After Three Years, I Still Use This Every Day...
*----------> It's only $2.99 <----------*
http://pd.gophercentral.com/u/1265/c/186/a/469
------------------------------------------------------------
TRIVIA TODAY - Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Greetings Infomaniacs,
It's hard to believe that 2011 is just a few days away. Does
anyone have big plans to ring in the new year? My boyfriend
and I are going to a party at our friend's house. It should
be low-key and fun. I remember when my friends and I used
to make a big deal about New Year's Eve, buying bar packages
downtown and getting dressed up to hit the town. Now, I am
more excited about a cozy night at someone's house with good
company and some board games! Ah, how things change!
Enjoy!
Melissa
Email Melissa: mailto:melissa@gophercentral.com
***********************************************************
TODAY'S MYSTERY QUOTE
QUOTE: "Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a
going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill
in us."
HINT: (1900-1978), well-known American author and journalist,
wrote "outdoor editorials" for the 'New York Times' for more
than 30 years.
***********************************************************
RANDOM TIDBITS
the first-ever celebration of New Year's Eve in Times
Square happened in 1904, the same year that the city's
first subway line opened. The NYE bash commemorated the
official opening of the new headquarters of The New York
Times. The newspaper's owner, German Jewish immigrant
Alfred Ochs, had successfully lobbied the city to rename
Longacre Square, the district surrounding his paper's new
home, in honor of the famous publication.
***
The Times Tower was the focus of Ochs' elaborate celebration
which featured an all-day street festival culminating in a
fireworks display set off from the base of the tower. At
midnight, the over 200,000 attendees joyfully rang in the
new year with sounds of cheering, rattles and noisemakers.
The night was such a rousing success that Times Square
instantly replaced Lower Manhattan's Trinity Church as
"the" place in New York City to ring in the new year.
***
When the city banned the fireworks display two years later,
Ochs arranged to have a large, illuminated seven-hundred-
pound iron and wood ball lowered from the tower flagpole
precisely at midnight to signal the end of 1907 and the
beginning of 1908. The original ball was built by a young
immigrant metalworker named Jacob Starr, and for most of
the twentieth century the company he founded, sign maker
Artkraft Strauss, was responsible for lowering the ball.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
VIDEO CLIP
Ice Carnival - Strange But True
More than 100 Germans celebrate the coming of the new year
and upcoming carnival season by jumping into the freezing
water, some in costumes.
http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=13034
***********************************************************
In 1942 and 1943, the glowing Ball was temporarily retired
due to the wartime "dimout" of lights in New York City. The
crowds who still gathered in Times Square in those years
greeted the New Year with a minute of silence followed by
chimes ringing out from sound trucks parked at the base of
the Times Tower.
***
The actual notion of a ball "dropping" to signal the
passage of time dates back long before New Year's Eve was
ever celebrated in Times Square. The first "time-ball" was
installed atop England's Royal Observatory at Greenwich in
1833. This ball would drop at one o'clock every afternoon,
allowing the captains of nearby ships to precisely set
their chronometers (a vital navigational instrument).
***
For 2011, Waterford Crystal has designed 288 new ?Let There
Be Love? crystal triangles featuring a romantic pattern
that blends a modern cascade of hearts with diamond cutting.
The triangles are emblazoned with last year's "Let There
Be Courage" design of a ribbon medal defining the triumph
of courage over adversity; and 1,152 triangles sparkle with
the "Let There Be Joy" design of an angel with arms
uplifted welcoming the New Year.
(Facts courtesy of http://timessquarenyc.org)
***********************************************************
*** Weekly Mind-Scrambler ***
Golden treasures I contain, guarded by hundreds and
thousands. Stored in a labyrinth where no man walks, yet
men come often to seize my gold.By smoke I am overcome and
robbed, then left to build my treasure anew.
What am I?
Submit your answer by visiting: http://gopherarchives.gophercentral.com/TheDailyTease.aspx
Answer will be posted in Friday's Trivia Today. Good Luck!
If your name appears in Friday's newsletter,
email me your complete name and address and I will ship
your prize.
Be sure to put "Winner" in the subject line.
***********************************************************
QUOTE: "Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a
going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill
in us."
ANSWER: Hal Borland.
***********************************************************