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WITandWISDOM(tm) - December 29, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? - T. S. Eliot Source: Inspire, http://www.inspirelist.com/ ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Her friends couldn't figure her out, and her parents thought she should be happy as a young lady of fashion, but Florence Nightingale determined to be a nurse. Finally Florence's determination won out. She entered a school in Germany, took training as a nurse, and loved every moment of the hard life. Her mother never could understand Florence's insistence on working in the dirt, misery, and suffering of the hospitals of England. In the early 1800's many nurses were untrained, coarse, ignorant women who were sometimes cruel to their patients. But bad as conditions were in England, Florence soon would be involved in something worse. In 1854 the Crimean War broke out between Russia and Turkey. England sent troops to help Turkey, and soon the news came back that in the first battle thousands of English soldiers had been killed or wounded. Florence saw in this a still greater opportunity to help the sick. With permission from the War Department, she sailed with a party of nurses to Turkey. She thought she knew what she was getting into, but when she smelled the foul air of the barracks being used as a hospital, saw the dirt and the lack of common ordinary items she would need, such as bowls, towels, soap, chairs, and tables, she was appalled. Often the wounded men were left lying in the uniforms they had worn on the battlefield. Florence jumped right into the challenge. She didn't know about germs, but she knew about cleanliness. She set up a laundry, scrubbed the floors, organized a schedule for the nurses, including the preparation of good meals, and saw to it that the medicines and supplies sent to the hospital from England actually got to the wounded soldiers. After the war Florence determined that the whole army medical system must be reformed, and she saw that this was done. She helped establish an army medical school, as well as a top-notch nurse's training school. Florence Nightingale's determination hadn't let her take it easy when she was young, and that determination kept her busy and happy until she died at the age of 90. Her life was rich and full, because she determined to do her best. Source: Climbing Jacob's Ladder, by Jeanne Larson & Ruth McLin, © Copyright 1979 by Review and Herald Publishing Association ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Knock, Knock . . . Part 2 of 2 [Dec 28, 29] For any of you who have ever had a young child, we humbly dedicate the following: Knock, knock. Who's there? Hands. Hands who? Hands up! You're under arrest!. ~~~ Knock, knock. Who's there? Itsa. Itsa who? Itsa me, silly! ~~~ Knock, knock. Who's there? Atch. Atch who? Bless you! ~~~ Knock, knock. Who's there? Who. Who who? Is there an owl in here? ~~~ Knock, knock. Who's there? Wanda.. Wanda, who? Wanda come over and play with me? ~~~ Knock, knock. Who's there? Who. Who who? Is there an echo in here? ~~~ Knock, knock. Who's there? Lettuce. Lettuce who? Lettuce out! It's cold in here! ~~~ Knock, knock. Who's there? Little old lady. Little old lady who? I didn't know you could yodel! Little old lady hoo! Submitted by Tina ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: While practicing auto-rotations during a military night training exercise a Huey Cobra messed up the landing and landed on the tail rotor. The landing was so hard that it broke off the tail boom. However, the chopper fortunately remained upright on its skids, sliding down the runway doing twisting, spinning 360's. As the Cobra slid past the tower, trailing a brilliant shower of sparks, this was the radio exchange that took place... Tower: "Sir, do you need any assistance?" Chopper: "I don't know, tower. We ain't done crashin' yet." Source: Chapnotes, mailto:xanmansa@chapnotes.org?Subject=Subscribe ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: A device that repels teenagers has won the peace prize at this year's Ig Nobels - a spoof version of real Nobel prizes. Welshman Howard Stapleton's device makes a high-pitched noise inaudible to adults but annoying to teenagers, reports the BBC. All the research is real and published in often prestigious journals. Unlike the recipients of the more illustrious awards, Ig Nobel winners get no cash reward. Nevertheless eight of the 10 winners this year paid their own way to receive their prizes in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Marc Abrahams, editor of science humour magazine Annals of Improbable Research, which co-sponsors the awards, said: "The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honour the imaginative - and spur people's interest in science, medicine and technology." The winners are allowed to give a one-minute acceptance speech, the time policed by a loud eight-year-old girl. This year's winners included: Maths: How many photos must be taken to almost ensure no-one in a group shot has their eyes closed, by Nic Svenson and Piers Barnes Ornithology: Why woodpeckers do not get headaches, by Ivan Schwab and the late Philip RA May Nutrition: Why dung beetles are fussy eaters, by Wasmia al-Houty and Faten al-Mussalam Acoustics: Why the sound of fingernails scraping on blackboards is so annoying, by D Lynn Halpern, Randolph Blake and James Hillenbrand Source: Ananova http://www.ananova.com