Tommy Contest Page 5
of the River Region
May 7, 2019 Published by PTK Corp.
The Neatest Little Paper Ever Read® To place an Ad, call: (334) 452-9296 TIDBITS® Gets A
BLOOD TRANSFUSION by Janet Spencer
The average human has about 5 quarts of blood, and 60,000 miles of blood vessels. A single blood cell completes a circuit of the circulatory system in about 30 seconds. Come along with Tidbits as we get a blood transfusion! TO THE RESCUE • For centuries, doctors tried to heal illnesses through blood-letting, feeling that sickness was caused by imbalance of the body’s fluids and that draining blood would help. Blood-letting didn’t fall out of favor until Louis Pasteur, Joseph Lister, and Robert Koch proved that disease comes from microbes. Now physicians began studying what happened when you added blood to a sick or injured person instead of subtracting it. • In the early 1800s, London obstetrician James Bundell worried about the number of women who died of blood loss after giving birth. He experimented with blood transfusions and made several discoveries: First, that only human blood should be transfused into other humans, and not animal blood; second, that blood transfusions did not cure any illness aside from blood loss; third, that transfusing blood into someone who was dead would not revive them. However, Blundell never understood why some transfusions were successful and others a failure, often ending in death. • Austrian pathologist Karl Landsteiner researched why blood transfusions would sometimes kill the recipient, and other times would save them. In 1901 he took blood samples from various people and added them to blood samples drawn from other people. Sometimes the red cells clumped (Continued next page)
Vol 8 Issue 19 shannon@riverregiontidbits.com
Page 2
Tidbits® of the River Region (Front page continued)
1. Is the book of Galatians in the Old or New Testament or neither? 2. From Joshua 6, on the seventh day, how many times did the men of war march around Jericho? 1, 3, 5, 7 3. In His first recorded miracle, what did Jesus turn into wine? Goat’s milk, Grape juice, Fig cider, Water 4. From 1 Chronicles, what king was buried with his sons under an oak tree? Neco, Jehoash, Saul, Rezin 5. What “vow” that appears in Numbers 6:1-21 has five features? Roman, Nazarite, Corban, Anathema 6. In the story of creation, what did God call the darkness? Blackness, Night, Fourscore, Trinity “Test Your Bible Knowledge,” a new book with 1,206 multiple-choice questions by columnist Wilson Casey, is now available in stores and online. (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
up, sometimes they burst, and sometimes nothing happened. Landsteiner first thought that some blood was “sick” and other blood was “healthy” but further research showed that there were different types of blood, which he labeled type A, type B, and type C. He then studied the different blood types, laying the groundwork for much that was to come. • A red blood cell is shaped like a flattened donut without the hole. A protein inside the red blood cell called hemoglobin collects oxygen in the lungs, delivers it to the body’s cells, and then carries carbon dioxide away, to be exhaled through the lungs. But there are different types of red blood cells, determined by different types of proteins that adhere to the outer surface of the flattened donut, like different types of sprinkles: Type A blood has a certain kind of proteins that stick to the outside of the red blood cells, and Type B blood has a different kind of proteins sticking to the cells. If a person with Type A blood receives Type B blood in a transfusion, or vice-versa, it triggers an immune response. • Landsteiner thought Type C blood had a third kind of protein sticking to the red blood cells, but later found it has no proteins sticking to it at all—it’s a flattened donut without any sprinkles. Then he found a fourth kind of blood, which had both Type A protein and Type B protein adhering to it. He called this Type AB blood. Landsteiner realized he needed to re-name his Type C blood in order to indicate that this type of blood has no proteins sticking to it at all. He re-named it Type O. • Since Type O blood has no proteins, it can be given to people of all blood types without triggering an immune response, since it’s the proteins that act as the allergen. Type O blood is called the “universal donor.” People with Type AB blood do not suffer ill effects when they receive Type A blood, or Type B blood, or Type O blood, and they are known as “universal receivers.” • Landsteiner was studying the blood of rhesus monkeys when he found that some of them had another type of protein adhering to their red blood cells, while others did not. He then found that humans also either did, or did not, have that identical protein. He called this new protein “the Rh factor” after “rhesus.” • People who are Rh positive cannot receive blood from donors who have Rh negative blood, and the other way around as well. In fact, women who were Rh negative often had trouble when they were pregnant with Rh positive babies until it was discovered that an injection of a blood product called Rh immune globulin would prevent problems. The discovery of the Rh factor brought the number of blood types to eight. • The most common blood type in humans is O-positive (37.4%) and the rarest blood type is ABnegative (0.6%). • Landsteiner also discovered that he could find out a person’s blood type from a single drop of dried blood, laying the groundwork for forensic science. Later it was found that blood types are inherited from parents in predictable patterns, leading to the ability to find out who the father of a child was likely to be. Landsteiner won the Nobel Prize for his work. • Dr. Reuben Ottenberg at Mount Sinai Hospital discovered how to easily cross match a patient’s (Continued next page)
“Be known before you’re needed” Advertise with Tidbits (334) 452-9296 (Page 2 continued)
blood type to the blood type of the blood donor. Blood typing became common in the 1920s. • Why are there four different blood types? It’s because of genetic mutation and evolution. Type A blood is the most ancient, and all humanoids had Type A blood as the species began to evolve. Around 3.5 million years ago, Type B blood was a genetic mutation, followed a million years later by Type O. The reason these mutations flourished and were passed down through successive generations has to do with disease resistance. • Cells infected with malaria don’t stick well to Type O red blood cells, so people who have Type O blood are less affected by malaria and have better odds of surviving in order to pass on their blood type to their children. Similarly, people with Type AB blood are more resistant to cholera. Gradually entire populations where cholera was common began to have largely Type AB blood, while people who lived in malaria-prone areas had mainly Type O blood. FURTHER ADVANCES • The advent of World War II prompted the invention of blood banks. Doctors in Russia pioneered the practice of shipping stored blood to the battle front so that blood would be taken to the wounded soldier instead of the wounded soldier being taken to the hospital in order to receive blood. • Plasma is the amber liquid component of blood that transports red blood cells. Plasma can be easily freeze-dried, shipped long distances, stored for long periods at room temperature, and reconstituted with sterile water. Plasma can be transfused into any human regardless of their blood type. Red blood cells must be handled gently and kept either refrigerated or frozen. Therefore plasma is commonly used for transfusions involving cases of trauma, hemophilia, and burns, while whole blood is transfused only in cases of excessive blood loss.
Page 3
Page 4
Tidbits® of the River Region
REMARKABLE PEOPLE:
CHARLES PONZI • In 1906, the Universal Postal Union invented the International Reply Coupon, or IRC. This allowed someone in one country to pay for return postage from a different country, regardless of the difference in prices in postage. If it cost 3 cents to send a first class letter in Italy, but the U.S. charged 5 cents to return an identical letter to Italy, the IRC covered the cost. • In 1919, Charles Ponzi decided this would be a good way to turn a profit: buy IRCs low, sell high. Explaining this to friends, he received small investments, and doubled those investments in 90 days. Word spread. • In 1920, Ponzi set up his own company and sold stock. Within the first months, 18 people invested $1800 and he paid them their dividends the following month, without mentioning that they were being paid from the monies of the next group of investors. A frenzy began. In March of 1920, his investments had risen to $25,000. By the end of July, he was taking in over a million dollars a day, worth over $12.5 million in today’s dollars. He deposited the money in Hanover Trust Bank of Boston, and then bought controlling interest in the bank. People mortgaged their homes in order to invest in his company. • During all of this, Charles Ponzi still had not figured out a way to actually monetize the International Reply Coupons in order to turn a profit. He continued to pay the old investors out of the funds coming in from the new investors. Meanwhile he bought himself mansions, cars, and other luxuries of the high life. Then he bought a pasta company and a wine company, hoping to turn enough of a profit to get him out of the hole he was digging for himself. • When a Boston financial writer wrote an article stating that Ponzi’s scheme was (Continued next page)
Outstanding Warrants:
Blaylock, Charles DOB: 04/08/1963 White/Male 5’10” 210 lbs Hair: Gray Eyes: Blue
Wanted for: Theft of Property 2nd
by Samantha Weaver * It was American actress, screenwriter and notorious sex symbol Mae West who made the following sage observation: “You only live once. But if you do it right, once is enough.” * The world’s highest tides are found in the Bay of Fundy, located in Nova Scotia, Canada. There, the difference between high and low tides can be as much as 50 feet. * If you’re a blood donor, you’re part of a significant minority. In the United States, less than 5 percent of the population donates blood every year. * The first sound recording ever made was created in 1877 by Thomas Edison. It was a musical selection: “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” * Cars weren’t allowed on the island of Bermuda until 1948. * What’s in a name? Well, a great deal, it would seem -- at least according to those trying to make it big in Hollywood. Joan Crawford was born Lucille La Sueur, Roy Rogers was Leonard Slye and Dean Martin was Dino Crocetti. Issur Danielovitch (wisely) changed his name to Kirk Douglas, and Archibald Leach decided he preferred to become famous as Cary Grant. * Are you a cacographer? You may not be, but if you spend any time at all online you’ve certainly run across a few. A cacographer is someone who can’t quite grasp the rules of spelling. * Nobel Prize-winning Russian author Boris Pasternak wrote the novel “Doctor Zhivago” (later famously adapted to film). When the book was first published in 1957, in Italy, it earned great acclaim. However, it was decades before Pasternak’s countrymen could legally read it -- the book wasn’t allowed to be published in the Soviet Union until 1988. *** Thought for the Day: “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.” -Ð Oscar Wilde (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
“Be known before you’re needed” Advertise with Tidbits (334) 452-9296
Page 5
(Page 4 continued)
impossible, Ponzi sued for libel and won a $500,000 settlement, squashing further attempts to expose him. When another newspaper wrote a favorable article about Ponzi’s ability to guarantee a 50% return on investment after only 45 days, the article appeared next to a local bank’s ad promising a 5% return annually. Crowds of people thronged to Ponzi’s office to invest. • Still, suspicious investigative reporters and state officials started looking into the matter. One of those investigators revealed that Ponzi was not investing his own money in his own company. Somebody else calculated that in order to pay off all of his investors, Ponzi would have to monetize approximately 160 million IRCs, when there were only 27,000 in circulation. The District Attorney ordered an audit. A newspaper article revealed that whereas Ponzi claimed he was $7 in the black, he was actually $7 million in the red. • There was a run on Ponzi’s company. The Bank Commissioner immediately seized the Hanover Trust Bank, squashing Ponzi’s lastditch efforts to cover all his debt using bank funds. Ponzi was ruined. He surrendered to federal authorities. • Five other banks were ruined because of Ponzi’s scheme. Investors received about 30 cents on the dollar. All in all, about $20 million was lost, worth over $225 million today. Charles Ponzi spent less than four years in prison on federal charges, after which he was re-tried on state charges and spent another 7 years behind bars. He was deported upon his release in 1934, and died in poverty in Brazil in 1949 at the age of 66. Today any such impossible financial scheme is called a Ponzi scheme.
By Chris Richcreek
1. In 2017, Houston’s George Springer became the third person to hit five home runs in a World Series. Name either of the first two to do it. 2. Which of the following four players hit the most home runs while in a Cincinnati Reds uniform: Adam Dunn, George Foster, Ken Griffey Jr. or Tony Perez? 3. Who was the last rookie running back before Jordan Howard in 2017 to represent the Chicago Bears in a Pro Bowl? 4. Which men’s basketball team was the last before Villanova in 2018 to win all six of its NCAA Tournament games by double digits? 5. In 2019, Washington’s Braden Holtby became the second-fastest goaltender to reach 250 victories (409 games). Who was faster? 6. Through 2019, how many consecutive years has a Hendrick Motorsports driver won the pole for the Daytona 500? 7. How many times have Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal combined to finish in the top three in the year-end ATP tennis rankings? (c) 2019 King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Donald Leavell Please call 334-452-9296 within 7 days of this issue to claim your prize!
Tommy Count ______
This week’s winner receives a
$25 Dollar Gift Certificate from
Farmers Market Cafe Register to win by sending an email to entertommycontest@gmail.com or USPS to PTK Corp., PO Box 264, Wetumpka, AL 36092 with the following information: 1) Your name (first and last), and, 2) the number of times you find Tommy in the ads in the paper. From the correct entries a winner will be selected. You must be 18 years of age to qualify. The gift certificates will range in value from $25 to $100 each week. Entries must be received by midnight each Friday evening. Last Week’s Ads where Tommy was hiding: 1. 1st Heritage Credit, p.6
Page 6
TidbitsÂŽ of the River Region
Credit Cards Now Accepted
“Be known before you’re needed” Advertise with Tidbits (334) 452-9296
Page 7
AMBER
BIBLE TRIVIA ANSWERS:
1) New; 2) 7; 3) Water; 4) Saul; 5) Nazarite; 6) Night
1. Reggie Jackson (1977) and Chase Utley (2009). 2. Perez, with 287 homers, tops Dunn (270), Foster (244) and Griffey Jr. (210). 3. Gale Sayers, in 1965. 4. North Carolina, in 2009. 5. Ken Dryden did it in 381 games. 6. Five consecutive years. 7. Seven times.
• When certain species of trees are damaged, they extrude a sticky yellow sap called resin to protect and seal the wound. When exposed to wind and rain, most resin breaks down over time, flaking off the tree and turning to dust. But if that resin is subjected to the right conditions such as being covered by water and buried by sediments in a bog or lagoon, it becomes fossilized over time. Fossilized resin is called amber. • Amber is a gem material, but it is not a gemstone. Gemstones are minerals; other items such as coral and pearls are gem materials. • Although amber is found all over the world, the largest concentrations of amber are found in the Baltic regions, formed by the ancient Palaeogene and Cretaceous forests that stood in what is now Northern Europe 40 to 90 million years ago. However, amber has been found dating back to 320 million years. • Around 500 B.C. a Greek philosopher found that when amber is rubbed vigorously with a cloth, it will cause a spark of static electricity, and the static electricity would also attract small items such as feathers, hairs, and dust. The Greek word for amber is “elektron,” possibly from a Phoenician word meaning “shining light,” and this yielded the words electron, electric, and electricity. • The words “amber” and “ambergris” have the same root. “Ambergris” means “grey amber” and is the waxy whale secretion used in the manufacture of perfumes. Amber and ambergris are both typically found washed up on the shore of the sea. • Ancient Egyptians tombs dating back to 3200 B.C. have contained amber jewelry, showing that trade routes existed to the Baltic regions some 1500 miles away. • Amber is famous for the insects, small creatures, and tiny plants that are found fossilized inside it. More than half of the inclusions found trapped inside pieces of amber are different species of long-extinct flies. Other things discovered in amber include frogs, lizards, geckos, as well as snake skins, bird feathers, and hairs from various creatures that brushed against the sticky sap. Over a thousand extinct species of insects have been identified as a result of amber. One discovery was a fossilized feather from a theropod dinosaur. • Although the book and film “Jurassic Park” depicted the reconstruction of dinosaurs from fossilized dinosaur DNA, it would be impossible to accomplish because DNA breaks down over time, with a normal half-life of 521 years. Sometimes DNA can last longer than that under certain conditions depending on temperatures, oxygenation rate, and other environmental factors. • Although most amber comes in a variety of yellowish hues, it can also be found in all colors of the rainbow depending on what materials have been fossilized along with the resin. • The largest piece of amber ever found was discovered in Indonesia in 2017. Weighing in at 111 lbs (50 kg) it’s estimated to be about 20 million years old. • It’s easy to make fake amber out of plastics. To tell real amber from imitation amber, examine the material. Real amber will be loaded with blemishes and occlusions. Add about 7 teaspoons of salt to a cup of water; real amber floats while most fakes will sink. Real amber will pick up a static charge if rubbed vigorously but fake amber will not.
* On May 10, 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes has the White House’s first telephone installed, although he rarely received phone calls. In fact, the Treasury Department possessed the only other direct phone line to the White House at that time. The White House phone number was “1.” * On May 9, 1926, according to their claims, American polar explorer Richard E. Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett fly over the North Pole in a triple-engine Fokker monoplane. However, the discovery in 1996 of Byrd’s diary suggests they may have turned back short of the pole because of an oil leak. * On May 12, 1949, an early crisis of the Cold War comes to an end when the Soviet Union lifts its 11-month blockade of West Berlin. The blockade had been broken by a massive U.S.British airlift of supplies to West Berlin’s 2 million citizens. * On May 6, 1954, in Oxford, England, 25-year-old medical student Roger Bannister cracks track and field’s most notorious barrier: the four-minute mile. Bannister won the mile race with a time of 3:59.4. * On May 8, 1973, in South Dakota, armed members of the American Indian Movement surrender to federal authorities, ending their 71-day siege of Wounded Knee, site of the infamous massacre of 300 Sioux by the U.S. 7th Cavalry in 1890. * On May 11, 1988, Kim Philby, a former British intelligence officer and double agent for the Soviet Union, dies in Moscow. Philby was perhaps the most famous of a group of British government officials who spied for Russia from the 1930s to the 1950s. * On May 7, 1994, Norway’s most famous painting, “The Scream” by Edvard Munch, is recovered almost three months after it was stolen from a museum in Oslo. It was recovered undamaged from a hotel about 40 miles away. (c) 2019 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Page 8
Create Mosaic Art Using Eggshells The day after Easter, like the days following many anticipated holidays or celebrations, feels anticlimactic. You might spot a lone jellybean the kids passed by during their frenzied Easter-egg hunt Sunday morning. The shredded paper grass from their Easter baskets reappears in nooks and crannies all over the house, and then there are those decorated hardboiled eggs in the refrigerator still waiting to be eaten. If “Easter egg salad” sandwiches are on your menu this week, save the colorful shells for a craft your older school-age kids will enjoy. Here’s how to make beautiful mosaic art from dyed eggshells: On a newspaper-covered table, sort eggshells by color. Place in zipper-style plastic bags and let your kids smash the shells lightly with their fists. Remove from bags and set in piles. Also, mix some white household glue with a few drops of water in a small bowl. Simple Collage On a piece of heavy construction paper, paint a design with a brush dipped in the glue mixture. Sprinkle the shells on the glue design and press lightly. Your kids may want to add other art materials to the project, such as cutout felt, feathers, uncooked macaroni, sequins and glitter. If you have been on a spring nature walk, add collected small, lightweight “finds,” such as tiny, smooth pebbles, pieces of twigs or pods. Add more glue solution when needed. Set the picture aside to dry before displaying. Colorful Picture Draw a picture with a marker or pencil on a piece of cardboard. The plain side of cardboard from an empty cereal box is perfect. You may want to draw a fish, a bird, geometric shape or a team logo. Glue dark yarn around the outline of the drawing, if you wish. Let dry. Brush glue in the empty spaces. Press bits of colored eggshells, one at a time, on the glue to fill in the spaces. You also might want to add lentils, seeds or small dry beans in different colors. If the drawing is large, your child may wish to work on it in stages and come back to a different section at a later time. Set the completed mosaic aside to dry before displaying on a plate rack. *** Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday. com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.” (c) 2019 Donna Erickson Distributed by King Features Synd.
Tidbits® of the River Region
1. What San Francisco rock band released “With Your Love,” and when? 2. Who released “I’m in Love” in 1981? 3. This former Drifter was the first artist to release “So Much Love.” 4. What is the only instrumental on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs? 5. Name the song that contains this lyric: “I’d be happy just to hear your voice, Saying this is for the girl who didn’t sign her name, Yes, she needs a dedication just the same.” Answers 1. Jefferson Starship, in 1976. Two of the songwriters had been members of the original Jefferson Airplane. 2. Evelyn “Champagne” King. The song went to the top of both dance and soul charts. 3. Ben E. King, in 1966. The song was covered by Dusty Springfield and Blood, Sweat & Tears, but it was George Nooks who turned it into reggae. 4. “Green Onions,” by Booker T. & the M.G.’s in 1962. (If you own the 45, try playing it at 33 rpm.) 5. “Pilot of the Airwaves,” by English singer Charlie Dore in 1979. A sad song ... the singer says her only friend is the DJ to whom she is making song requests in the middle of the night. (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.