In a 2022 survey by Trees.com, 50 percent of the 1,250 respondents reported talking to their plants and/or trees.  When asked why, 65 percent said they believe it helps them grow.  The research, however, isn’t definitive about this point.  While studies have found that vibrations caused by sound do affect plants, the jury’s still out on whether the human voice offers any specific benefit.  For many plant owners, though, the science is beside the point.  Marquis Matson, co-founder of the blog the Indoor Nursery, says she talks to her plants every day because “it feels nice … I think plants get a sense of community from my talking to them and that keeps them going.”  On the plant side of the equation, a study in a 2003 issue of the journal Ultrasonics investigated the effects of classical music and the sounds of birds, insects and water on the growth of Chinese cabbage and cucumber.  The conclusion?  Both forms of sound exposure increased the vegetables’ growth.  In a 2015 study published in the International Journal of Integrative Sciences, Innovation and Technology, researchers exposed marigold and chickpea plants to light Indian music as well as to traffic noise:  They found that both types of plants grew and developed better—gaining increased height, a greater number of leaves, and a healthier look—after being exposed to the music for four hours per day, but not to the traffic sounds.  Stacey Colino  https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2023/01/11/talking-to-plants-grow-thrive/

Find a list of fictional cats, including Claude Cat, The Copycat, Figaro, Lucifer, Mehitabel, Mittens, and Yoko at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_cats_in_animation   

In order to pay for its significant expenditures during the American Revolution, the Continental Congress had two options:  print more money or obtain loans to meet the budget deficit.  In practice it did both, but relied more on the printing of money, which led to hyperinflation.  At that time, Congress lacked the authority to levy taxes, and to do so would have risked alienating an American public that had gone to war with the British over the issue of unjust taxation.  The French Government began to secretly ship war materiel to the American revolutionaries in late 1775.  This was accomplished by establishing dummy corporations to receive French funds and military supplies.  It was unclear whether this aid was a loan or a gift, and disputes over the status of this early assistance caused strong disagreement between American diplomats in Europe.  During the Revolution, the French Government also provided the Americans with loans, eventually totaling over two million dollars, most of which were negotiated by Benjamin Franklin.  John Adams also secured a loan from Dutch bankers in 1782.  After fighting between the Americans and the British ended in 1783, the new U.S. Government established under the Articles of Confederation needed to pay off its debt, but lacked sufficient tax authority to secure any revenue.  The government struggled to pay off the loans, stopping payments of interest to France in 1785 and defaulting on further installments that were due in 1787.  The United States also owed money to the Spanish Government and private Dutch investors, but focused on paying off the Dutch because Amsterdam remained the most likely source of future loans, which the United States successfully obtained in 1787 and 1788, despite its precarious financial state.  https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/loans   

In the 1960s, Bacharach and his musical partner, lyricist Hal David, worked out of New York's famed Brill Building.  Their star vehicle was Dionne Warwick.  Bacharach wrote music that was accessible—it even sounds simple.   But, as Dionne Warwick and other musicians have pointed out, there is nothing simple about them.  Bacharach's pop songs were unconventional for the 1960s in their structure, key changes and time signatures.  Take the song "Anyone Who Had A Heart"; it was Warwick who pointed out to Bacharach the song constantly changes time signature.  Elizabeth Blair  https://www.npr.org/2023/02/09/561555285/b  Bacharach died on Feb. 8, 2023.

The Super Bowl is finally here.  In a matchup that pits the No. 1 seed from each conference against each other, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will battle it out on Sunday night to determine which team gets the right to call itself the champion of the 2022 NFL season.  Sunday, Feb. 12  6:30 p.m. ET  State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona) TV:  Fox Jared Dubin  https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/super-bowl-2023-key-matchups-tv-live-stream-time-prediction-for-chiefs-vs-eagles-in-super-bowl-57/   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2630  February 10, 2023