St. Patrick's Day
Friday, 02 April 2010 12:29
Jenny Li
Yes it’s that day again, the one day in the year in which people wear green and go around like little devils pinching those that don’t wear green. Well, if you think that’s all there is to St. Patrick’s Day, then you’re dead wrong. St. Patrick’s Day isn’t only a day that’s centered around wearing green; it’s a holiday the Irish celebrate in honor of a revered saint by the name of Patrick that spread Christianity in Ireland. Every year the holiday takes place on Mar. 17, the day of the anniversary of his death, which has been celebrated for over a thousand years. Following tradition, the holiday is generally celebrated by heavy drinking (of alcohol), consuming corned beef and cabbage, dancing, hosting extravagant parades, and wearing shamrocks and green. In regards to the customs of the holiday, the reason people consume alcohol is simply because it adds to the holiday spirit and because the Irish are renowned for their love of alcohol; yet you do not have to consume alcohol in order to participate. Corned beef and cabbage is a main dish that every family that celebrates should add into their dinner menu for that day. In fact, corned beef and cabbage is such a traditional St. Patrick's Day dish that in 2007, it was recorded that roughly 41.5 billion pounds of US beef and 2.6 billion pounds of US cabbage were sold during the month of March. Parades have been the main events that symbolize the holiday since the first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the US on Mar. 17, 1762, when Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. After that, St. Patrick’s Day parades have become a recurring tradition that has gained such prominence that over 100 St. Patrick's Day parades are now annually held across the US. Then of course there’s the reason behind why people are expected to don themselves in green for such an occasion. The origins of such a tradition date back all the way back to the 17th century. In fact, before that time the color to wear was not even green but rather blue. However, gradually green came to take over its place because someone linked the shamrock to St. Patrick because he once used the holy plant to explain the Holy Trinity – marking the shamrock as a sacred symbol. Today green has played such an influential role on St. Patrick’s Day that the Chicago River is annually dyed green just to celebrate this holiday, and of course those that don’t adhere to the fashion receive a painful pinch from peers, as I’m sure many of you have experienced before. Now that you know more about St. Patrick’s Day you scoff the next time someone tells you it’s all about leprechauns and pots of gold at the end of the rainbow
Dr. Seuss
Friday, 02 April 2010 12:28
Ryan Liu
It has been 106 years since the master of rhymes, (And no we are not talking about rapper Lil Wayne) was born in Springfield, Central Standard Time. Theodor Seuss Geisel who published over 60 books set to entertain . His works include The Cat in the Hat, And Horton Hears a Who! And with that, Dr. Seuss’ wildest dreams came true. Every year on Mar. 2, Children celebrate his birthday with “Read Across America.” It’s an education holiday I reckon, And it is truly a child’s reading fiesta. Dr. Seuss became well known as a children’s author. But the newspaper, PM, gave Dr. Seuss a cartoonist job opportunity. He gladly took that offer, And in two years drew 400 cartoons inspiring the US community. Dr. Seuss has clearly become a positive influence. As well as a children audience he has gotten a children audience.
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The Uses of Coke
Friday, 02 April 2010 12:27
Katherine Bay
t’s safe to say that Coca-Cola, also known as Coke, is undeniably a soft drink that “opens up happiness.” Take Bob for example, who has just gotten a can of Coke from his refrigerator. As he takes his first sip of carbonated goodness, the liquid sensation flows down his desiccated throat in an instant. But alas! Half of the soda is left inside the can, just waiting to be gulped down, but Bob’s bladder can’t take another sip. A problem has arisen: what shall Bob do with the rest of his Coke? Let’s just say that the possibilities are endless.
Coke is a surprisingly effective cleaning tool, as its versatility can astonish even the best of workers in the cleaning business. If oil stains found on garage floors and driveways never seem to wash away with a watering hose, pouring Coke will clean them in an instant. Coke can also be used to wipe away bug carcasses stuck on windshields and to wash car engines, as well as clean tires covered with dirt. Soiled pans, tile grout, and even toilet bowls with rust stains can also be cleaned using Coke.
Home remedies can be made using Coke too, which sometimes work just as well as medicine found at a pharmacy. Since Coke has a laxative effect, it can help offset an asthma attack and relieve constipation. Coke can cure many conditions such as upset stomach, nausea, congestion, or even hiccups, by drinking the soda flat. Gargling Coke also relieves a sore throat because the carbonation loosens phlegm. If one just so happens to get stung by a jellyfish, pouring Coke over the wound will help neutralize the venom and provide pain relief.
Coke can also make very practical hair products for conditioning or even shining hair. If one pours a can of Coke onto their hair, wash it in, and then rinse, one will find their hair to be particularly shiny afterward. Combining Coke and water in a spray bottle and spraying the mixture all over one’s hair will give it a teased, tousled look as well. For those rough days when gum gets stuck in your hair, pour Coke over the affected area and the gum will slide right off.
As you can see, Bob has many options as to what he can do with the rest of his Coke, varying from personal to household uses. Some may find Coke to be a comfort drink while its magical benefits are hidden by its tastiness. Coke truly does “open up happiness,” at least until it’s all used up.
World’s Largest
Friday, 02 April 2010 12:26
Ryan Liu
Ever heard of a gummy bear equivalent to 1,400 regular sized gummy bears or a swimming pool the size of a swamp? Those are just some of the record holders for the largest items of their kind out there.
World’s Largest Gummy Bear: Most packs of gummy bears you see cost about $2, but why does this one gummy bear cost $29.95? For one thing, it is the equivalent to 1,400 regular sized gummy bears and contains 12,600 calories (which would be a problem for everyone except Michael Phelps). It weighs 5 pounds and is 9.5 inches tall. Don’t feel the pressure of having to eat it in a week since it has a shelf life of a year.
World’s Largest Burger: We’ve all seen those McDonald’s and Burger King commercials bragging that they’ve got the biggest half-pounders, but what about a 123-pounder? Such a huge food item is made at Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub, a restaurant in Pennsylvania. This colossal burger contains a whopping 80 pounds of beef, a 30 pound bun, 160 slices of cheese, 12 tomatoes, 5 onions and 1 pound of lettuce, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaises, and it costs $379.
World’s Largest Piñata: This piñata version of the Trojan horse is 28.5 meters long, 72 meters wide, and 18 meters tall. You might have thought a Piñata that size is too huge to be filled with candy, but somehow the creators of this piñata fit 8,000 pounds of candy inside it. Instead of using the world’s largest baseball bat (which is 120 feet tall) to break the piñata, the planners of the event just used a wrecking ball to smash the candy out.
World’s Largest Crossword: How many of you have done a crossword? Now how many of you have done a crossword 30 meters tall? The world’s largest crossword is so gigantic that it is placed on an enormous residential tower block located in the Ukrainian city of Lvov. But where do tourists and citizens get the questions to solve the crossword? The questions are placed in different points in the city, such as theaters, monuments, statues, and other important locations. But where are the answers? The answers light up on the crossword each night.
World’s Largest Swimming Pool: The deepest end of an average pool is 12 feet deep, but in the case of the world’s largest swimming pool, it is 115 feet. It took five years to build, costing around $1.5 million, and it takes nearly $3 million for its yearly maintenance. This gigantic pool is located on Chile’s southern coast in the San Alfonso del Mar resort in Algarrobo. The pool contains 66 million gallons of water, and in some parts of the pool it is even possible to use a boat. That’s one pool I sure wouldn’t want to take the swim survival test in.
World’s Largest Book: Bhutan: A Visual Odyssey Across the Kingdom is the largest published book in history. Michael Hawley, an author and scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wrote the book. Bhutan contains 112 pages and is five by seven feet wide. It took two gallons of ink to print and cost $1,000 to be produced.
Unlike Earth, which is considered small compared to other planets, these gigantic creations are the largest out there. So go out there and solve a gigantic crossword puzzle or eat an enormous gummy bear (don’t worry, you can burn off the extra calories swimming in the largest pool).
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