A Russian scientist has created what he claims is the world’s smallest book, and is preparing to submit it to Guinness World Records for verification.  Microminiaturist Vladimir Aniskin, who works at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Science, spent five years developing the technology to create the book, which measures 70 by 90 micrometres, or 0.07mm by 0.09mm.  It then took him a month to create, by hand, two versions.  The first, Levsha, is named after Nikolai Leskov’s 19th-century story The Steel Flea, in which a craftsman from Tula beats the English by managing to nail flea shoes on the clockwork flea they have created.  Aniskin’s Levsha contains the names of other microminiaturists who can also, in his words “shoe the flea”.  His second book, Alphabet, contains the Russian alphabet.  The text is printed using the lithographic process onto sheets of film just three or four microns thick.  Aniskin said that the most difficult part of the process was binding the pages together so they can be turned.  He used tungsten wires with a diameter of five microns as the “springs” for the pages, placing the finished books into half a poppyseed, displayed on gold plates.  The pages, which have text on both sides, can be turned using a sharpened metal needle.  Alison Flood  http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/mar/02/miniature-milestone-as-russian-claims-new-record-for-worlds-tiniest-book-vladimir-aniskin

King Midas is remembered for having acted as judge on the occasion of the musical contest between Apollo, playing the lyre, and Marsyas, playing the flute.  Some say that Tmolus, father of Omphale (the mistress of Heracles ₁), gave the victory to Apollo, but that Midas held the opinion that it should rather have been given to Marsyas.  It was then that Apollo addressed Midas and informed him:  "You will have ears to match the mind you have in judging" (Apollo to Midas. Hyginus, Fabulae 191)  And as soon as the god have uttered those words, the ears of an ass appeared to adorn the head of the king of Phrygia.  Others assert, however, that this contest was between Apollo's lyre and Pan's reeds, and that it was the mountain god Tmolus who decided in favor of Apollo.  All approved Tmolus' judgement, but Midas called it unjust, and then Apollo punished him in that he would wear the ears of an ass.  Midas, who after suffering such a disgrace was quite concerned about concealing his condition, started to wear a purple turban to cover his new ears.  But the slave who trimmed his hair discovered his master's new anatomy; and since he was eager to tell it out, but all the same he did not dare to reveal the embarrassing secret, he dug a hole in the ground and into it he whispered about his master's ears.   Then he filled up the hole again, covering the evidence of his voice.  But whispering reeds grew up in the spot, and when they came to their full size, they betrayed to the wind the truth about Midas' ears, making it known to the whole world.  Yet Conon gives what he deemed to be a more sober explanation on the issue of the ears.  For he says that the rumour came about because Midas held his rule by having many people reporting to him, which kept his kingdom undisturbed by conspiracies, allowing him to reach old age.  And he adds that the "long ears" that denoted the many spies were gradually changed by rumour into "the ears of an ass."  Read about the golden touch at http://www.maicar.com/GML/Midas.html

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America's Story From America's Library is a Web site is brought to you from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the largest library in the world and the nation's library.  Here, you can discover what Abraham Lincoln had in his pockets on the night he was assassinated.  (You will be surprised.)  Or you can read about other "Amazing Americans" such as Buffalo Bill Cody and his "Wild West" show; the heroism of Harriet Tubman, who helped many slaves escape bondage; the music of jazz great Duke Ellington; or the inventions of Thomas Edison. (You will even be able to see his first motion picture!)  If you think break-dancing is a new invention, then visit "Join America at Play," where you'll see a film of an early break-dancer from 1898!  Ever hear of a "cloth sandwich"?  You'll know what I'm talking about when you read the stories in this section.   "Jump Back in Time" and find the settlers who landed on Plymouth Rock.  Or jump to a more recent age and read about be-bop, a type of music invented long before hip-hop.  Do you know what happened on the day you were born?  You can find out here.  http://www.americaslibrary.gov/about/welcome.html

Michigan Pasty (Meat Hand Pie)  When Cornish miners migrated to Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the 1800's, they brought with them their beloved national dish:  the pasty.  The Finnish miners that followed adopted these meat pies as their own (easily transportable for long subterranean days!), and the pasty became such a large part of the regional culture that there's an annual pasty festival in early July. Find recipe with beef, rutabaga, carrots, onions and potatoes steamed within the crimped, D-shaped dough pocket that's slit to allow just enough steam to escape at http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/michigan-pasty-meat-hand-pie.html

Finland is the world’s most literate nation, according to new research.  Home to Tove Jansson, the author of the much-loved Moomin books, and a widely praised education system, Finland topped a table of world literacy in a new study conducted by John Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.  The research looked at literacy achievement tests and also at what it called “literate behaviour characteristics”--everything from numbers of libraries and newspapers to years of schooling and computer availability in the countries.    Rather than measuring a country’s ability to read, the World’s Most Literate Nations says it ranks nations on their “literate behaviours and their supporting resources”. I t set out to look at data from 200 countries, drawing from sources ranging from Unesco to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), but only 61 made the final cut, “due to lack of relevant statistics”.  Population was also considered, to give per capita ratios.  The Nordic countries dominated the top of the charts, with Finland in first place and Norway in second, and Iceland, Denmark and Sweden rounding out the top five.  Switzerland followed in sixth, with the US in seventh, Canada in 11th, France in 12th and the UK in 17th place.  Botswana was last, in 61st place, behind Indonesia in 60th and Thailand in 59th.  Miller said that “the factors we examined present a complex and nuanced portrait of a nation’s cultural vitality”, and that “what the rankings strongly suggest … is that these kinds of literate behaviours are critical to the success of individuals and nations in the knowledge-based economics that define our global future”.  Alison Flood   http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/mar/11/finland-ranked-worlds-most-literate-nation

Like many countries, the U.S. provides a means of entry for wealthy people who will pump money into its economy.  This is known as the employment fifth preference—or “EB-5”—immigrant visa, which allows people to obtain permanent residence immediately upon entry to the United States.  However, applicants for a U.S. green card based on investment must not only invest between $500,000 and $1 million in a U.S. business, they must take an active role in that business (though they don’t need to control it).  Green cards for investors are limited in number, to 10,000 per year, and green cards for investors from any one country are limited as well.  If more than 10,000 people apply in a year, or a large amount of people from your country apply that year, you might be placed on a waiting list based on your “priority date” (the day you filed the first portion of your application).  Most people don’t have to worry about being put on a waiting list:  Until recently, the 10,000 limit had never been reached.  In the last several years, however, demand for EB-5 visas from China has created a waiting list for Chinese investors.  People from other countries currently (as of 2015) do not have to wait.  Richard Link  http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/eb-5-investor-who-qualifies.html  See also March 15, 2016 article by Ron Nixon at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/us/politics/program-that-lets-foreigners-write-a-check-and-get-a-visa-draws-scrutiny.html

President Obama will announce his choice for a seat on the Supreme Court on March 16, 2016 at 8 a.m. Pacific time.  “As president, it is both my constitutional duty to nominate a justice and one of the most important decisions that I -- or any president -- will make,” Obama wrote.  “I’m confident you’ll share my conviction that this American is not only eminently qualified to be a Supreme Court justice, but deserves a fair hearing, and an up-or-down vote," he added, nodding to the fierce fight with senators that lies ahead.  In recent days, the president had narrowed his field of potential choices to three: Sri Srinivasan and Merrick Garland, judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Paul Watford, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.  Michael A. Memoli  http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-supreme-court-nominee-20160316-story.html

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1442  March 16, 2016   On this date in 1870, the first version of the overture fantasy Romeo and Juliet by Tchaikovsky received its première performance.  On this date in 1995, Mississippi formally ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery.  The Thirteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1865.  Word of the Day  Scotch mist noun (Britain) A cold and penetrating mist, verging on rain. (Britain, dialect, chiefly Lancashire and Yorkshire, idiomatic)  Something that is hard to find or does not exist.  A drink of Scotch whisky served with ice and lemon peel. (botany)  The perennial flowering plant Galium sylvaticum.