• When children’s mystery writer Joan Lowery Nixon was a little girl, she found a stack of magazines — with such titles as True Confessions, True Love, and Modern Romances — in a box under her grandmother’s bed. Being an avid reader, she avidly began to read. That night, at supper, she asked her parents the meanings of a few words she had read in the magazines but had not understood. Surprised, her parents asked her where she had come across such words, and the story of the box of magazines came out. Her grandfather, a self-educated lover of the classics, blamed himself for not educating the mind of his wife, and announced that he would read to her that night a story from The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights. The reading did not go well. He started to read “The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad,” but when he read out loud that one of the three ladies had breasts “like two pomegranates of even size,” his wife was outraged. She stormed, “Twin pomegranates! Oh, how rude! There is nothing that vulgar in my magazines!” And so Ms. Nixon’s grandmother’s education in the classics came to an end.
• Jean Little, the author of Little by Little, once read The Secret Garden to some children she was babysitting. The girls seemed very interested in the book, so she read a couple of extra chapters, but the boy looked bored. However, after Ms. Little had finished reading, the boy wanted to use the telephone. Given permission, he called his mother and said in an excited tone, “Mum, they got into the garden!” Ms. Little learned from this experience: “Never again did I make the mistake of thinking that a child who appeared inattentive was getting nothing out of a book.”
Children
• Determined to found a new community, a king selected a site and then consulted his astrologers. The astrologers read the stars and planets, concluding that the site was good — if a child would be entombed alive within the walls of the community. Therefore, a mother was forced to “volunteer” her child to be entombed alive. However, the mother’s child was very intelligent, and he told the king, “Let me ask your astrologers three questions. If the astrologers answer the questions correctly, then we will know that they can truly read the stars and planets, and I will willingly be entombed alive. However, if they answer wrongly, then we will know that they wrongly read the stars and planets, and no one should be entombed alive.” The king agreed to the child’s request, and the child asked the astrologers these questions: “What is the lightest thing in the world? What is the sweetest thing in the world? And what is the heaviest thing in the world?” The astrologers consulted among themselves for three days, then told their answers to the three questions: “The lightest thing in the world is a feather, the sweetest thing in the world is honey, and the heaviest thing in the world is stone.” The child laughed and said, “The lightest thing in the world is an only child in its mother’s arms — the child is never heavy. The sweetest thing in the world is the mother’s milk to the baby. And the heaviest thing in the world is for a mother to be forced to ‘volunteer’ her child to be entombed alive.” The astrologers recognized that the child’s answers were correct, so they told the king that they had misread the stars and planets, and no one was entombed alive.
In the Middle Ages, what precious stone was considered to provide great luck because it was believed to possess all the virtues of each gemstone whose color was represented in it?
How many US states have designated an official state firearm?
Eight ( Alaska, Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Tennessee )
Source
A state firearm has only been designated by eight of the fifty States in the United States: Alaska, Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Tennessee.
Source
Mark. was first, and correct, with:
Eight: Alaska, Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Tennessee.
Alan J answered:
Eight.
Cal in Vermont said:
Eight. Tennessee's is a Barrett M82A1 semi-auto .50 caliber rifle.
Randall wrote:
Eight states
Alaska - Winchester Model 70
Arizona - Colt single-action Army pistol
Indiana - Grouseland Rifle
Kentucky - Kentucky Long Rifle
Pennsylvania - Pennsylvania Long Rifle
Tennessee - Barrett M82
Utah - M1911 Pistol
West Virginia - Hall Model 1819 Flintlock Rifle
Dave responded:
Eight. Amazingly. WTF is that about?
Mac Mac replied:
8
Jim from CA, retired to ID, wrote:
A state firearm has only been designated by eight of the fifty States in the United States: Alaska, Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Tennessee
Billy in Cypress U.S.A. took the day off.
mj took the day off.
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Deborah, the Master Gardener took the day off.
Jon L took the day off.
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George M. took the day off.
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John I from Hawai`i took the day off.
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BttbBob has returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
Had to visit Culver City for the first time in a few months, and holy crap, traffic is back to pre-lockdown levels, only faster.
Tonight, Sunday:
CBS starts the night, as usual, with '60 Minutes', followed by LIVE'The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards'.
NBC opens the night with a RERUN'The Voice', followed by a FRESH'Ellen's Mean Game Of Games', then a FRESH'Good Girls'.
ABC begins the night with a RERUN'America's Funniest Home Videos', followed by a FRESH'American Idol', then a FRESH'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?'.
The CW offers a FRESH'Batwoman', followed by a FRESH'Charmed'.
Faux has a FRESH'Cherries Wild', followed by a FRESH'Bless The Harts', then a FRESH'The Simpsons', followed by a FRESH'The Great North', then a FRESH'Bob's Burgers', followed by a FRESH'Family Guy'.
MY recycles an old 'Big Bang Theory', followed by another old 'Big Bang Theory', then still another old 'Big Bang Theory', followed by yet another old 'Big Bang Theory'.
AMC offers 'The Walking Dead', another 'The Walking Dead', followed by a FRESH'The Walking Dead', then a FRESH'Talking Dead'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] HIDDEN HABITATS
[6:15AM] HIDDEN HABITATS
[6:45AM] MOON LANDING
[8:45AM] CLIFFHANGER
[10:45AM] SNATCH
[1:13PM] CLIFFHANGER
[3:13PM] LORD OF WAR
[6:00PM] MR. & MRS. SMITH
[8:30PM] MR. & MRS. SMITH
[11:00PM] LORD OF WAR
[1:47AM] SNATCH
[4:15AM] DOCTOR WHO - DEEP BREATH (ALL TIMES ET)
Bravo has a FRESH'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', followed by another FRESH'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', then a FRESH'Married To Medicine', followed by a FRESH'Watch What Happens: Live'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Step Brothers', followed by the movie 'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story', then 'South Park'.
FX has the movie 'Jumanji', followed by the movie 'Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle'.
History has 'The Food That Built America', another 'The Food That Built America', followed by a FRESH'The Food That Built America', then a FRESH'Modern Marvels'.
IFC -
[6:15am - 10:45am] Three's Company
[11:15am] Hoodlum
[2:15pm] Bad Boys
[5:00pm] Bad Boys II
[8:00pm] Hancock
[10:00pm] Bad Boys
[12:45am] Hancock
[2:45am] Bad Boys II
[5:45am] The Three Stooges - Income-Tax Sappy (ALL TIMES ET)
Sundance -
[6:00am] monk - Mr. Monk And The Bully
[7:00am] monk - Mr. Monk And The Magician
[8:00am] monk - Mr. Monk Fights City Hall
[9:00am] monk - Mr. Monk's Favorite Show
[10:00am] jerry maguire
[1:00pm] the outsiders
[3:00pm] grease
[5:30pm] groundhog day
[8:00pm] ghostbusters
[10:30pm] ghostbusters ii
[1:00am] groundhog day
[3:30am] ghostbusters (ALL TIMES ET)
SyFy has the movie 'London Has Fallen', followed by the movie 'Cold Pursuit'.
For Micky Dolenz, it’s a case of Monkee see, Monkee do. The drummer of the Monkees and one-time Circus Boy television star is releasing a new record, Dolenz Sings Nesmith, a tribute to songs bandmate Michael Nesmith wrote throughout his career.
Dolenz’s first new solo studio album in nine years will be released by the UK’s 7A Records worldwide on May 21 and is produced by Nesmith’s son, Christian Nesmith.
Michael Nesmith and Dolenz had planned to tour in 2020 as An Evening with the Monkees, but saw that go up in flames because of the pandemic. They are remounting those plans this month and later this year in theaters in the US and Canada.
“I don’t know where the idea came from, maybe from my friend Harry Nilsson and his Nilsson Sings Newman album,” Dolenz said about the project. “I thought to myself, ‘Wow, Dolenz Sings Nesmith’”.
The album will be released on 180g Coloured Vinyl, on CD, as well as on all digital platforms.
French magazine Charlie Hebdo is facing widespread criticism for its most recent front cover, which shows a cartoon of the Queen kneeling on Meghan Markle’s neck in what appears to be a recreation of George Floyd’s death.
Alongside the caricature, a headline reads, “Why Meghan left Buckingham”, with the Duchess of Sussex replying – from underneath the Queen’s knee – “because I couldn't breathe anymore”.
The Charlie Hebdo cover has been condemned as “abhorrent” and “worrying” on social media, with some Twitter users claiming the magazine’s satire has become “plain racist”.
The magazine is yet to respond to the criticism, though it has a history of causing offence.
As if Brexit tensions were not bad enough, Brussels has opened a new row with the UK by backing Greece’s long standing claim over the Elgin marbles.
When the UK and Greece were both European Union members, the bloc tried to remain above the fray and adopted a position of studious neutrality in the dispute.
However, a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Elgin marbles were not being returned to Greece the Greek EU commissioner announced it backed Greece’s claim.
Margaritis Schinas, European Commission’s vice president for Promoting the European Way of Life, said: “The marbles belong in the Parthenon. In these difficult times, universal cultural heritage should uplift humanity, not divide it.”
Lord Elgin, a Scottish nobleman, soldier and diplomat, has been accused of stealing them or bribing officials to remove them from the Parthenon at the beginning of the 19th century.
An Oklahoma sports announcer who was caught on video calling a high school girls basketball team the N-word blamed the racist incident on his Type 1 diabetes.
Matt Rowan, a former youth pastor, identified himself as the announcer in a statement obtained Saturday by NBC News.
In the lengthy response, Rowan said that he believed his microphone was off when he called Norman High School players the racial slur.
In an attempt to offer an explanation, Rowan said his diabetes will sometimes cause him to say "hurtful" comments.
The announcer went on to say that he is not racist and apologized for his comments.
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson (R-Tool), a Republican, has claimed he "never felt threatened" by pro-Trump Capitol rioters because they "loved this country", but would've been frightened had the rioters represented Black Lives Matter or antifa.
"Even though those thousands of people were marching on the Capitol were trying to pressure people like me to vote the way they wanted me to vote, I knew those were people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, so I wasn't concerned," he continued.
The insurrection events that took place at the US Capitol left five people dead, including one Capitol Police officer. Violence from the rioters against police officers attempting to defend the federal building also resulted in about 140 officers suffering from injuries they sustained on 6 January.
Yet Mr Johnson, a staunch Donald Trump supporter, claimed those involved "truly respect law enforcement" and would "never do anything to break the law."
Authorities on Friday arrested a man accused of assaulting D.C. Metropolitan police officer Mike Fanone, who was allegedly beaten and tased by a mob of rioters during the assault on the U.S. Capitol. Charging documents say Thomas Sibick ripped Fanone's badge and radio off his uniform during the assault on the west front steps, and subsequently buried the badge in his back yard.
Prosecutors allege Sibick, of Buffalo, New York, assaulted Fanone when he ripped off the badge and radio. The assault allegedly occurred while Fanone was being beaten and tased by a group of rioters who had pulled him out of the police line.
As a result of the violence, Officer Fanone lost consciousness and was subsequently hospitalized for his injuries, which likely included a concussion and injuries from the taser, court documents said. Sibick is not accused of beating or tasing Fanone.
Sibick is charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, obstruction of law enforcement, and taking from a person anything of value by force, among other charges. A federal judge in the Western District of New York granted him release into home confinement over the government's objection this afternoon. The Justice Department has appealed that decision in D.C. Federal court, where the case will be further prosecuted.
"It was brutal, just beaten, struck with a variety of different objects," Fanone said during a January interview with CBS News. He said he was tasered "probably about a half dozen times."
More twins are being born now than ever before, largely due to rising use of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and other assisted reproduction techniques, the first global study of human twinning has found.
With about 1.6 million twins born each year worldwide, the global twinning rate has risen by a third since the 1980s, to 12 per 1,000 deliveries from 9 per 1,000 around 30 years ago, the study found.
This might well be "peak twins", scientists behind the research said - particularly in high-income regions such as Europe and North America where there is now an emphasis on refining fertility treatments to minimise multiple births.
Monden's research team, whose findings were published on Friday in the journal Human Reproduction, analysed data on twinning rates for 165 countries between 2010 and 2015 and for 112 countries for the period 1980 to 1985.
They found a 71% rise in twinning rates in North America, as well as significant rises in many European countries and in Asia. For Asia overall, there was a 32% increase, they said, and only seven countries saw falls of more than 10% in twinning rates over the study period.
Rocks collected in Greenland may hold traces of an ancient magma ocean that bubbled over much of Earth's surface soon after the planet's birth, a new study finds.
Scientists gathered the rocks from the Isua supracrustal belt, a region in southwest Greenland where the exposed rocks are between 3.7 billion and 3.8 billion years old; the belt contains the oldest known rocks on Earth, which remain relatively undisturbed by plate tectonics, heat and chemical alterations, according to Science Magazine.
The chemical traces of the early magma oceans are even older than the rocks themselves, dating to roughly 4.5 billion years ago, when a Mars-size object slammed into Earth, knocking off a huge chunk of rock that later became the moon, according to the new study.
When celestial objects the size of Earth and Mars collide, "near-wholescale melting of the entire planet is an inevitable consequence of that," lead author Helen Williams, a professor of geochemistry at the University of Cambridge, told Live Science. And as that molten rock cooled and crystallized, the Earth gradually came to resemble the blue marble we know today, she said.
But although most scientists accept the molten Earth theory, "a big challenge is that it's very hard to find ... geological evidence for something that happened so early on in our history," Williams said. The new study, published March 12 in the journal Science Advances, shows that Isua belt rocks still bear chemical "fingerprints" left behind by this primordial cooling process.
Opalescent inshore squid (Doryteuthis opalescens) are some of the most sophisticated shapeshifters on Earth. These curious cephalopods are cloaked in a special skin that can be precisely tuned to a kaleidoscope of colors.
Scientists have long been fascinated by this squid's remarkable camouflage and communication. New research has brought us even closer to figuring out how they can pull off such an eclectic wardrobe that allows them to hunt near the brightness of the shore, slip by predators unseen, or even evade aggressive suitors by flashing a pair of fake testes.
Previous studies have shown the opalescent squid possesses a complex molecular machine within its skin: a thin film of stacked cells capable of expanding and contracting like an accordion to reflect the entire visible spectrum of light, from red and orange to yellow and green, to blue and violet.
These tiny grooves are sort of like what you see on a compact disc, researchers say, reflecting a rainbow of colors as you tilt it under the light. But just like a CD, this skin also needs something to amplify its colorful noise.
The 'motor' that tunes the grooves within the squid's skin is driven by reflectin proteins, which respond to different neural signals and control reflective pigment cells.
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