FUN AND GAMES ANSWERS FOR 8/21/26

HERE'S THE REAL TRUTH.  

1.  Afghan's and other related nations in the reagon do play a game called Buzkashi but it's nothing like American baseball.  Two teams of players on horseback try to hit, knock, pull a carcass of a goat or calf in a goal.  Sounds exciting. False is the answer.

2.  You know, I can't believe it either but it's supposedly true.  I understand it pops so loud you can hear it if you happen to have your head in the hive at the time.  True is the answer.

3.  This one is possibly true.  Pope Gregory IX issued a Papal Bull stating that cats, especially black cats were dangerous or wicked or plain bad luck for everyone.  This led to a worldwide scourge against cats.  People started killing them or at least neglecting them.  The Black Death was a disease-filled period in the middle ages spurred by the overpopulation of rats.  I say True.

4.  Shakespeare was a wonderful author and crafter of the English language but he did not invent the name Michelle.  He IS credited with inventing the names Jessica, Miranda, Perdita and Viola.  There are no records of women having any of these names before he penned them.  The statemant was false.

5.  Adolph Hitler's nephew did fight with the Allies during WWII.  He joined the U.S. Navy and changed his name to William Stuart-Houston.  He was a Pharmacist's Mate and received a purple heart while serving in the Pacific Theater.  This one was true. 

Any comments to the answers?

FUN AND GAMES

By now you know the way the game is played.  Just pick out which statements are true and which are false.  It's easy.  

1.  A lobster has eight legs.

2.  Our Moon will someday come down and crash into the Earth.  

3.  Umber, Ochre, and Sienna are earth pigments used to make paints and are named after places/cities in France.

4.  The exclamation "Pshah" comes from the spiritual leader of Iran.

5.  Major League baseballs are made by Rawlings and stitched in Costa Rica by hand.  There are 216 double stitches on every ball.  Each club must have 156 new balls available for each home game.  The balls must be stored at precisely 70° F and 57% relative humidity.

Comment your guesses at which are right and which are lies. 

WARHEADS

We're still fighting with Iran.  The root of our problem with them is that they have been enriching uranium beyond what is necessary for civil use.  Highly enriched uranium is used for the creation of nuclear warheads.  There are nine countries that have nuclear warheads now.  We and most of the world think Iran is a special case because they are felt likely to actually use them if they have them.  Their leaders have expressed the desire to obliterate Israel and the U.S.  

The nine who now have the weapons consider them deterents to war - supposedly.  These nine have pledged not to be the first to use them.

There is a group called the Arms Control Association.  They are "Working to Eliminate the Threats Posed by the World's Most Dangerous Weapons."  Among other work, they keep track of every nuclear weapon existing in the world.  They count 12,187 nuclear warheads currently.  Here is the breakdown of owners and the number they have.

1.  Russia  5,420

2.  USA  5,042

3.  China  620

4.  France  370

5.  United Kingdom  225

6.  India  190

7.  Pakistan  170

8.  Isreal  90

9.  North Korea  60

About 9,700 of these warheads are in military use and about 2,400 are awaiting dismantling.

Keep in mind, a nation needs to also have a means to deliver these weapons to make them  more useful.  That's why you hear about North Korea testing long range ballistic missiles.    

MIDWEEK PRAYER

 I put the word "Persistence" into the search block at the top of my blog and up came some 15 entries in which I have used that word.  All but one of these had to do with prayer.  I feel it is so important.  Try this.  

Lord, all praise to you.  I know you've heard this from me before but I really do need your help.  You are probably already working on it in ways I don't understand or maybe it is something I definitely don't need - I don't know which.  Anyway, I'm asking again just so you know how important I think it is to me. Whatever the case, I trust you will bring the best for me whether I understand it or not - you always have. Hear my prayer.  Amen.       

MEMORIES

 Maybe just because I'm old but distant memories pop into my head every once in a while.  Here's one I may have repeated before but I'm going to do it anyway.  There are two or three moments that were memorable.

The company I worked for decided to have a manager and salesperson meeting in November of 1985. It was held in the Constellation Hotel in Toronto near the airport.  I don't know why there but that's the way it was.  We had supply centers in Ohio and Michigan - of course I was an Ohio guy.  I had only been with the company a few years and was the Cincinnati manager.  We didn't often see the all the guys from other areas.  

We met in the Detroit area for a bus ride to Toronto.  A busfull went, maybe 50 guys.  When the bus crossed into Canada we were stopped by Canadian border guards.  One got on the bus and asked if we all had our passports with us.  Of course, no one did.  He walked slowly down the aisle and stopped by our manaager from Saginaw, Michigan named Art Valls.  He asked where he was from.  All the Michigan guys laughed. Art was quiet and distinctly looked different from the rest of us Anglo-Saxon types.  He looked like an Indian - North American Indian.  Poor Art.  They let us pass. 

At the hotel they had matched all the Ohio guys in rooms with Michigan people.  I can't remember the name of the guy I roomed with.  At lunch the second or third day, I heard him tell someone he had the best roommate in the world.  At night when he went to bed and was fast asleep, I was still out.  In the morning, before he had wakened, I had s - s - and showered and left the room.   They were all jealous. Maybe that explains why I can't remember his name. 

The first night there, we were in the hotel lounge enjoying beverages and stories while watching Monday night football on an enormous TV.  It was the night that Joe Theismann was crushed by Lawrence Taylor broking his leg into pieces and ending a promising career.  

IRISH AMERICANS

 This is the last in my series on Irish Americans.   This one is not quite so lesser known.

  This is dedicated to lesser known Irish Americans.  Everyone is aware of John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie (her mother was from County Clare).  Sure Ronald Regan was Irish as was Maureen O'Hara and Bruce Springsteen has a bit of the "green" in his heritage.  Walt Disney's father was Anglo-Irish.  Bareknuckle boxing champion, John L. Sullivan's parents were both Irish immigrants.  Henry Ford's father was born in County Cork.  Both of Eugene O'Neill's parents were Irish immigrants.  Of course, you know that he won the Nobel Prize for literature and also his plays won four Pulitzer Prizes for drama.

Have you heard of Cassius Clay?  

Yes, that Cassius Clay.  The black man from Louisville who professed to be Muslim and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.  The one who won Olympic Gold for the U.S.; who was the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World; who spoke in basic poetry and belittled many opponents.  His style was described as "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee."  Yes, the one who refused to be drafted into military service and was stripped of his title. Still, the one who many called "the greatest".  Yes, the one who was known and honored around the world.  The one who was befelled by Parkinsons Syndrome.  

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born to Odessa Grady Clay.  His great-grandfather was Abe Grady, originally of Ennis in County Clare, Ireland.  Abe left Ireland during the Great Famine and settled in Louisville.  There he married a freed African-American slave just after the Civil War.  

I loved the guy as an athlete.  It didn't bother me that he refused to joint the army and risk going to Vietnam.  I never knew he was Irish until recently.

SUNDAY

In addition to my weekly reminder that this is the Lord's Day, I have an offer. 

I bought a container of Dorsel's PinHead Oatmeal and made a batch for myself.  One package has enough oats for two batches.  I had no idea that it made that much.  I have enough to last me until  Christmas.  The directions for cooking are on the back of the package.  I will donate the half package to any good home that really wants it.

FUN AND GAMES ANSWERS FOR 8/14/26

All statements this week were true.  

1.  The musical instrument statement is backed by archiologists.  They find these flutes made from bird bones that are 30,000 to 40,000 years old.  

2.  What can I say?  Rock Paper Scissors Leagues?  Sponsored by Bud Lite.  TV shows.  Movies.  Songs.  It's all true.

3.  In outer space there is no noise.  Noise for us humans requires air.  We actually hear the movement of molecules in the air.  In space - no air - no noise.  NONE!

4.  Reindeer's eyes do change color.   They do it by season.  Yellow tint in the Summer and blue in the Winter. It helps them see better.

5.  True, Julius Caesar did sleep with Brutus' mother.  Of course, Brutus killed Caesar.  Now, can you blame him?

FUN AND GAMES

More of  my "Truth is Stranger than Fiction" fun.  Here are five more statements.  See if you can discern which are true and which are false.

1.  The Afghan national sport is Buzkashi - their version of baseball.

2.  When a worker bee mates with the queen, it's penis explodes.

3.  A Catholic pope caused the Black Death.

4.  Shakespear invented the girls name Michelle.

5.  Adolph Hitler's nephew fought against him in World War II for the U.S. Navy.

Comment your answers.  My answers will appear in 8 days. 

LISTS

Here I go again . . . Lists!  I love them.    

This one comes from a Global Burden of Disease Study of 2019.   The question is:  "What bones are broken most often by people of any age."   It interested me today, because I had a foot that felt broken.  I couldn't walk on it.  

The researchers divided the body into 12 parts as you will see.  204 countries were involved and 178 million fractures were recorded.  I've included an interesting note at the bottom.

From most to least in millions:

1.   Lower leg - Patella/Tibia/Fibula/Ankle  32.7

2.   Forearm  - Radius /Ulna  30.7

3.   Shoulder - Clavicle/Scapula/Humerus  19.3

4.   Hand bones & wrist - 19.0

5.   Thigh - Femur/nonfemoral neck - 14.6

6.   Hip - 14.2

7.   Foot bones (not ankle) - 10.7

8.   Facial bones - 10.7

9.   Spine - Vertebrae  -  8.6

10. Skull - 7.6

11. Pelvis - 6.0

12. Sternum/Ribs - 4.1

In every category, men had more breaks than women except the ... HIP.

MIDWEEK PRAYER

An old post that I just love.  Make it your prayer today!

1/08/2020

MIDWEEK PRAYER

A prayer of Chief Yellow Lark, a Lakota American Indian.  Recite it with your God in mind. It is beautiful. 

Oh, Great Spirit,

whose voice I hear in the winds
and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me.
I am small and weak.
I need your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes
ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand
the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength, not to be superior to my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy - myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes,
so when life fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit will come to you
without shame.

FUTBOL

Has the World Cup futbol fever worn off?   Are we now concentrating on Major League Soccer?   Here's some facts about our FC Cincinnati team you might find interesting.

FC Cincinnati's current roster lists 27 players: 

2 Goal Keepers, 10 Defenders, 8 Midfielders and 7 Forwards.

One goal keeper and 10 players are on the field at one time unless the referees "red card" someone, then you play with less players for the rest of the match.

FC Cincinnati players come from around the world.  Less than half, 13, show the USA as their home.  The rest come from Ecuador (2), Jamaica, Paraguay, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Nigeria, Brazil, Ghana, Czech Republic, Camaroon, Togo, France and Morocco.  My accounting brings that to 5 from South America, 6 from Africa, 2 from Europe and 1 Carribean Islander.  Can these guys even talk to each other?

They have one guy with the first name "Teenager" and one guy that only has one name "Evander".  You have to be good if you only have one name; Messi, Renaldo and Mbappe had two before they became famous. 

You're right, I don't know much about soccer but I root for the Orange and Blue - and you should too.  

IRISH AMERICANS

   This is dedicated to lesser known Irish Americans.  Everyone is aware of John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie (her mother was from County Clare).  Sure Ronald Regan was Irish as was Maureen O'Hara and Bruce Springsteen has a bit of the "green" in his heritage.  Walt Disney's father was Anglo-Irish.  Bareknuckle boxing champion, John L. Sullivan's parents were both Irish immigrants.  Henry Ford's father was born in County Cork.  Both of Eugene O'Neill's parents were Irish immigrants.  Of course, you know that he won the Nobel Prize for literature and also his plays won four Pulitzer Prizes for drama.

This week I'm reprising an entry of 18 years ago.

5/13/2008

BUTLER COUNTY

Butler County was named for Revolutionary War General Richard Butler. Born in Dublin Ireland on April 1, 1743, Butler's family moved just five years later to Pennsylvania where he learned to make the Pennsylvania long rifles used in the French and Indian War in his father's gun shop. He and his brother, William, became important traders throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania. Due to his familiarity with Indian tribes through this work, the Continental Congress named Butler to negotiate with the Indians either for their support or to ask they remain neutral in the Revolutionary War.

Proving himself during the War, Butler was given the honor of receiving from Lord Charles Cornwallis his sword of surrender, almost prompting a duel between Butler and Baron Friedrich Von Steuben, who demanded he receive the sword. Von Steuben was a German-Prussian officer who served as the Inspector General of the Continental Army.

Butler was mortally wounded in 1791 during an Indian ambush in what became known as St. Clair's Defeat near present-day Fort Recovery, Ohio. A number of years after Butler's death, Chief Little Turtle, who led the ambush, returned to Butler's widow the Society of Cincinnati medal Butler was wearing when he was killed.
---thanks to John Boehner's newsletter

FUN AND GAMES ANSWERS FOR 8/7/26

Here's the answers.  Hope you weren't fooled.

1.  That's true about the NBA.  That's the way basketball started.  Jump ball after all baskets.  Now they've eliminated almost all except the opening tip offs.

2.  I'm told that this is true.  Woody's last name is Pride.  

3.  This is a lie.  The electric eel actually does give out an electric charge.  The sting is electricity.  I'm not sure how long the extension cord is.

4.  The King of Norway did knight a penguin.  He did it for one of their military units who wanted to use it as a 

5.  True!  Six state capitols are west of Los Angeles.  Get out your maps.  Honolulu, HI; Juneau,  AK; Olympia, WA; Salem, OR; Sacramento, CA; Carson City, NV.  Check your map.