The shortest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere is the Winter Solstice. On the solstice (usually between December 20-23)the sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Capricorn resulting in the North Pole being tilted the furthest away. This result in shorter days for sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere (and the further north you are the less sun you will see like those in Alaska or the Scandinavian countries). The reverse is true in the Southern Hemisphere. As the sun is closer to them, they celebrate the Summer Solstice. Those who live close to the South Pole will see Midnight Sun meaning they get 24 hours of sun during this time of year.
Many cultures observed the Winter Solstice because it marked an important time in the agricultural cycle. By this time all the crops and livestock had been prepared for winter. Important foodstuffs were stored for the months when virtually nothing grew. Wine and beer, which had been fermenting during the year, was ready at this time. Cattle and pigs would often be killed at the start of winter so they would not have to be fed during this time. The early months of winter were tough in many places and often called the “famine months” since little food was to be found. Many cultures observed the Winter Solstice as a renewal or that the year was reborn. For out of the seeming withdrawal of the sun, it would come back just as strong and powerful as before. Thus the Winter Solstice was seen by many as the start of a new year such as the old Roman feast of the Unconquered Sun (Sol Invictus) which happened around the 25th of December.
Today the solstice will be at 23:03 (11:03p.m.) Universal Time Clock(UTC) which is 18:03 (6:03 p.m.) in New York, 17:03 (5:03 p.m.) in Chicago, 16:03 (4:03 p.m.) in Denver, 15:03 (3:03 p.m.) in San Francisco, 14:03 (2:03 p.m.)in Anchorage, and 13:03 (1:03 p.m.) in Hawaii. Thus the first full day of winter is 22 Dec 2014.
*The turkey is native to North America–the U.S. and Mexico–and is in the genus Meleagris. The common wild turkey and its domestic cousin is Meleagris gallopavo. Another species is ocellated turkey and it only resides in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.
*Archaeological evidence indicates Mesoamericans domesticated turkeys and the Aztecs as well. Turkey feathers were used for decorative purposes.
*Europeans first thought the Americas were part of Asia so the turkey was considered part of the guineafowl family. It was called guineaturkey and then shortened to just turkey. There are guineafowl in Turkey and back then giving a bird an exotic name added to its mystique. The name stuck.
*The Spanish brought turkeys to Spain where it was domesticated and new breeds resulted. English navigator William Strickland is credited with bringing turkey to England in the 16th century and his coat of arms has a turkey in it.
*Domesticated turkeys were considered a luxury food. Most people could not afford it until the late 19th century. Most people in had goose, duck, or beef for Christmas dinner (Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol had a goose). Scrooge bought a turkey for Cratchit which was something very special in those days.
*Turkey producers worked to lower the cost (by breeding birds to be plump and cheaper by the pound to sell)but it was the advent of refrigeration that allowed turkeys to be sent whole to markets (first by rail then by truck). Home refrigeration opened up the turkey market for everyone and with turkey prices lower than good cuts of beef, a better alternative. Today turkeys are sold fresh and frozen year round.
*Breeder farms supply turkey eggs to hatcheries (they are often artificially inseminated). After they hatch, they are sent to special grow farms and later to a main area. The are mostly indoor these days to prevent infection from being outside and to maximize production cost. It does keep the costs down but also has some problems. Turkeys can be aggressive and will peck each other, sometimes to death. Some producers clip their beaks when they are young. Some turkeys can develop health issues which means some die before reaching maturity becoming a loss to the producer. In recent years efforts have been made to make these areas more conducive to turkey roosting.
*Heritage turkeys (turkeys raised the old fashioned way-outdoors)has gained popularity in recent years. These use breeds that were more common long ago before the full domestication began. They are allowed to free range, reproduce naturally, and mature longer. Cook’s Illustrated reports they have more fat as a result of this longer maturity. The average domestic has more meat but more lean because once they mature, they are sent to the butcher. Heritage turkeys are more expensive than the mass produced turkeys.
*Wild turkeys, once thought to be nearly extinct, are now quite numerous again in North America. While domesticated versions can barely fly when they are young, their wilder cousins can fly,roost in trees and avoid predators (foxes, owls, snakes). Their eggs are often targets for raccoons and opossums. Wild turkeys travel in same sex flocks (male/male or female/female)with the exception of young turkeys that follow their mothers for about five months. They eat a wide assortment from insects, spiders and small frogs to fruits, flowers, acorns and grasses. They roam about during the day seeking food and in flocks. It is rare to see a turkey by itself in the wild. Males are four feet long and females three. Their breast feathers indicate which sex they are (males have breast feathers with black tips, females are brown). They are fast runners.
*Turkey flocks do not tolerate new members easily. If a turkey from a unknown pack or another nearby should come into their group, it may be attacked and killed.
*Turkey flocks can be a threat to agriculture because they are rapacious eaters. So in areas where turkey flocks exist (generally in woodlands, forests, and meadows), growers and farmers have to take special precautions to deter them from eating up their crops or their food to livestock. Turkeys are not seasonal and will stay year round even when there is snow on the ground.
*Homeowners in areas where turkey flocks roam have to take precautions as well like making sure not to feed them or leave out food they can get to (like bird seed). Turkeys can be aggressive and try to dominate (they are not territorial though, they just want to dominate). If they are not discouraged early on, they can become a real problem in the area because the behavior is impossible to change after that point. Often this results in them being killed since relocation rarely solves the problem. They can attack small children and seniors (they have sharp beaks) so chasing them away with brooms or other significant non-lethal methods usually works. Because their numbers have gotten large, annual hunts are allowed (by permit)in some areas to keep the turkey population from getting out of hand.
*The biggest consumer per capita of turkey are Israelis. In the early days refrigeration was not common and meat was hard to come by. Turkeys though are easy to domesticate and provide good meat. Which is why turkey is very big in Israel and why you find turkey pastrami is very popular. Kosher turkey is available in the United States from producers in Pennsylvania. Unlike other birds, if you brine this bird you do not need salt as the Kosher process adds salt.
Bob Hope’s theme song for many years was “Thanks for the Memory.” It was from the 1938 movie The Big Broadcast of 1938 sung by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross. The song won the Oscar for Best Song in 1938. In the movie the couple, now divorced, sing the tune and is both wistful and sad. And seems to indicate they made a mistake. Enjoy and have a nice Sunday.
Oasis of The Seas, one of the largest cruise ships afloat today(Photo 2010) Image:Baldwin040(Wikipedia)
Back in the days when ships were made of wood (or other similar materials), most knew a ship or boat would float since wood floats on water. Sounds simple enough but it gets a bit more complicated when you add weight (or mass) to it. Then you have to think about how to do it to make sure its mass does not sink it. This is where two important principles come into play: buoyancy and the Archimedes principle. The Archimedes principle is that an object in a fluid encounters an upward force equal to that of the weight of the fluid displaced around the object. A ship floats when it displaces a lot of water and that water wants to return to where it was. This creates a force that pushes the ship upwards creating what is called the buoyancy force. A ship that displaces water equal to its own weight will float, while a ship that displaces water greater than its own weight will sink.
Ships and boats then have to be shaped in a way that allows for this displacement to occur so it does not sink. And it allows for a lot of air to be inside as well. Ships are not like solid blocks of steel, which have no air inside. Stability becomes a major issue as well. You want the center of gravity to be stable so it does not tip over easy. In small boats you can see how this works out. A person moving from one side to the other causes the center of gravity to change. Equipment has to be balanced and gear brought aboard has to be kept low and near the center of the boat. That is why it is unwise in small boats to sit on the sides as it will cause tipping. The same principle is true on larger boats and ships. Weight must be distributed so that no one part of the ship is heavier than any other. If the center of gravity on a ship becomes too high due to highly stacked cargo or other things, buoyancy becomes unstable and it will capsize.
Here is a YouTube video that explains how ships float.
You have likely seen or heard warnings about using cell phones while filling up at the gas station. The warning is not mandatory but many gas stations have them because many are convinced it can happen. Except it cannot. What does cause fires at gas stations is either static electricity that is not discharged prior to handling the gas pump or an ignition source like match being struck to light a cigarette (or possibly a discarded burning cigarette). What makes these fires worse is when a fire does break out right at where you are fueling the car. Many pull the fuel pump out and end up making it worse by dripping the burning fuel right on the ground. That always spreads the fire and then a major fire breaks out. At any rate those clever fellows over at Mythbusters looked into this and here is the result of their examination of this myth.
Day of The Dead by William Bouguereau (1825-1905) Public Domain
All Souls’ Day is to commemorate the faithful dead and is celebrated by special mass by Catholics and other Christian denominations. Some Christian churches celebrate it on a different day. It is not to be confused with Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) which does remember friends and family who have died but is not a Catholic or Christian religious event(though it takes place from 31 Oct through 2 Nov which coincides with Halloween, All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day).
The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs (about 1423-24) Public Domain
All Saints’ Day(Solemnity of All Saints,All Hallows, Hallowmas or All Saints)is celebrated on 1 November by most Western Christians and is to honor all saints known and unknown. In some Catholic countries, it is a holiday. It is a holy day of obligation for most Catholics except when it falls on a Saturday or Monday. In that case it is celebrated on Sunday. Eastern Orthodox is celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost and is called All Saints’ Sunday.
Halloween is tomorrow so this is the last countdown. To wrap up our countdown are our old friends in the Muppet Labs. This time Dr. Bunson Honeydew has come up with a way to solve all your pumpkin carving problems. Carving a pumpkin is a chore having to cut it open, empty out the insides, and carve a suitable face on it (tip carve a hole on the bottom so your pumpkin goes right over the candle or light). Many opt for the ease of premade or fake pumpkins. But not any more! Dr. Honeydew has solved it all. And now for the demonstration.
