Tidbits of Grand Forks - December 31, 2020

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Of Grand Forks • East Grand Forks December 31, 2020

Published by: Wick Publications

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Issue # 1,200

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NAME THAT GAME

by Janet Spencer

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Come along with Tidbits as we learn about how our favorite games were invented!

A SWEET LITTLE GAME

• In 1948 a retired school teacher named Eleanor Abbott came down with polio. While she recovered in the hospital, she passed the time with the children in her ward, and designed a game for them to play.

• It was a simple, colorful board game that required no reading. Children as young as three could play. All that’s required is the ability to follow a rainbow path by matching colors on cards drawn from the pile. Everyone encouraged her to take the game to Milton Bradley.

She did, presenting a rough outline of the game drawn on butcher paper.

• Milton Bradley decided to produce it on a temporary basis. They sold it for $1, using the slogan, ‘A sweet little game, for sweet little folks’, and it featured peppermint candy canes on the front of the box. The game quickly took off and became a permanent fixture at Milton Bradley.

• Eleanor donated her royalties back to the children, buying equipment for schools. More than 40 million copies of the game have been sold since this “temporary” game was released.

About 90% of American homes own a copy.

Name it.

Turn the page Answer: Candy Land.

for more!

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• Alfred Butts was an architect who lost his job during the Great Depression. Attempting to make ends meet, he invented a board game, a process that involved studying the daily papers and carefully tracking the number of times each letter of the alphabet was used. He dubbed the resulting game “Lexico” and took it to all of the major game manufacturers, who all turned him down.

• Butts revised the game, re-named it “Criss-Cross Words” and continued his search for a buyer, until he met up with game lover and entrepreneur James Brunot. James bought all rights to the game, giving Butts a royalty on each unit sold.

James changed the game a bit more and gave it yet another name, a word meaning to scratch or scrape.

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Quiz Bits

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CRISS-CROSS WORDS

5. How many Pyramids of Giza (Eqypt) were constructed?

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Scrabble board — 196, 7.

How many cups are in 1 pint?

210, 225 or 256?

8. “Great Gig in the Sky” appeared What toy company owns on what Pink Floyd album? the board game Scrabble?

In how many movies did Sean 9. What are the main food groups, according to Buddy Connery play the character in the movie “Elf”?

James Bond?

Name the one Beatle not wear- 10. What is the study of plants called? ing shoes on the Abbey Road TRIVIA album cover.

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• In 1949 while working out of a factory set up in an abandoned schoolhouse, James sold only 2,400 sets and lost money. Then the chairman of Macy’s department store played it while on vacation and liked it so much he ordered every Macy’s in the country to stock it. Orders flooded in. By 1954 James and his new company sold over 3.8 million sets.

• Today one out of every four homes in America has one of these games. Alfred Butts died in 1993 at the age of 93 after seeing his invention become a beloved pastime. Name the game. Answer: Scrabble.

DICEY DICE

• In the 1950s a Canadian couple played a dice game regularly aboard their yacht. They called it “the yacht game” since they played it so often while at sea. The object of the game was to score the most points by rolling five dice to try to make a total of 13 different combinations, essentially trying to roll poker hands of a full house, a large straight, four of a kind, etc. All of their friends wanted copies of the game. ...continued

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SPORTS QUIZ 1. What Atlanta Falcons player had his house set on fire by Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes of hip-hop group TLC in 1994?

2. The College Punter of the Year Award is named in honor of what Pro Football Hall of Famer?

3. What motorsports facility occupies the former site of Florida’s World War II-era Hendricks Army Airfield?

4. An anthropomorphic citrus fruit named Otto is the official mascot of what university’s athletic teams?

5. How many laps do drivers have to complete in the Indianapolis 500 race?

6. What two-time Norris Trophy winner (1992, ‘97) had his No. 2 jersey retired by the New York Rangers?

7. What year did Tom Brady win his first Super Bowl?

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DICEY DICE (continued):

• The Canadian couple approached Edwin Lowe, who had made a fortune by selling boxed Bingo game sets. They asked him if he could produce some copies of their game so they could hand them out to friends. Lowe liked the game so much that he agreed to give them a thousand copies of the game in exchange for all rights. He incorporated the game’s nautical background into the name and he began to market it.

• Things went slowly at first, until he began to organize parties where the game was played. Word of mouth did the trick, and soon the game was selling well. He sold over 40 million sets around the world. Milton Bradley bought the game from Edwin Lowe in 1973, and this popular dice game has been a favorite ever since, selling about 50 million sets annually. Name it. Answer: Yahtzee.

COLORFUL DOTS

• In the 1960s the Johnson Shoe Polish company was looking for promotional ideas. They wanted to run ads in newspapers and comic books with coupons that people would clip out and send in along with $1 in order to get a free prize, but they needed a good idea for a prize, so they approached a promotional design company for help. The firm came up with the idea for a new game: the game board was a large sheet of plastic with big colored dots, which was laid on the floor, a spinner dial dictated the moves around the game board, and the game pieces were the bodies of the players themselves. They named the game “Pretzel.” When employees of the firm tested it out, it was so much fun that everyone dissolved into hysterical laughter.

• They took the idea to Milton Bradley, who liked the game but changed the name. Sales were poor at first and they couldn’t figure out how to market it. ...continued

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• On Jan. 7, 1789, Congress sets today as the date by which states are required to choose electors for the country's first-ever presidential election. A month later, on Feb. 4, George Washington was elected president by state electors and sworn into office April 30.

• On Jan. 10, 1901, a drilling derrick at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont, Texas, produces an enormous gusher of crude oil, signaling the advent of the American oil industry. The geyser flowed at an initial rate of 100,000 barrels a day. Today, only a few oil wells still operate in the area.

• On Jan. 5, 1920, the New York Yankees announce the purchase of heavy-hitting outfielder George Herman "Babe" Ruth from the Boston Red Sox for $125,000.

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• On Jan. 6, 1936, Porky Pig makes his world debut in a Warner Brothers cartoon, "Gold Diggers of '49." When Mel Blanc joined Warner Brothers the following year, he became the famous voice behind Porky as well as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester and Tweety.

• On Jan. 8, 1966, ABC's rock and roll TV variety show "Shindig" airs its last episode. The show had debuted in September 1964, featuring acts including the Everly Brothers, the Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys.

• On Jan. 9, 1972, a fire breaks out aboard the lavish Queen Elizabeth, and by the next morning the world's largest passenger ship lies in a wreck on the bottom of Hong Kong harbor. Launched in 1938, the Queen Elizabeth steamed across the ocean as a troop transport during World War II. • On Jan. 4, 1999, 11 nations adopt a single currency, the euro, and "locked in" their exchange rates relative to each other and to the euro. At midnight, their currencies officially ceased to exist.

COLORFUL DOTS (cont):

• That all changed when Johnny Carson played the game on “The Tonight Show” in 1966, along with Eva Gabor, who was the star of the popular show “Green Acres.” It didn’t hurt that Eva was wearing a low-cut gown and the game involved lots of bending. The next day, toy stores all over the nation were flooded with requests. Three million sold by the end of that year, and it still remains one of the most popular party games in America. What’s it called? Answer: Twister.

TOWERING TOWER

• Leslie Scott spent much of her childhood in Africa. She and the other children played a simple game using wooden blocks. They would build a tower out of the blocks, then take turns pulling blocks out of the bottom of the tower and placing them on top, without tipping the tower over.

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• In 1987 Milton Bradley picked up the rights to the game and began selling it all over the world.

In Israel the game is called “Mapolet” which is Hebrew for avalanche; the Danish name for it is “Klodsmajor” meaning klutz; in Brazil it’s called “Torremoto” meaning earthquake tower, but in the U.S. it still carries Leslie’s original Swahili name meaning ‘build it’. What’s it called?

© 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.

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• An American entrepreneur named Robert Grebler discovered the game in England and began importing it to the U.S. He drew much attention to it by organizing fund-raising tournaments.

He even holds the world record with a tower 41 blocks tall.

Answer: Jenga

Get the car you want.

On your terms.

• When Leslie went to England to attend college at Oxford University in the 1980s, she brought the game with her. Her classmates enjoyed playing it, and urged her to begin selling the game.

She copyrighted the rules, and named the game for the Swahili word meaning “build it.”

*Answer located further back in this issue.

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NUGGET OF KNOWLEDGE

*Answer located further back in this issue.

The highest Scrabble score ever received on one turn is 1,782, achieved by adding tiles to form the word “oxyphenbutazone” (an anti-inflammatory drug). Player Benjammin Woo played it across the top of the board, hitting three Triple Word Score squares while making seven crosswords downward. © 2020 King Features Syndicate. All rights reserved.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

by Lucie Winbourne

• Snakes can help predict earthquakes. They can sense a coming earthquake from 75 miles away, up to five days before it happens.

• Pure cocoa can help prevent tooth decay.

• According to Roger Highfield, author of "The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey," Rudolph's red nose is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.

• The original game of Clue, patented in 1947 by a British man who invented it to pass time during World War II air-raid blackouts, included a lead pipe token made of real lead (it was eventually replaced by steel, then pewter). The original version also included slightly more exotic weapons like a hypodermic syringe and an Irish walking stick.

• There are no muscles in your fingers. Their function is controlled by the muscles in your palms and arms.

• No one ever called "The Lion King" a documentary, but one hyena researcher was so incensed by the film's inaccuracies that he sued Disney for defamation on behalf of hyenas everywhere.

• There's a town called "Big Ugly" in West Virginia.

• The Eiffel Tower was originally supposed to be erected in Barcelona, but the project was rejected because citizens considered it an eyesore.

• It's illegal in New Zealand to name your child Sex Fruit, Fat Boy, 4Real, Cinderella Beauty Blossom, or Fish and Chips.

• Your tonsils can grow back if there was tissue left behind during the removal process.

• If you could use your nose in space, you'd discover it smells like a mixture of hot metal, diesel fumes and barbecue, thanks to compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that emanate from dying stars. *** Thought for the Day: "Not only must we be good, but we must also be good for something." -- Henry David Thoreau © 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.

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WONDERFUL WORDS

• Charles contacted the British government and asked for 50 laborers and an escort of 1,000 soldiers to help. When this army arrived at the train depot, they found there wasn’t any transportation to be found • Henry was born in 1761 in Britain. He joined the army and the shops and pubs were suddenly sold out of as a young man and began working independently on a everything. They had to walk 15 miles to his farm, new weapon. Twenty years later, his new anti-personnel where they ate him out of house and home while weapon was adopted by the British army. harvesting his crops. No one bought his crops.

• The weapon, called a Spherical Case Shot, was a hollow cannon ball filled with musket balls and a powder charge • Other than these petty annoyances, the man never came to any harm and lived long enough to see his that was set off in mid-air, scattering the shot over a large last name become a household word in several lanarea. Manufacture of the new weapon began in 1803. It guages. It now means organized ostracism as social helped defeat Napoleon at Waterloo. protest. What was his last name? Answer: Boycott.

• Henry was eventually promoted to lieutenant general and received a modest pension for his invention. He died DUDE #3 in 1802 at age 41. The weapon was manufactured ac- • Henry from Portland, Oregon, noted that screws cording to his exact design without any changes even up and screwdrivers had problems when it came to asthrough World War I. In “The Star Spangled Banner,” sembly lines. In the 1930s, car manufacturers were the phrase “the bombs bursting in air” refers to Henry’s screwing millions of screws per minute with power invention. screwdrivers and the machines had trouble with the standard slotted screws, often stripping the screws • After his death, Henry’s family asked the government to and popping out of the slot. name the weapon after him. His name now means any loose fragment that does great harm. What was Henry’s • Henry invented a screw with a cross-shaped slot that last name? Answer: Shrapnel. could be driven with more torque and would hold tighter than regular slotted screws. He named it after DUDE #2 himself. His new screwdriver, with its pointed tip, • Charles was a rent collector for an Irish landlord named engaged the screw much more easily and did not Lord Erne. In 1880 there was widespread crop failure slip out. The indentation in the screw was so shaland economic depression. The tenants asked Lord Erne low that when the screw was finished screwing, the to lower rents until they had a chance to recover. Erne’s screwdriver tip simply popped out. agent, Charles, responded by handing out eviction no• The new screw was first used in building the 1936 tices.

Cadillac and proved so effective that within two • One morning Charles awoke to find that he was apparyears all car manufacturers had switched. In 1936 ently invisible. His servants abandoned him, shopkeepHenry received patents for both the screw and the ers would not serve him, the blacksmith could not see screwdriver, but it was so widely copied that he lost his horse, the mailman didn’t bring his mail (except for the patent in 1949. Henry died in 1958 at age 68 bills) and he could get no one to come harvest his crops. after seeing his screw become an industry standard.

What was his last name? Answer: Phillips.

Answer

Weekly SUDOKU

Answer

King CROSSWORD

NAME THAT DUDE

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(Answers located further back)

December 21, 2020

• Candles will burn more evenly if you refrigerate them for a few hours before lighting.

• “I have drafty windows. I took a plastic shower curtain and cut it to fit the windows. Then I secured it with tape. It’s worked well to keep out the drafts, and I just remove it once a week and clean the windows with vinegar to discourage any mold from growing. It will work until next spring, anyway.”

— P.S. in Michigan • There is a reason that most refrigerators have more than one crisper drawer. Some items need to be stored separately. For example, keep apples and carrots in different compartments.

The apples give off a gas that can give the carrots a bitter taste.

• A great tip from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under the hoods of cars. They can be injured or even killed by the starting of the motor. Before you start your car in the morning (or any time of day, really) give your hood a nice loud rap to give the cat a chance to escape.

• “To keep melting snow, mud and leaves out of your house and off of your floors, line a wide, shallow box bottom with plastic wrap or a kitchen-size garbage bag. Place the lined box near the front door to hold dirty shoes.” — R.I. in Ohio • Mix some salt with a little bit of water and rub the mixture over your hands for a few minutes to get rid of the smell of garlic or onions from cooking. Rinse under cold water.” — J.J. in Nevada Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.

by Matilda Charles

Make Getting Fit Your Yearlong Goal

Where do you want your fitness level to be a year from now? To get to that point, we need to take the first step. For most of us, that's going to mean exercising at home. Here are some resources: Sit and Be Fit (www.sitandbefit.org) can be found on your PBS station (if it's not, call the station and ask for it) and on the internet on YouTube. All Sit and Be Fit exercises are done sitting in a chair.

SilverSneakers (silversneakers.com), sometimes covered by Medicare plans, holds classes in gyms across the country, but at this point few people are going to gyms. Do a location search and find a facility near you.

Ask whether they have video or online classes and see whether your Medicare plan covers it.

Look for "Growing Stronger," the free 126-page strength-training book for seniors, on the website cdc. gov. Follow the suggested timeline, starting with reading the book and setting goals. Leave a message for your doctor and ask if it's OK for you to start this or any program, especially if you have heart, bone or blood pressure conditions.

Remember what being physically fit can do for us: reduce our risk of falls, maintain independence, build strength and keep bones strong. That's a goal worth striving for.

*Answer located back 3 pages.

by Freddy Groves

"Unbanked" Veterans

They call them "the unbanked," people who don't use banks for any reason. At this point there are 250,000 veterans without bank accounts. Without one, they can receive their benefits only through a prepaid debit card or a paper check.

Last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs established the Veterans Benefits Banking Program, and 25,000 veterans so far have signed up, mostly because of the convenience, safety and money-saving aspects.

Having a bank account can save you a trip to the convenience store to buy a money order ... as well as the fee to pay for it. Just sit at home and write a check at your leisure. Pop it in the mail and off it goes.

Once a bank knows you for a little while, you'll be in a better position to apply for a loan or a credit card.

If you sign up for automatic deposit at one of the VBBP financial institutions, your benefits won't have to get to you in the mail. You won't have to pay checkcashing fees either. And paying a bill by check is proof that you paid it.

Go online to the VA site veteransbenefitsbanking. org/ and click on Find A Bank/Credit Union. Scroll down and see what looks good and fits your needs.

Maybe you have a special affinity to a certain bank or credit union because of where you served. You'll find Kirtland Federal, Fort Hood National, Andrews Federal and dozens more. (A small plug here: I've done business with USAA for many years, as did my father, and they've always treated me well, through loans, credit card accounts, auto insurance and more.)

Click around the site for more information. Once you have a bank account (be sure to tell them about VBBP when you sign up), you'll want direct deposit of your benefits. To arrange that, call 800-827-1000 Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST. (c) 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.

PRESIDENTIAL QUOTES:

*Answer located back 3 pages.

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NAME THAT COMPANY

• Ron Popeil was born in 1935. As a teen, he lived with his father in Chicago. His dad and uncle invented kitchen gadgets and other items which they sold to Sears, Woolworth’s, and Walgreens.

Ron’s job was to go into stores and demonstrate the gadgets to managers, convincing them to sell the items. He also demonstrated products to shoppers.

• One day Ron wandered through a flea market.

Vendors were hawking their wares and shoppers were handing over cash. He tried his hand at direct sales and found had a knack for drawing in a crowd. By dealing with people at his booth, he was able to hone his sales ability.

• Then, television came on the scene. Ron spent $500 making a 60-second commercial advertising a garden hose nozzle shaped like a gun. Orders flooded in. Next he advertised a vegetable chopper which sliced and diced. He steadily added new products: spray-on hair, a food dehydrator, Mr. Microphone, a smokeless ashtray, the Pocket Fisherman. By 1968 revenues topped $8 million. His ads became iconic and his catchphrases such as “But wait! There’s more!” and “Operators are standing by!” became part of America’s pop culture heritage. He named the company after himself. What’s it called? Answer: Ronco.

SLAP-N-SLAM

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• Spud Melin and Dick Knerr were students in California in 1948. They made sling shots in order to lob meatballs at falcons they were training to hunt. They hit the jackpot when they placed an ad for the sling shots in the back of a magazine. They formed a company and began to market slingshots, boomerangs, swords, crossbows, and blow guns. They named the company after the sound when a comic book character smacks something, or when a slingshot hits its mark. ...cont'd

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SLAP-N-SLAM (cont.)

• Meanwhile, in Australia, a gym teacher in Sydney was teaching her students to swing a bamboo hoop around their hips in a gravity-defying manner. The local department store began to sell the hoops. They were called Hula Hoops, and over 400,000 sold in 1957. The Australian toymaker took his idea to the American International Toy Fair, where Spud and Dick secured the rights. After it was demonstrated on the Dinah Shore Show, they sold 25 million in the next four months. They followed this success with Superballs, Silly String, Slip ’N Slide, Hacky Sack, and many other toys. What’s the name of the company?

DIFFERENCES:: DIFFERENCES 1. Santa's boots are black. 2. Building is shorter.

3. Brick pattern is different. 4. Car wheel is black.

5. Boy's coat has pocket. 6. Santa's beard is longer. © 2020 King Features Synd., All rights reserved.

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Answer: Wham-O.

LITTLE WAGONS

• Antonio Pasin was 16 when he left Italy and came to the U.S. in 1914. He was a carpenter and in his spare time he made wooden toy wagons. He carried around a suitcase which contained the parts of one of his wagons. Whenever he found a prospective buyer, he would assemble it to show how simple and sturdy it was. When he received his first big order – for 7,000 wagons – he quit his day job.

Quiz Answers

8. “The Dark 1. 225 2. Hasbro Side of the 3. Seven Moon” (1973) 9. Candy, candy 4. Paul McCartney canes, candy 5. Three corns and 6. About 60% syrup.

10. Botany 7. 2 cups

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4. Syracuse University 5. 200 6. Brian Leetch 7. 2002

• As orders continued to increase, he knew he couldn’t continue to make the wagons out of wood, so he began making them out of metal, using mass-production techniques.

• In the midst of the Great Depression he gambled everything to manufacture a 45-foot tall sculpture of a boy riding a wagon for his booth at the World’s Fair in Chicago. A shop underneath the giant wagon sold tiny toy wagons for 25 cents each. Not only did he recoup his investment, but soon his company was producing 1,500 wagons a day. He named the wagon after two modern inventions that fascinated him.

What’s it called?

Answer: Radio Flyer.

Information in the Tidbits paper is gathered from sources considered to be reliable, but the accuracy of all information cannot be guaranteed.

answer

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