Significant Number Factoid Friday – Today The Number Had To Be 1776

July 4, 2014 fasab Factoids, Numbers 1776, Adam Smith, Adam Weishaupt, America, American colonies, American Continental Army, American Continental Navy, American Continentals, American friends, American gunboats, American navy, American Patriots, American Patriots Royal Navy, American Revolution, American Revolutionary War, American Southwest, American submersible craft Turtle, americans, an independent nation, Andrew Doria, Arctic, Assembly of New Hampshire, Austria, Bahamas, battle, Battle of Harlem Heights, Battle of Long Island, Battle of Pell's Point, Battle of the Rice Boats, Battle of Trenton, Battle of White Plains, Bavaria, Benedict Arnold, Benjamin Franklin, bigamy, bird tail, Boston, Bowling Green, Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, British, British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship HMS Eagle, British authority, British control, British fleet, British parliament, British Royal Navy, Brooklyn, California, Captain James Cook, Chatterton Hill, Cherokee, Cherokee Nation, cock tail, Col. Johann Rall, Committee of Five, common sense, Continental Army, Continental Congress, Continental Congress delegates, Continental Union Flag, crossed the Delaware River, Crown Prince Paul, customer, declaration of independence, Delaware General Assembly, Doncaster, Dorchester Heights, Duchess of Kingston, Dutch flag, education, Edward Gibbon, England, enlistment of free blacks, Entertainment, espionage, facts, fatal, Father Francisco Palou, first Europeans, first governor, first state constitution, first US fraternity, Fort Orange, Fort Washington, France, Francisco Atanasio Domínguez, Francisco Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, French support, Gen George Washington, George III of Great Britain, George Mason, George Washington, Gregorian calendar, Guadeloupe, Haffner, Halifax Resolves, hanged, happy Fourth of July, Hessian mercenaries, Hessian troops, HMS Resolution, horse races, hurricane, Illuminati, independence day, independence from British rule, Ingolstadt, interrogation torture, invading spaceships, Jersey bank, Johannes de Graaff, Juan Bautista de Anza, Julian calendar, King George III, Kips Bay, Lake Champlain, leap year, Lee Resolution, Liberty Bell, Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, loyalist leaders, Lt Jose Joaquin Moraga, Manhattan, Marines, Marquis de Lafayette, Massachusetts, McKonkey's Ferry, MDCCLXXVI, Mission Dolores, Mission San Francisco de Asis, Monterey Presidio, Moore's Creek bridge, Mozart, Nassau, Nathan Hale, new york, New York City, New York Harbor, Norfolk, North Carolina, number, number factoid, numbers, Pacific Ocean, pamphlet, Patriot cannons, Patriot forces, patriot victory, peace conference, Phi Beta Kappa, Philadelphia, Plymouth, Presidio of San Francisco, Province of Georgia, published, rebels, renounce allegiance to King George III of Great Britain, Rhode Island, Richard Caswell, Richard Henry Lee, Roman numerals, Royal Colony of North Carolina, Royal Navy, Russia, Salzburg, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Savannah River, Scottish economist, Scottish North Carolina Loyalists, Second Continental Congress, Serenade No. 7, Significant Number Factoid Friday, significant numbers, Sir Guy Carleton, Sophie Marie Dorothea, South Carolina, Spaniards, spy, St Leger, State of North Carolina, Staten Island, successful assault, The American Crisis, The Bronx, The Crisis, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, the Rockies, the Sierras, The Wealth of Nations, the world's first submarine attack, These are the times that try men's souls, third voyage, thirteen colonies, Thomas Paine, time bomb, Trenton, United States Declared Independence, Valcour Island, Virginia, Virginia Convention of Delegates, Virginia Declaration of Rights, vote for independence, Washington, Washington's troops, Württemberg, William & Mary College, William Howe, Wilmington

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Hello everyone.

And a very happy Fourth of July to everyone, particularly my American friends.

Independence Day again, and no sign of invading spaceships so I’m assuming its safe to do another number factoid.

And what else could it be today other than 1776, the year America became an independent nation.

Here we go.

Enjoy

And where else to start but with….

American Revolutionary War

On January 1^st, 1776 Gen George Washington hoisted the Continental Union Flag. The same day the town of Norfolk, Virginia, was destroyed by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces.
On Jan 5^th the Assembly of New Hampshire adopts its 1st state constitution.
On January 10^th Thomas Paine published his pamphlet Common Sense “written by an Englishman” in Philadelphia arguing for independence from British rule in what were then the Thirteen Colonies.

On Jan 16^th the Continental Congress approves enlistment of free blacks.
On February 27^th Scottish North Carolina Loyalists charge across Moore’s Creek bridge near Wilmington to attack what they mistakenly believed to be a small force of rebels. Several loyalist leaders are killed in the ensuing battle. The patriot victory virtually ended all British authority in the province.
On March 2^nd and 3^rd the American Continental Navy and Marines made a successful assault on Nassau, Bahamas, and in the Battle of the Rice Boats, American Patriots resisted the Royal Navy on the Savannah River effectively ending British control over the Province of Georgia.
On March 4^th American Patriots capture Dorchester Heights thereby dominating the port of Boston, Massachusetts. Threatened by the Patriot cannons on Dorchester Heights, the British evacuate Boston on March 17^th.
On April 12^th the Royal Colony of North Carolina produced the Halifax Resolves making it the first British colony officially to authorize its Continental Congress delegates to vote for independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
On May 4^th Rhode Island became the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III of Great Britain.
On June 7^th Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Second Continental Congress (meeting in Philadelphia) that “these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states.”
On June 11^th the Continental Congress appointed a Committee of Five to draft a Declaration of Independence.

On June 12^th the Virginia Declaration of Rights by George Mason was adopted by the Virginia Convention of Delegates and three days later on June 15^th the Delaware General Assembly voted to suspend government under the British Crown.
On July 2^nd the final (despite minor revisions) U.S. Declaration of Independence was written. The Continental Congress passed the Lee Resolution.
And as we all know, on July 4^th the United States Declared Independence: The Continental Congress ratified the declaration by the United States of its independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
On July 8^th the Liberty Bell rang in Philadelphia for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence and the following day an angry mob in New York City toppled the equestrian statue of George III of Great Britain in Bowling Green.

On August 2^nd most of the American colonies ratify the Declaration of Independence.
On August 15^th the first Hessian troops land on Staten Island to join British forces.
On August 27^th in the Battle of Long Island, Washington’s troops were routed in Brooklyn by British under William Howe.
On September 1^st the Cherokee Nation was invaded by 6,000 patriot troops from Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina begins. The troops destroyed thirty-six Cherokee towns.
On September 7^th saw the world’s first submarine attack when the American submersible craft Turtle attempted to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe’s flagship HMS Eagle in New York Harbor.
On September 11^th an abortive peace conference took place between British and Americans on Staten Island.
On September 15^th British troops landed on Manhattan at Kips Bay.
On September 16^th in the Battle of Harlem Heights, the Continental Army under Washington are victorious against the British on Manhattan.
On September 22^nd the British hanged spy Nathan Hale in New York City for espionage.
The following month, on October 11^th on Lake Champlain near Valcour Island, a British fleet led by Sir Guy Carleton defeated 15 American gunboats commanded by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. Although nearly all of Arnold’s ships are destroyed, the two day-long battle gave Patriot forces enough time to prepare defenses of New York City.
On October 18^th in the Battle of Pell’s Point, forces of the American Continental Army resisted a British and Hessian force in The Bronx, whilst on October 28 in the Battle of White Plains, British forces attacked and captured Chatterton Hill from the Americans.
On October 26^th Benjamin Franklin departed from America for France on a mission to seek French support for the American Revolution.

The last day of that month, October 31^st saw King George III make his first speech before British Parliament since the Declaration of Independence that summer, in which in perhaps the understatement of the year, told the British Parliament that all was not going well for Britain in the war with the United States.
On November 16^th Hessian mercenaries under Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen captured Fort Washington from the American Continentals. The captain of the American navy ship Andrew Doria fired a salute to the Dutch flag on Fort Orange and Johannes de Graaff answers with eleven gun shots.
On December 7^th the Marquis de Lafayette attempted to enter the American military as a major general.
And on December 21^st the Royal Colony of North Carolina reorganizes into the State of North Carolina after adopting its own constitution. Richard Caswell becomes the first governor of the newly formed state.
On December 23^rd Thomas Paine, living with Washington’s troops, began publishing The American Crisis, containing the stirring phrase, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
At Christmas 1776, Gen. George Washington ordered the first issue of The Crisis to be read to his troops on Christmas Eve, then at 6 p.m. all 2600 of them march to McKonkey’s Ferry, crossed the Delaware River and land on the Jersey bank at 3 a.m.
And finally December 26^th saw the Battle of Trenton, in which Washington’s troops surprised and defeated the 1500 Hessian troops under the command of Col. Johann Rall outside Trenton, taking 948 prisoners while suffering only 5 wounded.

In other things and other places in 1776

The year 1776 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and a leap year starting on Friday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar.
In Roman Numerals 1776 is written as MDCCLXXVI.
On January 2^nd Austria ended interrogation torture
On February 17^th Edward Gibbon published the first volume of his famous work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

On March 9^th Scottish economist Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations in London.
On March 28^th Juan Bautista de Anza found the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.
On April 15^th the Duchess of Kingston was found guilty of bigamy.
On May 1^st Adam Weishaupt founded the Illuminati in Ingolstadt, Bavaria.
On June 17^th Lt. Jose Joaquin Moraga leads a band of colonists from Monterey Presidio, landing on June 29^th and constructing the Mission Dolores of the new Presidio of San Francisco.
On July 12^th Captain James Cook sets off from Plymouth, England, in HMS Resolution on his third voyage, to the Pacific Ocean and Arctic, which would turn out to be fatal.

On July 21^st Mozart’s Serenade No. 7 (the “Haffner”) is first performed in Salzburg, Austria.
On July 29^th Francisco Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, Francisco Atanasio Domínguez, and eight other Spaniards set out from Santa Fe on an eighteen-hundred mile trek through the American Southwest. They were the first Europeans to explore the vast region between the Rockies and the Sierras.
On September 6^th a hurricane hit Guadeloupe, killing more than 6000 people.
On September 24^th the first of the now very famous St Leger horse races were held at Doncaster, England.
On October 7^th Crown Prince Paul of Russia married Sophie Marie Dorothea of Württemberg.
On October 9^th Father Francisco Palou founded the Mission San Francisco de Asis in what is now San Francisco, California.
On October 18^th in a New York bar decorated with a bird tail, a customer orders “cock tail”.
On December 5^th the first US fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa (William & Mary College), is formed.

The Standard Practice for Conditioning and Testing Textiles is Active Standard ASTM D1776
The Standard Specification for Eye Protective Devices for Paintball Sports is Active Standard ASTM F1776.
MTE M-1776 is a Surge Protective Device
P1776 is the code for solenoid stuck in low/reverse which is a fairly common problem and can be prevented most of the time by keeping the fluid clean.
The 1776 Premier Program offers a venue for highly-committed, elite players to receive professional, year-round coaching and to seek competition at the highest levels of US Youth Soccer.

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It’s Monday, It’s May 12th, And It’s Quiz Day!

May 12, 2014May 12, 2014 fasab Questions, Tests $, alphabet, American president, angels, Arlington, bathrooms, bits, computer keyboard, cork-producing countries, Crete, Die Hard, dime, divide, dollar symbol, drain out, education, English language, Entertainment, first video ever played on MTV Europe, general knowledge, Geography, history, hole in the sink, John Wilkes Booth, largest water clock, Lesbos, letter, Lincoln's assassin, movies, multiply, music, nickels, North America, obscure, Panama hats, Pentagon, physician, politics, quarter, questions, quiz, quizzes, qwerty, Random, residents, southern most city, syllable, test, tests, the Bible, total, typewriter keyboard, United States, uu, Venetian blinds, Virginia, words, wounded in the Civil War

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Welcome to another fasab quiz.

Some difficult ones, some easy ones, and one or two that you should know but might not.

As usual if you get stuck you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please, NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

Q. 1: Take a quarter, multiply it by a dime, divide that total by 2 bits and add 3 nickles, and what have you got?

Q. 2: Name the top three cork-producing countries in the world. (And take a point for each correct answer.)

Q. 3: You’ve seen it thousands of times, but why was the dollar symbol ($) designed this way?

Q. 4: What was the name of the physician who set the leg of Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth? (A point for his last name, a bonus if you know his first name as well.)

Q. 5: Where in North America is the largest water clock?

Q. 6: What is the only letter in the alphabet that has more than one syllable?

Q. 7: There are six words in the English language with the letter combination “uu.” Two of them you have probably heard of, the rest are more obscure, but you get a point for each one you can name correctly.

Q. 8: Who are the only three angels mentioned by name in the Bible? (A point for each correct answer.)

Q. 9: What do you call the little hole in the sink that lets the water drain out, instead of flowing over the side?

Q. 10: Why has the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, twice as many bathrooms as is necessary?

Q. 11: What are residents of the island of Crete called? (If you spell this wrong it will be very stupid.)

Q. 12: And, what are residents of the island of Lesbos called?

Q. 13: Who was the only American president to be wounded in the Civil War?

Q. 14: If you add up the numbers 1-100 consecutively (1+2+3+4+5 etc) what is the total?

Q. 15: Where were Venetian blinds invented?

Q. 16: What is the southern most city in the United States?

Q. 17: Everyone thinks that a ‘qwerty’ computer keyboard is just the same as a typewriter keyboard, but it isn’t. What is missing from the typewriter keyboard that is always on a computer keyboard?

Q. 18: Where do Panama hats come from?

Q. 19: How many ‘Die Hard’ movies have there been – so far? (Bonus points for each one you can name correctly. Double bonus if you know the years.)

Q. 20: What was the first video ever played on MTV Europe?

ANSWERS

Q. 1: Take a quarter, multiply it by a dime, divide that total by 2 bits and add 3 nickles, and what have you got?

A. 1: Answer = 25 (25 x 10) / (2 x 12.5) + (3 x 5) = 25

Q. 2: Name the top three cork-producing countries in the world. (And take a point for each correct answer.)

A. 2: The top three cork-producing countries are Spain, Portugal and Algeria.

Q. 3: You’ve seen it thousands of times, but why was the dollar symbol ($) designed this way?

A. 3: The dollar symbol ($) is a U combined with an S (U.S.)

Q. 4: What was the name of the physician who set the leg of Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth? (A point for his last name, a bonus if you know his first name as well.)

A. 4: Dr. Samuel A. Mudd was the physician who set the leg of Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth … and whose shame created the expression for ignominy, “His name is Mudd.”

Q. 5: Where in North America is the largest water clock?

A. 5: The largest water clock in North America is at the shopping mall in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.

Q. 6: What is the only letter in the alphabet that has more than one syllable?

A. 6: ‘W’ is the only letter in the alphabet that has more than one syllable… it has three.

A. 7: The six words in the English language with the letter combination “uu” are: Muumuu, vacuum, continuum, duumvirate, duumvir and residuum.

Q. 8: Who are the only three angels mentioned by name in the Bible? (A point for each correct answer.)

A. 8: The three angels mentioned by name in the Bible are Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer.

Q. 9: What do you call the little hole in the sink that lets the water drain out, instead of flowing over the side?

A. 9: The little hole in the sink that lets the water drain out, instead of flowing over the side, is called a “porcelator”.

Q. 10: Why has the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, twice as many bathrooms as is necessary?

A. 10: The Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, has twice as many bathrooms as is necessary because when it was built in the 1940s, the state of Virginia still had segregation laws requiring separate toilet facilities for blacks and whites.

Q. 11: What are residents of the island of Crete called? (If you spell this wrong it will be very stupid.)

A. 11: They are called Cretans. (Deduct a point if you said Cretins!)

Q. 12: And, what are residents of the island of Lesbos called?

A. 12: Residents of the island of Lesbos are Lesbosians, rather than Lesbians. (Of course, lesbians are called lesbians because Sappho was from Lesbos.)

Q. 13: Who was the only American president to be wounded in the Civil War?

A. 13: Rutherford B. Hayes was the only president to be wounded in the Civil War — not once, but four times. Four horses were shot out from beneath him.

Q. 14: If you add up the numbers 1-100 consecutively (1+2+3+4+5 etc) what is the total?

A. 14: If you add up the numbers 1-100 consecutively (1+2+3+4+5 etc) the total is 5050.

Q. 15: Where were Venetian blinds invented?

A. 15: You’d think it should be Venice, but Venetian blinds were invented in Japan.

Q. 16: What is the southern most city in the United States?

A. 16: The southern most city in the United States is Na’alehu, Hawaii.

A. 17: The back slash is missing. Before the age of computers, typewriters only had one type of slash, the forward slash (/). Even earlier versions hadn’t even got that! Bet you never even noticed.

Q. 18: Where do Panama hats come from?

A. 18: Panama hats are made in Equador.

Q. 19: How many ‘Die Hard’ movies have there been – so far? (Bonus points for each one you can name correctly. Double bonus if you know the years.)

A. 19: There have been five ‘Die Hard’ movies so far, ‘Die Hard’ (1988), ‘Die Hard 2’ (1990), ‘Die Hard with a Vengeance’ (1995), ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ (2007) and ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’ (2013).

Q. 20: What was the first video ever played on MTV Europe?

A. 20: The first video ever played on MTV Europe was “Money For Nothing” by Dire Straits.

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It’s July 4th, You Know What Day That Is?

July 4, 2013July 4, 2013 fasab comedy, Current Events, Factoids, Humour, Politics, Puns, War American colonists, American national bird, American settlers, americans, amusing, ants, atlantic, bad jokes, bald beagle, battle, Battle of Bonkers Hill, battle of Bunker Hill, Boston Flea Party, Boston Tea Party, British, cartoonist, cattle feed, chopping mall, colonies, colonists, Comedy, Continental Army, country, cracked, cracked me up, curly-haired dog, Current Events, dance, Declaration of Independence signed, dessert, dry skin, Ducklaration of Independence, education, Entertainment, feathers, fodder, funny, General Washington, George Washington, hatchet, history, Humor, Humour, inalienable rights, Indepen-dance, Independence, independence day, infantry, joke, jokes, july 4th, King George, Lafayette, Laughayette, Liber-Tea, liberty, Liberty Bell, Misc, Miscellaneous, Monti jello, Monticello, Mount Vernon, Mt. Vermin, patriot, play on words, politics, pun, pun day, puns, Punsylvanians, revo-lotion, revolting, Revolution, Revolutionary War, sense of humor, silly jokes, Snoopy, Stamp Act, stupid jokes, tea, Thomas Jefferson, tree, Virginia, Washington's home, webbed feet, word play, word plays, Yankee Doodle, Yankee doodler, Yankee Poodle

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Yes, you got it, it’s Pun Day.

And because Pun Day this year happens to fall on July 4th, here’s a special Independence word play edition.

Enjoy this festive edition!

What happened as a result of the Stamp Act?

The Americans licked the British!

Why did the British cross the Atlantic?

To get to the other tide!

What would you get if you crossed a patriot with a small curly-haired dog?

A Yankee Poodle Dandy!

Did you hear the one about the Liberty Bell?

Yeah, it cracked me up!

What would Americans get if they crossed George Washington with cattle feed?

The fodder of their Country!

Where did George Washington buy his hatchet?

At the chopping mall!

What was General Washington’s favorite tree?

The infantry!

What kind of tea did the American colonists thirst for?

Liber-Tea!

Which colonists told the most jokes?

Punsylvanians!

What did a patriot put on his dry skin?

Revo-lotion!

What dance was very popular in 1776?

Indepen-dance!

Which one of Washington’s officers had the best sense of humor?

Laughayette!

lafayette — Marquis de La Fayette served as a major-general in the Continental Army under George Washington and was a leader of the Garde nationale during the French Revolution.

What was Thomas Jefferson’s favourite dessert?

Monti jello!

Thomas_Jefferson's_Monticello_Estate — Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Estate

What did King George think of the American colonists?

He thought they were revolting!

Why were the early American settlers like ants?

Because they lived in colonies.

What has feathers, webbed feet, and certain inalienable rights?

The Ducklaration of Independence!

What would you get if you crossed the American national bird with Snoopy?

A bald beagle!

What was the craziest battle of the Revolutionary War?

The Battle of Bonkers Hill.

Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?

On the bottom!

Did you hear about the cartoonist in the Continental Army?

He was a Yankee doodler!

What protest by a group of dogs occurred in 1773?

The Boston Flea Party!

What would you get if you crossed Washington’s home with nasty insects?

Mt. Vermin!

Which son of old Virginia wrote the Declaration of Independence?

I think it was Thomas Jeffer’s son.

Thomas Jefferson’s words and hopes. How far have the present leaders of America strayed from those lofty and laudable goals?

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Significant Number Factoid Friday – Today The Number Is Sixty-Four 64

June 28, 2013 fasab Factoids, Numbers, Unusual 000 Challenge, 000 Question, 1964, 64, 64 bits, 64-bit computing, 64-bit CPU, 64th Psalm, Advanced Crew Escape Suit, Afghanistan, AH-64 Apache, Albatross, Alfa Class Submarine, ALU, American game show, Andy's Pride, anti-submarine warfare carrier, Apache Longbow, apple, ASCII, assassination, assault rifle, Atari, atomic number, Atomic Weight, attendants, Australia, Baltimore Colts, Base64, Black Eye Galaxy, Boeing AH-64 Apache, Boeing Defense, books, british army, Buffalo Bills, bullpup layout, canada, Canadian, Caribia, Cetus, Chapter 64, chess, chessboard, Chicago Bears, Chinese, Cleveland Browns, CN Tower, Colorado Avalanche, Coma Berenices, Commodore 64, Commodore Business Machines, Commodore International, commodore pet, Commodore VIC-20, computing, Conoco Oil/Pelita, convoy duty, copper, Cu, Dakinis, Dave Wilcox, deliverance from his enemies, Democratic candidate, Department of Labor, Department of State, destroyer, dodecagonal number, dragon 32, dragon 64, Dragon Data, draughts, education, Elvis, EM-2, email, Emergency War Program, employment of workers with disabilities, enhanced-radiation, Erickson Air-Crane company, etheric body, Euler's totient function, EVA, extravehicular activity, Fermat prime, fighting fires, Florida, flying boat, FN FAL, Form DS-64, gadolinite, Gadolinium, galaxy, Galaxy Queen, Gaza Strip, Gd, Genesis, genetic code, George Blanda, Googol, googolplex, Graham's number, Greece, Grumman G-64/111 Albatross, Guard, guided-missile cruiser, Guinness Book of World Records, helicopter, HMS Beverley (H 64), HMS Centaur, HMS Fencer (D64), HMS Scorpion (D64), HMS Vansittart, Houston Oilers, hypergiant, IBM PC compatibles, ice hockey player, incumbent, India religious traditions, iraq, Isabelle, Israel, James Robert McGinn IV, Japan, Japanese, Jean de Marignac, Joe Delamielleure, John F Kennedy, John Lennon & Paul McCartney, K-64 Designation, Kaiserliche Marine, Kennedy Space Center, King David, King James Version, king james version of the bible, Kitty Hawk–class supercarrier, knight, Knight's Tour, Korean War, Kosovo, L1A1 SLR, L64, Lady Dina, Large Magellanic Cloud, large numbers, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Lebanon, lend-lease, lidar, Lidar In-space Technology Experiment, light, light detection and ranging, linebacker, LITE, Lord Shiva, Los Alamos, Los Alamos Laboratory, Louisiana, Magic Square, main battle tank, Martin Gardner, Mathematical Games, mathematics, Mersenne prime, Messier object M64, Militaria, military, MIME, Minnesota Vikings, Misc, Miscellaneous, Moser's number, Mother goddesses, movies, music, National Hockey League, NATO, Nauticus, Nazi German Kriegsmarine, NCAA Basketball Tournament, neutron bomb, New General Catalogue, New York Giants, NFL Hall of Famers, Norfolk, North Atlantic, North Korean, nuclear warhead, number, numbers, Oakland Raiders, object NGC 64, Old Testament, Olga, Operation Desert Storm, optical radar, Pacific, Pacific Theater, Panama, passport, politics, Port Talbot, President Lyndon B Johnson, Quarterback-Kicker, Randall McDaniel, Random, religion, Resorts International, RNA codon table, Roma, Ronald Graham, Royal Navy, Russian chess magazine, Russian Northern Fleet, San Francisco 49ers, scandals, science, Scientific American, Scorpion, self number, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool, significant numbers, Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane, Siller Brothers, Singapore, Six Four Incident, sixty-four, Skewes' number, song, South Korean, Soviet, space, Space & Security, Space Shuttle Discovery, SPARTAN-201, spin-off show, sport, STS-64, sun, super-perfect number, Switzerland, T-64, Taden, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tano of New Orleans, The Beatles, the Bible, The Incredible Hulk, The National Maritime Center, the Netherlands, the Persian Gulf, Tiananmen Square, Ticonderoga class, Tirpitz, Tomahawk, Toronto, triangular number, TRS-80 Color Computer (CoCo), tv, TV quiz shows, U-64, United Nations, United States presidential election, US Army, US Coast Guard, USS Constellation (CV-64), USS Croatan (CVE-14), USS Gettysburg (CG-64), USS Wisconsin (BB-64), utility amphibians, VIC-64, Virginia, W class destroyer, W64 nuclear warhead, Wales, When I'm 64, WOH G64, World War I, world war ii, WWII, XML, Y A Tittle, Yoginis

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Another significant numbers day.

In case you are wondering these numbers are picked quite randomly. Only after it makes itself known does the search start for things associated with it.

Sometimes there is a lot, sometimes not so much. Sixty-four seems to be a well used number so a lot of information below.

If you are into numbers, enjoy.

The Number Sixty-Four 64

In religion

The 64th word of the King James Version of the Bible’s Old Testament Genesis is “light”;
King David prays for deliverance from his enemies in the 64th Psalm;
The 64 Dakinis or Yoginis are 8 Mother goddesses each with 8 attendants in India religious traditions; each of the 64 can be further correlated to the currents or winds of the human “etheric” body;
The Lord Shiva has 64 forms or manifestations.

In mathematics

Sixty-four is the square of 8, the cube of 4, and the sixth power of 2;
Sixty-four is the smallest number with exactly seven divisors;
Sixty-four is the lowest positive power of two that is adjacent to neither a Mersenne prime nor a Fermat prime;
Sixty-four is the sum of Euler’s totient function for the first fourteen integers;
Sixty-four is also a dodecagonal number and a centered triangular number;
In base 10, no integer added up to its own digits yields 64, hence it is a self number;
Sixty-four is a super-perfect number – a number such that s(s(n))=2n.

Base64
Base64 is a group of similar binary-to-text encoding schemes that represent binary data in an ASCII string format by translating it into a radix-64 representation. The term Base64 originates from a specific MIME content transfer encoding.
Base64 encoding schemes are commonly used when there is a need to encode binary data that needs to be stored and transferred over media that are designed to deal with textual data. This is to ensure that the data remain intact without modification during transport.
Base64 is commonly used in a number of applications including email via MIME, and storing complex data in XML.

Graham’s number
Graham’s number, named after Ronald Graham, is unimaginably larger than other well-known large numbers such as a googol, googolplex, and even larger than Skewes’ number and Moser’s number.
The number gained a degree of popular attention when Martin Gardner described it in the “Mathematical Games” section of Scientific American in November 1977, writing that, “In an unpublished proof, Graham has recently established … a bound so vast that it holds the record for the largest number ever used in a serious mathematical proof.” The 1980 Guinness Book of World Records repeated Gardner’s claim, adding to the popular interest in this number.
Specific integers known to be far larger than Graham’s number have since appeared in many serious mathematical proofs (e.g., in connection with Friedman’s various finite forms of Kruskal’s theorem).

In Computing

64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit computing is the use of processors that have datapath widths, integer size, and memory addresses of 64 bits (eight octets) wide. Also, 64-bit CPU and ALU architectures are those that are based on registers, address buses, or data buses of that size. From the software perspective, 64-bit computing means the use of code with 64-bit virtual memory addresses

Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, commonly called C64, CBM 64 (for Commodore Business Machines), or VIC-64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International.
Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595.
Preceded by the Commodore VIC-20 and Commodore PET, the C64 took its name from its 64 kilobytes (65,536 bytes) of RAM, and had favorable sound and graphical specifications when compared to contemporary systems such as the Apple II, at a price that was well below the circa US$ 1200 demanded by Apple.
For a substantial period (1983–1986), the C64 dominated the market with between 30% and 40% share and 2 million units sold per year, outselling the IBM PC compatibles, Apple Inc. computers, and Atari 8-bit family computers.
Sam Tramiel, a later Atari president and the son of Commodore’s founder, said in a 1989 interview “When I was at Commodore we were building 400,000 C64s a month for a couple of years.”

Dragon 64
The Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 are home computers that were built in the 1980s. The Dragons are very similar to the TRS-80 Color Computer (CoCo), and were produced for the European market by Dragon Data, Ltd., in Port Talbot, Wales, and for the US market by Tano of New Orleans, Louisiana.
The model numbers reflect the primary difference between the two machines, which have 32 and 64 kilobytes of RAM, respectively.

In science

Sixty-four is the Atomic Number of Gadolinium (Gd), discovered by Jean de Marignac 1880 (Switzerland), and named after the mineral gadolinite;
Sixty-four is the Atomic Weight of Copper (Cu).
There are 64 codons in the RNA codon table under genetic code.

In space

Messier object M64, is a magnitude 9.0 galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, also known as the Black Eye Galaxy;
The New General Catalogue object NGC 64, a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus;
WOH G64 is a red hypergiant in the Large Magellanic Cloud. With 1540 times the radius of the Sun, it is one of the largest known stars and the largest known in the LMC. The physical parameters are still poorly known due to the distance, visual faintness, several solar masses of shrouding dust, and the possibility of a bright hot companion.

STS-64
STS-64 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission, launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 9 September 1994, to perform multiple experiment packages.
STS-64 marked the first flight of Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE) and first untethered U.S. extravehicular activity (EVA) in 10 years. LITE payload employs lidar, which stands for “light detection and ranging”, a type of optical radar using laser pulses instead of radio waves to study Earth’s atmosphere.
On day five of the mission, the Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy-201 (SPARTAN-201) free flyer was released using the Remote Manipulator System arm.
STS-64 was the first mission to see the use of the new full-pressure Advanced Crew Escape Suit, which eventually replaced the partial-pressure Launch Entry Suit.

In politics

Department of State Form DS-64 is the one US Citizens need if they lose or have your passport stolen;
Department of Labor Chapter 64 regulates the employment of workers with disabilities at special wages;
In the United States presidential election of 1964, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1964, Democratic candidate and incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson who had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy, and who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy’s popularity, won 61.1% of the popular vote, the highest won by a candidate since 1820.

In Chinese the “Six Four Incident” refers to Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

In sport

There are 64 teams participating in the NCAA Basketball Tournament;
In chess or draughts, there are a total of 64 black (dark) and white (light) squares on the game board;
The Knight’s Tour of a chessboard is a sequence of moves by a knight so that each of the 64 squares is visited only once. The numbers of the knight’s moves form a magic square where each row and column adds up to 260;
64 is the name of the premier Russian chess magazine;
NFL Hall of Famers with jersey #64 include Dave Wilcox, Linebacker (Boise Junior College, Oregon) and 1964-1974 San Francisco 49ers; George Blanda, Quarterback-Kicker, 1949, 1950-58 Chicago Bears, 1950 Baltimore Colts, 1960-66 Houston Oilers, 1967-1975 Oakland Raiders; Joe Delamielleure, Guard, 1973-1979, 1985 Buffalo Bills, 1980-1984 Cleveland Browns; Randall McDaniel, Guard, 1988-1999 Minnesota Vikings, 2000-01 Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Y.A. Tittle, Quarterback, 1948-1950 Baltimore Colts (AAFC/NFL), 1951-1960 San Francisco 49ers, 1961-1964 New York Giants.

In the National Hockey League, jersey #64 is used by James Robert McGinn IV is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Colorado Avalanche.

In books, movies, music and TV

The $64,000 Question is an American game show broadcast from 1955–1958, which became embroiled in the scandals involving TV quiz shows of the day. The $64,000 Challenge (1956–1958) was its popular spin-off show.
When I’m 64 is a song by John Lennon & Paul McCartney from The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album (1967).

In militaria

HMS Vansittart
HMS Vansittart was an Admiralty modified W class destroyer built for the Royal Navy. She was ordered in January 1918 from William Beardmore & Company with the 13th Order for Destroyers of the Emergency War Program of 1918-19. She was the second Royal Navy ship to carry the name which was first used in 1821 for a hired packet.

HMS Beverley (H 64)
Completed in July 1920 as USS Branch (DD 197) for the US Navy, on 8 Oct, 1940 she was transferred to the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Beverley (H 64).
On 9 Apr, 1943, during WWII convoy duty in the North Atlantic, HMS Beverley had been seriously damaged in a collision with the British steam merchant Cairnvalona and had taken station in the rear of the convoy. When it was subsequenty attaced by a German U-Boat, U-188, 30 hours later she was hit by torpedos and sunk. HMS Clover (K 134) (Lt P.H. Grieves, RNR) later picked up five survivors and recovered two bodies, but one of the survivors later died on board.

HMS Fencer (D64)
The USS Croatan (CVE-14) (originally AVG-14 then ACV-14) was transferred to the United Kingdom on 20 February 1943 under lend-lease where she served as HMS Fencer (D64). As an anti-submarine warfare carrier, Fencer escorted Atlantic, Russian and African convoys, even participating in a strike on the German battleship Tirpitz before being transferred to the Pacific.
Following World War II, she returned to the United States 21 December 1946, stricken for disposal on 28 January 1947 and sold into merchant service 30 December as Sydney.
The ship went through a series of renamings, first to Roma in 1967, then Galaxy Queen in 1970, Lady Dina in 1972 and finally Caribia in 1973 before being scrapped in Spezia in September 1975.

HMS Scorpion (D64)
HMS Scorpion (D64) was a Weapon-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. Originally named HMS Centaur, the ship was renamed Tomahawk and finally Scorpion (in September 1943) before her launch.
Scorpion was the only Weapon-class ship fitted with the Limbo depth charge mortar rather than the older Squid.
In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

HMS Theseus (R64)
HMS Theseus (R64) was a Colossus-class light fleet aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 July 1944.
Theseus was laid down to serve in the Second World War, but was not completed before peace was declared in 1945. She was utilized as a training vessel until the outbreak of the Korean War when she was deployed to Korea, commencing standard carrier operations.
In 1956, Theseus was used as an emergency commando carrier, along with her sister-ship Ocean, during the Suez Crisis. From November to December, helicopters from Theseus transported troops ashore, as well as evacuating wounded soldiers. Compared to her actions during the Korean War, her role at Suez was relatively quiet. The following year she was placed in reserve. She was subsequently broken up at Inverkeithing in 1962.

USS Wisconsin (BB-64)
The USS Wisconsin (BB-64), “Wisky” or “WisKy”, is an Iowa-class battleship, the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. She was launched on 7 December 1943 (the second anniversary of the Pearl Harbor raid).
During her career, Wisconsin served in the Pacific Theater of World War II, where she shelled Japanese fortifications and screened United States aircraft carriers as they conducted air raids against enemy positions.
During the Korean War, Wisconsin shelled North Korean targets in support of United Nations and South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned.
She was reactivated 1 August 1986, modernised and participated in Operation Desert Storm in January and February 1991.
Wisconsin was last decommissioned in September 1991, having earned a total of six battle stars for service in World War II and Korea, as well as a Navy Unit Commendation for service during the January/February 1991 Gulf War.
She currently functions as a museum ship operated by Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. .

USS Constellation (CV-64)
The USS Constellation (CV-64), a Kitty Hawk–class supercarrier, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the “new constellation of stars” on the flag of the United States and the only naval vessel ever authorized to display red, white, and blue designation numbers.
One of the fastest ships in the Navy, as proven by her victory during a battlegroup race held in 1985, she was nicknamed “Connie” by her crew and officially as “America’s Flagship”.
She was launched 8 October 1960 and delivered to the Navy 1 October 1961, and commissioned 27 October 1961, with Captain T. J. Walker in command. At that time, she had cost about US$264.5 million. Constellation was the last U.S. aircraft carrier (as of 2010) to be built at a yard other than Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company.

USS Gettysburg (CG-64)
The USS Gettysburg (CG-64) is a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser in the United States Navy, built at the Bath Iron Works in Maine and named for the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War.
With her guided missiles and rapid-fire cannons, she is capable of facing and defeating threats in the air, on the sea, or ashore, and underneath the sea. She also carries two Seahawk LAMPS multi-purpose helicopters, but mainly for anti-submarine warfare (ASW).
She is based in Mayport, Florida.

U-64
The first U-64 was a Type U-63 class submarine in the Kaiserliche Marine that served during World War I. She was built in 1916 and served in the Mediterranean Sea.
On 19 March 1917, while on patrol in the Tyrrhenian Sea, U-64 torpedoed and sank the French battleship Danton 30 miles south of Sardinia, with the loss of 296 men. She herself was lost on 17 June 1918.

In 1937 another German submarine U-64, a Type IXB U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine, was ordered in July 1937 and launched in September 1939.
This U-64 had a very short career and sank no enemy vessels. Having left her home port of Wilhelmshaven for her first war patrol on 6 April 1940, she was intercepted by Allied aircraft seven days later off the coast of Norway during the invasion of that country and was sunk by a bomb from a Fairey Swordfish aircraft of HMS Warspite. Of her crew of 46, eight men died and 38 escaped from the sinking submarine.

K-64
The K-64 Designation was first given to the first Alfa Class Submarine, launched on April 22, 1969.
In 1972, the submarine suffered a major reactor problem in the form of a leak of liquid metal coolant. The superheated metal solidified on contact with the colder outside air, freezing and damaging internal components of the reactor. She was removed from service and towed to Severodvinsk.
The K-64 designation was again given to a Delta IV class submarine launched on February 2, 1986 as the fourth ship of its class, entered in service in the Russian Northern Fleet. The sub was laid down in December 1982 and was built at Sevmash plant in Severodvinsk.
This ship is still in active service.

P-64
P-64 was the designation assigned by the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) to the North American Aviation NA-68 fighter, an upgraded variant of the NA-50 developed during the late 1930s.
Six NA-68s ordered by the Royal Thai Air Force were seized before export by the US government in 1941, after the Franco-Thai War and growing ties between Thailand and the Empire of Japan. These aircraft were used by the USAAC as unarmed fighter trainers.
Seven NA-50s were purchased by the Peruvian Air Force, which nicknamed it Torito (“Little Bull”). The Peruvian NA-50s subsequently saw action during the Ecuadorian-Peruvian War of 1941.

The Grumman G-64/111 Albatross
The Albatross is easily the largest of Grumman’s series of utility amphibians, and was the only one originally developed specifically for military service.
The Albatross resulted from a late 1940s US Navy requirement for a general purpose amphibious transport. The first Albatross prototype flew for the first time on October 24 1947, with more than 400 production HU-16s subsequently delivered to the US Navy, US Coast Guard and 12 other nations. Military Albatross missions included general reconnaissance, maritime patrol, anti submarine warfare (in which role it could be armed with torpedoes and depth charges) and search and rescue.
In the late 1970s, Grumman and major US flying boat operator Resorts International began work on a program to convert the Albatross for civil airline service. The conversion incorporated numerous changes to the basic Albatross, including a 28 seat passenger interior, a galley and provision for a flight attendant, upgraded avionics and other improved systems.
In all only 13 aircraft were converted, 12 for Resorts International, and 1 for Conoco Oil/Pelita which operated from Singapore. Several of these are still active, together with ex military examples.

AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew.
Originally, the Apache started life as the Model 77 developed by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army’s Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the AH-1 Cobra, and was first flown on 30 September 1975.
The AH-64 was introduced to U.S. Army service in April 1986.
The AH-64 Apache features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems; is armed with a 30-millimeter (1.2 in) M230 Chain Gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft’s forward fuselage; and has four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons, typically carrying a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods. The AH-64 has a large amount of systems redundancy to improve combat survivability.
The first production AH-64D Apache Longbow, an upgraded version of the original Apache, was delivered to the Army in March 1997. Production has been continued by Boeing Defense, Space & Security; over 1,000 AH-64s have been produced to date.
The U.S. Army is the primary operator of the AH-64; it has also become the primary attack helicopter of multiple nations, including Greece, Japan, Israel, the Netherlands and Singapore; as well as being produced under license in the United Kingdom as the AgustaWestland Apache. U.S. AH-64s have served in conflicts in Panama, the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Israel used the Apache in its military conflicts in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip; both British and U.S. Apaches have seen deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane
The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane is an American twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter, the civil version of the United States Army’s CH-54 Tarhe. The S-64 Aircrane is the current production version, manufactured by the Erickson Air-Crane company.
Erickson Air-Crane purchased the type certificate and manufacturing rights in 1992 and since that date they have become the manufacturer and world’s largest operator of S-64 Aircranes. The Aircrane can be fitted with a 2,650-gallon (~10,000 litre) fixed retardant tank to assist in the control of bush fires, and it has proved itself admirably in this role.
Erickson is manufacturing new S-64s, as well as remanufacturing existing CH-54s, with each being assigned an individual name, the best-known being “Elvis”, used in fighting fires in Australia alongside “The Incredible Hulk” and “Isabelle”.
Other operators, such as Siller Brothers, have followed with their Sikorsky S-64E, Andy’s Pride. The Erickson S-64E nicknamed “Olga” was used to lift the top section of the CN Tower into place in Toronto, Canada.
The S-64 is the first helicopter built with a rear-facing pilot’s seat—this allows the pilot to watch exactly where the load is being placed as he’s flying the helicopter. The feature came in handy in 1993, when an S-64 removed and replaced the Statue of Freedom from the US Capitol building during a renovation. When transporting a big load like that, the S-64 uses an anti-rotation rigging system that prevents the aircraft from twisting and swaying.

T-64
The T-64 is a Soviet main battle tank, introduced in the early 1960s. It was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62: the T-64 served tank divisions, while the T-62 supported infantry in motor rifle divisions. Although the T-62 and the famed T-72 would see much wider use and generally more development, it was the T-64 that formed the basis of more modern Soviet tank designs like the T-80.

W64 nuclear warhead
The W64 nuclear warhead was the Los Alamos Laboratory’s entry into a brief competition between Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and Los Alamos to design an “enhanced-radiation” nuclear warhead (i.e., a “neutron bomb”) for the United States Army’s MGM-52 Lance tactical surface-to-surface missile.
The Los Alamos design, the W64, was canceled in September 1964 in favor of Livermore’s W63. In November 1966, the W63 was canceled in favor of the W70, the model that finally entered production.

L64
The L64 was an intermediate calibre British bullpup layout prototype assault rifle developed in the 1970s. The British Army had considered bullpup designs with intermediate calibre rounds in the 1950s, and officially adopted one of these as .280 British in 1951 in the EM-2 and Taden gun. However, US intransigence during NATO standardization efforts, and Winston Churchill’s interest in standards above all, led to the adoption of the significantly more powerful 7.62×51mm NATO round and the British and Canadian armies adopted the L1A1 SLR, a licensed version of the FN FAL, itself originally designed for the .280.
In the late 1960s a new L64/65 “Individual Weapon” was developed, outwardly similar to the earlier EM-2, but adopted a firing mechanism very similar to ArmaLite’s latest AR-18 design. The first examples were available in 1972.
By 1976, NATO was ready to standardize on a small calibre round, and testing of the various rounds head-to-head started in 1977. As designed, the British round out-performed the standard US 5.56 mm. However Fabrique Nationale’s entry based on the 5.56 mm, the “SS-109” performed as well as the British cartridge. In the end it was selected largely due to its similarity with existing US ammunition.
The L64 pattern was later developed into the SA80 family of weapons, which entered service with the UK in the 1980s.

P-64 Pistol
The P-64 is a Polish 9mm semi-automatic pistol designed to fire the 9x18mm Makarov cartridge. The pistol was developed in the late 1950s at the Institute for Artillery Research, which later became the Military Institute of Armament Technology.

In other fields

Cities situated on longtitude 64 degree west are: Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands; Hamilton, Bermuda; Road Town, British Virgin Islands; and Córdoba, Argentina.
Cities situated on latitude 64 north are: Fairbanks, Alaska; Skellefteå, Sweden; Anadyr and Arkhangelsk, Russia; Nuuk (Godthåb), Greenland; and Reykjavík, Iceland.
There are 64 gems in total number in a standard Bejeweled game board.
64 is the code for international direct dial calls to New Zealand.
There are 64 Braille characters in the old 6-dot system.
Since 1996, the number 64 has been an abbreviation or slang for Nintendo 64 (though N64 is more common) along with the games Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64 and more.

64 is the maximum number of strokes in any Chinese character.
There are 64 hexagrams in the I Ching.
There are 64 sexual positions in the Kama Sutra.
There are 64 demons in the Dictionnaire Infernal.
There are 64 classical arts listed in many Indian scriptures. They include: singing, dancing, painting, poetry, playing cards, making arguments, making flower garlands, etc.
The 64th French department is Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Unsurprisingly it is the number of crayons in the popular Crayola 64 pack.
64 is the maximum stack size in the popular game Minecraft.
64 (dog) is a character in the Donald Duck comics universe.
Number of golden disks in the myth of the Tower of Hanoi.
The S64-1.25 MW has a well-suited ratio of rotor diameter to generator for most sites in a medium wind speed regime. The wind turbine concept is based on robust design and is efficiently handled by the Suzlon controller. These technologies are all well-known in the wind power industry and have proven themselves over time.

PARALOID B-64 solid grade acrylic resin provides an outstanding combination of hardness, flexibility, and adhesion to various substrates. This general-purpose resin permits wider latitude in formulating in solvents that are suitable for specific applications.
Group f/64 was a group of seven 20th century San Francisco photographers who shared a common photographic style characterized by sharp-focused and carefully framed images seen through a particularly Western (U.S.) viewpoint. In part, they formed in opposition to the Pictorialist photographic style that had dominated much of the early 20th century, but moreover they wanted to promote a new Modernist aesthetic that was based on precisely exposed images of natural forms and found objects.
64 is the slang term referring to a 1964 Chevrolet Impala, often configured as a lowrider, a popular subject among early-90’s gangsta rap.

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I Don’t Know How They Do It But Every Week They Seem To Get Worse!

January 14, 2013 fasab Bloopers, comedy, Humour, Quiz Show Answers, tv, Uncategorized, Unusual $20, amusing, autumn day, bicycle, Bob Barker, buy, car, Christmas, colonial, Comedy, computer, Entertainment, famous Australian, famous sex symbol, fools, fruit, funny, gallon, gas, human, Humor, Humour, husband, idiots, important city, invention, Jeans, kids, large family, larger size, London, Misc, Miscellaneous, morons, movie, New England, paper, parents, pasta, People, pet, Peter Pan, quiz, quiz show, quiz show answers, quiz shows, radio, Random, set, show, Snow White, stairs, stupid, stupid people, stupidity, Sweet tarts, tarts, television, television quiz show, television quiz shows, temperature, tv, vet, Virginia, wheel, who wants to be a millionaire, Wilma

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Yes, I really don’t know how they do it, but every week they do seem to get worse. Where these answers come from or why shall always be a mystery, but they are fun and that’s what we like here, especially on a Monday!

You gotta start the week with a smile 🙂

Enjoy.

Q: The perfect temperature for an autumn day

A: 87

Q: An important city during colonial times

A: Virginia

A: New England

Q: Name something parents yell at their kids to finish

A: “Get off that computer”

Q: Name a movie people love to watch at Christmas

A: Snow White

Q: Name a type of fruit found in tarts

A: Sweet tarts

Q: Name something you buy by the set

A: Paper

Q: Name something you buy in a larger size if you have a large family

A: Jeans

Q: Name something a woman sees that would make her tell her husband to stop the car

A: A bicycle

Q: The most you could afford to pay for a gallon of gas

A: $20

Q: Name a way you would treat a pet like a human

A: Take it to the vet

Q: Name something London is famous for

A: Pasta

Q: Name a famous Australian

A: Peter Pan

Q: The name of a famous sex symbol

A: Wilma

Q: An invention that has replaced stairs

A: Wheel

Q: Name something associated with the show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”

A: Bob Barker

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The Mayans Were Just Ten Days Out – 2012, The End

December 31, 2012December 31, 2012 fasab Factoids, Uncategorized, Unusual 2012, 2013, 31st December, 80 mph winds, Adam Lanza, Alex Karras, America, Andrew Breitbart, Android, Andy Griffith, Andy Williams, apple, Arlen Specter, Art Modell, Aurora, Australia, Austrian, Batman, BBC, Benghazi, Blogs, books, Carol Bartz, Category 1 Hurricane, Category 2 hurricane, celebrity paedophiles, Celeste Holm, Chad Everett, Charles Durning, child sex abuse, China, Chuck Colson, CIA Director, Colorado, congress, Connecticut, crazed gunman, Current Events, cycling champion, Daniel Inouye, Darrell Royal, Dave Brubeck, David Petraeus, Davy Jones, departures, derecho, Dick Clark, Director General, disc jockey, Don Cornelius, Don Grady, Donna Summer, Dust Bowl drought, Earl Scruggs, education, EF-4 tornadoes, Elizabeth Montgomery, Empire State Building, Ernest Borgnine, Etta James, events, events of the year, facebook, Felix Baumgartner, France, Frank Cady, g, Gary Carter, Gary Collins, George Harrison, George Lindsey, George McGovern, Germany, Gerry Anderson, Goodfellas, Google, Google Maps, Gore Vidal, Great Britain, Great Drought, greedy banksters, Hal David, Harry Carey, Helen Gurley Brown, Henry Hill, Herbert Lom, Hurricane Isaac, Illinois, increasing taxes, International Cycling Union, Intrade, ipad, iPhone 5, Islamic militants, Jack Klugman, James Holmes, James Q Wilson, Japan, Jerry Sandusky, Jim Unger, Jimmy Savile, Joe Paterno, Jonathan Frid, Junior Seau, Kentucky, Kitty Wells, Lance Armstrong, Larry Hagman, Lee MacPhail, Levon Helm, Libya, Life, London, Louisiana, Lower Mississippi River, Marvin Hamlisch, Marvin Miller, Maurice Sendak, Mayans, Megaupload, memories, Michael Clarke Duncan, microsoft, Mike Wallace, Misc, Miscellaneous, Mississippi, Mississippi River, movies, Musings, Neil Armstrong, New Jersey, new york, Newtown, Nora Ephron, Norman Schwarzkopf, November 2012, Obama administration, olympic games, Oval Office, paedophile, Paralympic Games, Patrick Moore, Paul Ryan, Penn State University, People, personalities, Peter Breck, Phyllis Diller, Plaquemines Parish, politics, pope, Port Sulphur, President Obama, President of the United States, presidential election, Prison Fellowship Ministries, publishing, Random, Ravi Shankar, Ray Bradbury, Reddit, Richard D. Zanuck, Richard Dawson, Robert Bork, Robert Hegyes, Robin Gibb, Rodney King, Roman Catholic Church, Ron Palillo, Russia, Sally Ride, Samsung, Sandy Hook Elementary School, scandal, Scott Thompson, September 11, severe thunderstorms, Sherman Hemsley, Sikh temple, SOPA, south korea, southern Georgia, Southern Indiana, southern Ohio, Stop Online Piracy Act, Sun Myung Moon, Super Storm Sandy, Sylvia Kristel, tablets, Techie World, technology, television, The Dark Knight Rises, thought police, Tony Martin, tornado, Tour de France, Turhan Bey, tweeting, Twitter, Ukraine, United States Anti-Doping Agency, US Ambassador Christopher Stevens, US mission, US Presidential Election, USA, USADA, Victor Spinetti, Vidal Sassoon, Virginia, warmest year on record, weather, Whitney Houston, Wikipedia, wildfires, William Asher, William Rees-Mog, WIndows 8, Wisconsin, Yahoo, Yitzhak Shamir, Zig Ziglar

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Yes folks we all gave the Mayans some stick when their prediction didn’t come true (including me, click here if you missed it) but they were just ten days out, not too bad in a few thousand years!

Today IS the end. The end of 2012. It has been a difficult and frustrating year business-wise because of the continued mess created by the stupid and greedy banksters, so I for one won’t be sorry to see the end of it.

However that gripe aside, it is the last day of 2012 so I thought we should do something a little different today.

So, before we start to look forward to a new, and hopefully better, year, here is a selective look back at some of the events of this year.

There are a couple of ways you could do a post like this. You could link to other sites, particularly newspaper sites because they all seem to do lists of one kind or another at the close of the year. The other way is to compile a more personal one, with the things you remember personally. Both are equally valid, but this being a blog I’ve chosen to go the more personal route and compile a list of the things I remember so, although it is quite long, it is selective and by no means covers everything that happened in 2012.

I have also included a list of some of the personalities that passed during 2012, you probably heard about them all at the time, but memories being what they are I am sure one or two of them will come as a surprise.

So let’s get started.

Spectacles

I don’t know whether to class this as the biggest event or the biggest non event of the year, but November 2012 saw the Presidential election campaign and the successful return of President Obama to the Oval Office. Look forward to increasing taxes in 2013!
Although on the face of it a national event, because of the power and influence of America, the US Presidential Election has now become an International spectacle watched by several billion people worldwide. What they made of it all I don’t know, but they watched it anyway.

The other big international spectacle of the 2012 that drew large viewing audiences were the Olympic and Paralympic Games held in London in July, August and September. Approximately 10,500 athletes participated in 302 events in 26 sports.
In the Olympics the top six gold medal places went to USA (46), China (38), Great Britain (29), Russia (24), and South Korea (13), with Germany and France tying for sixth place with 11 gold medals each. The overall medal table was slightly different, USA (104), China (88), Russia (82), Great Britain (65), Germany (44), and Japan (38).
In the Paralympics the top six gold medal places went to China (95), Russia (36), Great Britain (34), Ukraine (32), Australia (32), and USA (31). In the overall medal results the order was China (231), Great Britain (120), Russia (102), USA (98), Australia (85), and Ukraine (84).

Weather

The weather, at its extremes, was another major talking point of 2012. Starting with the last and worst, ‘Super Storm Sandy’ took most of the headlines and did the most damage, particularly to north east coast areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The cost is estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars.

Almost forgotten because of the ferocity of Sandy was Hurricane Isaac that slowly lumbered ashore near the mouth of the Mississippi River on August 28 as a Category 1 Hurricane with 80 mph winds. Isaac’s large size and slow motion caused a storm surge of up to eleven feet, more characteristic of a Category 2 hurricane. Thankfully, however, New Orleans’ new $14.5 billion levee upgrade held against Isaac’s surge, although further up the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish near Port Sulphur, it did cause major flooding of homes. In total Isaac still managed to do about $2 billion worth of damage.

Early March also saw a massive and violent tornado outbreak on an exceptional scale and including two deadly EF-4 tornadoes. In all, seventy tornadoes touched down in eleven states, from southern Ohio to southern Georgia, killing 41 people, with Kentucky and Southern Indiana being hardest hit and suffering 22 and 13 dead, respectively. At one point, 31 separate tornado warnings were in effect during the outbreak covering an area of more than 80,000 square miles. Tornado watches were posted for mpre than 300,000 square miles, an area larger than Texas. Total damage was estimated at $4 billion.

Also on June 29 a violent line of severe thunderstorms called a derecho swept across the U.S. from Illinois to Virginia, damaging houses, toppling trees, and bringing down power lines. Twenty-two people were killed, and power cuts affected at least 3.4 million people. The derecho was unusually intense due to extreme heat that set all-time records at ten major cities on its south side, helping to create an unstable atmosphere with plenty of energy to fuel severe thunderstorms. At least 38 thunderstorms in the derecho generated wind gusts in excess of hurricane force, making it one of the most severe derechoes on record. Total damage was estimated at $3.75 billion.

Contrarily, 2012 was the warmest year on record, with July being the warmest month of any month in the 1,400+ months of the U.S. data record, going back to 1895. The spring temperature departure from average was also the largest on record for any season, and March temperatures had the second largest warm departure from average of any month in U.S. history. All-time hottest temperature records were set over approximately 7% of the area of the contiguous U.S., according to a database of 298 major U.S. cities maintained by wunderground’s weather historian, Christopher C. Burt.
This, despite all this rainfall and flooding caused by the severe storms, also saw a ‘Great Drought’ in 2012, the full consequences of which we have not yet seen and which may well prove to be the biggest weather story of the year. The area of the contiguous U.S. in moderate or greater drought peaked at 61.8% in July–the largest such area since the Dust Bowl drought of December 1939. The heat and dryness resulted in record or near-record evaporation rates, causing major impact on corn, soybean and wheat belts in addition to livestock production. Drought upstream of the Lower Mississippi River caused record and near-record low stream flows along the river in Mississippi and Louisiana, resulting in limited river transportation and commerce. Crop damages alone from the great drought are estimated at $35 billion. As the total scope of losses is realized across all lines of business in coming moths, this number will climb significantly.

Add to this 2012 as the 3rd worst wildfire year in U.S. history, with 9.2 million acres burned–an area larger than the state of Maryland.

Scandal

On a completely different subject 2012 will also be remembered as the year of the high profile celebrity paedophiles.

Penn State University’s former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, was convicted of 45 counts of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years. He was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison. The scandal sparked a national debate over child sex abuse, embarrassed the university and implicated a number of its top officials including legendary football head coach, the late Joe Paterno.
In Britain there was a major, and still ongoing, scandal within the BBC because of the actions and subsequent cover-up of the actions of paedophile disc jockey Jimmy Savile (now deceased). This has already led to the resignations of several high-ranking BBC employees, including its Director General.
The Roman Catholic Church also continued to suffer from the fallout from decades of child abuse and cover-ups by its priests and hierarchy.

Technology

In the Techie World 2012 saw a number of milestone events.

There was the introduction of the all new WIndows 8 operating system by Microsoft.
Then there was the continuation of the big bust up between Apple and Samsung which in its second year seemed even stronger than ever.
The thought police closed down Megaupload and stopped Americans using Intrade.
Members of Congress also sponsored the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, and related bills to make it easier to shut down websites that illegally share music, movies and other content. But opponents (which included just about everybody who used the internet) argued it went too far and could end up shutting down legitimate sites while stifling free expression in the process. Unfortunately for backers of SOPA, Web heavyweights such as Google, Facebook, Reddit and Wikipedia joined the fight against the bill. Sites went black on January 18 to raise awareness. Members of communities such as Reddit put intense pressure on lawmakers (including soon-to-be GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan) until they dropped their support or went on record opposing the bill. The unprecedented backlash eventually caused supporters to shelve SOPA, and quite possibly ushered in a new age of Web activism.
Facebook flopped producing one of the longest alliterated titles in the blogsphere during 2012 (Furious Flabbergasted Facebook Fools Face Frightening Falls From Fanciful Flagging Financial Flotation Farce ).
Meanwhile Twitter went from strength to strength with even the President of the United States and the Pope tweeting their little hearts out.
Speaking of flops, Carol Bartz flopped at Yahoo and was sacked being replaced by Scott Thompson. Yahoo continues to be troubled since its idiotic refusal of a $40 billion plus offer from Microsoft.
Google got itself some tablets and started to take on greedy Apple in the iPad market selling its Android versions for substantially less.
Along with the rollout of the much anticipated iPhone 5 in September, Apple overhauled iOS, the operating system that runs the phone, its iPad and other mobile devices. A much-hyped feature of the change was Apple’s first effort at its own mapping app – after dumping rival Google’s map software. The result was so bad that a few days later Apple’s CEO was essentially telling customers to use Google Maps.

Departures

2012 also the passing of many well known personalities and celebrities. For example,

In space

Neil Armstrong, aged 82 (8/5/1930 to 8/25/2012), astronaut who flew on the Gemini 8 mission (as commander) in 1966 and the Apollo 11 mission (as commander) in 1969, becoming the first of twelve men to walk on the moon.

Sally Ride, aged 61 (5/26/1951 to 7/23/2012), astronaut and the first American woman in space, who flew on Shuttle flights STS-7 (1983) and STS 41-G (1984).

Patrick Moore, aged 89 (3/4/1923 to 12/9/2012), British astronomer, writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter. Moore was a former president of the British Astronomical Association, co-founder and former president of the Society for Popular Astronomy (SPA), author of over 70 books on astronomy, and presenter of the world’s longest-running television series with the same original presenter, the BBC’s The Sky at Night. He was also a self-taught xylophone, glockenspiel player and pianist, as well as an accomplished composer. He was a former amateur cricketer, golfer and chess player. In addition to many popular science books, he wrote numerous works of fiction. Moore served in the Royal Air Force during World War II; his fiancée was killed by a bomb during the war and he never married.

In politics

Chuck Colson, aged 80 (10/16/1931 to 4/21/2012), White House counsel under Nixon (1969-72), and imprisoned for obstruction of justice in Watergate scandal (1973). While in prison he underwent Christian conversion and founded Prison Fellowship Ministries.

Robert Bork, aged 85 (3/1/1927 to 12/19/2012, U.S. solicitor general under Nixon. As acting Attorney General, he fired Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox on Nixon’s orders, after Elliot Richardson and then William Ruckelshaus refused and resigned. He was subsequently Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (1982-88) and Nominated to the Supreme Court by Reagan in 1987 and rejected by the Senate.

Daniel Inouye, aged 88 (9/7/1924 to 12/17/2012), U.S. Representative (D-HI, 1959-63), U.S. Senator (D-HI, 1963-2012).

William Rees-Mogg, Baron Rees-Mogg, aged 84 (14 July 1928 – 29 December 2012), British journalist and life peer, Editor of The Times (1967–1981).

George McGovern, aged 90 (7/19/1922 to 10/21/2012), U.S. Rep., D-SD (1957-61); U.S. Senator, D-SD (1963-81); Democratic presidential nominee (1972).

Arlen Specter, aged 82 (2/12/1930 to 10/14/2012), U.S. Senator (R-PA, 1981-2009; D-PA, 2009-11). Specter was a member of the Warren Commission that investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and co-author of the ‘magic bullet’ theory that Kennedy and Gov. John Connally were shot by the same single bullet.

Norman Schwarzkopf, aged 78 (8/22/1934 to 12/27/2012), U.S. Army general. Commanded the U.S. and allied forces in the Persian Gulf War (1991).

Yitzhak Shamir, aged 96 (10/15/1915 to 6/30/2012), Israeli prime minister (Likud party, 1983-84, 1986-92).

In TV & movies

Gerry Anderson, aged 83 (14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for futuristic television programs, using ‘supermarionation’, working with modified marionettes, such as Thunderbirds, and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. He was also responsible for the real-life sci-fi tv series Space 1999.

Ernest Borgnine, aged 95 (1/24/1917 to 7/8/2012), actor, From Here to Eternity (1953), “McHale’s Navy” (Lt. Quinton McHale, 1962-66), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Code Name: Wild Geese (1984). Won an Academy award for Marty (Best actor, 1956). Husband of singer Ethel Merman for 32 days in 1964.

Phyllis Diller, aged 95 (7/17/1917 to 8/20/2012), comedienne/actress who appeared frequently on talk shows, game shows, and variety shows in the 1960s and 70s.

Charles Durning, aged 89 (2/28/1923 to 12/24/2012), actor, The Sting (1973), The Muppet Movie (1979), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), “Evening Shade” (Dr. Harlan Eldridge, 1990-94).

Larry Hagman, aged 81 (9/21/1931 to 11/23/2012), actor, “I Dream of Jeannie” (Maj. Anthony Nelson, 1965-70), “Dallas” (J.R. Ewing, 1978-91) and reprised the role of J.R. Ewing in the 2012 tv series “Dallas”. Son of actress Mary Martin.

Jack Klugman, aged 90 (4/27/1922 to 12/24/2012), actor, 12 Angry Men (1957), “The Odd Couple” (Oscar Madison, 1970-75), “Quincy, M.E.” (Dr. R. Quincy, 1976-83). Husband of actress/game show panelist Brett Somers (1953-74). Won two Emmy Awards for “The Odd Couple” (1971, 1973).

Sylvia Kristel, aged 60 (9/28/1952 to 10/17/2012), actress, the controversial Emmanuelle (1974) and three sequels (1975-84), Private Lessons (1981).

Herbert Lom, aged 95 (1/9/1917 to 9/27/2012), most famous for his portrayal of Chief Inspector Dreyfus in The Return of the Pink Panther (1974) and five more films in the “Pink Panther” series from 1976 to 1993.

William Asher, aged 90 (8/8/1921 to 7/16/2012), was a TV and film director whose work included “I Love Lucy” (1952-57), Beach Party (1963), “Bewitched” (1964-72), “Alice” (1977-79). Husband of actress Elizabeth Montgomery (1963-73).

Turhan Bey, aged 90 (3/30/1922 to 9/30/2012), actor who starred in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944), The Amazing Mr. X (1948).

Peter Breck, aged 82 (3/13/1929 to 2/6/2012), actor, “Maverick” (Doc Holliday, 1960-62), “The Big Valley” (Nick Barkley, 1965-69).

Frank Cady, aged 96 (9/8/1915 to 6/9/2012), actor, “Petticoat Junction” (1963-70), “Green Acres” (Sam Drucker, 1965-71).

Harry Carey, Jr., aged 91 (May 16, 1921 – December 27, 2012), actor, appeared in over 90 movies including Gremplins and Tombstone and several John Ford Westerns such as The Searchers, as well as numerous television series.

Dick Clark, aged 82 (11/30/1929 to 4/18/2012), a TV host on shows “American Bandstand” (1957-87), “The $10,000 Pyramid” (1973-88), “TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes” (1984-88), “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” (1972-2012). He was also the producer of a variety of TV game shows, talk shows, entertainment shows, and movies.

Gary Collins, aged 74 (4/30/1938 to 10/13/2012), actor, Iron Horse (Dave Tarrant, 1966-68), “The Sixth Sense” (Dr. Michael Rhodes, 1972). TV host for “Hour Magazine” (1980-88), Miss America Pageant (1982-90). Husband of Miss America 1959 Mary Ann Mobley (1967-2012).

Don Cornelius, aged 75 (9/27/1936 to 2/1/2012), host (1971-2007) and producer (1971-88) of “Soul Train”. Producer of the “Soul Train Music Awards” (1987-2007).

Richard Dawson, aged 79 (11/20/1932 to 6/2/2012), actor and game show host, starred in “Hogan’s Heroes” (Cpl. Peter Newkirk, 1965-71), “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” (regular performer, 1971-73), “Match Game” (panelist, 1973-79), “Family Feud” (host, 1975-88, 94-95), The Running Man (1987).

Michael Clarke Duncan, aged 54 (12/10/1957 to 9/3/2012), actor, Armageddon (1998), The Green Mile (1999).

Nora Ephron, aged 71 (5/19/1941 to 6/26/2012), filmmaker responsible for Silkwood (writer, 1983), When Hary Met Sally (writer, 1989), Sleepless in Seattle (writer, director, 1993), You’ve Got Mail (writer, director, producer, 1998), Julie & Julia (writer, director, producer, 2009).

Chad Everett, aged 76 (6/11/1936 to 7/24/2012), actor, “Medical Center” (Dr. Joe Gannon, 1969-76), Airplane II: The Sequel (1982).

Jonathan Frid, aged 87 (12/2/1924 to 4/13/2012), actor, “Dark Shadows” (Barnabas Collins, 1967-71).

Don Grady, aged 68 (6/8/1944 to 6/27/2012), cast member, “The Mickey Mouse Club” (1957-58). Actor, “My Three Sons” (Robbie Douglas, 1960-71).

Andy Griffith, aged 86 (6/1/1926 to 7/3/2012), cast member, “The Mickey Mouse Club” (1957-58). Gained prominence in the starring role in A Face in the Crowd (1957) before becoming better known for his television roles, playing the lead characters in the 1960–1968 situation comedy The Andy Griffith Show and in the 1986–1995 legal drama Matlock.

Robert Hegyes, aged 60 (5/7/1951 to 1/26/2012), actor, “Welcome Back, Kotter” (Juan Epstein, 1975-79).

Sherman Hemsley, aged 74 (2/1/1938 to 7/24/2012), actor, “All in the Family” (George Jefferson, 1973-75), “The Jeffersons” (George Jefferson, 1975-85), “Amen” (Deacon Ernest Frye, 1986-91).

Celeste Holm, aged 95 (4/29/1917 to 7/15/2012), actress, All About Eve (1950). Won an Academy award for Gentleman’s Agreement (Best supporting actress, 1948).

George Lindsey, aged 83 (12/17/1928 to 5/6/2012), actor, “The Andy Griffith Show” (Goober Pyle, 1965-68), “Mayberry R.F.D.” (Goober Pyle, 1968-71), “Hee Haw” (Goober, 1972-92).

Ron Palillo, aged 63 (4/2/1949 to 8/14/2012), actor, “Welcome Back, Kotter” (Arnold Horshack, 1975-79).

Victor Spinetti, aged 82 (9/2/1929 to 6/18/2012), actor, The Beatles movies A Hard Day’s Night (1964), Help! (1965), “Magical Mystery Tour” (1967).

Mike Wallace, aged 93 (5/9/1918 to 4/7/2012), TV news correspondent famous for his adversarial style. Programs include “Mike Wallace Interview (1957-60)”, “60 Minutes” (1968-2006).

Richard D. Zanuck, aged 77 (12/13/1934 to 7/13/2012), film producer for movies like Jaws (1975), Neighbors (1981), Cocoon (1985), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Deep Impact (1998), Planet of the Apes (2001). Son of producer Darryl F. Zanuck.

In Music

Robin Gibb, aged 62 (12/22/1949 to 5/20/2012), member of the Bee Gees with older brother Barry and twin brother Maurice (1958-69, 1970-2003). Hits include “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” (1970), “Jive Talkin'” (1975), “Stayin’ Alive” (1977), and “Too Much Heaven” (1979). Older brother of Andy Gibb.

Marvin Hamlisch, aged 68 (6/2/1944 to 8/6/2012), songwriter. Hits include “Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows” (1965), “The Way We Were” (1973), “The Entertainer” (1974), “What I Did For Love” (1975), and “Nobody Does It Better” (1977).

Whitney Houston, aged 48 (8/9/1963 to 2/11/2012), pop singer. Hits include “Saving All My Love for You” (1985), “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” (1987), and “I Will Always Love You” (1992). Wife of singer Bobby Brown (1992-2007). Cousin of singer Dionne Warwick.

Andy Williams, aged 84 (12/3/1927 to 9/25/2012), TV host, “The Andy Williams Show” (1962-71) and singer, “Butterfly” (1957), “Moon River” (1962), “Love Story (Where Do I Begin)” (1971).

Donna Summer, aged 63 (12/31/1948 to 5/17/2012), pop/disco singer. Hits include “Love to Love You Baby” (1975), “Last Dance” (1978) “Bad Girls” (1979), and “She Works Hard for the Money” (1983).

Ravi Shankar, aged 92 (4/7/1920 to 12/11/2012), sitar player. Mentored rock musician George Harrison (1966), played in the Concert for Bangladesh (1971). Father of jazz musician Norah Jones (1979).

Dave Brubeck, aged 91 (12/6/1920 to 12/5/2012), jazz pianist. Hits include “Take Five” (1959).

Hal David, aged 91 (5/25/1921 to 9/1/2012), lyricist and songwriting partner of Burt Bacharach (1957-1972). Hits include “Walk on By”, “What the World Needs Now Is Love”, “What’s New Pussycat?”, “The Look of Love”, “This Guy’s In Love With You”, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head”, “Close to You”, and “One Less Bell to Answer”. Inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Levon Helm, aged 71 (5/26/1940 to 4/19/2012), rock vocalist and drummer, member of The Band (1968-1976, 1983-1999). Sang lead on “The Weight” (1968), “Up on Cripple Creek” (1969), and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” (1969).

Etta James, aged 73 (1/25/1938 to 1/20/2012), blues singer. Hits include “The Wallflower” (1955), “At Last” (1961), “I Just Want to Make Love to You” (1996). Won four Grammy awards (1994-2004). Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1993).

Davy Jones, aged 66 (12/30/1945 to 2/29/2012), actor/singer, “The Monkees” (1966-68). Sang lead on “Daydream Believer” (1967).

Tony Martin, aged 98 (12/25/1913 to 7/27/2012), singer. Hits include “There’s No Tomorrow” (1949), “I Get Ideas” (1951), “Walk Hand In Hand” (1956). Actor; Casbah (1948), Here Come the Girls (1953), Hit the Deck (1955). Husband of actress Cyd Charisse (1948-2008).

Earl Scruggs, aged 88 (1/6/1924 to 3/28/2012), bluegrass banjo player, teamed with Lester Flatt (1948-69). Hits include “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” (1963).

Kitty Wells, aged 92 (8/30/1919 to 7/16/2012), country singer. Hits include “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” (1952), “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (1958), “Heartbreak U.S.A.” (1961). Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (1974). Received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1991). Wife of country singer Johnnie Wright (1937-2011).

In Sport

Gary Carter, aged 57 (4/5/1954 to 2/16/2012), catcher for Montreal Expos (1974-84, 1992), New York Mets (1985-89), and two other teams (1990-91). 11-time All-Star (1975, 1979-88) and 3-time Gold Glove Award winner (1980-82). Inducted into the Hall of Fame (2003).

Lee MacPhail, aged 95 (10/25/1917 to 11/8/2012), major-league baseball executive, general manager of the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees, American League President (1974-83) and President of the Players Relations Committee. Elected to the MLB Hall of Fame (1998). Son of baseball executive Larry MacPhail and father of baseball executive Andy MacPhail (1953).

Marvin Miller, aged 95 (4/14/1917 to 11/27/2012), executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (1966-82), negotiated collective bargaining, arbitration, and free agency with the baseball owners.

Art Modell, aged87 (6/23/1925 to 9/6/2012), owner of the NFL Cleveland Browns (1961-95) and Baltimore Ravens (1996-2004). President of the National Football League (1967-69). Was the principal force in having NFL games televised on Monday nights (1970).

Joe Paterno, aged 85 (12/21/1926 to 1/22/2012), college football coach (Penn State 1966-2011). Won 24 bowl games and 3 Big Ten championships. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (2006). Fired for not doing more about allegations of child molestation taking place in his facilities.

Darrell Royal, aged 88 (7/9/1924 to 11/7/2012), college football head coach for Mississippi State University (1954-55), University of Washington (1956), and University of Texas (1957-76). Won three national championships (1963, 1969, 1970). Had 23 consecutive winning seasons.

Alex Karras, aged 77 (7/15/1935 to 10/10/2012), NFL football player; Detroit Lions (tackle, 1958-71). Actor, Blazing Saddles (1974), “Webster” (George Papadapolis, 1983-89).

Junior Seau, aged 43 (1/19/1969 to 5/2/2012), NFL linebacker for San Diego Chargers (1990-2002), Miami Dolphins (2003-05), and New England Patriots (2006-09). Was on the Pro Bowl team 12 consecutive years (1991-2002).

In Publishing & Books

Ray Bradbury, aged 91 (8/22/1920 to 6/5/2012), science fiction writer whose works include The Martian Chronicles (1950), and Farenheit 451 (1953).

Andrew Breitbart, aged 43 (2/1/1969 to 3/1/2012), web publisher, editor for The Drudge Report, and founder of Brietbart.com and BigGovernment.com (2009). Facilitated an undercover video purporting to expose fraud in ACORN (2009).

Helen Gurley Brown, aged 90 (2/18/1922 to 8/13/2012), author of Sex and the Single Girl (1962) and editor of Cosmopolitan (1965-1997).

Jim Unger, aged 75 (1/21/1937 to 5/29/2012), cartoonist of “Herman” (1974-92).

Gore Vidal, aged 86 (10/3/1925 to 7/31/2012), novelist whose works include Myra Breckinridge (1968) and Lincoln (1984).

Maurice Sendak, aged 83 (6/10/1928 to 5/8/2012), children’s writer whose works include Little Bear (1957) and Where the Wild Things Are (1963).

James Q. Wilson, aged 80 (5/27/1931 to 3/2/2012), sociologist/criminologist professor at Harvard (1961-87). Rejected prevailing theories that most/all criminal behavior is the product of societal factors. Wrote Varieties of Police Behavior (1968) and Thinking About Crime (1975).

Zig Ziglar, aged 86 (11/6/1926 to 11/28/2012), motivational speaker and author (See You at the Top, 1975).

Miscellaneous

Henry Hill, aged 69 (6/11/1943 to 6/12/2012), organized crime figure with the Luchesse crime family of New York, participated in a hesit of Lufthansa Air (1978), became an FBI informant, expelled from the U.S. Witness Protection Program (1982). Subject of the film Goodfellas (1990).

Sun Myung Moon, aged 92 (2/25/1920 to 9/2/2012), founder of the Unification Church (1954), also known as “Moonies”. Convicted of willfully filing false US income tax returns (1982); imprisoned for 13 months (1984-85).

Vidal Sassoon, aged 84 (1/17/1928 to 5/9/2012), hairdresser to the rich and famous.

Rodney King, aged 47 (4/2/1965 to 6/17/2012), victim of a videotaped beating involving seven Los Angeles police officers on 3 March 1991 that made him a symbol of police brutality and led to racially charged riots in Los Angeles. Four officers were tried; three were acquitted and the jury failed to reach a verdict on the fourth. Their acquittals on 29 April 1992 prompted a riot in which 54 people died. Two officers were subsequently found guilty of civil rights violations in federal court, and King was paid $3.8 million by the city of Los Angeles.

Manmade Tragedies

2012 also had its share of manmade tragedies.

In Aurora, Colorado a crazed gunman opened fire on an unsuspecting audience during a midnight screening of the Batman new movie “The Dark Knight Rises”, killing 12 people and wounding 58 others. The killer was former neuroscience graduate student James Holmes.
In Benghazi , Libya Islamic militants stormed the U.S. mission on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, killing U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. The attack was the first to kill a U.S. ambassador in the line of duty since 1979 and sparked severe criticism of the Obama administration. An official inquiry found widespread failures in both security planning and internal management.
In a Wisconsin Sikh temple a gunman killed six people and critically wounded three others, before he was himself shot dead by police.
At the Empire State Building in New York City, an out-of-work fashion designer fatally shot a former co-worker before being killed in a blaze of gunshots by police, stunning tourists and commuters outside of one of New York’s most popular landmarks.
Finally, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Adam Lanza shot dead 20 children and six staff members, before killing himself. He had also killed his mother.

Other notables

Lance Armstrong, the disgraced cycling champion had his seven Tour de France victories scratched from the records and was banned from cycling for life after the International Cycling Union (UCI) ratified the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) sanctions against him. A USADA report said Armstrong had been involved in the “most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”
Record-setting skydiver. Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner leapt into the stratosphere from a balloon near the edge of space 24 miles above Earth and safely landed, setting a record for the highest skydive and breaking the sound barrier in the process.
CIA Director, David Petraeus, who had formerly played a key role in the Iraq war, and led the U.S. Central Command and commanded U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, stepped down after admitting he had engaged in an extramarital affair.

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Significant Number Factoid Friday – Today Number Twenty-Seven 27

December 7, 2012December 7, 2012 fasab Factoids, Numbers, Politics, Sport, Uncategorized, Unusual, War 16th Amendment, 27, 27th President of the United States, 27th State, Afghanistan, Aluminum, anti-submarine warfare, Apple Core Nebula, Arizona, astronauts, atomic number, Atomic Weight, Australia, aviation, Azores, Babylon, baseball, Berdysh, Bible, Bill Tilden, Blood and Sand, Bob Feller, bones in the human hand, Book of Revelation, books, Boston Red Sox, Brisbane, Captain Matthew Webb, Carl Reiner, Carlton Fisk, celebrities, Charge of the Light Brigade, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Cinncinati Reds, Claire de Lune, Claude Debussy, Cobalt, Colorado, commander, congress, constellation Vulpecula, cosmonaut, crew of Challenger, Crisis, CVE-27, CZ-27, Czechoslovakia, Dawn Fraser, Deanna Durbin, Egypt, Elias Howe, Entertainment, Errol Flynn, fighter aircraft, first human in space, first President of the 48 contiguous states, first president to be buried in the National Cemetery in Arlington, first president to own a car at the White House, first President to throw out the first ball to begin the professional baseball season, Flood, Florida, FW Woolworth, Genesis, George Burns, George Sand, God, Grace Kelly, Grand Hotel, Greta Garbo, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Guadalcanal, Guy S. Gardner, Hall of Famer, Hebrew alphabet, Hugh Hefner, I want to be alone, If I should die, income tax, Indian Air Force, indiana, Ingmar Bergman, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Izmir, Jacob Grimm, Jamestown, Janis Joplin, Jerome Kern, Jerry L. Ross, Jim Morrison, Jimmy Hendrix, John Calvin, John Denver, John Smith, Julie Andrews, kamikazes, Katmandu, Kazakh Air Force, King Nebuchadrezzar, Kurt Corbain, Lajes, latitude, Lewis Carroll, light years, longitude, M 27, Mary Poppins, mathematics, Messier 27, MIG-27, Mikoyan MiG-27, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23, Militaria, military, Mooly Wolly, movies, Mozart, music, Napoleon, NASA STS-27 mission, Naval Battle of Casablanca, Nepal, New Testament, NGC 6853, Nikolai Gogol, number, numbers, Octillion, Oh, Olympic 100-meters freestyle swimming, Oscar for the Best Actress, oscars, OTs-27, Paulin, Pike's Peak, Pilot, pistol, planetary nebula, Playboy, Pocohontas, politics, Prince Rainier of Monaco, Proverbs, religion, Richard M. (Mike) Mullane, Robert Burns, Robert L. Gibson, Rubik’s cube, Rudolph Valentino, Rupert Brooke, Russian, science, Sergei Eisenstein, solar rotation, Soviet, space, space shuttle, sport, Sri Lanka, stuck in the White House bathtub, sun, tennis court, The Battleship Potemkin, the Dumbbell Nebula, The Inspector General, The Jungle, The Kilmarnock Poems, the Lord, think only this of me...", Turkey, twenty-seven, U.S. parcel post system, Ukrainian, Upton Sinclair, USS Suwannee, Virginia, White House lawn, White House stables converted into a 4-car garage, William Howard Taft, William M. Shepherd, Wimbledon, Woolworth Co, World Series, World War I, WWII, Yuri Gagarin, Zebulon M Pike

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Today is another numbers day and the randomly chosen number is twenty-seven. Were you born on the 27th, is it your lucky number, has it some other significance for you or do you just like facts and trivia. Whatever your interest you will probably find something in here that you didn’t know about the number twenty-seven.

Enjoy.

Number Twenty-Seven 27

In religion

There are six occurrences of 27th in the Bible: Genesis 8.14; I Kings 16.10, 16.15; 2 Kings 15.1, 25.27; Ezekiel 29.17
God creates man “male & female” in the 27th verse in Genesis I;
After the Flood, the earth was dried on the 27th day of the 2nd month (Genesis 8.14);
In the 27th year the Lord gave Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon;
Book 27 of Proverbs has 27 verses;
The New Testament is made up of 27 books;
The Book of Revelation is the 27th Book and last book of the New Testament;
John Calvin published Institutes of the Christian Religion when he was 27 years old (1536);
Twenty-seven is the highest level of knowledge in rupaloke (Buddhism);
In ancient Incan culture there were 27 roads to El Dorado.

In mathematics

An Octillion is 10²⁷ which is a 1 followed by 27 zeros
Twenty-seven is a perfect cube, being 3 to the power of 3 or 3 × 3 × 3.
Twenty-seven is the only positive integer that is 3 times the sum of its digits.

In science

The atomic number of Cobalt (Co) is 27
The atomic weight of Aluminum (Al) is 27

In space

Solar rotation: The Sun rotates on its axis once in about 27 days;
The 27th moon of Jupiter is Sinope.
The planet Uranus has 27 moons
Messier 27, the Dumbbell Nebula (also known as Apple Core Nebula, M 27, or NGC 6853) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1,360 light years;

On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, he was 27 years old;

‘

This is the official insignia of the NASA STS-27 mission. The patch depicts the space shuttle lifting off against the multi-colored backdrop of a rainbow, symbolizing the triumphal return to flight of our nation’s manned space program. The design also commemorates the memory of the crew of Challenger mission STS-51-L, represented by the seven stars. The names of the flight crew members of STS-27 are located along the border of the patch. They are astronauts Robert L. Gibson, commander; Guy S. Gardner, pilot; Jerry L. Ross, Richard M. (Mike) Mullane and William M. Shepherd, mission specialists. Each crew member contributed to the design of the insignia.

In books, music, TV and movies

Rudolph Valentino was 27 when he stared in film Blood and Sand;
Sergei Eisenstein directs The Battleship Potemkin in 1925, aged 27;
27 year old Greta Garbo uttered the famous words, “I want to be alone” in film Grand Hotel in 1932;
Errol Flynn (1909-1959) stars in film Charge of the Light Brigade (1936);

Ingmar Bergman (born 7-14-1918) directs his first film Crisis (1945);
Deanna Durbin, teenage star retires in 1949, aged 27, after her 22 film career;
In the 1977 Carl Reiner movie Oh, God!, Jerry Landers (John Denver), a supermarket manager meets God (George Burns) on the 27th floor in Room 2700;
Captain Jean-Luc Picard has made contact with twenty-seven species of aliens in the series Star Trek: The Next Generation;
The following famous authors published these works when they were 27 years old: Jacob Grimm, Grimm’s Fairy Tales (1812-1815); George Sand, her first book, Indiana in 1831; Nikolai Gogol, The Inspector General in 1836 and Upton Sinclair, The Jungle in 1906;
Famous Scottish poet Robert Burns publishes The Kilmarnock Poems in 1786, aged 27;
Rupert Brooke was 27 when he wrote the poem “If I should die, think only this of me…” in 1914; he died the following year (1915) in World War I;

Hugh Hefner (born 1926) publishes Playboy magazine (1953);
In 1956, Grace Kelly was 27 years old when she retired from movies to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco;
Aged 27 Julie Andrews starred in her first film Mary Poppins in 1963 and won an Oscar for the Best Actress (1964);

January 27 is the birthday of Mozart 1756, Lewis Carroll 1832, and Jerome Kern 1885;
When he is 27 years old Claude Debussy composes Claire de Lune in 1890;
The 27 Club is the collective term used when talking about musicians and singers who all died at the age of 27: Robert Johnston, blues singer and musician; Brian Jones, founder member of the Rolling Stones; Janis Joplin, rock singer, from drugs overdose in 1970; Jimmy Hendrix, rock guitarist, died from drugs overdose in 1970; Jim Morrison, rock singer, from a heart attack in 1971; Kurt Corbain, rock singer, from drugs overdose in 1994; and Amy Winehouse, singer, from drink and drug overdose in 2011.

In politics

Florida became the 27th State to enter the Union (March 3, 1845)

There are twenty-seven words in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution;
The 27th President of the United States was William Howard Taft (1857-1930), who served (1909-1913). He later served as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1921-1930).

Taft was the heaviest president ever at 332 pounds, and famously got stuck in the White House bathtub. Subsequently he had an oversized version brought in for his use.
William Howard Taft was the first president to own a car at the White House (he had the White House stables converted into a 4-car garage), the first to throw out the first ball to begin the professional baseball season, and the first president to be buried in the National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
Arizona became a state on February 14, 1912, also making Taft the first President of the 48 contiguous states.
Taft liked milk so much that he brought his own cow to the White House. The cows name was Mooly Wolly. Mooly was replaced by another cow called Paulin. Paulin was the last cow to graze on the White House lawn.
During his administration, the U.S. parcel post system began, but sadly during his term Congress approved the 16th Amendment, providing for the levying of an income tax.

In sport

Carlton Fisk, Baseball Hall of Famer, wore uniform #27 while playing with the Boston Red Sox. Fisk waves his homer fair to win Game 6 of the 1975 World Series 7-6 in the 12th inning against the Cinncinati Reds.

The size of a tennis court for singles is 78 feet long and 27 feet wide.
In tennis Bill Tilden (1893-1953) won his first Wimbledon tennis championship in 1920 at the age of 27 (he went on to win it two more times in 1921 and 1930); he also won his first US Championship in 1920 aged 27 (and went on to win it six more times in 1921-25, and in 1929)

At the age of 27, Bob Feller achieved a strike-out record of 348 batters; Sandy Koufax breaks his own NL strike-out record with 276 and also sets major-league record with 11 shut-outs for a left-hander;
Dawn Fraser won the Olympic 100-meters freestyle swimming in 1964 aged 27.

In militaria

USS Suwannee (CVE-27)
During WWII, USS Suwannee (CVE-27) (originally an oiler AO-33, converted to an escort carrier AVG/ACV/CVE-27) saw a great deal of active service and earned 13 battle stars. She took part in the invasion of North Africa and during the Naval Battle of Casablanca from 8–11 November, Suwannee sent up 255 air sorties and lost only five planes, three in combat and two to operational problems. She was also the first escort carrier to score against the enemy undersea menace, and she helped to prove the usefulness of her type in anti-submarine warfare.
Later the Suwannee was sent to the South Pacific. For the next seven months, she provided air escort for transports and supply ships replenishing and bolstering the marines on Guadalcanal, as well as for the forces occupying other islands in the Solomons group. She also participated in the Gilbert Islands operation as part of the Air Support Group of the Southern Attack Force, and her planes bombed Tarawa, while the ships in the Northern Attack Force engaged the enemy at Makin.
During 1944 the Suwannee joined the Northern Attack Force, and her planes bombed and strafed Roi and Namur Islands, in the northern part of Kwajalein Atoll, and conducted antisubmarine patrols for the task force. By 30 March, she was in the vicinity of the Palau Islands as the 5th Fleet subjected those islands to two days of extensive bombing raids.
On 24–25 October 1944, the Japanese launched a major surface offensive from three directions to contest the landings at Leyte Gulf. Suwanee was hit during the attacks but was able to resume air operations helped to fight off two more air attacks. Just after noon on 26 October, another group of kamikazes jumped Taffy 1. A Zero crashed into Suwanee’s flight deck at 1240 and careened into a torpedo bomber which had just been recovered. The two planes erupted upon contact as did nine other planes on her flight deck. The resulting fire burned for several hours, but was finally brought under control. The casualties for 25-26 October were 107 dead and 160 wounded.
Suwannee remained in reserve at Boston for the next 12 years. She was redesignated an escort helicopter aircraft carrier, CVHE-27, on 12 June 1955. Her name was struck from the Navy List on 1 March 1959. Her hulk was sold to the Isbrantsen Steamship Company, of New York City on 30 November 1959 for conversion to merchant service. The project was subsequently canceled and, in May 1961, her hulk was resold to the J.C. Berkwit Company, also of New York City. She was finally scrapped in Bilbao, Spain, in June 1962.

MIG-27
The Mikoyan MiG-27 is a variable-geometry ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan design bureau in the Soviet Union and later license-produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics as the Bahadur (“Valiant”). It is based on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter aircraft, but optimized for air-to-ground attack. Unlike the MiG-23, the MiG-27 did not see widespread use outside Russia, as most countries opted for the MiG-23BN and Sukhoi Su-25 instead. It currently only remains in service with the Indian, Kazakh and Sri Lankan Air Forces in the ground attack role. All Russian and Ukrainian MiG-27s have been retired.
It was used by Soviet forces during the later stages of the Afghanistan conflict in 1987–1989.
The MiG-27 aircraft also entered service with the Sri Lanka Air Force in 2000. During the Sri Lankan Civil War, they saw considerable action bombing strategic targets and providing close air support.
Since 2001, the Indian Air Force has lost 12 MiG-27s to crashes and in mid-February 2010, India grounded its entire fleet of over 150 of the aircraft after a MiG-27 crashed on 16 February 2010 in Siliguri, West Bengal. The crash was attributed to defects in the R 29 engines of the aircraft, suspected to have occurred during the overhauling of the aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
The MiG-27 remains in service with the Kazakh Air Force.

Alenia C-27J
The Alenia C-27J Spartan is a medium-sized military transport aircraft. The C-27J is an advanced derivative of Alenia Aeronautica’s G.222, with the engines and systems of the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules.

CZ 27
The CZ-27, a single action semiautomatic pistol with a capacity of 8 or 9 rounds, was developed in around 1926 by Czech arms designer Frantisek Myska in an attempt to produce simplified version of the CZ Vz.24 pistol, chambered for less powerful 7.65×17 SR Browning ammunition (also known as .32 ACP) and suited for police and security use.
It was put into production in 1927, at arms factory in Praha. Until the appearance of the famous CZ-75 pistol, the CZ-27 was one of the most successful handguns produced in Czechoslovakia, with well over 500 000 guns of this type produced between 1927 and 1951. During the German occupation of Czechoslovakia it was manufactured for German armed forces and police as Pistole model 27, or P.27(t) in short. It was extensively used by Czechoslovak police and security forces, and widely exported to many parts of the world.

OTs-27 “Berdysh” pistol
Originally developed by the TSKIB SOO (central design bureau for sporting and hunting arms, Tula, Russia, later merged with famous KBP design bureau) the OTs-27 “Berdysh” is a Double Action semiautomatic 9 mm pistol with a capacity of 18 rounds. It was developed for “Grach” trials, with the goal being the replacement for the venerable Makarov PM as a standard issue sidearm for Russian army. The OTs-27 was subsequently dropped from the Grach trials, but the development continued and the pistol first appeared circa 1994.

Other stuff

Cities located at 27 degrees longitude are Lajes, Azores and Izmir, Turkey;
Cities located at 27 degrees latitude are Brisbane, Australia and Katmandu, Nepal;
There are 27 bones in the human hand;
The Hebrew alphabet consists of 27 letters;
Napoleon was named commander of the army of Italy during his 27^th year, on March 2, 1796;

Elias Howe invents the first sewing machine in 1846 when he was 27 years old;
When he was aged 27 F.W. Woolworth founded Woolworth Co. (1879) selling 5¢ and 10¢ merchandise;
There are 27 small cubes in a Rubik’s cube;

In 1806, aged 27, Zebulon M. Pike discovers Pike’s Peak, Colorado;
At the age of 27, Captain Matthew Webb was the first person to swim the English Channel in 1875. He took 21 hours 43 minutes for the distance of 21 miles. Sadly eight years later, aged 35, Webb drowned while trying to swim across the waters above Niagara Falls in an attempt to exploit his fame as a swimmer. A memorial stone to Webb carries this inscription: “Nothing Great Is Easy”.

John Smith was 27 years old when he led the first English settlement in North America at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607; he was saved from death by Pocohontas.

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Stupid Politicians And Bureaucrats Make What? Yes, That’s Right – Stupid Laws, Part Three

November 14, 2012November 14, 2012 fasab comedy, Factoids, Humour, Legal, Uncategorized, Unusual a permit, April, babies, baby Swiss cheese, bastard, bathe, bathtubs, beat your wife, Bigfoot, birds, bite off another’s leg, boots, buffalo, bureaucracy, bureaucrats, capital offense, cars, catastrophe, cemetery, cheddar cheese, cheese factory, child, city street, cleaning ordinance, Comedy, conceal the birth, concealed weapon, condoms, corsette, court house steps, crimes against nature, Current Events, Dallas, detonate any nuclear weapon, dirty things, dogs, donkeys, double entendre, doughnut, driver’s education, dwelling, ear, electro-magnetic wave generator, emergency call, Encyclopedia Britannica, explosives, fall asleep, false teeth, farm animals, felony charge, fined, Firemen, fish, fish drunk, flirt at any woman passing a firehouse, fools, formula for making beer at home, funny, giraffe, government, Harrisburg, have sex, hiding dirt and dust under a rug, highways, hind legs, Ho-Chunk religion, honk, horn, horses, Humor, Humour, Huron, husband, ice cream, idiot, idiots, illegal, inadvertently kill someone while attempting suicide, Indians, jail, jailed, January, juggling, kiss on a train, lasso, lead nipple shields. sing in the bathtub, leopard, license, lie down, lion, livestock, lollipops, loud noise, lunatic, male chaperone, manual, manual flushed urinals, margarine, Marijuana, marriage, mayor, milk another person’s cow, Misc, Miscellaneous, misdemeanor, missionary, morons, motorist, Netflix, null and void, obscene, offense, Ohio, Oklahoma, oral sex, Oregon, owner of a bar, passing a car on the left, password, patent leather shoes, patting a woman’s derriere, penalty, Pennsylvania, pet, pharmacist’s counter, poison, politicians, politics, pretend, private property, prohibited, public buildings, rabbit, Random, realistic dildos, residents, Rhode Island, right of way, rocket signal, running boards, Salt Lake County, Sasquatch, scrape clean, Seattle, sex, sex in any position, sex in the back of an ambulance, sex with an animal, sex with the lights on, six dildos, skeleton, skunks, sleep on top of a refrigerator, smoke, snooze on a train, South Carolina, South Dakota, static, stupid, stupid bureaucrats, stupid laws, stupid people, stupid politicians, stupid rules, stupidity, Sunday, sundown, sunflower fields, tattoo, telephone pole, Tennessee, tethered, Texas, tickle women, tiger, toothbrush, toothpaste, transparent clothing, ugly faces, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, walk backwards, war party, Washington, West Virginia, whales, whisper, whistle, Wisconsin, women, Wyoming

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Today we have the third of my three-part series highlighting some of the stupid laws that have been made by the stupid politicians and bureaucrats that we have allowed into positions of power.

So here are some more of the lesser known laws that govern the good citizens in the United States (listed by state alphabetically, part 1 covered A to L, part 2 covered the M’s and N’s, this week it’s O to W.).

Enjoy (or cringe, perhaps).

OHIO

Women are prohibited from wearing patent leather shoes in public. (I hope that’s no reflection on them.)
It is illegal to fish for whales on Sunday. (And immoral any other day.)
It is illegal to get a fish drunk. (Would Sir like some water with that?)
The Ohio driver’s education manual states that you must honk the horn whenever you pass another car. (But I want to ‘beep’.)
If one loses their pet tiger, they must notify the authorities within one hour. (That’s greeeaaaatttttt!)

OKLAHOMA

It is illegal for the owner of a bar to allow anyone inside to pretend to have sex with a buffalo. (And the real thing is okay???)
Dogs must have a permit signed by the mayor in order to congregate in groups of three or more on private property.
It is illegal to have the hind legs of farm animals in your boots. (That reminds me of a joke about…… no, better not.)
People who make “ugly faces” at dogs may be fined and/or jailed. (What happens if you just have a ugly face to begin with?)
Cars must be tethered outside of public buildings.
Oral sex is a misdemeanor and is punishable by one year in jail and a $2,500 fine. (Well, blow me, that’s expensive!)
It is illegal to conceal the birth of a child that would be a bastard. (But you never know how they are going to turn out until they get a bit older???)

OREGON

Babies may not be carried on the running boards of a car. (That’s okay, you need both hands to hang on to the car anyhow.)
It is illegal to whisper “dirty” things in your lover’s ear during sex. (So where do you whisper them?)
Ice cream may not be eaten on Sundays. (Ridiculous!)
It is illegal to buy or sell marijuana, but it is legal to smoke it on your own property. (To pot with that!!)
You cannot eat a doughnut and walk backwards on a city street. (Well, maybe YOU can’t, but….)
Juggling is strictly prohibited without a license. (And quite difficult even with one.)
It is a crime to publicly scrape clean a skeleton in a cemetery. (And let’s make no bones about it.)

PENNSYLVANIA

It is illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors. (This is another one of those ‘how many people were doing this that a law was needed against it’ kind of things.)
Any motorist driving along a country road at night must stop every mile and send up a rocket signal, wait 10 minutes for the road to be cleared of livestock, and continue.
A special cleaning ordinance bans housewives from hiding dirt and dust under a rug in a dwelling. (Ya hear that one ladies?)
In Harrisburg it is against the law to wear lead nipple shields. (I bet Superman goes there – a lot!)
You may not sing in the bathtub.
You may not catch a fish by any body part except the mouth. (I don’t think I could catch a fish with my mouth.)

RHODE ISLAND

No one may bite off another’s leg. (Ears, noses, arms, etc., are okay?)
Any marriage where either of the parties is an idiot or lunatic is null and void. (I’m saying nothing.)
One must make a loud noise before passing a car on the left. (Can do!)
The penalty for biting off another’s limb is twenty years in jail, but only if it was intentional. (Whoops, sorry, there’s your leg back. I didn’t mean it.)
It is illegal to wear transparent clothing. (Clearly!)
You may not sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday.

SOUTH CAROLINA

It is considered an offense to get a tattoo. (I just consider it stupid.)
Horses may not be kept in bathtubs. (I guess there’s no room, what with all the donkeys in there.)
It is perfectly legal to beat your wife on the court house steps on Sundays.
It is a capital offense to inadvertently kill someone while attempting suicide. (You mean if you are attempting suicide or you can’t kill the person who is attempting suicide?)

SOUTH DAKOTA

It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep in a cheese factory. (But is there a law about cutting the cheese?)
If three or more Indians are walking down the street together, they can be considered a war party and fired upon.
In Huron it is an offence to cause static. (Shocking law that one.)
Otherwise illegal explosives can be set off in sunflower fields.

TENNESSEE

It is a crime to share your Netflix password in Tennessee. (Is it okay in English?)
It is illegal to use a lasso to catch a fish. (And very difficult.)
“Crimes against nature” are prohibited.
Skunks may not be carried into the state. (Yeah, let the little stinkers walk.)

.
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TEXAS

It is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing. (What sort of a guy ‘sips’ beer? Come on!)
Up to a felony charge can be levied for promoting the use of, or owning more than six dildos.
It is illegal to milk another person’s cow. (Is that a double entendre?)
The entire Encyclopedia Britannica is banned in Texas because it contains a formula for making beer at home.
In Dallas it is illegal to possess realistic dildos.

UTAH

It is illegal not to drink milk.
It is illegal to detonate any nuclear weapon.
Birds have the right of way on all highways.
In Salt Lake County an official milkman is limited to casual contact with his customers. (What’s all this about milk in Utah?)
A husband is responsible for every criminal act committed by his wife while she is in his presence.
No one may have sex in the back of an ambulance if it is responding to an emergency call. (So turn the sirens off??)
It is illegal to cause a catastrophe. (So are these laws not breaking this law?)

VERMONT

Women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth. (By gum!)
At one time it was illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole.
All residents shall bathe every Saturday night.

VIRGINIA

Not only is it illegal to have sex with the lights on, one may not have sex in any position other than missionary. (Just how did the people who thought this one up think that they were going to enforce it?)
It is illegal to tickle women. (You just said that, see above!)
A man may face 60 days in jail for patting a woman’s derriere. (How long for a good slap?)
Women must wear a corsette after sundown and be in the company of male chaperone.

WASHINGTON

The harassing of Bigfoot, Sasquatch or other undiscovered subspecies is a felony punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment. (Do tell how exactly do you harass an ‘undiscovered’ species? Wouldn’t you have to discover it first, and once discovered it is no longer ‘undiscovered’ and therefore can be harassed?)
All lollipops are banned. (This law really sucks.)
People may not buy a mattress on Sunday.
In Washington it is a misdemeanor to sell poison without a license.
In Seattle possessing an electro-magnetic wave generator is a crime.
It is illegal to pretend that one’s parents are rich. (Can you pretend that they are poor?)
You may not carry a concealed weapon that is over six feet in length. (And where would you be able to conceal it anyway?)

WEST VIRGINIA

It is legal for a male to have sex with an animal as long as it does not exceed 40 lbs. (And I would imagine dangerous if it does!)
It is illegal to snooze on a train.
One may not walk a lion, tiger or leopard, even on a leash.
Firemen may not whistle or flirt at any woman passing a firehouse.

WISCONSIN

Condoms were considered an obscene article and had to be hidden behind the pharmacist’s counter.
At one time, margarine was illegal.
It is illegal to kiss on a train.
It is illegal to cut a woman’s hair. (People from Brazil please take special note.)
The government may not prohibit manual flushed urinals. (That’s handy.)
Cheddar cheese must be “highly pleasing”.
Followers of the Ho-Chunk religion may hunt deer without a license.
It is illegal to produce baby Swiss cheese without well-developed eyes. (Otherwise how could you see what you were doing… Duh!!)

WYOMING

If one is drunk in a mine, he or she could land in jail for up to a year. (Prospects aren’t good then?)
It is illegal for women to stand within five feet of a bar while drinking. (Iron or wooden?)
You may not take a picture of a rabbit from January to April without an official permit. (That really bugs me.)
It is illegal to charge for the use of a toilet. (No sh**!)

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A Tribute To Peanut Butter, Yum! – Oh, And A Lot Of Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Peanuts

October 6, 2012 fasab Business, Factoids, Inspirational, Uncategorized, Unusual Africa, agricultural chemist, allergies, Almeeta Lambert, ancient incas, arachibutyrophobia, Battle Creek Sanitarium, colonies, commercial peanut crop, cookbook, Corn Products Company, crop peanuts, culinary inventions, Dr. Ambrose Straub, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, dynamite, education, Entertainment, explorers, food, George Washington Carver, Georgia, Goober peas, Incas, Inspiration, Jimmy Carter, john harvey kellogg, Joseph L. Rosenfield, Joseph Lambert, legume, Misc, Miscellaneous, Monkey Nuts, Mr. Peanut, Musings, North Carolina, Nuts, peanut butter, peanut planters, peanuts, People, Peter Pan peanut butter, Planters Peanut Company, Pond Company, Random, Skippy, South America, spain, The Complete Guide to Nut Cookery, Thomas Jefferson, Thoughts, US, Virginia, work

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

I must admit to not having much time for nuts with allergies, er… to nuts. But I’ve always liked the edible variety, particularly peanuts and peanut butter. Liked it when I was a kid, still like it today. One of the best culinary inventions ever, in my opinion.

Mr Peanut – Planters logo

Peanut butter has been invented and reinvented many times during history. Peanuts were known as early as 950 B.C. and originated in South America. The ancient Incas used peanuts and were known to have made it into a paste-like substance.

As a crop, peanuts emigrated from South America to Africa thanks to early explorers and from there traveled by trade into Spain which then traded the product to the American colonies. A rather roundabout way to get to the US, but there you are, or rather, here it is.

The first commercial peanut crop was grown in Virginia in the early to mid 1840’s and in North Carolina beginning around 1818.

According to the Corn Products Company, Dr. Ambrose Straub of St. Louis patented a peanut butter-making machine in 1903 and some unknown doctor invented peanut butter in 1890.

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patented a “Process of Preparing Nut Meal” in 1895 and used peanuts. Kellogg served the patients at his Battle Creek Sanitarium peanut butter. Joseph Lambert worked for Dr. Kellogg and began selling his own hand-operated peanut butter grinder in 1896. Almeeta Lambert published the first nut cookbook, “The Complete Guide to Nut Cookery” in 1899.

By 1914, many companies were making peanut butter.

Joseph L. Rosenfield invented a churning process that made peanut butter smooth and in 1928, licensed his invention to the Pond Company, the makers of “Peter Pan” peanut butter.

In 1932, he began making his own brand of peanut butter called “Skippy” which included a crunchy style peanut butter.

But it is possibly agricultural chemist, George Washington Carver who has the best claim to the peanut butter gold medal position. In the course of his research he discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more uses for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes.

Carver wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their quality of life.

He started popularizing uses for peanut products including peanut butter, paper, ink, and oils beginning in 1880, the most popular of his 44 practical bulletins for farmers contained 105 food recipes using peanuts.

However, Carver did not patent peanut butter as he believed food products were all gifts from God. The 1880 date precedes all the above inventors except of course for the Incas, who were first. It was Carver who made peanuts a significant crop in the American South in the early 1900’s. Today half of all edible peanuts produced in the United States are used to make peanut butter and peanut spreads.

Thanks Mr G W Carver.

George Washington Carver - One Of America's Great Sscientists — George Washington Carver – One Of America’s Great Scientists

And here are a lot of other things you probably didn’t know about peanuts….

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite;
The peanut is not a nut, it is actually a legume;
It takes more than 500 peanuts to make one 12 ounce jar of peanut butter;
The Planters Peanut Company mascot, Mr. Peanut, was created during a contest for schoolchildren in 1916;
Throughout the South, peanuts were known as “Monkey Nuts,” and “Goober peas,” before the civil war;
The fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth is called Arachibutyrophobia;
People living on the east coast prefer creamy peanut butter, while people living on the west coast prefer chunky peanut butter;
Skippy Peanut Butter is sold more in the world than any other peanut butter;
The average American kid will eat approximately 1.500 peanut butter sandwiches by high school graduation;
The #1 peanut producing state is Georgia;
On average, the American household consumes six pounds of peanut butter annually;
96% of people put the peanut butter on first when making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich;
Americans consume the most peanut butter in the world;
Approximately three jars of peanut butter are sold every second;
In a year, about 90 million jars of Skippy Peanut Butter are sold. (This works out to three jars sold every second);
In the U.S. peanuts account for 66% of all snack nuts;
Both Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter, U.S. presidents, were peanut farmers at one time;
Peanut butter is an effective way to remove chewing gum from hair or clothes;
Incas used to create pots in the shape of peanuts that were highly prized;
In Greene, New York, you are not allowed to eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalk during a concert.

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Significant Number Factoid Friday – Thirteen, Unlucky For Some

September 28, 2012 fasab Factoids, Numbers, Uncategorized, Unusual 13, 13th, 13th floor, alphabet, ancient Henbrews, Apollo, Apollo 13, Arnold Schoenberg, Baker's dozen, Balder, Bible, Blogs, bread, british rule, calculations, colonies, Command Module pilot, composer, Connecticut, death, death card, Delaware, education, Entertainment, extra loaf, fact, factoid, factoids, facts, Franklin D Roosevelt, Fred W. Haise, Georgia, German measels, gods, guest, Hebrews, Henry Ford, Humor, Inspiration, James A. Lovell, Jeffrey Kluger, John L. "Jack" Swigert, jordan, King George III, Loki, London, London bakers, Lost Moon, Lunar Module pilot, Maryland, Massachusetts Bay, mathematics, maths, mavet, Misc, Miscellaneous, movies, Musings, mythology, nasa, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Testament, new york, Norse, Norse mythology, North Carolina, number, numbers, Old Testament, Ophiuchus, Paul Getty, Pennsylvania, Personal Writing, phobia, prediction, President, President Franklin D Roosevelt, Providence Plantations., Random, religion, Rhode Island, room 13, Roosevelt, science, secretary, significant numbers, South Carolina, stripes, superstition, Tarot, the Bible, the Serpent Holder, thirteen, thirteen colonies, Thirteenth Amendment, thirteenth guest, thirteenth letter, thorteenth, Thoughts, triskaidekaphobia, twelve constellations, unlucky, unusual numbers, USA flag, Virginia, Zodiac

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

They’ve been ‘beautiful’, they’ve been ‘big’ and they’ve been ‘unusual’.

Today we have ‘significant’ number thirteen, unlucky for some.

Enjoy.

13 Thirteen

The number 13 seems to give a lot of people trouble. Indeed the fear of the number 13 is so pervasive that it even has a phobia named after it – triskaidekaphobia.

In the Bible.

At the Last Supper in Christian theology, there were 13 dinner guests, so that number is unlucky because Christ was betrayed.
Thirteen famines are recorded in the Scriptures.
The destruction of Jericho is stamped with the number thirteen, because the city was compassed once each day for six days, and seven times on the seventh day, making 13 times in all (6+7).
All the names of Satan are divisible by thirteen.
In Mark 7 Jesus mentions thirteen things that defile a person (evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride and foolishness).

Elsewhere,

The ancient Hebrews thought 13 was unlucky because the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the letter M, which is the first letter in the word “mavet,” meaning death.
In Norse mythology, 12 benevolent gods were gathering in a hall and the evil god Loki attacked the group. Loki was the 13th guest, and the god Balder was killed in the melee.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was quite fearful of the number 13, and he took great pains to avoid hosting a meal for a group of that size. It is said that if he had a cancellation and it looked as if there might be 13 people to lunch, he would invite his secretary to join them so there wouldn’t be 13.
Industrialist Henry Ford wouldn’t do business on Friday, the 13th.
Multimillionaire Paul Getty once stated “I wouldn’t care to be one of thirteen at a table.”
Some speculate that a fear of the number 13 is the reason we recognize only 12 constellations in the Zodiac, omitting a thirteenth… Ophiuchus ( the Serpent Holder) that, by its location, could be included.
Years ago, London bakers were subject to harsh penalties if they were caught selling bread in what was called short weight. The bakers would add an extra loaf to each dozen to be sure the sale met the minimum weight requirement. They avoided the word thirteen and the process of adding an extra loaf became known as the “baker’s dozen.”
Some airlines do not have a 13th row.
Most tall buildings do not have a 13th floor.
Many hotel guests refuse to stay in Room 13, so rooms are frequently numbered 12, 12A, and 14.
The 13th card of the Tarot is the card of Death.
The composer, Arnold Schoenberg, was a noted triskaidekaphobe. He died as he had predicted at the age of 76 (7+6=13), on a Friday 13th at 13 minutes to midnight.
In April 1970, NASA launched Apollo 13 at 1313 hours Central Time from pad 39. The flight was commanded by James A. Lovell with John L. “Jack” Swigert as Command Module pilot and Fred W. Haise as Lunar Module pilot. (Swigert was a late replacement for the original CM pilot Ken Mattingly, who was grounded by the flight surgeon after exposure to German measles.) They were scheduled for rest periods beginning 13 minutes past the hour and on April 13 at 21:07:53 CST (55:54:53 Ground Elapsed Time) an oxygen tank exploded and the mission had to be aborted. The rest is history – and a movie, Apollo 13, based on ‘Lost Moon’, Jim Lovell’s and Jeffrey Kluger’s book about the event.

Apollo 13 insignia — Insignia of the ill-fated Apollo XIII Mission

Friday the 13th Myths:

If you cut your hair on Friday the 13th, someone in your family will die.
A child born on Friday the 13th will be unlucky for life.
If a funeral procession passes you on Friday the 13th, you will be the next to die.

In the United States

the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution officially outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
thirteen colonies rebelled against British Rule and King George III in what led to the American Revolutionary War and the eventual birth of the United States of America. The colonies were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
there are thirteen stripes on the USA flag to commemorate these original colonies.

USA flag - Stars and Stripes — USA flag – Stars and Stripes

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