AD SLOGANS: What products were sold with the advertising slogan, “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t”?

5. MUSIC: In musical notation, what does it mean to play notes in a “staccato” style?

6. U.S. PRESIDENTS: What was the Secret Service’s code name for John F. Kennedy?

7. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: How many official languages does the United Nations have?

8. PSYCHOLOGY: People who suffer from misopedia have an abnormal dislike of what?

9. TELEVISION: Which actress, upon winning an Emmy for best supporting role, shouted “This is for all the fat girls”?

10. MEDICAL TERMS: What is the common name for monochromatism?

STRANGE BUT TRUE

By Samantha Weaver

¥ The lens of your eye will continue to grow throughout your lifetime.

¥ Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, didn’t learn to read until he was 17 years old.

¥ For reasons that are unclear in the present day, lawmakers in North Carolina once saw fit to forbid racing a rabbit down a public street.

¥ In 1850, the northern portion of the state of California declared itself to be an independent country to be known as the Great Republic of Rough and Ready.

¥ Before he became a famous actor and director in his own right, Clint Eastwood was fired from bit parts in several films.

¥ During the Middle Ages, French toast was a delicacy enjoyed only by the very wealthy.

Trivia Answers

1. Mont Blanc

2. In the middle of things

3. Hunter S. Thompson

4. Mounds and Almond Joy candy bars

5. Playing crisp, disconnected notes

6. Lancer

7. Six (English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, French and Russian)

8. Children

9. Camryn Manheim of “The Practice”