Tidbits of Grand Forks - January 14, 2021

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Of Grand Forks • East Grand Forks January 14, 2021

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Issue # 1,202

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WORLD'S LARGEST

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• Students at the University of Economics of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam set a new record for the world’s largest jigsaw. The puzzle, which 218-779-5458 was put together at the Phu Tho Stadium, was dkent@nodakins.net made up of 551,232 pieces and was completed with an overall measurement of 48 ft 8.64 in. x 76 you ft. The 1,600 participating students were diay hello to Liberty and we’ll work to get the vided into biggest refund possible as fast as possible. 800 teams of two, with the attempt beginning at 7:00 am. It took the students 17 hours to first break up the 3,132 sections, each containing 176 pieces, into which the jigsaw Say hello to Liberty and we’ll work puzzle to get youhad the been divided, and then re-assemble biggest refund possible as fast as possible. them to create the puzzle. The students finished just after midnight. The record-breaking puzzle depicted a lotus flower with six petals.

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Quiz Bits

5. How many phases does the Moon go through each month?

6.

What is the largest country in 1. What was the length of the bigAfrica in land area? gest crocodile ever found, 7.

Name the song that contains in the Philippines? this lyric: “Listen boy, it’s 2. Sultan Kösen of Turkey, was not automatically a certain the tallest man ever. Was he guarantee, To insure yourself over 8 feet tall, yes or no? you’ve got to provide commu3. What was the height of the nication constantly.” largest wave ever surfed, off 8. What does a Geiger Portugal—60, 70, or 80 feet? counter measure?

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WORLD'S LARGEST (cont):

• The world’s longest functional zipper was once located in the now defunct Houston Astrodome, zipping the artificial turf together. In March of 2017, global supplier of zippers and fasteners Talon International unveiled the world’s longest working zipper, which was 3.1 miles long. It got the company into the Guinness Book of World Records but had no useful purpose.

• The world’s largest steer, Old Ben, weighed 125 pounds when he was born in Indiana in 1902.

He weighed about 4,720 pounds at his death in 1910. He stood 6.5 feet tall and 16.25 feet long from nose to the tip of his tail. Many circus owners and sideshow representatives tried to buy him, but his owners turned down all offers, preferring to show him themselves in a private tent at fairs all over Indiana and at the State Fair. The steer was featured in the “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” newspaper column in 1968. He is now stuffed and displayed in a pavilion in Kokomo, Indiana.

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• Valery Larkin and the Knitters of the World helped create the largest hand knitted blanket which was assembled in Ennis, Ireland in August of 2018. The final blanket measured 21,471.95 ft². After setting up a dedicated Facebook group, Valery made contact with various knitting groups to ask them if their members would be interested in taking part. More than 1,000 people answered the call and mailed in contributions from around the world over the course of two years. Valery then assembled a team who joined all of the contributions together. The display space at the indoor arena in the Ennis Showgrounds was not big enough and it had to be rolled up the walls and hung from roof girders. Afterwards the blanket was divided up into smaller blankets and donated to the Irish Red Cross. ...continued

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SPORTS QUIZ 1. T or F: Tom Brady’s highest passing yards in a Super Bowl game ended in a loss.

2. What two New York Mets players reached the 30-30 club (30 home runs and 30 stolen bases) in the 1987 season?

3. The Bedlam Series is the name given to the athletic rivalry between what two universities?

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4. In 1993, what Detroit Pistons “Bad Boy” was involved in a scuffle with teammate Isiah Thomas that resulted in Thomas suffering a broken hand?

5. What Seattle sports facility was demolished by implosion in March 2000?

6. What Canadian boxer, known for a powerful lefthanded punch he called “The Smash,” lost two heavyweight elimination bouts to Mike Tyson in 1991?

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WORLD'S LARGES (cont):

• The Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates is the largest mall in the world based on total area.

At over 12 million square feet (equivalent to more than 50 soccer fields), the mall contains more than 1,200 shops, an ice rink, a five-star hotel, 22 movie screens, 120 restaurants and cafes, and the largest indoor aquarium in the world.

It also serves as the gateway to the Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world. By comparison, the West Edmonton Mall in Canada is a mere 5.3 million square feet, and the Mall of America in Minnesota is 5.6 million square feet.

• In 1905 in South Africa, a mine superintendent was preparing to close the mine for the day when he saw something glint. It turned out to be the largest gem quality diamond ever found. Named the Cullinan after the founder of the mine, it weighed in at 3,106 carats. (The average engagement ring diamond is around half a carat.)

Before faceting, it was the size of a man’s fist and weighed 1.37 pounds. It was three times bigger than the next largest diamond ever found, the Excelsior, which was also found in South Africa. The Cullinan was cleaved into nine separate gems.

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• West of Omaha, Nebraska you can find the world’s largest ball of stamps. It weighs 600 lbs., is a yard wide, and was pasted together by the Boys Town stamp collecting club during a 6-month period in the mid-1950s. Why? The director of the museum theorizes, “It must have been an exceptionally cold winter.”

• The largest dog ever measured was a Great Dane named Zeus who belonged to the Doorlag family of Michigan. He stood 3’10” at the shoulder in 2011. When he died in 2014, the honor of tallest dog passed to a slightly smaller Great Dane named Freddy from Essex, UK. ...continued

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• On Jan. 19, 1809, poet, author and literary critic Edgar Allan Poe is born in Boston. In 1836 Poe married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm, and completed his first full-length work of fiction, "Arthur Gordon Pym." • On Jan. 23, 1941, Charles Lindbergh, a national hero since his nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, testifies before Congress and suggests that the U.S. negotiate a neutrality pact with Hitler. He publicly denounced "the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt Administration."

• On Jan. 21, 1950, former State Department official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury in testimony about his alleged involvement in a Soviet spy ring before and during World War II.

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• On Jan. 20, 1961, 87-year-old Robert Frost recited his poem "The Gift Outright" at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. Although Frost had written a new poem for the occasion, faint ink in his typewriter made the words difficult to read, so he recited "The Gift Outright" from memory.

• On Jan. 24, 1972, after 28 years of hiding in the jungles of Guam, farmers discover Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese sergeant who was unaware that World War II had ended.

Yokoi went into hiding in 1944 rather than surrender.

• On Jan. 22, 1984, during Super Bowl XVIII, audiences first see a commercial now widely agreed to be one of the most powerful and effective of all time. Apple's "1984" spot featured a young woman throwing a sledgehammer through a screen on which a Big Brother-like figure preached about "the unification of thought."

• On Jan. 18, 1990, Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry is arrested and charged with drug possession and use of crack cocaine. Barry was caught on camera at a downtown hotel smoking crack with Rahsheeda Moore, who had agreed to set up Barry in exchange for a reduced sentence on a drug conviction.

WORLD'S LARGEST (cont):

• Elizabeth Bond, an art student from Wiltshire, UK, holds the record for creating the largest knitting needles, which measure 14’ 6” long and have a diameter of 3.54”. They are made out of plastic pipes. Elizabeth needed to be able to actually knit 10 stitches and 10 rows of yarn to qualify for a world record, which she accomplished by leaning the knitting needles against a stairway and using a ladder.

• The world’s longest hair belongs to Xie Qiuping and measures 18’5” which is as long as a giraffe is tall. She started growing it in 1973 when she was 13.

• The longest mustache belongs to Ram Singh Chauhan of India. It was measured at 14’ on the set of a TV show in Italy in 2010. Ram started growing his facial hair in 1970. His moustache even won him a cameo role in the James Bond film “Octopussy.”

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servicecu.org • 800.936.7730 Insured by NCUA | *Rates shown are Annual Percentage Rate (APR), accurate as of 10/01/20 and subject to change without notice. Rates advertised with a .75% reduction. The .75% reduction is available for the Direct Deposit+ checking account tier (example: 3.24% APR less .75% = 2.49%). Up to a .75% discount will be applied to the APR that a member qualifies for based on creditworthiness and checking account tier. Members must maintain the tier qualifications for the life of the loan in order to keep their loan discount. Floor rate may apply. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Must be member of Service CU or eligible for membership.

• The largest coupon ever created was for a buyone-get-one-free burger for the Jack in the Box burger chain. The coupon was 8 stories tall, measuring a total of 2,000 ft². It was hung from a building in Los Angeles. To redeem the coupon, 12 people carried it down the street to the nearest Jack in the Box restaurant. It would not fit through the door, so they had to redeem the voucher at the drive-through. Afterwards, anyone who presented a picture of the colossal coupon on their phone could redeem it for a free burger at any Jack in the Box restaurant in the U.S.

© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.

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• Aevin Dugas of New Orleans, USA, is the proud owner of the largest natural afro in the world with a circumference measuring an incredible 4’ 4”.

It took her over 12 years to grow. "You want to know the best thing about my hair?" Aevin says with a smile: "It provides the perfect pillow. I sleep very well." Aevin's hairstyle is so large she could fit the world’s shortest man inside.

*Answer located further back in this issue.

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• Many people in South Korea opt to compress the remains of the dead person into gem-like beads in different colors, which are then displayed at home.

• Greenland sharks don't reach puberty until they are 150 years old.

• The first hoop skirt was worn by Queen Juana of Portugal, in a bid to hide the fact she was pregnant.

• In 2015, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield released the first ever album recorded entirely in space, titled "Space Sessions: Songs from a Tin Can." • The oldest known customer service complaint was written on a clay cuneiform tablet in Mesopotamia 4,000 years ago. In it, a customer named Nanni complains that he was sold inferior copper ingots.

• Russia only classified beer as an alcoholic drink in 2011.

• Japanese trains, reputedly the most punctual in the world, issue passengers with a "delay certificate" if a train is running more than five minutes behind schedule. The documents can be shown to bosses or teachers to explain a passenger's lateness.

• In 1984, New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon got drunk and decided to spontaneously call a general election, which he lost.

• Before battles, some Roman gladiators read product endorsements. The makers of the film "Gladiator" planned to show this but nixed the idea for fear that audiences wouldn't believe it.

• A person with geomelophagia has the urge to eat raw potatoes.

• In the late 1800s in Corinne, Utah, you could buy legal divorce papers from a vending machine for $2.50.

• Late in his life, Guglielmo Marconi believed no sound ever dies completely. He dreamed of building a device strong enough to pick up the actual words of Jesus at the "Sermon on the Mount." *** Thought for the Day: "There are years that ask questions, and years that answer." -- Zora Neale Hurston © 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.

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WONDERFUL WORDS

• Some of the lost travelers are happy to remain living there forever, but one views it as a prison that he must escape from at all costs, risking life and limb, • Thomas More was a lawyer and statesman in Britain in even if it results in the destruction of the place. Pubthe mid-1500s. He was also a scholar and an author. lished by Simon & Schuster, the book was wildly • In 1516 he published a story that described the soci- popular. ety on a fictional island. The name of the island sprang • When choosing the name of the mythical place in from the Greek words “ou” meaning no/none/not; and this book, James Hilton picked a word that means “topos” meaning place. The name meant “no place” or “mountain pass” in the Tibetan language. Today “nowhere.” It was also a pun, because the Greek word it has come into our language meaning a secluded “eu” (which sounds the same as “ou”) means good, so it hideaway or place of great peace. Name it. was a “good place.”

Answer: Shangri-La. • On this island, the people lived in peace and prosperity.

CAPITAL CITY OF HELL Unlike England at the time, all religions were tolerated • John Milton was born to a privileged life in 1608 in and women were allowed to be educated.

England. After receiving the best education, he be• In spite of preaching religious tolerance in his book, gan to write pamphlets stating his opinions. Not all More was not tolerant of other religious viewpoints. In of his opinions were popular. He was imprisoned for 1534 he ran afoul of King Henry VIII when he refused a time. to recognize the king as supreme head of the English Church. He was arrested and beheaded. The Catholic • In 1652 he began working on an epic poem that’s considered to be his greatest work, called “Paradise church made him a saint 400 years later.

Lost.” It tackles the subject of religion, telling the • Today the name of his fictional land of plenty has enstory of how Satan decided to pollute the purity of tered our language meaning a perfect place or an ideal earth by introducing sin and tempting Adam and Eve society. What’s it called? in the Garden of Eden. It was published in 1667 in a Answer: Utopia. series of ten tracts which became instantly popular.

He subsequently published “Paradise Regain’d” in PRISON PARADISE • British author James Hilton was an excellent writer who 1671.

FICTIONAL PLACES

Answer

Weekly SUDOKU

Answer

King CROSSWORD

had found literary success at the age of 20. He wrote • In “Paradise Lost,” Satan meets with his followers a novel called “Lost Horizon” which was published in in the capital city of Hell. Milton gave this capi1933. In the novel, a plane crashes high in the Himalayan tal city a name that springs from the Greek words Mountains, and the dying pilot tells the survivors how to “pan,” meaning all, and “daimon” meaning demon: reach a nearby monastery for refuge. Upon reaching it, “the city of all demons.” Today the name of that city they discover a happy community, entirely isolated from in Hell has come into our language as a generic term the outside world, where the inhabitants are virtually im- meaning a state of chaos, confusion, and disorder. mortal as long as they do not leave this mystical, harmo- What’s the word? nious place. If they do, they will age rapidly and die.

Answer:Pandemonium.

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(Answers located further back)

January 4, 2021

• Purchase New Year’s celebration items that are on sale in January if you have a graduating senior in 2021. You can get all kinds of items for a fraction of the price, and you will be ready with all the 2021 things you need!

• Got a neckache? Grab a pair of long socks, fill each with 2 cups of uncooked white rice and a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil.

Knot the sock tightly to seal. Microwave for up to 2 minutes, and test temperature before draping it over your shoulders to apply heat to sore muscles. It’s so nice, especially when you’re laying down.

• J.P. in New Jersey advises that instead of using candles during a power outage — it can be dangerous! — try a battery-operated lantern instead.

You can even use solar garden lights in a vase. You’d be surprised how much they can light a room.

• “To trick yourself into saving money, round up purchases when you enter them into your checkbook register.” — S.W. in Arkansas • “If you’re storing clothes in a storage tote, put a sheet of fabric softener in as well. It can help repel bugs and keep the fabrics smelling fresh.” — M.W. in Iowa • “Spray nonwashable plush toys with dry shampoo to clean and freshen them. Rub vigorously with a terry cloth to remove any extra residue and fluff up!” — P.H. in Pennsylvania Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.

by Matilda Charles

by Freddy Groves

COVID Hits Our Wallets

*Answer located back 3 pages.

You can learn all kinds of things from surveys, and not all of them are good.

A recent SimplyWise bi-monthly survey showed that 35% of seniors age 60 and older are willing to risk getting COVID in order to work.

Of those who are over age 50, only 27% have put any money aside recently for retirement. Nearly half could not last one month off their savings.

The number of people who plan to keep working after starting to collect Social Security benefits just keeps rising, up to 74% at the time of the survey.

Due to finances, 17% of us are considering selling our homes.

I scarcely know where to begin. Between seniors willing to risk getting COVID to keep working, seniors contemplating selling their homes and seniors not able to make it through even one month on savings -- it's a dismal picture.

My thoughts on how to cut back on expenses and save money during COVID seem inadequate, but here they are: * Stop impulse online purchases that you make out of boredom. * Ask your auto insurance agent about discounts, since your driving is minimal now. * Double down on asking for senior discounts for everything. * Don't buy any new clothes (or even a new winter coat) if you're home all the time anyway. * Take your former entertainment budget (dinner and a movie out) and keep the cash. * If you're signed up for video streaming services you rarely use, cut all but one. * Consider selling a second vehicle if it still has payments. * Make a ritual of studying the weekly grocery sales.

None of these things alone will amount to much, but taken together they will keep more cash in your pocket.

Has the VA Called About Solid Start?

Have you been separated from the service for less than a year? Did you receive your phone calls from the Department of Veterans Affairs? They will try to contact you at the 90, 180 and 365-day point. The reason: Solid Start.

Solid Start is a program to ensure that newly separated veterans know what their benefits are. Some that you might have questions about are housing assistance, health care, home loans, pension and employment. (Be sure you've updated contact info on eBenefits so they know how to find you.)

Solid Start is more than just benefits info. Many of us have a tough time when we make the switch to civilian life. With so many changes, some of us don't do well with all the upheaval to our lives. But you're not alone. We've all made that trek.

If the stress is too much, the VA can help there, too. Even if you haven't signed up yet for VA health care, if you're struggling, walk into any VA medical center, day or night, or a Vet Center clinic during open hours. Just walk in.

Meanwhile, be sure you're signed up for VA health care. Start by calling (1-877-222-8387) Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. To learn more about Solid Start, go online to www. benefits.va.gov/transition/solid-start.asp and scroll around. Don't miss the Find Resources button. You'll see links to medical centers, PTSD programs, benefits, substance disorder programs, all of it.

If you get a call from 1-800-827-0611, that's the Solid Start folks. That's also their hotline should you need help.

Call them if you haven't heard anything in the first 90 days.

Just a heads up: When these VA reps call you, they won't be asking for any financial info. If someone does, they're fakes and thieves, so hang up.

*Answer located back 3 pages.

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BIGGEST BURGER

• Seymour, Wisconsin claims to be the birthplace of the hamburger sandwich. According to the story, young Charlie Nagreen was 15 when he took his food cart to the Outagamie County Fair in 1885. He was selling meatballs, but business was bad because it was hard to eat meatballs while walking around the fair. So he flattened them, put them between slices of bread, and created the hamburger. Dubbed “Hamburger Charlie,” he returned to sell burgers at the fair every year until his death in 1951. Although many other localities also claim to be the “home of the hamburger,” folks in Seymour, Wisconsin steadfastly insist that they were the first.

• In celebration of this, people in Seymour hold a Burger Fest every August. Events include the hamburger relay race, a bun stacking contest, and the ketchup slide, where the best trip down a ketchup coated slip-n-slide wins a prize. At the Burger Fest in 1989 they grilled the world’s biggest hamburger, weighing in at 5,520 lbs.

• Everything was fine, until people in Saco, Montana, decided to cook a 6,000 lb. burger in 1999.

Seventeen cows went into that record-breaking burger, and the leftovers were used the next day to make biscuits and gravy for breakfast and sloppy joes for lunch.

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• The residents of Seymour got busy and reclaimed their lost title in 2001 by serving up a burger weighing 8,266 lbs. A team of 13 volunteers wearing sanitary booties walked on top of the 24 foot by 24 foot grill to press the meat into a patty. The burger, 22 feet wide and 22 feet long and 5.5 inches thick, was not flipped because that would require the world’s largest spatula, which they didn’t have. The burger was sliced into about 10,000 pieces and put into individual buns. ...cont'd

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TONS-O-TWINE

• Francis Johnson of Darwin, Minnesota started collecting twine in March of 1950. He became so obsessed with it that he typically spent four hours a day working on his collection, wrapping his twine into a huge ball. He even lifted the growing ball with a crane so he could wrap it properly, keeping it symmetrical. He built a special shed for it on his lawn. He worked on it for 29 years, then had it certified by Guinness as the world’s largest ball of twine. It is 12 feet wide and weighs 17,400 lbs.

DIFFERENCES:: DIFFERENCES 1. Panes are missing. 2. Cap is reversed.

3. Arm is moved. 4. Handle is shorter.

5. Neckline is different. 6. Paper is moved. © 2020 King Features Synd., All rights reserved.

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• When Francis died, city officials of Darwin (pop. 252) moved the ball to a gazebo in a town park, put up a sign declaring it to be the world’s largest ball of twine, and began hosting the annual “Twine Ball Days” festival every August.

There’s even a gift shop nearby where you can purchase your own “starter” balls of twine.

Weird Al Yankovic immortalized the ball with his song “The Biggest Ball of Twine In Minnesota.” Representatives from Ripley’s offered to buy the ball but their offer was turned down.

• Frank Stoeber of Cawker City, Kansas, heard about the world’s largest ball of twine and was inspired to try to beat the record. He amassed over 300 miles of twine and rolled it into a ball.

He was hot on the heels of success when, tragically, he died. He left a ball of twine behind that was 11 feet wide, just shy of the record. People in Cawker City (pop. 800) were touched by his effort. To honor their own local “king of string” they put his ball of twine in a city park. Every August they host the Twine-a-thon where people are invited to add twine to Frank’s legacy.

In August 2014, the ball measured 41.42 feet in circumference, 8.06 feet in diameter and 10.83 feet in height, beating the ball of string in Darwin.

Quiz Answers

1. 21 feet.

2. Yes. 8 ft, 2.82 in.

3. 80 feet.

4. Pomegranates.

5. Eight 6. Algeria 7. “Tell Her About It,” by Billy Joel, 1983 8. Radiation

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Sports Answers 1. True. 505 passing yards in a loss to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII. 2. Howard Johnson and Darryl Strawberry.

3. Oklahoma & Oklahoma State.

4. Bill Laimbeer 5. The Kingdome 6. Donovan “Razor” Ruddock

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

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