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Author Topic: Non-routine News  (Read 19718 times)

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AGelbert

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Non-routine News
« on: November 17, 2013, 11:06:04 pm »
Colchester, Vermont First week of November, 2013

Rescue and Technical Rescue Squads—Amy Akerlind, Rescue Chief
· Colchester Rescue responded to eighteen calls and transported ten people to the hospital.
· Colchester Technical Rescue assisted Williston Fire Department with the rescue of a 2,600-pound draft
horse rescue that was stuck in a mud pond and had to be lifted with the help of an excavator!  :o

Now there's an interesting and innovative use for an excavator!

Those Draft Horses are BIG!  :o
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

Surly1

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Re: Non-routine News
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2013, 06:50:58 pm »
And they say nothing happens in Vermont!

AGelbert

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Re: Non-routine News
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2013, 11:13:14 pm »
Surly said,
Quote
And they say nothing happens in Vermont!

Well, Norman Rockwell sure ain't here anymore! The police are concerned because a group of young scam artists are going house to house knocking. If nobody answers, they get in through a window and take whatever they can carry.
If someone answers, they offer to do yard work or chores for too high a price.  ;)  Last week there were several burglaries. There have been nearly 200 in the last year. Residents are urged to keep doors and windows always locked and report any suspicious activity to the police.

No, I did not report the egging of my front door to the police. We are working on another approach to that.



Why Is Money Green in the United States?


Money is green in the United States, it is believed, because that color of ink was the most readily available when the paper currency design was introduced in 1929.

Prior to then, paper currency mainly used black ink with colored elements, but counterfeiters were able to recreate the colored portions too easily.  ;D

Another possible reason green ink was chosen was because it is more able to withstand heat and chemical exposure without changing appearance. Green ink might also have been chosen for US money because the color green was viewed as a symbol of strength and stability in the government’s credit.  ;)


 More about money in the US:

•The $1 US Dollar (USD) bill lasts an average of just one year and 10 months in circulation. The $100 USD bill lasts about seven years and five months.

•Martha Washington is the only female to have her portrait appear on US currency. The wife of first US President George Washington appeared on the $1 USD Silver Certificates of 1886, 1891 and 1896.

•It would take about $2.5 million USD worth of pennies laid next to each other to reach across the width of the United States. ::)

http://www.wisegeek.com/why-is-money-green-in-the-united-states.htm
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

Surly1

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Re: Non-routine News
« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2013, 06:39:01 am »
AG,

Quote
Why Is Money Green in the United States?


Money is green in the United States, it is believed, because that color of ink was the most readily available when the paper currency design was introduced in 1929.

Uh, no.

See this. Lincoln began the practice of issuing green fiat.
Quote
The term greenback refers to legal tender, printed in green on one side and issued by the United States during the American Civil War which was backed not by the conventional gold or silver standard but by the credibility of the U.S. Government. It was largely what financed the Civil War while promoting and making the industrial revolution possible in the process.

When Lincoln assumed office he already understood that the outcome of the war would be largely determined by resources and understood the importance of raising enough funds to effectively carry out the war effort. With this in mind Lincoln on the day after his inauguration nominated Salmon P. Chase to be Secretary of the Treasury. As Secretary Chase alone was authorized to act on all matters pertaining to the country’s finances, Chase, like most everyone else at the time, underestimated the severity of the War in terms of its duration and cost.[2]
Confronted with the expenses of war, the Lincoln Administration sought loans from New York bankers, most of whom were fronts for, or connected to, European banks. Given the very high interest rates of 24 to 36 percent, President Lincoln refused to accept the terms of the loans and called for other solutions.[3] Colonel Edmund D. Taylor of Illinois made the suggestion that the U.S. government could issue its own money. Taylor is quoted as saying: "Just get Congress to pass a bill authorizing the printing of full legal tender treasury notes . . . and pay your soldiers with them and go ahead and win your war with them also. If you make them full legal tender . . . they will have the full sanction of the government and be just as good as any money; as Congress is given the express right by the Constitution."[3]
The idea to print Greenback based on the government's credibility was not Lincoln's idea originally, but with mounting pressure in Congress to accept the plan the President was quick to endorse it. The government could either print its own money or lead the country into perpetual debt at the hand of European banks.[4] On February 25, 1862, Congress passed the first Legal Tender Act, which authorized the printing of $150 million in Treasury notes.[5]
Printed on only one side with green ink, the bills were soon known as "greenbacks".[6] These United States Notes or "greenbacks" represented receipts for labor and goods delivered to the United States. They could be traded in the community for an equivalent value of goods or services.[3] The union used this money to keep the economy stable and help to pay for the war.


AGelbert

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Re: Non-routine News
« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2013, 02:20:46 pm »
Surly,
True. I remember reading about Lincoln's greenbacks. The European bankers (and ours too!) were going nuts about that. Some say that is the MAIN REASON he was eventually assassinated. He proved we didn't need financing "arrangements" that always benefit the 1%. They didn't like that, to put it mildly!

Apparently Wisegeek is referring to more recent developments in the 20th century when counterfeiting became a bigger problem.

I think somebody at Wisegeek made a similar comment about the greenbacks. You might go over there and set them straight. You can register and your comment will be attached to the question of why our currency is green permanently. 
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Non-routine News
« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2013, 07:20:43 pm »
For the Week of November 22, 2013

Police Department—Jennifer Morrison, Police Chief

• Colchester Police responded to 184 calls for service this week and stopped 47 vehicles for traffic violations. Six arrests were made during the week, including a thirty-nine-year-old male on charges of first-degree unlawful restraint, domestic assault, interference with access to emergency services, and sexual assault.

For more information about Colchester Police Department, please visit http://colchestervt.gov/Police/index.shtml or call (802) 264-5556 (non-emergency).

Rescue and Technical Rescue Squads—Amy Akerlind, Rescue Chief


• Rescue responded to seventeen calls and transported eight people to the hospital.

• Colchester Technical Rescue had a quiet week. 


For more information about Colchester Rescue, please visit
http://colchestervt.gov/Rescue/index.shtml or call (802) 264-5990.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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How Many People Rely on Rice for Food?
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2013, 12:19:43 am »
How Many People Rely on Rice for Food?

More than half of the world’s people rely on rice for food, making it the most popular grain. It is estimated to be grown in 112 countries. The popularity of rice is thought to be because it contains more carbohydrates and protein than similar amounts of wheat or corn, so it can feed more people with the same quantity of crops. Also, there is a much lower likelihood of allergies or intolerance with rice than with other grains. 


More about rice:

In sub-Saharan Africa, the percentage of people who rely on rice for food increased by 50% from 1990 to 2010, which was the fastest increase of any region.

An estimated 95% of the world’s rice crop is produced and eaten in Asia.

Since 1998, all white rice in the US has been enriched with folic acid, a vitamin that is thought to reduce birth defects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that neural tube birth defects decreased by more than 25% after the fortification of grains began.

http://www.wisegeek.com/how-many-people-rely-on-rice-for-food.htm





www.learner.org/courses/envsci/visual/


Nine Varieties: Jasmine, Wild, White, Pearl, Forbidden, Madagascar, Jade, Arborio, Basma


40 Rice Genotypes!  :o
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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How Much Laundry Does the Average Family Do per Week?
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2013, 02:48:47 pm »
How Much Laundry Does the Average Family Do per Week?

The average family in the United States does eight to 10 loads of laundry each week, with almost 70% of this work in married households being done by women. More than 20% of all water used by US households is estimated to be for doing laundry. A load of laundry takes an average of one hour and 27 minutes, which takes into account washing and drying. About 20% of laundry loads in the US are washed again because of dissatisfaction with the result, with men being more likely than women to rewash a load of laundry.
More about laundry:

The amount of laundry done at Walt Disney World in a single day is roughly equivalent to one load a day for 52 years.

The average container of laundry detergent in the US weighs about 7 pounds (3.18 kg).
There are more than 35,000 coin laundries in the US, and they made almost $5 billion US Dollars (USD) in 2012.

http://www.wisegeek.com/how-much-laundry-does-the-average-family-do-per-week.htm
Agelbert NOTE: We do about one laundry load a MONTH. No I don't pay extra for my water bill. It is included in the lot rent. There is just no reason whatsoever for frequent laundry loads that cause such a waste of water, period.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Non-routine News
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2013, 09:39:43 pm »
What is the Source of Aluminum Used to Make Cars?

Automobile manufacturing has been one of the main uses of aluminum, and about 90% of it that is used to make vehicles has been recycled.










An estimated one-third of all aluminum in the US is used for automobiles. Aluminum is much more lightweight than steel and typically is preferable for automobile parts such as wheel rims, radiators, cylinders and pistons. This metal's lighter weight allows vehicles to move more efficiently, using less fuel and emitting less pollution.

More about aluminum:

Recycling one aluminum can could save enough energy to burn a light for four hours.

The US had about 17.83 billion pounds (8.1 billion kg) of aluminum in 2009, with a total value of about $40 billion US Dollars (USD). About half of the total supply was made domestically, 30% had been recycled, and the rest had been imported.

The second most common use of aluminum in the US is in packaging. About one-fifth of this metal is used for items such as beverage cans and foil.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-source-of-aluminum-used-to-make-cars.htm
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Non-routine News
« Reply #9 on: December 17, 2013, 12:10:45 am »
Where Did the Tomato Originate?


Costoluto tomatoes Agelbert NOTE: I've eaten the above. I knew them as home grown salad tomatoes. They are FAR more flavorful than the symmetrically shaped ones grown for grocery stores. If you ever get to taste one, you will know what I mean. Yummy!

The tomato is thought to have originated in South America and to have first been eaten by the ancient Aztecs. It was not introduced to Europe until the 1600s, when Spanish explorers brought tomatoes back from their travels.

Italy was the first European country to grow the tomato, followed by Spain.

It gained a reputation for being poisonous, :o but it was determined that the pewter plates that wealthy Europeans were using actually caused lead poisoning the tomatoes absorbed lead from the plates before being consumed.


The tomato did not make its way to the US until the late 1700s, and Thomas Jefferson is thought to have been one of the first tomato growers in the US, in 1781.



More about tomatoes:

The tomato belongs to the nightshade family, which contains poisonous plants. This association is also thought to have contributed to the tomato being thought of as poisonous.

More than 1.5 billion tons of tomatoes are produced worldwide every year. :o

Joseph Campbell invented and sold the first condensed tomato soup in 1897, when he discovered that tomatoes kept well after being canned.

http://www.wisegeek.com/where-did-the-tomato-originate.htm
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Why Did Pirates Wear An Eyepatch?
« Reply #10 on: December 21, 2013, 01:04:11 am »
Why Did Pirates Wear An Eyepatch if They Did Not Have an Injury?




It is thought that the reason pirates would wear an eyepatch even if they did not have an eye injury was to help their eyes adjust to going back and forth between light and dark. It typically takes the eyes 25 minutes to adjust to seeing in the dark because they must regenerate photopigments, which send visual signals to the brain. Pirates would often have to go quickly from being in the dark below the decks of their ships to being on the sunlit ship decks. Wearing an eyepatch would allow a pirate to switch the eye patch to the other side when moving between locations and bypass the 25-minute adjustment period.



More about pirates:

•Early 18th-century pirate Black Bart is thought to have captured more than 400 ships, the most of any pirate.

•Although legend has it that pirates would often bury treasure, historians claim that pirates typically used most of their stolen goods to purchase women and alcohol. In fact, entrepreneurs at popular ports were known to set up shops that catered to pirates.

•In the 1670s, pirate Henry Morgan served as governor of Jamaica, and he even helped prosecute other pirates during his administration.  ;D

http://www.wisegeek.com/why-did-pirates-wear-an-eyepatch-if-they-did-not-have-an-injury.htm

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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How Big Is California’s Agricultural Sector?

California’s agricultural sector is the largest in the US in terms of food production, with more than 450 types of crops produced in the state many of them being exclusive to the state. Total agricultural sales in California were more than $44 billion US Dollars (USD) in 2012, up 3% from 2011. Milk took in the most money, at more than $6 billion USD, followed by grapes and almonds at more than $4 billion USD each. In addition to having one of the top agricultural sectors in the US,

California also is the world's No. 5 supplier of agricultural commodities, including food and cotton fiber.

More about California agriculture:

•Only 4% of the farmland in the US is located in California, even though it is one of the top agricultural producers in the country.

•California is the only US state that produces almonds, and it is the top almond exporter in the world.

•About 90% of the wine made in the US is made in California, and the state is the No. 4 producer of wine worldwide.

http://www.wisegeek.com/how-big-is-californias-agricultural-sector.htm
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Non-routine News
« Reply #12 on: December 27, 2013, 07:42:56 pm »





Ice Storm hits Agelbert. We had a full two inches of solid ice on EVERYTHING outside (except the tree branches that have a quarter inch of pretty, sparkly ice glaze encasing them).

The car was stuck in the driveway and required warming up and turing the wheels left and right to free from the ice. Nobody here has ever seen that thick of an ice layer. The town went nuts throwing sand around because the plows couldn't get down to the road surface and it was too cold for the salt to work for a couple of days. They did eventually throw a LOT of salt out there too.



Colchester’s Weekly Town News
For the Week Ending December 27, 2013
Colchester, Vermont Public Works Department—Bryan Osborne, Director Week ending December
In the aftermath of Winter Storm Gemini, we thought the following information would be of interest:
Statistics
Storm duration: 60 hours from Friday noon to Monday noon
Weather conditions: icing and sub-freezing temperatures
Miles of public roads maintained: 90 miles
Miles of private roads maintained: 20 miles
Miles of sidewalks/paths maintained: 37 miles
Number of parking lots maintained: 6
Number of snow maintenance personnel available: 10
Maintenance staff overtime: 226 hours
Supervisor non-paid overtime: 38 hours
Fuel consumption: 924 gallons
Salt usage: 232 tons
For further information or comment, please call June Campbell at 264-5509.

http://colchestervt.gov/







BURLINGTON, Vt. —A death certificate indicates that the University of Vermont's associate director of residential life whose body was found in a house fire died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Kathleen Cook's body was found Thursday morning during an early morning fire at an on-campus home owned by the university.

The Burlington Free Press reports that the cause of the fire has not been released.
Cook had worked at the university for 16 years and was described as a devoted educator.


http://www.wptz.com/news/vermont-new-york/burlington/university-of-vermont-staff-member-dies-in-suicide/-/8869880/22813272/-/13vyo0l/-/index.html#ixzz2oivNsyXy

Dr. Kathleen M. Cook

Kathy Cook helped make UVM a welcoming place for everyone
By Katy Cardin, News Editor

Published: Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Dr. Kathleen Cook’s legacy at UVM began 24 years ago and will continue on as members of the UVM community remember her inspirational disposition and kind spirit.

Known more fondly as “Kathy” among her friends and colleagues, the 45-year-old associate director for Residential Life at the University died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in her South Prospect Street home that caught on fire last Thursday, according to Police Services.

Cook began what would become a long stay at UVM when she completed her bachelor’s degree in 1991, followed by her master’s of education in 1995 and then her doctorate in education in 2010, according to a University-wide email sent by President Tom Sullivan and Vice Provost for Student Affairs Annie Stevens on Thursday.

“Kathy approached her work with students and student organizations with an infectious vitality that challenged individuals to learn from their experience while also building communities within UVM,”

Director of Student Life Pat Brown said. “Her friendliness and approachability was a pure invitation to students to seek her counsel. As a colleague and friend she will be missed.”

Cook was a Student Affairs staff member for the past 16 years. Before she was the associate director for Residential Life, she worked in the Department of Student Life as the assistant director for leadership programs, Brown said.

As president of the Inter Residential Association (IRA), senior Joe Oteng said he was able to work with Cook at various IRA events and often talked with her on campus.

Oteng said Cook was highly involved with and passionate about solving racial issues that occurred between Resident Assistants and campus residents.

“From a student perspective, I think her legacy will be in challenging students to think about how they relate to students of color in a predominantly white community like UVM, and how questions of identity and race can contribute to a better living community for everyone,” he said.

In fact, Vice President for Executive Operations Gary Derr sent a University-wide email on Thursday stating that Cook’s dissertation for her doctorate was titled “Diversity Training: Moving White Resident Assistants Forward or Backward in their Racial Identity Development.”

Residential Life staff member Carrie Wicks said she feels Cook truly embraced her position as associate director, and was able to make a positive impact on everyone she worked with because of that.

“She gave us freedom to be angry, strong, weak, creative, confused, lost and loved every step of the way,” Wicks said. “She cared deeply about everything she did and created...she was an innovated [sic] leader and woman. I admired her, we all did.”

Cook’s professional achievements did not stop at Residential Life. She was also the Area Coordinator for First-Year Experience for LGBTQ, working with first-years who identify as LGBTQ.

In their letter, Sullivan and Stevens extended condolences to the University community as well as to Cook’s family, friends and colleagues.

“A devoted educator, mentor, colleague, and friend, Kathy touched the lives of many students, staff, and faculty,” the Oct. 31 email read. “Her absence will be felt profoundly across the University.”
Following a status update on the University of Vermont Facebook page relaying the email sent by Sullivan and Stevens, multiple people responded by sharing their feelings and condolences.

“So sad to hear this news. Kathy was such a nice person. She has done a lot of good for UVM and students. Rest in peace friend,” William A Moultan III wrote.

A memorial service will be held for Cook at 4 p.m. Nov. 6 in Ira Allen Chapel.

By Katy Cardin

http://www.vermontcynic.com/news/dr-kathleen-m-cook-1.2845173#.Ur4YT8KA3m4


Agelbert NOTE: When we have a society where a person covers up their agony with a happy face, is consumed by that agony to the point of suicide, and then is lovingly remembered for HAVING SUCH A PEPPY, HAPPY FACE, ACCEPTING AND HELPING DISPOSITION (a big act!) by the society that destroyed her without a HINT that, uh, maybe there is something WRONG with our society if a person with a doctorate in PEOPLE skills offs herself, you know we are really in la la land denial about our failed society. Denial of flaws is the national sport. Vermonters are quite good at it.

That's why things continue to deteriorate. If people don't even recognize they have a society based, not individual based, problem, the problem will worsen. Vermont in general, and UVM academic SOCIETY in particular, FAILED to give Kathy Cook the strength she needed to go on living.  :( So it goes.






He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Non-routine News
« Reply #13 on: December 27, 2013, 08:20:10 pm »




Did Shakespeare Really Invent New Words?


English playwright William Shakespeare invented new words in the 16th and 17th centuries that became commonly used in modern English, with an estimated 1,700 words whose origins are traced back to his works.

Shakespeare did not necessarily come up with completely new words, but rather he tended to add prefixes or suffixes to already established words or change nouns into verbs, or vice versa. Examples of words first used in Shakespeare’s works include assassination, disheartened, inaudible and uncomfortable.

Some historians believe that Shakespeare might not have been the one to invent the words but simply was the first to record words that previously had been used only orally.





More about William Shakespeare:

Shakespeare was an entrepreneur who made money off lucrative real estate investments. Some historians believe this is why he was able to spend so much time writing.

There is a period of seven years of Shakespeare’s life after the birth of his twins in 1585 during which there are no records of him and are referred to as “the lost years.” It is not known what he was doing at that time.

Shakespeare has no descendants because his only grandchild, a granddaughter named Elizabeth, died in 1670 without having children.

http://www.wisegeek.com/did-shakespeare-really-invent-new-words.htm

Worst Diseases in Shakespeare's London


From a disease standpoint, Shakespeare was living in arguably the worst place and time in history. Shakespeare's overcrowded, rat-infested, sexually promiscuous London, with raw sewage flowing in the Thames, was the hub for the nastiest diseases known to mankind. Here are the worst of the worst.


1. Plague
 It is little surprise that the plague was the most dreaded disease of Shakespeare's time. Carried by fleas living on the fur of rats, the plague swept through London in 1563, 1578-9, 1582, 1592-3, and 1603 (Singman, 52). The outbreaks in 1563 and 1603 were the most ferocious, each wiping out over one quarter of London's population.

Lucky Elizabethans would contract the basic bubonic plague with their odds of survival around fifty percent. Symptoms would include red, grossly inflamed and swollen lymph nodes, called buboes (hence the name bubonic), high fever, delirium, and convulsions.

However, if the bacterial infection spread to the lungs (pneumonic plague) or to the bloodstream (septicemic plague) the unfortunate victim would certainly die, usually within hours with symptoms too horrific to recount.

The Elizabethan pamphleteer Thomas Dekker wrote a chilling account of the chaos and despair brought by the plague:

Quote
Imagine then that all this while, Death (like a Spanish Leagar, or rather like stalking Tamberlaine) hath pitched his tents, (being nothing but a heape of winding sheets tacked together) in the sinfully-polluted Suburbes:

the Plague is Muster-maister and Marshall of the field: Burning Feauers, Boyles, Blaines, and Carbuncles, the Leaders, Lieutenants, Serieants, and Corporalls:

the maine Army consisting (like Dunkirke) of a mingle-mangle, viz. dumpish Mourners, merry Sextons, hungry Coffin-sellers, scrubbing Bearers, and nastie Graue-makers:

but indeed they are the Pioners of the Campe, that are imployed onely (like Moles) in casting up of earth and digging of trenches;

Feare and Trembling (the two catch-polles of Death) arrest every one: No parley will be graunted, no composition stood vpon, But the Allarum is strucke up, the Toxin ringes out for life, and no voice heard but Tue, Tue, Kill, Kill. (The Wonderful Yeare, 1603)

During the outbreak of 1592-93, the Crown ordered the complete closure of all theatres in London. Shakespeare, then working with Lord Strange’s Men at the Rose theatre, would have been in the midst of a run of his Henry VI history plays (Bradbrook, 65), and likely financially devastated by the edict.

Shakespeare mentions plague in several plays, including The Tempest (1.2.426), Timon of Athens (4.3.120), and King Lear:

But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter;
 Or rather a disease that's in my flesh,
 Which I must needs call mine: thou art a boil,
 A plague-sore, an embossed carbuncle,
 In my corrupted blood.
(2.4.242), Lear, describing his daughter, Goneril

Shakespeare also describes the act of searching out plague victims and quarantining them in Romeo and Juliet (5.2.7). Incidentally, plague is the indirect cause of the deaths of the star-cross'd lovers.

2. Smallpox
 One of the worst outbreaks of smallpox occurred two years before Shakespeare's birth, in 1562. Queen Elizabeth herself, then 29, was attacked by the virus that causes high fever, vomiting, excessive bleeding, and pus-filled scabs that leave deep pitted scars. Although the Queen recovered she was rendered completely bald and forced to wear an extra thick layer of make-up made from white lead and egg whites.

3. Syphilis
 Syphilis, one of the deadliest of all venereal diseases, spread rapidly throughout Europe in the 15th century. A current theory on the origin of the outbreak argues that Spaniards carried the disease home from the Americas in 1493. Elizabethans had many names for this foul malady; the most popular being the French pox, the Spanish sickness, the great pox, and simply, the pox.

 Without antibiotics, Elizabethans would have experienced the full effects of syphilis, which included raging fever (referred to as "burnt blood"), tortuous body aches, blindness, full body pustules, meningitis, insanity, and leaking heart valves, known today as aortic regurgitation. According to a document written in 1585 by the famed Elizabethan barber-surgeon William Clowes, the victims of syphilis were so numerous that London hospitals had no room for the "infinite multitude."

 

Interestingly, Shakespeare's most famous mention of disease: A plague on both your houses!" (Romeo and Juliet), was, in the original printing of the play (the first quarto), "A pox of your houses" (3.1.60).

 Shakespeare mentions syphilis often in his work and in Timon of Athens he alludes to the calamitous Elizabethan treatment of syphilis: the inhalation of vaporized mercury salts:

Give them diseases, leaving with thee their lust.
 Make use of thy salt hours: season the slaves.
 For tubs and baths; bring down rose-cheeked youth.
 To the tub-fast and the diet. (4.3)

4. Typhus
 Epidemics of louse-borne typhus ravaged London several times during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. Crowded, filthy conditions and a near total lack of bathing made room for body lice, which, when scratched, would defecate on a person's skin. It would take just one minor cut or sore for the typhus infected feces to enter the victim's bloodstream, and soon high fever, delirium, and gangrenous sores would develop.

 The disease was a huge problem among prisoners. The poor wretches, most of them beggars, drunks, petty thieves and pamphleteers, who found themselves in the Newgate jail, would typically die before they could serve their full sentences. Shakespeare felt their pain:
If we mean to thrive and do good, break open the gaols and let out the prisoners. (2 Henry VI, 4.3.15)
Although we will likely never know what really caused Shakespeare's own death, a serious outbreak of typhus in 1616 lends credibility to the story that he succumbed to a fever.

5. Malaria
 Known to the Elizabethans as ague, Malaria was a common malady spread by the mosquitoes in the marshy Thames. The swampy theatre district of Southwark was always at risk. King James I had it; so too did Shakespeare’s friend, Michael Drayton. Without antimalarial medications, many Londoners would have experienced dreadful symptoms, including fever, unbearable chills, vomiting, enlarged liver, low blood pressure, seizures, and coma.

 Shakespeare's characters speak often of ague. A common belief was that the sun spread the fever by sucking up the vapors from the marshes. In The Tempest, Caliban describes the process while cursing Prospero:

All the infections that the sun sucks up
 From bogs, fens, flats, on Prosper fall and make him
 By inch-meal a disease!
 (2.2)

So too does Hotspur in 1 Henry IV:
Worse than the sun in March,
 This praise doth nourish agues. (4.1)

The facts are mind-boggling, especially when you consider that London's population hovered around a mere 150,000 during Shakespeare's lifetime. It is little wonder that the average life expectancy was 35 years.


How to cite this article:
 Mabillard, Amanda. Worst Diseases in Shakespeare's London. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/londondisease.html >.


Here's a humorous ten minute history of the English language which includes Shakespeare's contributions. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rexKqvgPVuA&feature=player_embedded
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Milky Way Galaxy Has Four Spiral Arms, New Study Confirms
Dec 29, 2013 by Sci-News.com

A 12-year study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society has confirmed that our Milky Way Galaxy has four spiral arms, following years of debate that it has only two arms.


Galactic distribution of massive young stars and compact and ultra-compact H II regions with luminosities greater than 10^4 times that of the Sun. The map shows the positions of the complexes and individual sources as red and blue circles, respectively.

 The sizes of the markers give an indication of their luminosity, as depicted in the upper-right corner. The position of the Sun is shown by the small circle above the Galactic Centre . The two solid lines enclose the Galactic Center region that was excluded from survey due to problems with source confusion and distance determination.

The smaller of the two dot–dashed circles represents the locus of tangent points, while the larger circle shows the radius of the solar circle. Image credit: Urquhart JS et al / Robert Hurt, the Spitzer Science Center / Robert Benjamin.

“The Milky Way is our galactic home and studying its structure gives us a unique opportunity to understand how a very typical spiral galaxy works in terms of where stars are born and why,” said co-author Prof Melvin Hoare from the University of Leeds.

In the 50s, astronomers used radio telescopes to map the Milky Way. Their observations focused on clouds of gas in the Galaxy in which new stars are born, revealing four major spiral arms.


In 2008, scientists using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope scoured our Galaxy for infrared light emitted by stars. They revealed about 110 million stars, but only evidence of two spiral arms.

The astronomers behind the new study used several radio telescopes to individually observe about 1,650 massive stars in the Galaxy. The distances and luminosities of these stars were calculated, revealing a distribution across four spiral arms.

“It isn’t a case of our results being right and those from Spitzer’s data being wrong – both surveys were looking for different things. Spitzer only sees much cooler, lower mass stars – stars like our Sun – which are much more numerous than the massive stars that we were targeting,” Prof Hoare said.


Massive stars are much less common than their lower mass counterparts because they only live for a short time – about 10 million years. The shorter lifetimes of massive stars means that they are only found in the arms in which they formed, which could explain the discrepancy in the number of galactic arms that different research teams have claimed.

“Lower mass stars live much longer than massive stars and rotate around our Galaxy many times, spreading out in the disc. The gravitational pull in the two stellar arms that Spitzer revealed is enough to pile up the majority of stars in those arms, but not in the other two. However, the gas is compressed enough in all four arms to lead to massive star formation,” Prof Hoare said.

“It’s exciting that we are able to use the distribution of young massive stars to probe the structure of the Milky Way and match the most intense region of star formation with a model with four spiral arms,” said lead author Dr James Urquhart of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany.
______
Urquhart JS et al. The RMS survey: galactic distribution of massive star formation. MNRAS 437 (2): 1791-1807; doi: 10.1093/mnras/stt2006
http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/science-milky-way-galaxy-four-spiral-arms-01649.html
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

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