Tidbits vernon 254 jan 15 2016 jan observe webexpress

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• Armstrong • Cherryville • Coldstream • Falkland • Lavington • Lumby • Silver Star • Spallumcheen • Vernon • Westside Rd •

January 15 - 21, 2016 Issue 00254

TIDBITS® CHECKS OUT SOMEJANUARY OBSERVANCES

by Kathy WolfeEveryone is familiar with New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King Day, but how about some of the lesser-known observances in the month of January? Th is week, Tidbits starts off 2016 by apprising you of some of the more unfamiliar ones.

• National Kazoo Day will be celebrated on January 28, commemorating this member of the membranophone musical family. Th e player hums into the kazoo, which modifi es the voice through a stretched vibrating membrane. Th is interesting instrument made its U.S. debut at the Georgia State Fair in 1852 as the “Down South Submarine,” the brainstorm of an African-American named Alabama Vest and a German-American clockmaker, Th addeus Von Clegg. Production for the masses didn’t begin until 1912. You can visit the kazoo museum in Eden, New York, which also functions as a factory.

• Go ahead. Make someone’s day by giving them a compliment on January 24, National Compliment Day. Researchers have discovered after monitoring activity in the brain’s striatum, that receiving a compliment registers the same eff ects as receiving a cash award or gift. If you’re looking for a means of motivating someone, give it a try!

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JANUARY OBSERVANCES (continued):• January 6 is Epiphany, observing the day

that the three Wise Men reached the site of Jesus’ birth in Nazareth. Considered the last day in the Christmas season, it’s often called the 12th day of Christmas. In some cultures, it is the day for the annual blessing of homes. Residents will use chalk to write the letters “CMB” on their doors, symbolizing the initials of the names traditionally ascribed to the three kings.

• Glaucoma Awareness Month was created to inform people of the risks of this potentially-blinding eye disease. Th e damage is the result of fl uid build-up in the area in front of the eye called the anterior chamber. When the fl uid builds up and the pressure rises inside the eye, it can harm the optic nerve, resulting in eye pain, blurred vision, loss of peripheral vision, tunnel vision, and potential blindness. Th ere is no cure, and the damage cannot be reversed. Although anyone can develop glaucoma, people over 60 are more prone to it, particularly African-Americans and Latinos. Th ose with high blood pressure are also at an increased risk. Regular eye exams are critical since the disease can progress slowly with no symptoms and vision seems normal until it is too late.

• Be sure to celebrate Fig Newton Day on January 16! We’ve been eating Fig Newtons since 1891 when the fi rst of these little pastries were baked at the F.A. Kennedy Steam Bakery, a Cambridgeport, Massachusetts-based

company. James Henry Mitchell had invented a machine with a funnel system that pumped fi g paste into pastry dough. Th e cookie took its name from the nearby community of Newton, Massachusetts. Since 2012, the cookies have been known simply as Newtons.

• January is National Polka Music Month, honoring this European dance music that originated in Bohemia. Th e term for this Czech peasant dance has its origins in the Czech language’s word Pulka, meaning “half-step,” a characteristic of this 2/4 time dance. Th e dance migrated from villages into Prague ballrooms in 1835, and on to Paris in 1840, where it became extremely popular. Eastern European immigrants to America originally brought the polka to the Midwest and Great Lakes area. Typical instruments in a polka band might include a clarinet, saxophone, tuba, accordion, and concertina, along with a rhythm section.

• Speaking of dancing, the week of January 11 – 17 is National Cuckoo Dancing Week. Th is observance is in honor of the comic duo Laurel and Hardy. Th e thin Stan Laurel (born in Lancashire, England) and the heavyset Oliver Hardy (born in Harlem, Georgia) teamed up in the late 1920s with a slapstick comedy act. Appearing in 107 fi lms together, they used a tune known as “Th e Cuckoo Song” (or “Th e Dance of

[email protected] The Neatest Little Paper Ever Read® Call Today (250) 832-3361 Page 3

JANUARY OBSERVANCES (continued): the Cuckoos”) as part of the opening credits of

their movies.

• The Ford Motor Company paved the way for better working conditions on January 5, 1914, when it announced an eight-hour workday for its employees and a “living wage” of a minimum of $5 for a day’s labor. This was more than double the wages of most of the workers. Henry Ford hoped this action would help reduce his company’s high turnover rate, while retaining the best employees, a goal that was achieved.

• January is National Hot Tea Month! Did you know that tea is the world’s second most popular and cheapest beverage (after water)? Every day about three billion cups of tea are consumed around the world. In America, it can be found in 80% of households, and an estimated 127 million Americans are drinking it on any given day. Most of that tea comes from India, the world’s largest tea producer, processing about 850,000 tons each year. More tea drinkers sip black tea than any other type, 90% of total tea consumption. Although black, oolong, green, and white teas all come from the same shrub, black tea is more oxidized than the other three. The invention of the tea


JANUARY OBSERVANCES (continued): bag came about by accident. In 1904, a New

York tea importer was looking for a cheaper way to send samples to customers. Th omas Sullivan had been using tin boxes, but as this proved expensive, he began wrapping the tea in small silk bas. His customers didn’t realize that

the bags were just packaging, and brewed their tea in them. Soon after, Sullivan was receiving orders for the new product. Today, 96% of the world brews its tea using a tea bag. Th e average cup of black tea contains between 40 and 120 mg. of caff eine, with green tea total 60 mg., depending on how long the bag is steeped.

• On January 19, 1937, Howard Hughes went into the record books with the fastest fl ight from Los Angeles to New York City. He fl ew the 2,490-mile (4,000-km) distance in 7 hours, 28 minutes, and 25 seconds, with an average speed of 332 mph (535 km/h) in his Hughes H-1 racer. Th is fl ight broke his own previous record of 9 hours, 26 minutes, and 10 seconds.

UNUSUAL ANIMALS:PENGUINS

January 20 is Penguin Awareness Day and what better time to make our readers aware of this fl ightless bird’s characteristics!

• It’s a common misconception that penguins are found only in Antarctica. Th ey actually live on every continent in the Southern Hemisphere – Australia, South America, Africa, and Antarctica. Th e fi rst written mention of penguins was in a diary from a member of the crew on Vasco da Gama’s 1497 voyage around the Cape of Good Hope, an entry that mentioned large fl ightless birds. Th e fi rst published account of a penguin was written by Antonio Pigafetta, a crewman aboard Ferdinand Magellan’s ship during the explorer’s fi rst circumnavigation of the world in 1520. Th e writer referred to the penguins as geese.

• It’s also a myth that penguins have to live in a cold climate. Th e Galapagos Penguin lives on tropical islands near the equator. Larger species of penguins dwell in the colder

climates because their body size enables them to survive in the conditions. Warmer climates are home to smaller penguins.

• Th ere are 19 documented species of penguins,


Penguins (con’t)varying in size and appearance. Th e smallest is the Little Blue Penguin, standing about 12 inches (30.5 cm) tall, weighing only 3 lbs. (1.4 kg). Th e largest species is the Emperor Penguin, which can reach a height of 44 inches (112 cm) and weigh up to 90 lbs. (41 kg). Some species are strictly black and white, while others have orange and yellow markings on their little tuxedos.

• Although penguins have wing-bones, they are more like fl ippers, making the birds very quick swimmers, able to swim up to 22 mph (35 km/hr).

Mexican Bean Soup

Your fi rst spoonful of this, and you’ll almost think you’re somewhere in Mexico!

8 ounces extra-lean ground sirloin beef or tur-key breast1 cup fi nely chopped onion1 cup shredded carrots1 (14-ounce) can Swanson Lower Sodium Fat Free Beef Broth1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained2 teaspoons dried parsley fl akes1 1/2 teaspoons chili seasoning

1. In a large saucepan, saute meat, onion and carrots for 10 minutes. Stir in beef broth and pinto beans. Add parsley fl akes and chili sea-soning. Mix well to combine.2. Bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat and sim-mer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes 4 (1 cup) servings.

* Each serving equals: 172 calories, 4g fat, 16g protein, 18g carb., 408mg sodium, 5g fi ber; Dia-betic Exchanges: 2 Meat, 1 Starch, 1 Vegetable.(c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.


PENGUINS (continued):• Penguins spend about 75% of their lives in

water, where all of their hunting is done. Th ey don’t swim out into deep water, since their prey – krill, fi sh, and squid – is within 60 feet (18.3 m) of the surface. Most sea animals rely on a layer of blubber to stay warm, but penguins are able to endure the cold because their feathers trap a layer of warm air next to their skin that serves as insulation. Some species have four layers of feathers to keep them warm in the cold waters. Every year, penguins undergo molting, when all their old feathers are replaced by new ones. Most birds molt a few feathers at a time, but penguins do it all at once, and because they are not waterproof during this time, must remain on land for two or three weeks until the process is complete.

• Penguins have a special oil gland that produces waterproofi ng oil that further insulates their body as well as improving their glide through the water.

• Even though they’re carnivores, penguins don’t have teeth! Th e inside of the mouth is lined with fl eshy spines that guide the fi sh down their throat. Th ey swallow their prey whole as they swim.

• Many species live in large groups, numbering in the thousands, called rookeries. Even in

this huge community, every penguin has a distinct call and can fi nd its mate or chicks in the crowd. Most penguins are monogamous and breed with the same mate for most of their lives. Th e Emperor Penguins have just one egg each breeding season and keep it warm on the top of their feet under a fold of skin containing a high concentration of blood vessels that keep the egg incubated. Th e Emperor has a long life span, up to 50 years.

DRAGONSJanuary 16 is Appreciate a Dragon Day, and while Tidbits isn’t exactly sure how a person does that, we’re happy to provide some information about these mythological creatures.

• Th e ancient Greek word draconta, meaning “to watch” is the source of our word “dragon.” Th is is thought to suggest that the dragon guards valuable items.

• In mythology, dragons were viewed as powerful, destructive, and frightening, needing to be conquered and slain. Battles between heroes and dragons are symbolized as good overcoming evil. Th e ancient Greeks described them as huge fl ying serpents. In some myths, they have wings, while others don’t; some speak, some don’t. Th eir dwelling place varies from caves to under the ocean to inside mountains.

• In the Bible’s Book of Job, the dragon is described as having a double coat of armor, with its back consisting of “rows of shields tightly sealed together.” Referred to as Leviathan, its mouth is “ringed about with fearsome teeth” and “its eyes are like the rays of dawn. Regarding its fi re-breathing abilities, Job stated, “Its snorting throws out fl ashes of light, fl ames

stream from its mouth, sparks of fi re shoot out. Smoke pours from its nostrils…its breath sets coals ablaze, and fl ames dart from its mouth.”

• Dragons in the Bible are frequently identifi ed with Satan. Many scholars maintain that the fi re-breathing feature stems from representations of the mouth of Hell, with fl ames and smoke characteristic of Hades. Legends depict righteous saints defeating Satan in the form of a dragon.

• Th e legend of St. George the Dragon Slayer tells the story of the people of Selene, a city in Libya, plagued by a dragon that lived in a nearby lake. Every day, the townspeople would feed the dragon two sheep to satisfy it. When there were no more sheep, they had to feed their children to the beast. Th e children were chosen by lottery, and one day the lot fell on the King’s daughter. Th e King off ered gold, silver, and half of his kingdom to spare his daughter, but the townspeople refused. As the princess stood by the lake, ready for the sacrifi ce, St. George happened to ride by. Protecting himself with the sign of the cross, (symbolizing the triumph of the church over the devil), he charged with his lance, slaying the dragon. • Not all cultures regard the dragon as evil or

frightening. China and Japan paint dragons in a positive light, as symbols of wisdom, happiness, fertility, and longevity, believed to bring good fortune and wealth. Statues and carvings are commonplace, and images of dragons often embellish garments.

• German legend has it that the blood of a dragon has the power to make a person invincible if the skin or armor is bathed in it. A Slavic myth testifi es that dragon blood is so abominable that Mother Earth will not allow it to be absorbed into the ground, and the blood remains above ground for all eternity. Another saga tells of the blood of the dragon having

acidic qualities that killed the hero who had just slain the dragon when the blood accidentally dripped on him.

• Children’s fi lms have depicted dragons both as frightful and friendly. How to Train Your Dragon and Pete’s Dragon featured lovable dragons, while Disney’s 1959 Sleeping Beauty proved to be one of the studio’s scariest creatures.

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The Vernon Jubilee Hospital Auxiliary would like to wish

everyone all the best in 2016

and thank all those who supported our fund raising

endeavours in 2015. Our Garden Fair

in Polson park in May, our Christmas Bazaar

at the hospital in November and our

Gift Shopat the hospital

through out the year.. All money raised goes to help the hospital.


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Tidbits vernon 254 jan 15 2016 jan observe webexpress