The four railroads in the Monopoly game are: Reading Railroad (pronounced
RED-ing, not REED-ing), Pennsylvania Railroad,
B. & O. Railroad (did not serve Atlantic City), and Short Line (shortened
form of Shore Fast Line). http://monopoly.wikia.com/wiki/Railroads
A different explanation for Short Line: The Monopoly game's Short Line isn't named
for a real-life railroad. Although the
game's inventor is reputed to have had a small inter-urban tram line in mind
when he named the game property, the term short line applies to any independent
railroad with track covering a short distance or small region. While many such railroads have been bought by
larger concerns or simply gone out of business, they are far from extinct. Today the non-profit American Short Line and
Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has over 400 member railroads which
together operate 29% of the railroad tracks in America. http://modeltrains.about.com/od/railroads/tp/monopoly_railroads.htm
Since the early 19th century we have used 'read the riot act' as a figurative
phrase to describe attempts to calm groups of rowdies. Had we been 'reading the riot act' in 1715 we
would have noticed capital letters. At
that date there was a real Riot Act and it used to be read in public. In English law the control of unruly citizens
has usually been the responsibility of local magistrates. Any group of twelve or more that the authorities
didn't like the look of could be deemed a 'riotous and tumultuous assembly' and
arrested if they didn't disperse within an hour of the Riot Act being read to
them by a magistrate. This seems a
little harsh, but in 18th century England the government was fearful of
Jacobite mobs who threatened to rise up and overthrow the Hanoverian George I. The fear was well-founded, as supporters of
the deposed Stuarts did actually invade in 1715 and again in 1745. The 'Riot Act' was passed by the British
government in 1714 and came into force in 1715.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/read-the-riot-act.html
English, like more than 400 other
languages, is part
of the Indo-European language family, sharing common roots not just with German
and French but with Russian, Hindi, Punjabi, and Persian. See 25 maps and charts that explain how
English got started and evolved into the differently accented languages spoken
today at
“Refried” is a misnomer. Refritos
means “well fried”, not “refried”, though you can certainly reheat the beans as
you go through a batch. Before frying
them though you’ll need to cook them, in water, to soften them. Elise Bauer Find a recipe using pinto beans at http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/refried_beans/
Underneath Grand Central Terminal, there are secret networks of
underground tracks, steam-pipe tunnels, and storage areas. Hidden in these underground depths is a train
platform with a secret entrance and an elevator straight up to the Waldorf-Astoria
hotel. President Franklin D. Roosevelt reportedly used this as his private entry into New
York City – a way to get from his train to the hotel without being bothered by
reporters. Unfortunately, you can’t
currently see this secret passage for yourself.
The door to the secret elevator is welded shut. The ceiling over the Main Concourse,
with its famous mural of the stars, is one of Grand Central Terminal’s most
famous features. However, eagle-eyed
visitors will notice that the zodiac on the ceiling is depicted backwards. Some have speculated that this was a mistake
by the artist, Paul Helleu. The real
reason, according to official documents, is that the painter was inspired by a
medieval manuscript that showed the heavens as they would have been seen from
outside the celestial sphere. The famous
ceiling has another, more recent, secret. If you look carefully, you will see a patch of
dark on the carefully-restored blue of the mural. This patch shows the color of the ceiling
before restoration. It was left as a reminder of how much work was done. http://manhattan.about.com/od/historyandlandmarks/a/secretgrandcent.htm
The Biltmore Hotel opened
as part of Grand Central's Terminal City in 1913. Architectural firm Warren and Wetmore
designed the hotel, which had its own arrival corridor within Grand
Central. There was also a private
elevator that went directly to the Presidential Suite. Italian gardens decorated the rooftop between
the north and south towers, and in the winter, the gardens were converted into
an ice skating rink. In the 1980s, its
owner gutted and stripped the hotel to its steel skeleton, even though it was
landmarked. It was rebuilt as the bland
28-story 335 Madison Avenue, formerly known as the Bank of America Plaza. Jessica Dailey
See pictures of the Biltmore and nine other "grandest
forgotten" New York City hotels at http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/06/26/remembering_nycs_grandest_forgotten_hotels_in_photos.php
Mar. 25, 2015 Releasing
a first-of-its-kind survey that shows Louisville, Kentucky is losing 54,000
trees a year, Mayor Greg Fischer called for public input to help reverse the
trend. The year-long study shows that
the city’s tree canopy has declined from 40 percent to 37 percent in eight
years—the result of insect damage, ice storms, trees not being replaced and
many other factors. Fischer said citizen
input will be combined with the results of the city’s ongoing Urban Heat Island
study, which will help complement the canopy study and provide further data on
the tree canopy decline. That will lead
to a citywide tree strategy and a citywide annual tree planting goal that will
be announced later this fall -- in time for the peak planting season. A depleted tree canopy leads to higher energy
bills for businesses and homes, and makes the city physically hotter, which
exacerbates health issues especially for the sick and elderly. Fischer said it also makes Louisville less
desirable compared to cities with greater canopies – and it affects property
values. The canopy study concludes that
trees in Louisville provide $330 million in services each year to our
community, including costs avoided by keeping water out of the sewers as well
as removing carbon dioxide from the air.
Fischer also announced the creation of a new, non-profit group, Trees
Louisville. The new entity, which is
being funded by local philanthropist Henry Heuser, will be dedicated to raising
money to plant and maintain trees -- and engaging the public in encouraging
tree plantings. Fischer said there are
many things citizens can do today to help, including planting a tree then
reporting it on Brightside’s tree tracker count.
He also urged people to organize tree plantings for the annual Give A Day week
of service, which is April 18-26. http://louisvilleky.gov/news/study-shows-city-losing-54000-trees-yearly-mayor-seeks-public-input-reverse-decline
The U.S. Postal Service unveiled a forever stamp honoring famed author Maya
Angelou on April 7, 2015. One problem: The quote on the stamp, “A bird doesn’t sing
because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song,” though widely
attributed to Angelou, is not hers. The
Washington Post reported it actually comes from Joan
Walsh Anglund’s book of poems A Cup
of Sun. “Had we known about
this issue beforehand, we would have used one of (Angelou’s) many other works. ... The sentence held great meaning for her
and she is publicly identified with its popularity,” Postal Service spokesman
Mark Saunders said in statement to the Post. Jessica Wehrman
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/04/07/misquote-on-stamp-will-be-forever.html “Yes, that’s my quote,” Anglund said from her
Connecticut home. It appears on page 15
of her book of poems “A Cup of Sun,” published in 1967. Only the pronouns and punctuation are
changed, from “he” in Anglund’s original to “it” on the stamp. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/book-author-joan-walsh-anglund-claims-angelou-quote-on-stamp/2015/04/06/62d31934-dcc8-11e4-acfe-cd057abefa9a_story.html The Muser plans to borrow Anglund's book of
poems from the public library.
Q. from one alligator to another:
Do you think golfers are easy to digest?
A. They have a whole magazine
about it. Mother Goose and Grim comic
strip April 10, 2015
http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com Issue 1282
April 10, 2015 On this date in
1606, the Virginia Company of London was established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial
settlements in North America.
On this date in 1710, the Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, came into force in Great Britain.
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