Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Sep 6, 1972: More Israeli hostages killed in Munich

Sep 6, 1972:

More Israeli hostages killed in Munich

At Furstenfeldbruck air base near Munich, an attempt by West German police to rescue nine Israeli Olympic team members held hostage by Palestinian terrorists ends in disaster. In an extended firefight that began at 11 p.m. and lasted until 1:30 a.m., all nine Israeli hostages were killed, as were five terrorists and one German policeman. Three terrorists were wounded and captured alive. The hostage crisis began early the previous morning when Palestinian terrorists from the Black September organization stormed the Israeli quarters in the Olympic Village in Munich, killing two team members and taking nine others hostage.

The 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, were publicized by organizers as the "Games of Peace and Joy." West Germans were intent on erasing the memory of the last Olympics held in Germany: the 1936 Berlin Olympics that Adolf Hitler exploited as a vehicle of Nazi propaganda. Police in Munich--the birthplace of Nazism--kept a low profile during the 1972 Games, and organizers chose lax security over risking comparison with the Gestapo police tactics of Hitler's Germany.

So just before dawn on September 5, 1972--the eleventh day of the XX Olympiad--evidently no one thought it strange that five Arab men in track suits were climbing over a six-and-a-half-foot fence to gain access to the Olympic Village. The village, after all, had a curfew, and many other Olympic athletes had employed fence climbing as a means of enjoying a late night out on the town. In fact, some Americans returning from a bar joined them in climbing the fence. A handful of other witnesses hardly gave the five men a second glance, and the intruders proceeded unmolested to the three-story building where the small Israeli delegation to the Munich Games was staying.

These five men, of course, were not Olympic athletes but members of Black September, an extremist Palestinian group formed in 1971. In their athletic bags they carried automatic rifles and other weapons. They were joined in the village by three other terrorists, two of whom were employed within the Olympic compound.

Shortly before 5 a.m., the guerrillas forced their way into one of the Israeli apartments, taking five hostages. When the Palestinians entered another apartment, Israeli wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg struggled with them. He was shot to death after knocking two of his attackers down. Weightlifter Yossef Romano then attacked them with a kitchen knife, and he succeeded in injuring one terrorist before he was fatally shot. Some Israelis managed narrowly to escape through a back entrance, but a total of nine were seized. Four of the hostages were athletes--two weightlifters and two wrestlers--and five were coaches. One of the wrestlers, David Berger, had dual American-Israeli citizenship and lived in Ohio before qualifying for the Israeli Olympic team.

Around 8 a.m., the attackers announced themselves as Palestinians and issued their demands: the release of 234 Arab and German prisoners held in Israel and West Germany, and safe passage with their hostages to Cairo. The German prisoners requested to be released included Ulrike Meinhof and Andreas Baader, founders of the Marxist terrorist group known as the Red Army Faction. If the Palestinians' demands were not met, the nine hostages would be killed. Tense negotiations stretched on throughout the day, complicated by Israel's refusal to negotiate with these or any terrorists. The German police considered raiding the Israeli compound but later abandoned the plan out of fear for the safety of the hostages and other athletes in the Olympic Village. Ten West German Olympic organizers offered themselves as hostages in exchange for the Israeli team members, but the offer was declined.

Finally, in the early evening, the terrorists agreed to a plan in which they were to be taken by helicopter to the NATO air base at FÜrstenfeldbruck and then flown by airliner to Cairo with the hostages. The terrorists believed they would be met in Egypt by the released Arab and German prisoners. Around 10 p.m., the terrorists and hostages emerged from the building; the Israelis bound together and blindfolded. They took a bus to a makeshift helicopter pad and were flown the 12 miles to FÜrstenfeldbruck.
German authorities feared that the Israelis faced certain death upon their arrival in the Middle East. Egypt had denied the request to allow the plane to land in Cairo, and Israel would never release the Arab prisoners in question. Israel had a crack military task force ready to raid the plane wherever it landed, but the German police planned their own ambush. In the course of the transfer, however, the Germans discovered that there were eight terrorists instead of the expected five. They had not assigned enough marksmen to kill the terrorists and, moreover, lacked the gear, such as walkie-talkies and bulletproof vests, necessary to carry out such an ambush effectively. Nevertheless, shortly before 11 p.m., the sharpshooters opened fire. Their shots were off mark in the dark, and the terrorists fired back.

Toward the end of the firefight, which lasted more than two hours, the Palestinians gunned down four of the hostages in one of the helicopters and tossed a grenade into another helicopter holding the other five--killing them all. At approximately 1:30 a.m., the last terrorist still resisting was killed. All eight Palestinians were shot during the gun battle--five fatally--and a German policeman was killed. One of the helicopter pilots was also seriously injured.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Munich Games were temporarily suspended. A memorial service for the 11 slain Israelis drew 80,000 mourners to the Olympic stadium on September 6. International Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage, who was widely criticized for failing to suspend the Games during the hostage crisis, was further criticized for his decision to resume them on the afternoon of September 6. On September 11, closing ceremonies ended the XX Olympiad.

On October 29, Palestinian terrorists hijacked a Lufthansa jet in Beirut and ordered it flown to Munich, where the three surviving Munich terrorists were being held. Germany agreed to turn the terrorists over in exchange for the release of the airliner's passengers and crew, which was carried out after the jet landed in Libya. The Black September terrorists, however, did not enjoy their freedom for long. Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, formed an assassination squad that eventually killed two of the three terrorists along with at least six others believed to have been involved in the attack on the Israeli Olympic compound. One of the Munich terrorists, Jamal al-Gashey, survives in hiding.

Sep 5, 1972: Massacre begins at Munich Olympics

Sep 5, 1972:

Massacre begins at Munich Olympics

During the 1972 Summer Olympics at Munich, in the early morning of September 5, a group of Palestinian terrorists storms the Olympic Village apartment of the Israeli athletes, killing two and taking nine others hostage. The terrorists were part of a group known as Black September, in return for the release of the hostages, theydemanded that Israel release over 230 Arab prisoners being held in Israeli jails and two German terrorists. In an ensuing shootout at the Munich airport, the nine Israeli hostages were killed along with five terrorists and one West German policeman. Olympic competition was suspended for 24 hours to hold memorial services for the slain athletes.

The Munich Olympics opened on August 26, 1972, with 195 events and 7,173 athletes representing 121 countries. On the morning of September 5, Palestinian terrorists in ski masks ambushed the Israeli team. After negotiations to free the nine Israelis broke down, the terrorists took the hostages to the Munich airport. Once there, German police opened fire from rooftops and killed three of the terrorists. A gun battle erupted and left the hostages, two more Palestinians and a policeman dead.

After a memorial service was held for the athletes at the main Olympic stadium, International Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage ordered that the games continue, to show that the terrorists hadn't won. Although the tragedy deeply marred the games, there were numerous moments of spectacular athletic achievement, including American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven gold medals and teenage Russian gymnast Olga Korbut's two dramatic gold-medal victories.

In the aftermath of the murders at the '72 Olympics, the Israeli government, headed by Golda Meir, hired a group of Mossad agents to track down and kill the Black September assassins. The 2005 Stephen Spielberg movie Munich was based on these events.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Sep 3, 1777: The Stars and Stripes Flies

Sep 3, 1777: The Stars and Stripes Flies

The American flag was flown in battle for the first time on this day in 1777, during a Revolutionary War skirmish at Cooch's Bridge, Delaware. Patriot General William Maxwell ordered the "Stars and Stripes" banner raised as a detachment of his infantry and cavalry met an advance guard of British and Hessian troops. The rebels were defeated and forced to retreat to Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania, where they joined General George Washington's main force.

Three months earlier, on June 14, the Continental Congress had adopted a resolution stating that "the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white" and that "the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." The national flag, which became known as the Stars and Stripes, was based on the Grand Union flag, a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes. According to legend, Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross designed the new canton, which consisted of a circle of 13 stars on a blue background, at the request of General George Washington. Historians have been unable to conclusively prove or disprove this legend.

With the entrance of new states into the Union after independence, new stripes and stars were added to represent the new additions. In 1818, however, Congress enacted a law stipulating that the 13 original stripes be restored and that only stars be added to represent new states.

On June 14, 1877, the first Flag Day observance was held on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the flag. As instructed by Congress, the U.S. flag was flown from all public buildings across the country. In the years after the first Flag Day, several states continued to observe the anniversary, and, in 1949, Congress officially designated June 14 as Flag Day, a national day of observance.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

TODAY IN HISTORY: AUGUST 18th

Aug 18, 1920: Woman suffrage amendment ratified

The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote, is ratified by Tennessee, giving it the two-thirds majority of state ratification necessary to make it the law of the land. The amendment was the culmination of more than 70 years of struggle by woman suffragists. Its two sections read simply: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex" and "Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

America's woman suffrage movement was founded in the mid 19th century by women who had become politically active through their work in the abolitionist and temperance movements. In July 1848, 200 woman suffragists, organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, met in Seneca Falls, New York, to discuss women's rights. After approving measures asserting the right of women to educational and employment opportunities, they passed a resolution that declared "it is the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise." For proclaiming a woman's right to vote, the Seneca Falls Convention was subjected to public ridicule, and some backers of women's rights withdrew their support. However, the resolution marked the beginning of the woman suffrage movement in America.

The first national women's rights convention was held in 1850 and then repeated annually, providing an important focus for the growing woman suffrage movement. In the Reconstruction era, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted, granting African American men the right to vote, but Congress declined to expand enfranchisement into the sphere of gender. In 1869, the National Woman Suffrage Association was founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to push for a woman suffrage amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Another organization, the American Woman Suffrage Association, led by Lucy Stone, was formed in the same year to work through the state legislatures. In 1890, these two groups were united as the National American Woman Suffrage Association. That year, Wyoming became the first state to grant women the right to vote.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the role of women in American society was changing drastically: Women were working more, receiving a better education, bearing fewer children, and three more states (Colorado, Utah, and Idaho) had yielded to the demand for female enfranchisement. In 1916, the National Woman's Party (formed in 1913 at the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage) decided to adopt a more radical approach to woman suffrage. Instead of questionnaires and lobbying, its members picketed the White House, marched, and staged acts of civil disobedience.

In 1917, America entered World War I, and women aided the war effort in various capacities, which helped to break down most of the remaining opposition to woman suffrage. By 1918, women had acquired equal suffrage with men in 15 states, and both the Democratic and Republican parties openly endorsed female enfranchisement.

In January 1918, the woman suffrage amendment passed the House of Representatives with the necessary two-thirds majority vote. In June 1919, it was approved by the Senate sent to the states for ratification. Campaigns were waged by suffragists around the country to secure ratification, and on August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment. On August 26, it was formally adopted into the Constitution by proclamation of Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

TODAY IN HISTORY: AUGUST 17th

Aug 17, 1877: Billy the Kid kills his first man...

Though only a teenager at the time, Billy the Kid wounds an Arizona blacksmith who dies the next day. He was the famous outlaw's first victim.

Just how many men Billy the Kid killed is uncertain. Billy himself reportedly once claimed he had killed 21 men-"one for every year of my life." A reliable contemporary authority estimated the actual total was more like nine-four on his own and five with the aid of others. Other western outlaws of the day were far more deadly. John Wesley Hardin, for example, killed well over 20 men and perhaps as many as 40.
Yet, William Bonney (at various times he also used the surnames Antrim and McCarty) is better remembered today than Hardin and other killers, perhaps because he appeared to be such an unlikely killer. Blue-eyed, smooth-cheeked, and unusually friendly, Billy seems to have been a decent young man who was dragged into a life of crime by circumstances beyond his control.

Such seems to have been the case for his first murder. Having fled from his home in New Mexico after being jailed for a theft he may not have committed, Billy became an itinerant ranch hand and sheepherder in Arizona. In 1877, he was hired on as a teamster at the Camp Grant Army Post, where he attracted the enmity of a burly civilian blacksmith named Frank "Windy" Cahill. Perhaps because Billy was well liked by others in the camp, Cahill enjoyed demeaning the scrawny youngster.

On this day in 1877, Cahill apparently went too far when he called Billy a "pimp." Billy responded by calling Cahill a "son of a bitch," and the big blacksmith jumped him and easily threw him to the ground. Pinned to the floor by the stronger man, Billy apparently panicked. He pulled his pistol and shot Cahill, who died the next day. According to one witness, "[Billy] had no choice; he had to use his equalizer." However, the rough laws of the West might have found Billy guilty of unjustified murder because Cahill had not pulled his own gun.
Fearing imprisonment, Billy returned to New Mexico where he soon became involved in the bloody Lincoln County War. In the next four years, he became a practiced and cold-blooded killer, increasingly infatuated with his own public image as an unstoppable outlaw. Sheriff Pat Garrett finally ended Billy's bloody career by killing him on July 14, 1881.

Monday, August 15, 2011

TODAY IN HISTORY: AUGUST 15th

Aug 15, 1969: The Woodstock festival opens in Bethel, New York

On this day in 1969, the Woodstock Music Festival opens on a patch of farmland in White Lake, a hamlet in the upstate New York town of Bethel. Promoters John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfield and Michael Lang originally envisioned the festival as a way to raise funds to build a recording studio and rock-and-roll retreat near the town of Woodstock, New York. The longtime artists' colony was already a home base for Bob Dylan and other musicians. Despite their relative inexperience, the young promoters managed to sign a roster of top acts, including the Jefferson Airplane, the Who, the Grateful Dead, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival and many more. Plans for the festival were on the verge of foundering, however, after both Woodstock and the nearby town of Wallkill denied permission to hold the event. Dairy farmer Max Yasgur came to the rescue at the last minute, giving the promoters access to his 600 acres of land in Bethel, some 50 miles from Woodstock. Early estimates of attendance increased from 50,000 to around 200,000, but by the time the gates opened on Friday, August 15, more than 400,000 people were clamoring to get in. Those without tickets simply walked through gaps in the fences, and the organizers were eventually forced to make the event free of charge. Folk singer and guitarist Richie Havens kicked off the event with a long set, and Joan Baez and Arlo Guthrie also performed on Friday night. Somewhat improbably, the chaotic gathering of half a million young "hippies" lived up to its billing of "Three Days of Peace and Music." There were surprisingly few incidents of violence on the overcrowded grounds, and a number of musicians performed songs expressing their opposition to the Vietnam War. Among the many great moments at the Woodstock Music Festival were career-making performances by up-and-coming acts like Santana, Joe Cocker and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; the Who's early-morning set featuring songs from their classic rock opera "Tommy"; and the closing set by Hendrix, which climaxed with an improvised solo guitar performance of "The Star Spangled Banner." Though Woodstock had left its promoters nearly bankrupt, their ownership of the film and recording rights more than compensated for the losses after the release of a hit documentary film in 1970. Later music festivals inspired by Woodstock's success failed to live up to its standard, and the festival still stands for many as a example of America's 1960s youth counterculture at its best.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

40 Interesting Facts About . . . Vampires

Many scholars argue the word “vampire” is either from the Hungarian vampir or from the Turkish upior, upper, upyr meaning “witch.” Other scholars argue the term derived from the Greek word “to drink” or from the Greek nosophoros meaning “plague carrier.” It may also derive from the Serbian Bamiiup or the Serbo-Crotian pirati. There are many terms for “vampire” found across cultures, suggesting that vampires are embedded in human consciousness.^b
A group a vampires has variously been called a clutch, brood, coven, pack, or a clan.^f
Probably the most famous vampire of all time, Count Dracula, quoted Deuteronomy 12:23: “The blood is the life.”^f
The Muppet vampire, Count von Count from Sesame Street, is based on actual vampire myth. One way to supposedly deter a vampire is to throw seeds (usually mustard) outside a door or place fishing net outside a window. Vampires are compelled to count the seeds or the holes in the net, delaying them until the sun comes up.^b

Celtic for “stone tables,“ dolmens may have been placed over graves to keep vampires from rising

Prehistoric stone monuments called “dolmens” have been found over the graves of the dead in northwest Europe. Anthropologists speculate they have been placed over graves to keep vampires from rising.^c
A rare disease called porphyria (also called the "vampire" or "Dracula" disease) causes vampire-like symptoms, such as an extreme sensitivity to sunlight and sometimes hairiness. In extreme cases, teeth might be stained reddish brown, and eventually the patient may go mad.^c
Documented medical disorders that people accused of being a vampire may have suffered from include haematodipsia, which is a sexual thirst for blood, and hemeralopia or day blindness. Anemia (“bloodlessness”) was often mistaken for a symptom of a vampire attack.^f

Considered a "true" vampire, Elizabeth Bathory supposedly bathed in the blood of young virgins

One of the most famous “true vampires” was Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614) who was accused of biting the flesh of girls while torturing them and bathing in their blood to retain her youthful beauty. She was by all accounts a very attractive woman.^f
Vampire legends may have been based on Vlad of Walachia, also known as Vlad the Impaler (c. 1431-1476). He had a habit of nailing hats to people’s heads, skinning them alive, and impaling them on upright stakes. He also liked to dip bread into the blood of his enemies and eat it. His name, Vlad, means son of the dragon or Dracula, who has been identified as the historical Dracula. Though Vlad the Impaler was murdered in 1476, his tomb is reported empty.^f
One of the earliest accounts of vampires is found in an ancient Sumerian and Babylonian myth dating to 4,000 B.C. which describes ekimmu or edimmu (one who is snatched away). The ekimmu is a type of uruku or utukku (a spirit or demon) who was not buried properly and has returned as a vengeful spirit to suck the life out of the living.^a
According to the Egyptian text the Pert em Hru (Egyptian Book of the Dead), if the ka (one of the five parts of the soul) does not receive particular offerings, it ventures out of its tomb as a kha to find nourishment, which may include drinking the blood of the living. In addition, the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet was known to drink blood. The ancient fanged goddess Kaliof India also had a powerful desire for blood.^a
Chinese vampires were called a ch’iang shih (corpse-hopper) and had red eyes and crooked claws. They were said to have a strong sexual drive that led them to attack women. As they grew stronger, the ch’iang shih gained the ability to fly, grew long white hair, and could also change into a wolf.^a
While both vampires and zombies generally belong to the “undead,” there are differences between them depending on the mythology from which they emerged. For example, zombies tend to have a lower IQ than vampires, prefer brains and flesh rather than strictly blood, are immune to garlic, most likely have a reflection in the mirror, are based largely in African myth, move more slowly due to rotting muscles, can enter churches, and are not necessarily afraid of fire or sunlight.^f
Vampire hysteria and corpse mutilations to “kill” suspected vampires were so pervasive in Europe during the mid-eighteenth century that some rulers created laws to prevent the unearthing of bodies. In some areas, mass hysteria led to public executions of people believed to be vampires.^b
The first full work of fiction about a vampire in English was John Polidori’s influential The Vampyre, which was published incorrectly under Lord Byron’s name. Polidori (1795-1821) was Byron’s doctor and based his vampire on Byron.^f
The first vampire movie is supposedly Secrets of House No. 5 in 1912. F.W. Murnau’s silent black-and-white Nosferatu came soon after, in 1922. However, it was Tod Browning’s Dracula—with the erotic, charming, cape- and tuxedo-clad aristocrat played by Bela Lugosi—that became the hallmark of vampire movies and literature.^f
A vampire supposedly has control over the animal world and can turn into a bat, rat, owl, moth, fox, or wolf.^c
In 2009, a sixteenth-century female skull with a rock wedged in its mouth was found near the remains of plague victims. It was not unusual during that century to shove a rock or brick in the mouth of a suspected vampire to prevent it from feeding on the bodies of other plague victims or attacking the living. Female vampires were also often blamed for spreading the bubonic plague throughout Europe.^d
Joseph Sheridan Le Fany’s gothic 1872 novella about a female vampire, “Carmilla,” is considered the prototype for female and lesbian vampires and greatly influenced Bram Stoker’s own Dracula. In the story, Carmilla is eventually discovered as a vampire and, true to folklore remedies, she is staked in her blood-filled coffin, beheaded, and cremated.^f
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) remains an enduring influence on vampire mythology and has never gone out of print. Some scholars say it is clearly a Christian allegory; others suggest it contains covert psycho-sexual anxieties reflective of the Victorian era.^k
According to several legends, if someone was bitten by a suspected vampire, he or she should drink the ashes of a burned vampire. To prevent an attack, a person should make bread with the blood of vampire and eat it.^f

Without an invitation, vampires in most legends cannot cross a threshold

Thresholds have historically held significant symbolic value, and a vampire cannot cross a threshold unless invited. The connection between threshold and vampires seems to be a concept of complicity or allowance. Once a commitment is made to allow evil, evil can re-enter at any time.^b
Before Christianity, methods of repelling vampires included garlic, hawthorn branches, rowan trees (later used to make crosses), scattering of seeds, fire, decapitation with a gravedigger’s spade, salt (associated with preservation and purity), iron, bells, a rooster’s crow, peppermint, running water, and burying a suspected vampire at a crossroads. It was also not unusual for a corpse to be buried face down so it would dig down the wrong way and become lost in the earth.^f
After the advent of Christianity, methods of repelling vampires began to include holy water, crucifixes, and Eucharist wafers. These methods were usually not fatal to the vampire, and their effectiveness depended on the belief of the user.^f
Garlic, a traditional vampire repellent, has been used as a form of protection for over 2,000 years. The ancient Egyptians believed garlic was a gift from God, Roman soldiers thought it gave them courage, sailors believed it protected them from shipwreck, and German miners believed it protected them from evil spirits when they went underground. In several cultures, brides carried garlic under their clothes for protection, and cloves of garlic were used to protect people from a wide range of illnesses. Modern-day scientists found that the oil in garlic, allicin, is a highly effective antibiotic.^k
That sunlight can kill vampires seems to be a modern invention, perhaps started by the U.S. government to scare superstitious guerrillas in the Philippines in the 1950s. While sunlight can be used by vampires to kill other vampires, as in Ann Rice’s popular novel Interview with a Vampire, other vampires such as Lord Ruthven and Varney were able to walk in daylight.^f
The legend that vampires must sleep in coffins probably arose from reports of gravediggers and morticians who described corpses suddenly sitting up in their graves or coffins. This eerie phenomenon could be caused by the decomposing process.^c
According to some legends, a vampire may engage in sex with his former wife, which often led to pregnancy. In fact, this belief may have provided a convenient explanation as to why a widow, who was supposed to be celibate, became pregnant. The resulting child was called a gloglave (pl. glog) in Bulgarian or vampirdzii in Turkish. Rather than being ostracized, the child was considered a hero who had powers to slay a vampire.^f
The Twilight book series (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn) by Stephanie Meyers has also become popular with movie-goers. Meyers admits that she did not research vampire mythology. Indeed, her vampires break tradition in several ways. For example, garlic, holy items, and sunlight do not harm them. Some critics praise the book for capturing teenage feelings of sexual tension and alienation.ⁱ

Hollywood vampires often differ drastically from folklore vampires

Hollywood and literary vampires typically deviate from folklore vampires. For example, Hollywood vampires are typically pale, aristocratic, very old, need their native soil, are supernaturally beautiful, and usually need to be bitten to become a vampire. In contrast, folklore vampires (before Bram Stoker) are usually peasants, recently dead, initially appear as shapeless “bags of blood,” do not need their native soil, and are often cremated with or without being staked.^f
Folklore vampires can become vampires not only through a bite, but also if they were once a werewolf, practiced sorcery, were excommunicated, committed suicide, were an illegitimate child of parents who were illegitimate, or were still born or died before baptism. In addition, anyone who has eaten the flesh of a sheep killed by a wolf, was a seventh son, was the child of a pregnant woman who was looked upon by a vampire, was a nun who stepped over an unburied body, had teeth when they were born, or had a cat jump on their corpse before being buried could also turn into vampires.^f
In vampire folklore, a vampire initially emerges as a soft blurry shape with no bones. He was “bags of blood” with red, glowing eyes and, instead of a nose, had a sharp snout that he sucked blood with. If he could survive for 40 days, he would then develop bones and a body and become much more dangerous and difficult to kill.^f
While blood drinking isn’t enough to define a vampire, it is an overwhelming feature. In some cultures, drinking the blood of a victim allowed the drinker to absorb their victim’s strength, take on an animal’s quality, or even make a woman more fecund. The color red is also involved in many vampire rituals.^k
In some vampire folktales, vampires can marry and move to another city where they take up jobs suitable for vampires, such as butchers, barbers, and tailors. That they become butchers may be based on the analogy that butchers are a descendants of the “sacrificer.”^c
Certain regions in the Balkans believed that fruit, such as pumpkins or watermelons, would become vampires if they were left out longer than 10 days or not consumed by Christmas. Vampire pumpkins or watermelons generally were not feared because they do not have teeth. A drop of blood on a fruit's skin is a sign that it is about to turn into a vampire.^e
Mermaids can also be vampires—but instead of sucking blood, they suck out the breath of their victims.^e
By the end of the twentieth century, over 300 motion pictures were made about vampires, and over 100 of them featured Dracula. Over 1,000 vampire novels were published, most within the past 25 years.^k
The most popular vampire in children’s fiction in recent years had been Bunnicula, the cute little rabbit that lives a happy existence as a vegetarian vampire.^g
Some historians argue that Prince Charles is a direct descendant of the Vlad the Impaler, the son of Vlad Dracula.^h
The best known recent development of vampire mythology is Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, Angel. Buffy is interesting because it contemporizes vampirism in the very real, twentieth-century world of a teenager vampire slayer played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and her “Scooby gang.” It is also notable because the show has led to the creation of “Buffy Studies” in academia.^k

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

RANDOM FACTS OF THE DAY

It was so cold at Ulysses S. Grant’s presidential inauguration that the canaries that were supposed to sing at the inaugural ball froze to death.

President Calvin Coolidge liked to have his head rubbed with petroleum jelly while eating his breakfast in bed.

Harvard Stadium was the first reinforced concrete structure in the world.^l

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

RANDOM FACTS OF THE DAY

Romans discovered that mixing lead with wine not only helped preserve wine, but also gave it a sweet taste and succulent texture. Chronic lead poisoning has often been cited as one of the causes of the decline of Rome.

The Bible alludes to pi in 1 Kings 7:23 where it describes the altar inside Solomon’s temple: “And he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim . . . and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.” These measurements procure the following equation: 333/106 = 3.141509.

Other than what is found in a few church records and legal documents and in a few contemporary documents such as playgoers' diaries, most evidence of Shakespeare's life is circumstantial. Very little is known for certain.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

99 Interesting Facts About . . . Egypt

I came across this website and I love it. It has random facts concerning just about everything. Very informative! Random Facts & History

The shape of ancient Egyptian pyramids is thought to have been inspired by the spreading rays of the sun.^a
An Egyptian father named his newborn daughter “Facebook” to commemorate the role Facebook played in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Her full name is Facebook Jamal Ibrahim.^g
There are five million Facebook users in Egypt, more than any other Middle Eastern country. As of 2009, Egypt has 20.136 million Internet users, ranking 21st in the world.^g
Egypt has the largest Arabic population in the world.^c
The formal name of Egypt is the Arab Republic of Egypt.^c
Approximately 90% of Egyptians are Muslim (primarily Sunni), 9% are Coptic, and 1% is Christian.^c
Pharaoh Pepi II (2246-2152 B.C.) had the longest reign in history—94 years. He became Egypt’s king when he was only 6 years old.^f
Pharaoh Pepi II allegedly would smear naked slaves with honey to attract flies away from him.ⁿ

Abusing the Egyptian flag in any way is a criminal offense in Egypt

The Egyptian flag is similar to the flags of Syria, Iraq, and Yemen and consists of three bands of colors from the Arab Liberation flag—red, white, and black—with the golden eagle of Saladin on the white band. On the Egyptian flag, black represents oppression, red represents the bloody struggle against oppression, and white is symbolic of a bright future.^a
The literacy rate for Egyptian men is 83% and 59.4% for women.^c
On average, only an inch of rain falls in Egypt per year.^c
Egyptian history is generally considered to have begun in 3200 B.C. when King Menes (also called Narmer) united the Upper and Lower Kingdoms. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C. and was replaced by Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. Arabs introduced Islam and the Arabic language into Egypt in the seventh century.^c
As of July 2011, the population of Egypt was 82,079,663, making it the 15th most populated country in the world. Approximately 99% of the population lives on about 5.5% of the land.^c
Ramses II (1279-1212 B.C.) is often considered the greatest pharaoh (“great house”) of the Egyptian empire. He ruled Egypt for 60 years and was the only pharaoh to carry the title “the Great” after his name. He had over 90 children: approximately 56 boys and 44 girls. He had eight official wives and nearly 100 concubines. He also had red hair, which was associated with the god Seth.^f

The temperature inside the Great Pyramid equals the average temperature of the Earth (68F)

The famous Great Pyramid at Giza was built as a burial place for King Khufu (2589-2566 B.C.) and took more than 20 years to build. It is built from over two million blocks of limestone, each one weighing as much as two and a half elephants. It stands about 460 feet (149 m) high—taller than the Statue of Liberty. The base of the Great Pyramid takes up almost as much space as five football fields.^h
Ancient Egyptians believed that mummification ensured the deceased a safe passage to the afterlife. The mummification process had two stages: first the embalming of the body, then the wrapping and burial of the body. Organs were stored in canopic jars, each jar representing a god.^h
Ancient Egyptians mummified not only people but animals as well. Archeologists discovered a 15-foot- (4.5-m-) long mummified crocodile. The crocodile is known as the “devourer of human hearts” in the ancient Book of the Dead.^a
Fly swatters made from giraffe tails were a popular fashion item in ancient Egypt.^a

Egyptian women enjoyed more rights than other women in the ancient world

Ancient Egyptian women had more rights and privileges than most other women in the ancient world. For example, they could own property, carry out business deals, and initiate divorce. Women from wealthy families could become doctors or priestesses.^a
In Egypt, both men and women wore eye make-up called kohl, which was made from ground-up raw material mixed with oil. They believed it had magical healing powers that could restore poor eyesight and fight eye infections.^f
For ancient Egyptians, bread was the most important food and beer was their favorite drink. Models of brewers were even left in tombs to ensure that the deceased had plenty of beer in the next world.^h
The ancient Egyptians had three different calendars: an everyday farming calendar, an astronomical calendar, and a lunar calendar. The 365-day farming calendar was made up of three seasons of four months. The astronomical calendar was based on observations of the star Sirius, which reappeared each year at the start of the flood season. Finally, priests kept a lunar calendar that told them when to perform ceremonies for the moon god Khonsu.^h
Hieroglyphs were developed about 3,000 B.C. and may have started as early wall paintings. In contrast to English’s 26 letters, there are more than 700 different Egyptian hieroglyphs.^h
Egypt’s first pyramid was a step pyramid built by famed Egyptian architect Imhotep for the pharaoh Djoser in 2600 B.C.^a
The ancient Egyptians worshipped more than 1,000 different gods and goddesses. The most important god of all was Ra, the sun god.^a
Over its long history, Egypt has been known by many different names. For example, during the Old Kingdom (2650-2134 B.C.), Egypt was called Kemet or Black Land, which referred to the dark, rich soil of the Nile Valley. It was also called Deshret, or Red Land, which referred to Egypt’s vast deserts. Later, it was known as Hwt-ka-Ptah or “House of the Ka of Ptah.” Ptah was one of Egypt’s earliest gods. The Greeks changed Hwt-ka-ptah to Aegyptus.^f
Tourism compromises 12% of the work force in Egypt.^c

Scientists unearthed a "SuperCroc" fossil in the Sahara Desert in 2001

The Sahara Desert at one time was lush grassland and savannah. Overgrazing and/or climate change in 8000 B.C. began to change the area from pastoral land to desert. Now it is the world’s largest hot desert at over 3,630,000 square miles—roughly the size of the United States. Antarctica is considered the largest desert (of any type) in the world.^{^a}
The first pharaoh of Egypt is considered to be King Menes, who united the Upper and Lower Kingdoms in 3150 B.C. He named the capital of the united lands Memphis, which means “Balance of Two Lands.” Legend says he ruled for 60 years until he was killed by a hippopotamus.^k
The life expectancy of Egyptians is approximately 72.66 years, which ranks 124th in the world. The life expectancy of males is approximately 70.07 years and 75.38 years for females. Monaco has the world’s highest life expectancy at 89.73 years old. The United States is 50th, with a life expectancy of 78.37 years.^c
The fertility rate in Egypt is 2.97 children per woman, which is the 66th highest fertility rate in the world. Niger ranks first with 7.60 children per woman. The United States is 124th with 2.06 children per woman.^c
Egypt is the 30th largest country in the world by area. Slightly three times larger than New Mexico, Egypt’s area is 386,560 square miles (1,001,450 square km).^c
The 2011 Egyptian revolution began on January 25th. Egyptian protestors focused on lack of free speech and free elections, police brutality, government corruption, high unemployment, inflation, and continued use of emergency law. An estimated 800 people died and over 6,000 were injured in the process. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned on February 11th. The Egyptian revolution sparked other revolutions in Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Libya, and Bahrain.^m
To stay cool and avoid lice, both men and women in ancient Egypt shaved their heads and often wore wigs. In fact, because wigs indicated social status, they became one of the most important fashion accessories in ancient Egypt. Rich people wore wigs made from human hair, while poor people wore wigs made from wool or vegetable fiber.ⁿ
The ancient Egyptians were the first people to have a year consisting of 365 days divided into 12 months. They also invented clocks.ⁿ
The Egyptian polymath Imhotep (“the one who comes in peace”) is known as the first physician, the first engineer, and the first architect.^a

The Nile is the world's longest river and currently runs through nine countries

Egypt’s Nile River is the world’s longest, running 4,135 miles (6,670 km). Ancient Egyptians would measure the depth of the Nile using a “nilometer.” The English word “Nile” is derived from the Semitic nahal, meaning “river.” Ancient Egyptians called the river iteru, meaning “great river.”^f
In an attempt to control the annual flooding of the Nile, one of the largest dams in the world was built in Egypt in 1971: Aswan High Dam. Unfortunately, the rich silt that normally fertilized the dry Egyptian land settled in Lake Nasser after the building of the dam, forcing farmers to use one million tons of artificial fertilizer every year.^c
Ancient Egyptians believed the tears of the goddess Isis made the Nile overflow each year. They celebrated the flood with a festival called the “Night of the Tear Drop.”^a
A priest often wore the jackal-headed mask of the god Anubis when making a body into a mummy. Ancient Egyptians associated Anubis (the god of the death) with jackals because jackals would uncover bodies from Egyptian cemeteries and eat them.ⁿ
The Copts are the largest Christian community in Egypt and in the Middle East. Because Christianity was the main religion in Egypt between the fourth and sixth centuries, the term “Copt” originally meant all Egyptians.^h
In France, a glass pyramid stands outside the famous Louvre museum as a tribute to the ancient Egyptians and their amazing world.ⁿ
The quality that ancient Egyptians valued most was called ma’at, which means good behavior, honesty, and justice. Ma’at is also the name of the goddess of truth who, according to myth, weighs every Egyptian heart after death.^h
Before an ancient Egyptian scribe wrote anything, he always poured out some water mixed with ink as an offering to the god Thoth, the messenger of the gods and patron of scribes and learning. Egyptians who could write were believed to have power from the gods.^k
The ancient Egyptians believed that the god Thoth invented writing and passed its secret to humans. His symbols were a bird called an ibis and a baboon.^k
Just 150 years ago, Americans and Europeans believed that mummies had great healing powers. They ground up the mummies into powder and used it as medicine for all kinds of diseases.ⁿ
The word pharaoh began as a nickname for the Egyptian king. It means “great house” because everyone believed the king’s human body was home to a god. The term wasn’t actually used until the 20th dynasty (1185-1070 B.C.).^k
The Great Pyramid at Giza has vents pointing to the constellation of Orion so the mummy’s spirit could fly straight up to the gods.^a
Ancient Egyptians believed they were made from clay on a potter’s wheel by the river god Khnum.^f
In ancient Egypt, every big city supported one favorite god, similar to people who support football teams today.ⁿ
Ancient Egyptians needed to predict when the Nile would flood, which led to the development of the world’s first calendar.^h
Mexico, not Egypt, has the largest pyramid in the world in terms of volume. The Cholula Pyramid (sometimes referred to as Quetzalcoatl) was built around the year A.D. 100. Though it is 40% the height of Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza, it covers an area of 39.5 acres. In contrast, the Great Pyramid is 480 feet high and covers 13 acres. Additionally, the Mexican pyramid has a volume of 4,300,000 cubic yards, while the Great Pyramid has 3,360,000.ⁿ
The pyramids of Egypt are not only the oldest of the seven wonders of the ancient world, they are the only ones to survive today. An Arab proverb captures the pyramids endurance: “Man fears Time, yet Time fears the pyramids.” The other six wonders are (1) the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, (2) the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, (3) the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, (4) the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, (5) the Colossus of Rhodes, and (6) the Lighthouse of Alexandria.^f
The oldest surviving work about mathematics was written by the ancient Egyptian scribe Ahmes around 1650 B.C. Found on the Rhine Mathematical Papyrus, it is titled “The Entrance into the Knowledge of All Existing Things and All Obscure Secrets.”^h
The oldest death sentence recorded is found in ancient Egypt. Found in the Amherst papyri, a teenaged male in 1500 B.C. is sentenced to kill himself by either poison or stabbing for practicing magic.^h
Hieroglyphs were used only for ritual purposes and official inscriptions. For everyday use, Egyptians used a script called “hieratic.” In 700 B.C., a second script called “demotic” was used, of which a derivative is used by Coptic Christians today.^k
Ancient Egyptian tomb builders had their own guarded villages. They were well fed and looked after because their work was so important.^h
The oldest recorded standard of weight is the beqa, an ancient Egyptian unit equal to between 6.66 and 7.45 ounces. It is still used today.^a
In 2011, archeologists discovered an enormous statue of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III (grandfather of Tutankhamen). One of the largest statues ever found, it was actually first discovered in 1923 and then rehidden.^e
The ancient obelisk known as Cleopatra’s Needle has suffered more damage in the 125 years it has stood in New York City from pollution and weather than in the thousands of years it stood in Egypt.^a
The last known hieroglyphic inscription was made in A.D. 394 in the temple of Isis in Philae.^f

The Sphinx is the largest monolith statue in the world

Although it is a popular notion that Napoleon’s troops shot off the nose of the Sphinx at Giza, sketches of the Sphinx from 1737 show it without a nose, more than 60 years before Napoleon reached Egypt. The only person known to have damaged it was an Islamic cleric, Sa’im al-dahr, who was hanged in 1378 for vandalism. He reportedly disapproved of “graven images.”^b
Scholars believe that ancient Egyptians were the first to sew wounds closed some 4,000 years ago. Egyptian doctors would often store their surgical needles in a case made from a hollowed-out bird bone.^a
Hippos were considered bad omens and were associated with the evil god Seth. They were more dangerous than crocodiles and they often capsized boats traveling the Nile.^a
The first person in Egypt identified by name (Mery) for tax evasion was sentenced to 100 blows for his crime.^a
Medical examinations reveal that parasites such as worms were a problem for ancient Egyptians. One common parasite, the Guinea worm, would mature into a three-foot long worm inside the body and then painfully exit through the skin after a year.^a
In Egypt, children (even girls) were considered a blessing. The Greeks who sometimes left unwanted infants (most often girls) outdoors to die, were shocked to discover that the Egyptians did not.^a
The Berlin Papyrus (c. 1800 B.C.) contains directions for the oldest known pregnancy test. The test involved wetting cereals with urine. If barley grew, it meant the woman was pregnant with a male child; if the wheat grew, she was pregnant with a girl. If neither grew, the woman would not give birth.^f
To keep the hook shape of Ramses II’s nose from collapsing, embalmers stuffed his nostrils with peppercorns.^a
The scarab beetle was sacred to the Egyptians and represented life after death or resurrection.^a
Toilets were also included in some ancient Egyptian tombs.^b
Some people blamed the sinking of the Titanic on a mummified Egyptian priestess the doomed ship was transporting.^b
“The Beautiful House” is the name of the house or tent where mummification took place in ancient Egypt.^b
British monarch, Charles the II (1630-1685) would rub mummy dust on his skin, believing “Greatness” would rub off.^b

Cleopatra was Greek, not Egyptian or African

Contrary to popular belief, Cleopatra was actually Greek, not Egyptian or African. When Angelina Jolie was cast as Cleopatra in the 2011 movie, many erroneously argued that the role should have gone to an African American. Others claimed that the role should have gone to an actress of Greek descent, such as Jennifer Aniston.^j
Near Tuna el-Gebel on the edge of Egypt’s Western Desert, scientists have unearthed more than four million mummies of a stork-like bird called an ibis.^h
Ramses II was publicly unwrapped in June 1886 in just 15 minutes. His body became contaminated by fungi and bacteria, which literally ate him little by little. In 1975, scientists used gamma rays to sterilize his body. He is now stored in an antibacterial case.^f
The embalmer who made the first cut in the flank during the mummification process was called “the ripper.” The Egyptians considered any cut an offense to the body—so in a symbolic performance, the rest of the embalmers threw stones at the ripper and chased him away with curses.ⁿ
The Egyptians called the pyramids mer, a word whose etymology is debated. The English word “pyramid” comes from the Greek word pyramis, a type of wheat cake shaped like a pyramid.^a
If the Great Pyramid were chopped into 12-inch cubes, there would be enough cubes to circle the moon almost three times.^a
Early pharaohs were buried with their real servants. Later, model servants called shabti were used.^b
“Pyramid Power” or “pyramidology” refers to the belief that pyramids possess supernatural powers. For example, in 1959, Czech Radio engineer Karel Drbal patented the idea that pyramids could sharpen blunt razor blades. Late actress Gloria Swanson slept with a miniature pyramid under her pillow because it “made every cell in her body tingle.”ⁱ
Egypt’s Health Ministry banned female circumcision (when a women’s clitoris is removed) in 1996, except in cases of emergency. This loophole, however, is so vague that female genital mutilation is still virtually universal in Egypt.^l
The first mummy is, according to legend, Osiris who was murdered by Seth. Isis wrapped him in bandages and he came back to life as the god of the dead, or the afterlife.^k
Mud was pushed under the mummy’s skin to pad it out. False eyes could be made from onions. Hooked tools pulled the brain (which was always removed, along with the kidneys, liver, lungs, and heart) through the nose.^a
The oldest dress in the world comes from Egypt. It is 5,000 years old.^a
Egyptians knew the existence of Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter. They had names for them such as Sebequ,a god associated with Set , (Mercury), “god of the morning” (Venus), “bull of the sky” (Saturn), “Horus the red” or “Horus of the horizon” (Mars), and “Horus who limits the Two Lands” (Jupiter).^k
For the ancient Egyptians, the Nile was mysterious. Unlike most other rivers, it flows south to north, it floods in the summer, and no one knew where the water came from. Explorers discovered the source of the Nile in East Africa just 150 years ago.^a
The ancient Egyptians may have been the first people to keep cattle.^h
There were three female pharaohs, of whom the greatest was Hatshepsut (reigned 1498-1483 B.C.).^a
The giant sphinx guarding the three pyramids of Giza is thought to represent the pharaoh Khafre (Chephren), son of Khufu. Sphinxes are generally believed to have been built to guard tombs.^f
The known tombs of Egyptian kings were all raided by robbers with one exception, the tomb of Tutankhamen (reigned 1334-1324 B.C.). It was discovered in 1922 and was full of priceless materials and beautiful workmanship.^a
For the ancient Egyptians, the world began when Atum-Ra (the sun god)—who personifies life, goodness, light, and energy—created the Earth (Geb) and the Sky (Nut) and the rest of the world. For the Egyptians, creation was a daily occurrence, repeated with every rising and setting of the sun.^h
Ancient Egyptian women wore wigs topped with a cone of a greasy substance that gradually melted, giving off a pleasing scent of myrrh.^f
Ancient Egyptians kept such good flood records on the Nile that scientists today use their data to better understand rainfall patterns.^a

The loop of the ankh may symbolize the union of male and female principles

Scholars believe the Egyptian symbol called the ankh is the origin of the much later Christian cross. It also looks like a key—for ancient Egyptians, the key to eternal life.^a
Because hieroglyphs have no vowels, we will never know for sure how the ancients pronounced their words.^a
The Greeks called Egyptian symbols hieroglyphs (hieros + glyphe = “sacred” + “carving”) because they saw them carved into the walls of temples and other sacred places.^a

During the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, some women protestors were not only forced to take virginity tests, but they were also threatened with prostitution charges.^d

Important Gods and Goddess of Ancient Egypt ^k

Amun	Creator god, associated with fertility. Sometimes pictured as a goose, but most often represented as a man.
Anubis	Necropolis god, connected with mummification. Usually has the head of a dog or jackal.
Bastet	War goddess, Has the head of lioness or cat.
Hathor	Goddess of women; also sky goddess, tree goddess, or necropolis goddess. Has the head of a cow or cow’s horns, often with a sun disk on her head.
Horus	Sky god. Has the head of a hawk, often with a double crown.
Isis	Wife of Osiris; guardian and magician. Often has the hieroglyph of her name on her head.
Montu	War god. Often has the head of a hawk with a sun disk and two plumes on top.
Neith	Goddess of war and hunting. Wears a red crown or has two crossed arrows and a shield on her head.
Osiris	Ruler of the Underworld, god of dying vegetation, and husband of Isis. Usually shown as a mummy, holding a scepter, and wearing a white crown with plumes and horns.
Ptah	Creator god; the patron of all craftsmen, including architects, artists, and sculptures. Frequently shown as a man dressed as a mummy.
Re	Sun god. Has the head of hawk, often with a sun disk on his head.
Seth	God of disorder, deserts, storms, and war. Usually has the head of an unidentified animal.
Thoth	God of writing and counting. Has the head of an ibis, often with a moon crescent. Sometimes depicted as a baboon.

Important Dates ^f,m,c

c. 5,000 B.C.	People begin to settle down to live and grow crops along the banks of the Nile for the first time.
c. 3200 B. C.	Writing begins in Egypt.
c. 3100 B.C.	Legendary King Menes (Namer) unites Egypt. Upper and Lower Egypt are joined together under one pharaoh for the first time.
c. 2630 B.C.	Imhotep builds the first pyramid.
c. 1500 B.C.	Earliest examples of the Book of the Dead.
c. 1380 B.C.	Temple of Luxor by Amenhotep III is built.
1367-1350 B.C.	Reign of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton) who abandons Egyptian polytheism for monotheism.
1347-1339 B.C.	Reign of Tutankhamen.
1182-1151 B.C.	Reign of Ramses III; Hebrew migration out of Egypt.
1070-712 B.C.	Collapse of the New Kingdom.
669 B.C.	Assyrians conquer and rule Egypt.
332 B.C.	Alexander the Great conquers Egypt and founds Alexandria. A Macedonian dynasty rules until 31 B.C.
31 B.C.	Rome conquers Egypt. Cleopatra commits suicide after Octavian’s armies defeat her forces.
A.D. 642	Arab conquest of Egypt. Egypt becomes Islamic.
969	Cairo is established as the capital of Egypt.
1250-1517	Mamluk (armies of slaves, often Turks/Cumans) rule.
1517	Egypt is absorbed into the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
1822	Jean Francois Champollion deciphers the system of Egyptian hieroglyphs from the Rosetta Stone.
1882	British troops take control of Egypt.
1914	Egypt becomes a British protectorate.
1922	Egypt gains independence from Britain.
1953	Egypt is declared a Republic.
1954	The British finally leave Egypt.
1970	The Aswan High Dam is completed.
1971	Egypt’s new constitution is introduced. The country is renamed the Arab Republic of Egypt.
1979	Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., between Anwar El Sadat and Menachem Begin, making Egypt the first Arab country to official recognize Israel.
1981	President Anwar El Sadat is assassinated and Hosni Mubarak becomes president of Egypt by a national referendum.
2011	President Mubarak steps down amid protests.

Jul 19, 1799: Rosetta Stone found

This Day in History

On this day in 1799, during Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign, a French soldier discovers a black basalt slab inscribed with ancient writing near the town of Rosetta, about 35 miles north of Alexandria. The irregularly shaped stone contained fragments of passages written in three different scripts: Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphics and Egyptian demotic. The ancient Greek on the Rosetta Stone told archaeologists that it was inscribed by priests honoring the king of Egypt, Ptolemy V, in the second century B.C. More startlingly, the Greek passage announced that the three scripts were all of identical meaning. The artifact thus held the key to solving the riddle of hieroglyphics, a written language that had been "dead" for nearly 2,000 years.

When Napoleon, an emperor known for his enlightened view of education, art and culture, invaded Egypt in 1798, he took along a group of scholars and told them to seize all important cultural artifacts for France. Pierre Bouchard, one of Napoleon's soldiers, was aware of this order when he found the basalt stone, which was almost four feet long and two-and-a-half feet wide, at a fort near Rosetta. When the British defeated Napoleon in 1801, they took possession of the Rosetta Stone.

Several scholars, including Englishman Thomas Young made progress with the initial hieroglyphics analysis of the Rosetta Stone. French Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion (1790-1832), who had taught himself ancient languages, ultimately cracked the code and deciphered the hieroglyphics using his knowledge of Greek as a guide. Hieroglyphics used pictures to represent objects, sounds and groups of sounds. Once the Rosetta Stone inscriptions were translated, the language and culture of ancient Egypt was suddenly open to scientists as never before.

The Rosetta Stone has been housed at the British Museum in London since 1802, except for a brief period during World War I. At that time, museum officials moved it to a separate underground location, along with other irreplaceable items from the museum's collection, to protect it from the threat of bombs.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Strange and Funny . . .

http://facts.randomhistory.com/crazy-laws.html

Strange and Funny . . .

53 Crazy Laws

**Many of these laws were established during the end of the 1800s and early 1900s, when the United States was rapidly changing from an agricultural to industrial nation. Some of the laws went out of date or were repealed. Many are still on the books but not enforced.

It is illegal for chickens to cross the road in Quitman, Georgia

In Quitman, Georgia, chickens may not cross the road.^c
Before 1920, it was illegal for women in the United States to vote. When women’s rights advocate Susan B. Anthony tried to vote in the 1872 election, she was arrested and fined $100.^c
It’s illegal to ride an ugly horse in Wilbur, Washington.^c
In Mohave County, Arizona, if anyone is caught stealing soap, he must wash himself with it until the soap is gone.^c
First cousins may marry in Utah, but only after they’re 65 years old.^a
In North Dakota, no one can be arrested on the Fourth of July, a holiday that is commonly known there as “Five Finger Discount Day.”a
In Tennessee, it is illegal for children to play games on Sunday without a license.^b
It is illegal in Tennessee for an atheist to hold office.^b
In Indiana, it is illegal for a man to be sexually aroused in public.^a
It is illegal in California to lick toads. Apparently, some people were licking toads to get high. Unfortunately, some people were being harmed by the toads’ poison.^d
It is against Michigan state law to tie a crocodile to a fire hydrant.^a
An old Colorado law states that a person mush have a doctor’s prescription before taking a bath.^c
Colorado law states that a man cannot marry his wife’s grandmother.^b
In Kansas, when two trains meet at a crossing, “both shall come to full stop and neither shall start up again until the other has gone.”^c
A woman in a housecoat is forbidden to drive a car in California.^b
According to Minneapolis law, a person who double parks a car will be put on a chain gang with only bread and water to eat.^b

In Michigan, husbands legally own their wives’ hair

In Michigan, a woman’s hair belongs to her husband.^b
In Morrisville, Pennsylvania, it is illegal for a woman to wear cosmetics without a permit.^b
A man is forbidden to kiss a woman while she’s asleep in Logan County, Colorado.^d
In Challis, Idaho, it is illegal to walk down the street with another man’s wife.^b
Flirting in Little Rock, Arkansas, can land someone in jail for 30 days.^c
In Truro, Mississippi, a man must prove himself worthy before getting married by hunting and killing either six blackbirds or three crows.^b
There are still laws in Pueblo, Colorado, stating that it is illegal to grow dandelions.^b
A woman in Memphis, Tennessee, is not allowed to drive a car unless a man is in front of the car waving a red flag to warn people and other cars.^b
It is illegal for children under the age of 12 to talk on the telephone unless accompanied by a parent in Blue Earth, Minnesota.^b
In Kalispell, Montana, children must have a doctor’s note if they want to buy a lollipop.^b
A representative from Oklahoma, Linda Larsen attempted to lower the divorce rate by proposing a law that would require the following before a marriage license would be issued: neither party should snore, at least one meal a week should be prepared by the non-primary cook, toothpaste should be squeezed from the bottom of the tube, pantyhose shouldn’t be left hanging in the shower, and the toilet seat should always be down when not being used.^b

Men with mustaches are forbidden to kiss women in Eureka, Nevada

In Eureka, Nevada, it is illegal for men who have mustaches to kiss women.^b
It is illegal in Waco, Texas, to throw a banana peel onto the street because a horse could slip.^d
In Texas, the Encyclopedia Britannica was banned because it contained a formula for making beer.^b
Pickles were outlawed in Los Angeles because the smell might offend people.^b
It’s illegal in St. Louis, Missouri, for a fireman to rescue a woman wearing a nightgown. If she wants to be rescued, she must be fully clothed.^b
Hartford, Connecticut, banned men from kissing their wives on Sundays.^d
Buying ice cream on Sundays was illegal in Ohio because it was thought to be frivolous and “luxurious.” Consequently, ice cream vendors would put fruit on top of the ice cream to make it more nutritious, creating the ice cream sundae.^b
A woman wearing shorts, a halter top, or a bathing suit to a political rally in Wheatfield, Indiana, could be charged with a misdemeanor.^d
In Lander, Wyoming, it is illegal for adults to take a bath more than once a month once the cold weather arrives. Children cannot take a bath at all during the winter.^b
According to Florida law, anyone who takes a bath must wear clothes.^b
Motorists in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, cannot park a car for more than two hours unless it is hitched to a horse.^b
Women in Whitesville, Delaware, could be charged with disorderly conduct if they propose marriage to a man.^b
In Kentucky, it is against the law to remarry the same man four times.^a
There is a law in South Carolina that allows a husband to beat his wife on the courthouse steps on a Sunday.^b
In Arizona, oral sex is considered sodomy.^b
In Arizona, a man may legally beat his wife once a month, but no more.^b

A girl may not ask a boy for a date over the phone in Dyersburg, Tennessee

In Dyersburg, Tennessee, it is against the law for a girl to telephone a boy to ask for a date.^b
In Kentucky, a woman is forbidden to wear a bathing suit on a highway unless she is armed with a club or is escorted by at least two officers. The amendment says that the provisions of this statue “shall not apply to a female weighing less than 90 pounds or exceeding 200 pounds.”^b
According to an Atlanta, Georgia, ordinance, “smelly people” are not allowed to ride public streetcars.^a
Massachusetts passed a law in 1648 that allowed a parent to put to death a stubborn or rebellious son. The law has been repealed by the legislature.^b
In Massachusetts, a person could be fined up to $200 for denying the existence of God.^d
In 1659, Massachusetts outlawed Christmas. According to state law, anybody observing Christmas would be fined five shillings.^b
In California, ostrich steaks are exempt from state sales tax.^b
In Lexington, Kentucky, it is against the law to carry an ice cream cone in a pocket.^c
Policemen are allowed to bite a dog if they think it will calm the dog down in Paulding, Ohio.^c
In Zeigler, Illinois, only the first four firemen to arrive at a fire will be paid.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

The Day JFK Jr. Died - July 16, 1999

We dared to think that this John Kennedy would live to comb gray hair, with his beloved Carolyn by his side. But like his father, he had every gift but length of years. Ted Kennedy, July 1999

When I was in the 5th grade I wrote my first book report. I decided that I would read and write about President John F. Kennedy. I do not know why I fell in love with The Kennedy's, I just did. When ever I was given the opportunity to write on topic of my choice, I chose a Kennedy.

I have always said that Jacqueline Kennedy was someone to look up to. I have always felt that she was the epitome of lady in every sense of the word. She was dignified, educated, and well-spoken and from all accounts a wonderful and loving mother. As if the tragedy of her husband's assassination was not enough, she was never allowed mourn through-out the year due to the constant rumors and even facts concerning her now dead husband. So naturally, I was drawn to her children as well. I continued to research and write papers on the Kennedy's through out college as well.

I may not recall exactly where I was when I heard that JFK Jr. was missing, but I do recall being in an open field in Atlanta, Georgia at a Sarah McLachlan concert when she sang, I Will Remember You, in honor of John F. Kennedy Jr. She had sung that very song on the Today Show the day of his burial at sea.

***Courtesy of The History Channel***

On July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy, Jr.; his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy; and her sister, Lauren Bessette, die when the single-engine plane that Kennedy was piloting crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr., was born on November 25, 1960, just a few weeks after his father and namesake was elected the 35th president of the United States. On his third birthday, "John-John" attended the funeral of his assassinated father and was photographed saluting his father's coffin in a famous and searing image. Along with his sister, Caroline, he was raised in Manhattan by his mother, Jacqueline. After graduating from Brown University and a very brief acting stint, he attended New York University Law School. He passed the bar on his third try and worked in New York as an assistant district attorney, winning all six of his cases. In 1995, he founded the political magazine George, which grew to have a circulation of more than 400,000. Unlike many others in his famous family, he never sought public office himself.
Always in the media spotlight, he was celebrated for the good looks that he inherited from his parents. In 1988, he was named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine. He was linked romantically with several celebrities, including the actress Daryl Hannah, whom he dated for five years. In September 1996, he married girlfriend Carolyn Bessette, a fashion publicist. The two shared an apartment in New York City, where Kennedy was often seen inline skating in public. Known for his adventurous nature, he nonetheless took pains to separate himself from the more self-destructive behavior of some of the other men in the Kennedy clan.
On July 16, 1999, however, with about 300 hours of flying experience, Kennedy took off from Essex County airport in New Jersey and flew his single-engine plane into a hazy, moonless night. He had turned down an offer by one of his flight instructors to accompany him, saying he "wanted to do it alone." To reach his destination of Martha's Vineyard, he would have to fly 200 miles--the final phase over a dark, hazy ocean--and inexperienced pilots can lose sight of the horizon under such conditions. Unable to see shore lights or other landmarks, Kennedy would have to depend on his instruments, but he had not qualified for a license to fly with instruments only. In addition, he was recovering from a broken ankle, which might have affected his ability to pilot his plane.
At Martha's Vineyard, Kennedy was to drop off his sister-in-law Lauren Bessette, one of his two passengers. From there, Kennedy and his wife, Carolyn, were to fly on to the Kennedy compound on Cape Cod's Hyannis Port for the marriage of Rory Kennedy, the youngest child of the late Robert F. Kennedy. The Piper Saratoga aircraft never made it to Martha's Vineyard. Radar data examined later showed the plane plummeting from 2,200 feet to 1,100 feet in a span of 14 seconds, a rate far beyond the aircraft's safe maximum. It then disappeared from the radar screen.
Kennedy's plane was reported missing by friends and family members, and an intensive rescue operation was launched by the Coast Guard, the navy, the air force, and civilians. After two days of searching, the thousands of people involved gave up hope of finding survivors and turned their efforts to recovering the wreckage of the aircraft and the bodies. Americans mourned the loss of the "crown prince" of one of the country's most admired families, a sadness that was especially poignant given the relentless string of tragedies that have haunted the Kennedy family over the years.
On July 21, navy divers recovered the bodies of JFK Jr., his wife, and sister-in-law from the wreckage of the plane, which was lying under 116 feet of water about eight miles off the Vineyard's shores. The next day, the cremated remains of the three were buried at sea during a ceremony on the USS Briscoe, a navy destroyer. A private mass for JFK Jr. and Carolyn was held on July 23 at the Church of St. Thomas More in Manhattan, where the late Jackie Kennedy Onassis worshipped. President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, were among the 300 invited guests. The Kennedy family's surviving patriarch, Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, delivered a moving eulogy: "From the first day of his life, John seemed to belong not only to our family, but to the American family. He had a legacy, and he learned to treasure it. He was part of a legend, and he learned to live with it."
Investigators studying the wreckage of the Piper Saratoga found no problems with its mechanical or navigational systems. In their final report released in 2000, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the crash was caused by an inexperienced pilot who became disoriented in the dark and lost control.

55 Interesting Facts About . . . Bullying

Research shows that half of all children are bullied at some time during their school years. More than 10% are bullied regularly.^d
More parents are allowing their young children to undergo plastic surgery to combat bullying. For example, Samantha Shaw, a 1st grader, underwent surgery to get her ears pinned back to prevent her from being bullied.^m
The word “bully” was first used in 1530 and originally applied to both genders and meant “sweetheart.” It is from the Dutch boel, meaning “lover” or “brother.” Around the seventeenth century, the term began to mean “fine fellow,” “blusterer,” and then “harasser of the weak.”^c
Over 30% of children who suffer a food allergy report having been bullied at school. While verbal abuse was the most common form of bullying, 40% reported to have been physical threatened, such as having the allergen thrown or waved at them or being touched by the allergen. Food allergies affect an estimated three million children.ⁱ
Girls bully in groups more than boys do.^l
Though girls tend to use more indirect, emotional forms of bullying, research indicates that girls are becoming more physical than they have in the past.^l
Boys tend to bully according to group, such as “athlete” versus “non-athlete.” Girls tend to bully according to social status, such as “popular” vs. “non-popular.”^q

When boys bully, they tend to use more threats and physical intimidation on both boys and girls. Girls are usually more verbal and tend to target other girls.^d
Bullying happens not just in the United States but also all over the world. International researchers have demonstrated that bullying in schools is universal.^a
Several factors increase the risk of a child being bullied, including parental over- control, illness or disability, passivity, social phobia, agoraphobia, and higher levels and expression of general anxiety.^k
Many adults who were bullying victims report that over time, feelings of unhappiness and shame decreased. However, those who remembered bullying as intensely painful continued to show low self-esteem, depression, pathological perfection, and greater neuroticism.ⁿ
Researchers have found that bullying roles (those who bully and their victims) remain fairly stable throughout school. For example, even after switching to a new classroom, victims of bullying continued to be victims. However, by the age of 23, the roles become less stable and victims of bullies are not as harassed or socially isolated.ⁿ
Research by Fight Crime/Invest in Kids reports that 60% of boys who bullied from first grade through ninth grade were convicted of at least one crime by age 24 and 40% had three or more convictions by age 24.^q
The average bullying episode lasts only 37 seconds. Teachers notice or intervene in only one in 25 incidents.^o
“Bully-victims” are students who can be both a bully and a victim. They often have been victimized and then begin inflicting the same behavior on others. Those who are both bully and victim are at a higher risk than either bullies or victims for depression, high-conflict relationships, substance abuse, hyperactive behavior, and school truancy.^o
Children who have a learning disability or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder are more likely than other children to be bullied. They also are slightly more likely than others to bully.^e
Researchers note that if a victim fights a bully and the bully wins, this loss will only make matters worse for the victim. Consequently, researchers argue that fighting back should not be encouraged. Instead, the child should be encouraged to walk away and tell an adult if he feels someone is about to hurt him.^o

Those who felt bullied in 6th grade were more likely to report feelings of loneliness six years later. Those who bullied in 6th grade felt more overtly aggressive in 12th grade.ⁿ
Children with medical conditions that affect their appearance, such as spinal bifida and cerebral palsy, are more likely to be bullied.^e
Children who are obese are more likely to be bullied. Additionally, overweight and obese girls are more likely to be physically bullied.^g
Diabetic children who are dependent on insulin may be more prone to peer bullying.^e
Over 83% of adults who stuttered as children said they had been teased or bullied. Approximately 71% said that bullying happened at least once a week.^e
According to disability, harassment, civil, and criminal laws bullying can easily become a crime.^l
If a school district does not take reasonable and appropriate steps to stop a child from being bullied, the district may be violating federal, state, and local laws. For more information, parents can contact the U.S. Department of Education Office or the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs.^l
Teens who are gay are often subjected to such intense bullying that they do not receive an adequate education. They’re often embarrassed or ashamed to report the abuse.^f
Gay teens are three times more likely as heterosexual teens to report having been bullied. In contrast, gay teens were about 80% less likely than heterosexuals to say they had bullied someone else.^f
Megan Meier hanged herself three weeks before her 14th birthday in 2006 after receiving cruel messages on MySpace. A mother of one of her friends had created a false MySpace account to send Megan harassing emails. The bullying mother was indicted on the incident but was acquitted.^o
Bullies are more likely to engage in vandalism, shoplifting, truancy, and substance abuse than students who do not bully during early childhood. There is also a direct correlation between substance abuse and gun violence and bullying behavior.^o
Overly aggressive and overly permissive parents are equally likely to have children who bully.^o
Research clearly indicates that children as young as age 5 who continually observe bullying that goes unchecked or ignored by adults are at greater risk of becoming bullies themselves.^o
Boys are least likely to report bullying.^l
There is a connection between bullying and being exposed to violence. Unfortunately, by the time an average child enters kindergarten, he will have witnessed 8,000 murders on television.^o

Cyberbullying that is sexual can result in the bully being registered as a sex offender.^o
Some cyberbullies think that if they use a fake name, they won’t get caught. But there are many ways to track such bullies. Additionally, the things that bullies post online can affect college applications and getting a job in the future.^o
The number of adolescents who experience cyberbullying varies from 10%-40% or more, depending on the age of the group and how cyber bullying is technically defined.^o
Cyber bullying can be very different from bullying. First, victims often do not know who is bullying them or why, because the cyberbullies can hide their identity with anonymous emails or screen names. Second, cyberbullying can go viral, which means a larger number of people are aware of the bullying via the Internet. Third, it is easier to be cruel using technology because the bullies do not have to see the immediate response of their victims. Finally, many parents and teachers are not technologically savvy enough to be aware of what is going on online.^j
Only 1 in 10 victims of cyberbullying tell a parent. Fewer than 1 in 5 cyberbullying incidents are reported to the police.^o
There are typically three types of bullying: social (excluding victims from activities, rumors), verbal (threatening, taunting, teasing, hate speech), and physical (kicking, hitting, punching, choking).^o
Bullying can occur anywhere there is a perceived or real imbalance of power, ranging from in the home to an international level.^l
The two students involved in the 1999 Columbine massacre were described as gifted students who had been bullied for years. During the school shooting, the boys killed 13 people, injured 24, and then killed themselves.^o
Jingoism, or extreme patriotism, often leads to international bullying.^o
Researchers note that bullying escalates in the later years of elementary school, peaks in middle school, and then dissipates by high school. They also note that 6th grade was the worst year for bullying.^l
Academically gifted students, especially those with high verbal aptitude, are often bullied and are more likely than less gifted students to suffer emotionally.^b
In 2007, the five worst states for bullying in kindergarten through 12th grade were (1) California, (2) New York, (3) Illinois, (4) Pennsylvania, and (5) Washington.^h
Every day, 160,000 students skip school because they are afraid they will be bullied.^h
Thirty percent of students who say they have been bullied said they sometimes had brought weapons to school.^l
While teachers say they intervened 71% of the time in bullying incidents, students report that teachers intervened only 25% of the time.^o
Of the 37 school shootings reviewed by the U.S. Secret Service, bullying was involved in 2/3 of the cases.^o
Students see an estimated four out of every five bullying occurrences at school and join in about 3/4 of the time.^l
It is a myth that bullying will most likely go away when it is ignored. Ignoring bullies reinforces to them that they can bully without consequence.^o

It is likely that if someone was bullied in school, they will also be bullied in the workforce.ⁿ
Celebrities who report being bullied in high school include Lady Gaga (who was thrown in a garbage can), Rosario Dawson (for being flat chested), Fred Durst (known as an underdog), Kate Winslet (for being chubby), and Michael Phelps (for his gangly form and big ears).^p
A 2007 poll found that 1/3 of workers, or 54 million Americans, reported workplace bullying.^o
An estimated 40%- 75% of bullying in schools takes place during breaks, such as during recess, at lunchtime, in the hallways, or in the restrooms.^o
According to a 2004 survey of 4th through 8th grade students, 53% of children reported that they used the Internet to say something negative about another child.^o