BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: THIS & THAT (BUT MOSTLY THIS)

SCIENCE

"Leave only three wasps alive in the whole of Europe 
and the air of Europe will still be more crowded with 
wasps than space is with stars."
                                James Jeans
**

HOW TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION OF A KEY
SO YOU CAN MAKE AN IMPRESSION OF IT

"Neat attention to detail: when The Jackal is making an impression of a key, he first rubs it against the area between his lower lip and chin, one of the more oily parts of the skin. This is because - when making a clay impression - the clay or the key needs to be lubricated, or the clay risks sticking to the metal and ruining the impression. The natural oils of the skin provides that lubrication here."

Trivia, iMBd  site – The Day of The Jackal

**

"Dressing a pool player in a tuxedo is like putting whipped cream on a hot dog."

                  Minnesota Fats
**

FROM FRED E. MAGEL OF RIVER FOREST

“My father was a restaurant buff and a builder. I served the late Duncan Hines grading key restaurants. Perhaps I’ve 
dined in more restaurants than anyone else in history.”

  “That is entirely possible, since Mr. Magel has eaten 
in more than Forty thousand restaurants and is listed as the champion restaurant Patron in the Guinness Book of Records.
 ‘I’m the only one in the book,’ he tells us, ‘who breaks
 his own record daily.”

-American History (October 1975)


**
THE OLDEST BREWERY IN THE WORLD



"On 14 February 2021, Egyptian and American archaeologists discovered what could be the oldest brewery in the world dating from around 3100 BCE at the reign of King Narmer. Dr. Matthew Adams, one of the leaders of the mission, stated that it was used to make beer for royal rituals."

                                                Wikipedia

**
HAPTIC TECHNOLOGY

"In electronics, “haptic technology” is also called “kinesthetic communication” or “3D touch,” and its goal is to give users 
more feedback when a task is accomplished — for example, when
a button on a glass screen is tapped, a haptic buzz gives an acknowledgment. For many, the first introduction to haptic technology was through gaming controls, which introduced haptic features to make players feel more deeply invested in the games. However, the technology also has lifesaving applications in aviation, where haptic signals delivered through controls can be used to warn pilots of potential dangers, and automotive design, where haptic alerts encourage drivers to monitor lane 
departure. "

https://www.wordgenius.com/words/haptic?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1765100155

**

CROSSWORDS CAUSED PANIC IN BRITAIN LEADING UP TO D-DAY



"WHILE CROSSWORDS THRIVED IN AMERICA DURING WORLD WAR II, SOME IN BRITAIN FEARED THAT THE GAMES WERE BEING USED TO CONVEY MESSAGES OF SECRET ESPIONAGE. IN PARTICULAR, THE PUZZLES IN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH CAUGHT THE EYE OF MI5, THE BRITISH INTELLIGENCE SERVICE. THEY FEARED THAT LEONARD DAWE, THE PAPER’S CROSSWORD EDITOR, WAS SECRETLY COMMUNICATING WITH NAZI GERMANY THROUGH CLUES AND ANSWERS IN HIS PUZZLES. THE FIRST CURIOUS INCIDENT OCCURRED ON AUGUST 18, 1942, WHEN THE CLUE “FRENCH PORT (6)” APPEARED IN THE PAPER’S CROSSWORD. THE ANSWER TURNED OUT TO BE “DIEPPE,” WHICH WAS THE SITE OF A FAILED RAID THAT THE ALLIED FORCES LAUNCHED A DAY LATER. 

THOUGH THIS WAS ULTIMATELY DEEMED A FLUKE, DAWE CAME UNDER FIRE YET AGAIN TWO YEARS LATER AS THE ALLIED INVASION OF NORMANDY APPROACHED. ON MAY 2, 1944, THE ANSWER “UTAH” APPEARED IN DAWE’S PUZZLE, WITH OTHER ANSWERS SUCH AS “OMAHA,” “OVERLORD,” AND “NEPTUNE” POPPING UP SHORTLY AFTER. ALL OF THESE TERMS WERE CODE NAMES RELATED TO THE IMPENDING D-DAY INVASION, WHICH SET OFF NEW ALARMS WITHIN MI5 THAT DAWE WAS GUILTY OF WHAT THEY BELIEVED ALL ALONG. IN THE END, DAWE WAS CLEARED OF INTENTIONAL WRONGDOING. INSTEAD, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT HE HAD BEEN ACCEPTING CROSSWORD SUGGESTIONS FROM HIS STUDENTS, WHO HUNG OUT AT A NEARBY SOLDIERS CAMP DURING RECESS AND OVERHEARD THE CODE WORDS."



HTTPS://HISTORYFACTS.COM/ARTS-CULTURE/ARTICLE/5-PUZZLING-FACTS-ABOUT-THE-HISTORY-OF-CROSSWORD-PUZZLES/


**
THE LONG WAY BACK


Heroes make extraordinary journeys,

Forsaking safety,

Going alone or with a partner

Through city gates,

Into wilderness, to discover

The widerness in themselves,

Gilgamesh 



& Ekidu, going without sleep,

Seeking to fulfill

The will of the gods. Moses

In the desert. Orpheus

In the underworld. No looking back.

Win, lose, or draw,

Bravery astonishes us.



Speaking of us, non-heroes,

What about journeys

We take, hearts stuttering

With fear, love, or grief.

So many twists & turns,

Too many false starts,

Backward, forward, 



The longest journey we take

Is our frequent  struggle 

to get back to even.



Louis Phillips