Time Savers

What time is it?

February 9, 1942: The US puts Daylight Saving Time into effect. The purpose behind changing the clocks is to make more efficient use of the daylight hours. We move the hour of sunshine from morning to evening by moving the clocks ahead.

The advantages are twofold. The first one is obvious. It saves energy because less electricity is used in the evenings when most people are home. Approximately 25% of electricity use is for lighting and running small appliances and since it is light later into the evening, fewer lights are lit. The second advantage? There are fewer traffic accidents because more people are driving while it is still light.

The disadvantages are having to set your clocks twice a year. Getting used to the time change can also take a few days. The other major problem occurs when there is not a uniform move to DST by the entire world or even the country.

Benjamin Franklin was the first to propose moving the clocks to adjust to a more economical use of the daylight hours in 1784. It did not catch on. In 1907 a pamphlet entitled “Waste of Daylight” written by William Willett was published. Europe moved to Summer Time, another name for Daylight Saving Time in the 1910s, at which time it was optional in the US. In 1918, several time zones were established for the US. During the Second World War, the time was changed for conservation and called War Time. Arizona and Hawaii do not observe the time change even now.

“The only thing a golfer needs is more daylight.” – Ben Hogan

“I don’t mind going back to daylight saving time. With inflation, the hour will be the only thing I’ve saved all year.” – Victor Borge

“Time sneaks up on you like a windshield on a bug.” – unknown

“I once made love for an hour and fifteen minutes, but it was the night the clocks are set ahead.” – Garry Shandling

Also on this day, in 1964 The Ed Sullivan Show brought The Beatles to the US.

Orangeburg, South Carolina

Protesters outside the bowling alley

February 8, 1968: Tensions run high on a college campus. On the fourth night of student demonstrations, authorities fired on the unarmed student body, killing three and wounding 27 during the melee. After the shooting stopped, police went on to injure more of the people in the crowd. One woman miscarried as a result of the beating she received. The numbers are sometimes, therefore, listed as four dead and 31 injured.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young have a song entitled Ohio with lyrics saying “Four dead in Ohio” but there were three killed in South Carolina. This struggle took place before the Kent State shooting and the Jackson State killings. The Orangeburg students were putting on a civil rights demonstration revolving around the town’s only bowling alley. The students from SC State and nearby Claflin University were mostly African-American and the bowling alley wasn’t open to them.

There were about 200 protesters gathered, mostly students. These young people were peacefully protesting against the segregation. Police claimed they were under attack by small arms fire but protestors claim they were unarmed. The police fired into the crowd and they quickly dispersed, running for cover. Most of the injuries were people who were shot in the back. Henry Smith, Samuel Hammond (both college students) and Delano Middleton (17-year-old high school student) were killed. Then governor, Robert McNair blamed the night’s event on Black Power agitators, but none were found to be present.

There were no songs about these young men. The nine officers were charged with using excessive force at a campus protest, the first federal trial of this type. All nine were acquitted. Cleveland Sellers was sentenced to jail for seven months for inciting a riot. He was from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Their tragedy was overshadowed by the other horrific events of the year – the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy as well as the rioting at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

“It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.” – Voltaire

“If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.” – Louis D. Brandeis

“Civil Rights opened the windows. When you open the windows, it does not mean that everybody will get through. We must create our own opportunities.” – Mary Frances Berry

“As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever.” – Clarence Darrow

Also on this day, in 1918 the Stars & Stripes began to publish once again.

Pluto v. Neptune

Hubble computer generated map of Pluto, false color and among the highest resolutions possible at the time

February 7, 1979:  Neptune becomes the furthest planet from the sun as Pluto moves inside Neptune’s orbit for the first time since either planet was known to science. Since the writing of this article, Pluto has been downgraded and is no longer considered a planet. So Neptune is always the furthest planet from the sun.

Pluto was the ninth and smallest of the planets of the solar system. Today it is called a dwarf planet and is the second-largest entity so designated in the solar system. Eris is about 27% larger than Pluto and was discovered in January 2005. Eris is three times farther out from the sun than Pluto. Pluto is about 18% of Earth’s size, measuring about 1423 miles. Pluto has its own moon, Charon, which is about half the size of the planet and two smaller moons were discovered in 2005.

Pluto has an eccentric orbit that has caused some scientists to claim that it is not a true planet. The small planet is the largest body in the Kuiper belt. This belt is similar to the asteroid belt found between Mars and Jupiter. Unlike that smaller area, the Kuiper region is much larger, about 20 times wider with about 20-200 times more mass. This second belt of debris was also left over from the solar system’s formation and the bodies are mostly rock and metal although there are some frozen volatiles as well. This belt is not only home to Pluto, but two other bodies designated as dwarf planet, Haumea and Makemake.

Pluto’s orbit is not on the same plane as the rest of the Solar system, but inclined by more than 17º as well as being eccentric by ~0.25, meaning it’s oval pattern is different as well. This means that the two planets’ paths don’t actually cross in the three dimensions. Pluto again became the farthest former planet on February 11, 1999.

“It used to be that Pluto was a misfit. Now it turns out that Earth is the misfit. Most planets in the solar system look like Pluto, and not like the terrestrial planets.” – Alan Stern

“It may very well be that solar systems like our own are probably not rare in the galaxy. They may actually be a very common case.” – Alan Boss

“This comet formed at very edge of the solar system … out by Pluto … and spent all its lifetime out there until recently it came into the inner part of the solar system, where we could sample it.” – Don Brownlee

“The solar system is not a stable and quiet place.” – Jack Lissauer

Also on this day, in 1971 the women of Switzerland were finally given the vote.

Tobacco Road

Smoking ban humor

February 6, 1987:  A no smoking ban in federal buildings throughout the US is put into effect. However, both houses of Congress are still smoking sections.  One of the world’s first smoking bans came in 1575 when tobacco use was banned in any church in Mexico or any Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. The Pope followed the Mexican ecclesiastical council and in 1590 Pope Urban VII threatened to excommunicate any who brought the weed (in any form) even close to a church. Citywide bans in Europe followed suit and some major cities banned the use of the product throughout their jurisdiction.

By 1000 BC, tobacco – native only to the Americas – was already in use, being smoked or chewed. In 1493, one of Christopher Columbus’ crew was the first European to try the evil weed. One of the crewmen, Rodrigo de Jerez, brought this early version of a Cuban cigar to Spain and was immediately imprisoned for three years after lighting up in public.

Today, the health issues of smoking are paramount. Passive smoking can cause all the same health issues as smoking itself. Non-smokers who live with smokers have a 20-30% greater risk of lung cancer when compared against non-smokers who live with non-smokers. Those who work in smoky environment have and increased risk measured at 16-19%. Smoking is a major risk factor for many diseases affecting the heart and lungs. It potentiates one’s inherent risks, making it easier for the disease to manifest.

Smoking is banned by various degrees in most first world and some third world countries. The US has no federally established program. However, smoking here as decreased by half over the last 40 years or so. In 1965 42% of the adult population in America smoked and by 2006 that number was only 20.8%. Each state and many communities are able to enact and enforce smoking rules as they see fit. One side effect of the smoking bans when carried to all venues, is the number of bars filing for bankruptcy as it seems drinking and smoking are done in concert.

“If we see you smoking we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action.” – Douglas Adams

“There are some circles in America where it seems to be more socially acceptable to carry a hand-gun than a packet of cigarettes.” – Katharine Whitehorn

“Thank heaven, I have given up smoking again!… God! I feel fit. Homicidal, but fit. A different man. Irritable, moody, depressed, rude, nervy, perhaps; but the lungs are fine.” – A.P. Herbert

“Remember, if you smoke after sex you’re doing it too fast.” – Woody Allen

Also on this day, in 1987 Ronald Reagan became America’s oldest president.

Articles of Confederation

Page I of the Articles of Confederation

February 5, 1778: South Carolina becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. The articles, which combined the thirteen colonies of the American Revolution into a loose confederation, were adopted by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777 after sixteen months of debate. They were ratified three years later.

The push for the colonies to join together in increased cooperation began in the 1750s during the French and Indian War. The colonists wished to have a say in the governance and were rebuffed by England and the British Government. When the Revolutionary War began, the insurrectionists in the colonies were labeled by the monarchy as traitors and the Mother Country tried to dissuade some states from joining in the struggle for independence. By forming a provisional government of their own, the colonies were setting themselves up as enemies of the British Empire.

Summaries of the articles: 1) established name as The United States of America; 2) apportioned rights and powers of states; 3) established US as a league of states united for a common purpose; 4) established freedom of movement between states and extradition procedures; 5) allocated one vote per state to Congress of the Confederation; 6) limited powers of states in foreign relations; 7) resolved issues of raising armies for common good; developed funding of the US by state legislatures; 9) listed rights of central government; 10) Committee of States defined; 11) required nine states approval for admittance of a new state; 12) Confederation accepted war debts; and 13) stated articles were perpetual.

These articles were replaced by the United States Constitution in 1788. They were important for providing stability during the Revolutionary War. They also gave experience to the Founding Fathers for writing the Constitution. The Articles provided a valuable lesson in self-governance and tempered the fears of many states regarding a powerful central government.

“The fact, in short, is that freedom, to be meaningful in an organized society must consist of an amalgam of hierarchy of freedoms and restraints.” – Samuel Hendel

“It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.” – Dick Cheney

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” – Thomas Paine

“We have enjoyed so much freedom for so long that we are perhaps in danger of forgetting how much blood it cost to establish the Bill of Rights.” – Felix Frankfurter

Also on this day, in 1631 Roger Williams landed in Boston.

20,000 Leagues

USS Nautilus during her initial sea trials, January 20, 1955.

February 4, 1957: The first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus, logs her 60,000^th nautical mile. This matches the fictional Nautilus’s endurance in Jules Verne’s classic science fiction novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The USS Nautilus was launched on January 21, 1954 from the Thames River. She was commissioned on September 30, 1954.

The Nautilus was 320 feet long and 28 feet at the beam with a draft of 26 feet. She was crewed by 13 officers and 92 men and was the first sub to travel submerged under the North Pole. Operation Sunshine took the ship and crew, then commanded by William R Anderson, under the Pole. On August 3, 1958 at 11:15 pm, she became the first watercraft to reach the geographic North Pole. Navigation under the ice cap was difficult due to magnetic interferences from the magnetic pole. Ice extended as much as 60 feet below sea level.

Prior to nuclear power, most submarines were submerged only at intervals and did most of their traveling on top of the water like ships. The Nautilus spent most of her career in the Atlantic. The ship conducted tests to improve the design of submarines. She was involved in NATO exercises. In 1962, the ship was part of the navel quarantine of Cuba. She underwent two separate overhauls during her career, the first in 1959 and again in 1966.

During the spring of 1966 the USS Nautilus logged her 300,000^th mile. In the spring of 1979 she left Groton, Connecticut on her final voyage and arrived at mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California on May 26, 1979, her last day underway. She was decommissioned on March 3, 1980 and was designated a National Historic Landmark on May 20, 1982.

“I must confess that my imagination refuses to see any sort of submarine doing anything but suffocating its crew and floundering at sea.” – H. G. Wells

“Some ships are designed to sink… others require our assistance.” – Nathan Zelk

“Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real” – Jules Verne

“The sea is as near as we come to another world.” – Anne Stevenson

Also on this day, in 1932, the third Winter Olympics began at Lake Placid, New York.

Constitutionally Taxing

A selection of tax forms

February 3, 1913: The Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is ratified. This amendment allows for a federal income tax. There had been growing civil unrest due to the disparity in wealth distribution. Joseph W. Bailey [D – Texas] introduced a proposal to “soak the rich” as a goad to Republicans. Instead the proposal passed the Senate [Upper House] with a vote of 77-0 and the House of Representatives [Lower House] with a vote of 318-14.

In 1894, the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act attempted to impose a 2% federal tax on incomes over $3,000 but was seen as “communistic” and was challenged in federal court. It was declared to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1895. Moving forward to 1913, taxation started at 1% of incomes of $3,000 and topped out at 7% for the higher incomes. The top US tax rate ever incurred was during WWI with a rate of 77% for the wealthiest Americans.

Taxes create revenue needed to fund public expenditures. Infrastructure (roads, legal tender), peacekeeping (police and armies), public works (power generators), and social engineering (education and benevolent benefits). Taxes can be passed on individual persons or on business entities. There are many different types of taxes. Capital gains tax, corporate tax (tax on profits which help increase the price of the product), environment affecting tax (also called an ecotax), inheritance tax (paying taxes on what your ancestors already paid taxes on), property tax, sales tax, tariffs, value added tax (VAT), and the ever-popular income tax.

Most people are not very fond of paying taxes. There has been dissent about this for quite some time. Colonial Americans even went so far as to start a Revolution over taxation. Libertarians state that it is against the Ninth Amendment which allows for each to “enjoy all the fruits of one’s own labor.” In the twenty-first century, Denmark has the “highest tax” distinction with a rate of 59% and the Netherlands and Norway each take more than half of high incomes for taxes.

“The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.” – Sixteenth Amendment

“Taxation with representation ain’t so hot either.” – Gerald Barzan

“Did you ever notice that when you put the words “The” and “IRS” together, it spells “THEIRS?” – unknown

“The taxpayer – that’s someone who works for the federal government but doesn’t have to take the civil service examination.” – Ronald Reagan

Also on this day, in 1690 Massachusetts issued the first paper currency in the colonies.

Punxsutawney Phil

Punxsutawney Phil

February 2, 1887: The first Groundhog Day is celebrated in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. It is a traditional festival in both the US and Canada and is celebrated yearly on this date. According to weather lore, if a groundhog, a.k.a. woodchuck, looks out of his burrow and fails to see his shadow, winter will soon end. If, however, he sees his shadow, it will frighten him back into his hole, foreshadowing another six weeks of winter. Punxsutawney Phil’s burrow is located on Gobbler’s Knob.

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has created a place for both children and adults to learn about weather. The Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center has exhibits about all sorts of weather conditions. They are open from 10 am to 4 pm daily, but closed on Wednesday and Sunday. They have recently opened a new exhibit called the Weather Wizard. One side of the interactive exhibit is geared toward children while the other side is geared to those a bit older. It is the 21^st exhibit installed at the Center since 2007.The first exhibits were a weather balloon in the lobby and Phil’s Burrow – giving a detailed history of Groundhog’s Day.

European Celts of the fifth century believed that some animals had supernatural powers. The timing of the day for this festival was six weeks before the onset of spring. Therefore, if the animal saw his shadow, there would be six more weeks of winter and if he didn’t spring would come in 42 days. There is some reason to believe Roman legions helped to spread the custom from the Celtic Islands to the Teutons of present day Germany. The name for this day in Europe was Candlemas Day.

A movie starring Bill Murray entitled Groundhog Day was released in 1993. The hero, Phil Connors, news show producer Rita (played by Andie MacDowell), and cameraman Larry (played by Chris Elliott) are trapped in Punxsutawney. A blizzard prevents their return to Pittsburgh. Phil must keep reliving Groundhog Day until he learns the lesson of the day and becomes a better and more selfless person.

“The groundhog is like most other prophets; it delivers its prediction and then disappears.” – Bill Vaughan

“The trouble with weather forecasting is that it’s right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it.” – Patrick Young

“This is pitiful. A thousand people freezing their butts off, waiting to worship a rat.” – Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis, from the movie Groundhog Day

“Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.” – Victor Hugo

Also on this day, in 1925 serum reached Nome, Alaska and inspired what would become the Iditarod.

Big Bangs

Mayon Volcano erupting

February 1, 1814: The Mayon Volcano on Luzon, Philippines erupts and kills more than 1,300 people. Lava flows and mudslides buried the town of Cagsawa, leaving only the bell tower of the town church above the devastation. Since 1616, when records start, the volcano has erupted 49 times and this date’s eruption has proved to be the most lethal so far. The last time the volcano erupted was on July 14, 2008. It was intensified by Typhoon Durian’s massive rains, causing an increase in the lahar, or mudflow/landslides following an eruption.

Scientists have researched volcanic activity covering the past 10,000 years and determined that there are 1,511 active volcanoes worldwide. Eruptions vary in many factors and are difficult to predict. There are approximately 35-40 volcanic eruptions per year. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed by lava and ash flows, mudslides, resultant tsunamis, and damaging fallout which causes disease and starvation.

Volcanoes appear as a result of plate tectonics. Pressure builds under ground and an eruption through a vent on the surface allows magma and molten rock, to flow out from the interior. Volcanoes can be classified as active, having erupted in historic times (500 years). Carbon dating is sometimes used as is oral histories in areas with a written record. Or they can be  Potentially Active, having erupted more than 10,000 years ago. Extinct volcanoes are those not expected to erupt again. Dormant volcanoes haven’t erupted in known times, but just might have a chance to once again become active.

Earth is not the only planet with volcanoes. The Moon, Venus, Mars, and several of the gas giants’ moons also erupt. The Moon has no currently active volcanoes, but it is thought the core is still partially molten. Venus appears to have once been highly active, but is probably far less so today. Mars has several extinct volcanoes and they are far larger than those on Earth. Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active object in our solar system. Not only are there fairly constant eruptions due to gravitational pull from the planet, but the lavas are the hottest known anywhere, with temperatures exceeding 1,800 Kelvin or 2700° F.

“He who sees the calamity of other people finds his own calamity light.” – Arabian Proverb

“Living things have been doing just that for a long, long time. Through every kind of disaster and setback and catastrophe. We are survivors.” – Robert Fulghum

“Volcano: A mountain with hiccups.” – unknown

“If your heart is a volcano, how shall you expect flowers to bloom?” – Kahlil Gibran

Also on this day, in 1920 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police began service.

Sticking to Business

Scotch tape dispenser

January 31, 1930: 3M markets Scotch tape. Richard Drew developed the handy adhesive tape for the 3M corporation. It is a trademarked brand name, but is used generically across America. The clear tape was an improvement over the previously made masking tape. Drew not only developed the adhesive for the new material, cellophane, but went on to invent Duct tape as well. He was the inventor of masking tape five years prior to this.

The term “Scotch” in the name is not at all flattering. While the adhesive was being tested, it came loose because it was not fully coated with the active ingredients. The remark was a pejorative aside reflecting the stereotype of Scotch stinginess. Not one to let the moment pass, 3M created Scotty McTape, a kilt wearing cartoon lad to be the product mascot from 1944 and continuing on for two decades. The Wallace tartan plaid was added to the brand in 1945.

3M makes over 275 different kinds of tape, eighty-eight of them bearing the Scotch label. The company not only made tape, but has a variety of other ventures including defense materials, fabric protection, and videotape. The term “Scotch” is also added as a prefix to other products made by the company, Scotchguard and Schotchlite.

Perhaps the best known and most used product from 3M is the Post-It note. The original square yellow readherable paper now comes in a variety of shapes and a panoply of colors and has been widely copied by other manufacturers. Art Fry used Spencer Silver’s adhesive to create the handy removable papers. Silver invented the adhesive in 1968 and it took five years before Fry figured out a better use than simply bookmarking pages in a hymnal. The 1977 product launch wasn’t immediately successful but by 1980 the product was sold nationally and the next year also introduced in Canada.

“We patched it up with chewing gum and Scotch tape.” – Norm Hewitt

“The entrepreneurial approach is not a sideline at 3M. It is the heart of our design for growth.” – Lewis Lehr

“One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop.” – G. Weilacher

“I was reading a book… ‘the history of glue’ – I couldn’t put it down.” – Tim Vine

Also on this day, in 1958 Explorer I was launched and the Van Allen Belts were found.