Prior Date

Archive Index

Next Date

WITandWISDOM(tm) - February 28, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: The truest greatness lies in being kind, the truest wisdom in a happy mind. Ella Wheeler Wilcox Source: Carol's Thought for Today, http://www.kalama.com/~carola/ ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: It had been one of those summers--work, work, work. We planned a Friday off to spend and spend. This time we decided to skip across the USA border and shop in Buffalo, New York where prices were much more competitive. Everything went smoothly until, near the end of the day, we made one last quick stop at some teacher supply store. Without thinking, I jumped out of our mini-van and locked the keys in the ignition. I was very upset. Here we were on a Friday evening, two hours from home, with locksmith shops now closed. Any special service call would amount to over $100 American--more than we had saved that day. As it was my own fault, I could have cursed but I decided to pray for an answer. We attempted to pick the lock with combs, old keys, a jack-knife. Nothing worked. We felt defeated. An hour later, we suddenly saw a brown, rusty old mini-van of the same make and model exit the mall parking lot. Running over to the driver I asked to borrow her keys to open our mini-van door. She agreed and to our astonishment, the door opened. I grabbed onto our set of keys. Our prayers were answered! Contributed by George Prins. gprins@freenet.npiec.on.ca Source: Mr. Mom's Mailing List, http://mrmom.amaonline.com/ ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: History Exam Everyone over 40 should have a pretty easy time at this exam. If you are under 40 you can claim a handicap. This is a History Exam for those who don't mind seeing how much they really remember about what went on in their life. Get paper and pencil and number from 1 to 20. Write the letter of each answer and score at the end. Then, best of all, before you pass this test on, put your score in the subject line! 1. In the 1940s, where were automobile headlight dimmer switches located? a On the floor shift knob b. On the floor board, to the left of the clutch c. Next to the horn 2. The bottle top of a Royal Crown Cola bottle had holes in it. For what was it used? a. Capture lightning bugs b. To sprinkle clothes before ironing c. Large salt shaker 3. Why was having milk delivered a problem in northern winters? a. Cows got cold and wouldn't produce milk b. Ice on highways forced delivery by dog sled c. Milkmen left deliveries outside of front doors and milk would freeze, expanding and pushing up the cardboard bottle top. 4. What was the popular chewing gum named for a game of chance? a Blackjack b. Gin c. Craps! 5. What method did women use to look as if they were wearing stockings when none were available due to rationing during WWII? a. Suntan b. Leg painting c. Wearing slacks 6. What postwar car turned automotive design on its ear when you couldn't tell whether it was coming or going? a. Studebaker b. Nash Metro c. Tucker 7. Which was a popular candy when ! you were a kid? a. Strips of dried peanut butter b. Chocolate licorice bars c. Wax coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside 8. How was Butch wax used? a. To stiffen a flat-top haircut so it stood up b. To make floors shiny and prevent scuffing c. On the wheels of roller skates to prevent rust 9. Before inline skates, how did you keep your roller skates attached to your shoes? a. With clamps, tightened by a skate key b. Woven straps that crossed the foot c. Long pieces of twine 10. As a kid, what was considered the best way to reach a decision? a. Consider all the facts b. Ask Mom c. Eeny-meeny-miney-mo 11. What was the most dreaded disease in the 1940's? a. Smallpox b. AIDS c. Polio 12. "I'll be down to get you in a ________, Honey" a. SUV b. Taxi c. Streetcar 13. What was the name of Caroline Kennedy's pet pony? a. Old Blue b. Paint c. Macaroni 14. What was a Duck-and-Cover Drill? a. Part of the game of hide and seek b. What you did when your Mom called you in to do chores c. Hiding under your desk, and covering your head with your arms in an A-bomb drill. 15. What was the name of the Indian Princess on the Howdy Doody show? a. Princess Summerfallwinterspring b. Princess Sacajewea c. Princess Moonshadow 16. What did all the really savvy students do when mimeographed tests were handed out in school? a. Immediately sniffed the purple ink, as this was believed to get you high b. Made paper airplanes to see who could sail theirs out the window c. Wrote another pupil's name on the top, to avoid their failure 17. Why did your Mom shop in stores that gave Green Stamps with purchases? a To keep you out of mischief by licking the backs, which tasted like bubble gum b. They could be put in special books and redeemed for various household items c. They were given to the kids to be us! ed as stick-on tattoos 18. Praise the Lord, and pass the _________? a. Meatballs b. Dames c. Ammunition 19. What was the name of the singing group that made the song "Cabdriver" a hit? a. The Ink Spots b. The Supremes c. The Esquires 20. Who left his heart in San Francisco? a. Tony Bennett b. Xavier Cugat c. George Gershwin ANSWERS 1. b) On the floor, to the left of the clutch. Hand controls, popular in Europe, took till the late '60s to catch on. 2. b) To sprinkle clothes before ironing Who had a steam iron? 3. c) Cold weather caused the milk to freeze and expand, popping the bottle top. 4. a) Blackjack Gum. 5. b) Special makeup was applied, followed by drawing a seam down the back of the leg with eyebrow pencil. 6. a) 1946 Studebaker. 7 c) Wax coke bottles containing super-sweet colored water. 8. a) Wax for your flat top (butch) haircut. 9. a) With clamps, tightened by a skate key, which you wore on a shoestring around your neck. 10. c) Eeny-meeny-miney-mo. 11. c) Polio. In beginning of August, swimming pools were closed, movies and other public gathering places were closed to try to prevent spread of the disease. 12.. b) Taxi. Better be ready by half-past eight! 13. c) Macaroni. 14. c) Hiding under your desk, and covering your head with your arms in an A-bomb drill. 15. a) Princess Summerfallwinterspring. She was another puppet. 16. a) Immediately sniffed the purp ink to get a high. 17. b) Put in a special stamp book, they could be traded for household items at the Green Stamp store. 18. c) Ammunition, and we'll all be free. 19. a) The widely famous 50's group: The Inkspots. 20. a) Tony Bennett, and he sounds just as good today.. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SCORING 17- 20 correct: You are older than dirt, and obviously gifted with mental abilities. Now if you could only find your glasses. Definitely someone who should share their wisdom! 12 -16 correct: Not quite dirt yet, but your mind is getting keen. 0 -11 correct: You are not old enough to share the wisdom of your experiences. Submitted by Carol Blum ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: My husband and I had gone to a restaurant with friends. When the hostess led us to a circular booth, we noticed the vinyl seat was covered with crumbs and asked if it could be cleaned off. The young woman sat down at one end of the booth, slid around to the other side, then sprang up with a smile. "Did I get it all?" she asked. Source: Pulpit Supply, mailto:pulpit-supply-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Use The Net When Words Escape You By David Andrukonis Imagine an online dictionary with a Jeopardy!-like twist: Like the popular TV game show that gives an answer and asks contestants to supply the question, visitors to: http://onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml type in a definition and the site returns a list of the best-fitting words. Put your phrase in quotes — such as "a glassed-in porch" or "to win big," and the site supplies words like "solarium" and "jack-pot," respectively. The site has other valuable functions that don't require you to put your question in quotes. It lists words in a category (the asp and the mamba are "poisonous snakes"), answers questions (the capital of Ghana is Accra), and solves crossword puzzle clues (a five-letter synthetic fabric ending in I-o-n" is "nylon"). For true word-aholics, http://wordplays.com famous for its anagrams, has a slew of gems, like one that unscrambles words of up to 25 letters. The site dares those used to relaxing Sunday puzzles to try its "Crossword Challenge." Clues are given as time expires — the faster you solve the puzzle, the higher you score. Of course, little does WordPlays know, you now have a reverse dictionary at hand. Source: USA Weekend, June 18-20, 2004, http://usaweekend.com