Cool Fact of the Day [May 3rd]
Earth's Core
What are the conditions at the center of the Earth?
Even the deepest boreholes have not yet penetrated the thin outer crust of the Earth. Yet
scientists have been able to determine some properties of the core from their understanding of
planet formation, and from the behavior of seismic waves (waves generated by earthquakes)
as they move through the Earth.
The two most significant properties of Earth's core are temperature and pressure. The
temperature is nearly 7,000 Kelvins (12,000 F). At that temperature, hotter than the surface
of the sun, all matter radiates a blinding white light.
The pressure at Earth's core is millions of times that at the surface. Under such great pressure,
the iron-nickel mixture there has solidified into a solid sphere 1,500 miles (2,400 km) across,
which floats in the center of a sea of white-hot liquid metal.
More about the Earth's core:
ldeo.columbia.edu
The reasoning behind our current understanding of the core:
soest.hawaii.edu
What it's like at the center of the sun:
features.learningkingdom.com
Cool Word of the Day
extant [adj. EK-stunt or ek-STANT]
Extant describes something that is still in existence after many years and that has not been
destroyed or lost. Example: "There are three extant copies of the journal from the initial
printing in the 18th century."
Near synonyms include remaining, existing, surviving, and continuing.
Extant originally meant standing out or protruding. This definition is most closely related to the
roots of the word.
In the 1500s, extant was borrowed from the Latin exstant, a variation of the verb exstare (to
stand out, to exist), from stare (to stand). Other words sharing this root include instant,
distant, constant, stance, and stanza.
Person of the Day
Carry (Carrie) Nation, 1846-1911
Temperance leader
Once married to an alcoholic husband, Carry Nation fought the use of alcohol in the most
direct way she could imagine -- wielding a hatchet and physically destroying taverns, saloons,
and bars across the Midwest and West. Her intemperate attacks on behalf of the temperance
movement made newspaper headlines throughout the nation.
Nation's first such attack took place in Kiowa, Kansas, where she used stones and bottles to
destroy saloons that had contributed to the drunkenness of men in her hometown of Medicine
Lodge. Stunned officials in Kiowa were unable to arrest Nation because the establishments
she had destroyed were operating illegally.
Such wasn't the case in her subsequent attacks on establishments serving alcohol, and Nation
was arrested dozens of times. It wasn't until 1918 -- seven years after her death -- that
Nation's dream was realized when the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was enacted,
marking the onset of Prohibition.
More about Carry Nation:
skyways.lib.ks.us
eskie.net
medicinelodge.com
The full text of her autobiography:
druglibrary.org
Quotes of the Day
Ideas; On grasping, understanding, and questioning new ideas:
"One of the greatest pains for human [beings] is the pain of a new idea."
-- Walter Bagehot, British economist and journalist
"No grand idea was ever born in a conference, but a lot of foolish ideas have died there."
-- Samuel Butler, English poet
"Every idea I get I have to deny, that's my way of testing it."
-- Alain, French philosopher
"An intellectual is not only a person for whom books are essential, but one for whom an idea,
however elementary, absorbs and orders his life."
-- Andre Malraux, French novelist, archaeologist, art theorist, political activist, and
public official
Today in History
May 3rd
1765: The First U.S. Medical College Opened
The first U.S. medical college opened in Philadelphia. Founded by John Morgan, the School
of Medicine belonged to the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania).
"The theory and practice of physick" and "anatomical lectures" were among the first subjects
taught.
More about the School of Medicine:
med.upenn.edu
1841: New Zealand Became an Official British Colony
Originally part of the Australian colony of New South Wales, New Zealand became an official
British colony. Named after the Dutch province of Zeeland, the group of islands witnessed a
growing tension between the white settlers and the native Maori, who virtually succumbed to
the superior number and firepower of the European colonists.
Images of several European constructions from 19th-century New Zealand:
historic.org.nz
1845: Allen Admitted to Massachusetts Bar
Macon B. Allen became the first African-American lawyer to be admitted to the bar in
Massachusetts. One year prior, he had been admitted to the bar in Maine, which made him
the first licensed African-American attorney to practice in the United States.
1968: French Students and Police Clashed in Paris
French students and police clashed violently in Paris, starting one of the most spectacular
mass demonstrations in the 20th century. Students from the universities of Nanterre and
Sorbonne started the protests, and were soon joined by millions of students and workers from
all over France. The strikes sought to address rising levels of unemployment and
socio-economic inequality.
1971: NPR Began Broadcasting
National Public Radio (NPR), the best-known US non-commercial radio network, began
broadcasting. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, corporate underwriting, and
contributions by listeners fund NPR. NPR has affiliate radio stations in all 50 states of the
United States.
"All Things Considered" is one of NPR's most popular shows:
majorca.npr.org
1978: "Sun Day" Observed to Promote Use of Solar Energy
From October 1973 to March 1974, the Arab countries maintained an embargo on oil
exports to Western nations that had been friendly to Israel during the Yom Kippur War of
October 1973. Reminding people around the world of the vulnerability of the petroleum
supply, the embargo had the positive effect of reviving interest in alternative sources of energy,
particularly renewable, non-fossil sources. Among those alternative energy sources, solar
power was given special attention, and in many countries the movement to develop and
support solar energy technologies gathered momentum. This was notably true in the U.S.
following the 1977 inauguration of President Jimmy Carter, who was generally supportive of
the movement.
The peak moment for the solar energy movement came on May 3, 1978. Declared "Sun
Day," it began with a sunrise ceremony on the East River in New York attended by U.S.
representative Andrew Young. President Carter, speaking at a rainy Colorado rally,
announced new solar research programs and tax incentives to encourage households and
industries to adopt solar energy technologies. In other countries, too, workshops were held
where people learned about ways to utilize solar energy, and other governments announced
policies favorable to the development of solar energy.
Although the Carter administration did introduce some legislation to encourage a fledgling
solar-power industry, there was little significant change. The few federally-funded programs
that did get established were drastically cut back during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
Technical disappointments, as well as changes in the political climate, contributed to the
waning of the solar energy movement. There are indications, however, of a revival of interest
in, and political support for solar solutions to energy problems.
On the rise, fall, and possible reemergence of the solar energy movement:
motherjones.com
1996: Geneva Conference Concluded Compromise Treaty on Land Mines
Relatively cheap and extremely deadly, antipersonnel land mines have been used in military
conflicts throughout the world. But unlike other weapons, land mines remain active, and
continue to cause destruction after the conflict is over and the armies have left the field.
Millions of land mines remain buried on former battlefields and contested borders around the
world, and tens of thousands of civilians are maimed and killed by them every year. Many
organizations throughout the world have campaigned for an international ban on the use of
land mines, and in response to that campaign, the United Nations organized a conference to
formulate an international treaty regarding land mines. Held in Geneva from April 22 through
May 3, 1996, the conference of diplomats and legal and military experts was the culmination
of 30 months of arduous negotiations among conflicting interests.
While the governments of many countries and a wide spectrum of civilian organizations
favored a total ban on the weapons, the governments of certain countries fought against it.
Wealthy, technologically advanced nations such as the U.S. favored a ban on cheap, low-tech
land mines, but demanded that more sophisticated "smart mines" with self-destructing or
self-deactivating devices be allowed. Poorer countries that rely on cheap mines wanted any
ban to include the more sophisticated devices as well.
On May 3, 1996, the result was announced: a compromise treaty that amounted to a very
weak ban. The treaty reflected the desires of the richer countries by allowing the use of "smart
mines", provided that they self-neutralize or self-destruct within 30 days with 90 percent
reliability. And although the major users and exporters of the cheap mines -- China, Pakistan,
and Russia -- lost the battle to continue with their preferred weapons, they won a nine-year
delay to give them time to bring their mines up to standard.
International organizations such as the Red Cross were highly critical of the new treaty, since it
failed to ban land mines, and allowed the most dangerous types to stay in use for another nine
years. The campaign for a total international ban on antipersonnel land mines continues, with
Canada in the forefront.
An appraisal of the results of the Geneva Conference on land mines:
bullatomsci.org
Holidays & Events
May 3
Seihaku Matsuri, Day of the Holy Cross
JAPAN: SEIHAKU MATSURI
For this festival in Nanao, Japan, 10-ton floats resembling ships are paraded through the
streets for three days and nights of celebrations. At midnight, the floats become miniature
Kabuki stages on which children dance. On the final day of this festival, the three floats (called
dekayama) are gathered together near Nanao's wharf amid a carnival-like atmosphere.
The Seihaku Festival is also known as the Blue Oak Festival:
pref.ishikawa.jp
A history of kabuki:
fix.co.jp
MEXICO: DAY OF THE HOLY CROSS
Day of the Holy Cross is celebrated throughout Mexico today with dancing and feasting, most
especially by construction workers, who are feted by their employers today. It is traditional to
place a floral cross on the work in progress.
The reasons and history behind this feast day of masons:
inside-mexico.com
-----------------------------
Copyright (c) 2001, The Learning Kingdom, Inc.
learningkingdom.com |
