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Bow & Arrow BullsEye

If you love bows and arrows, you’re a toxophilite. “Toxophilite” originates from the Greek words “toxon” for “bow and arrow” and “philos” for “loving.”

According to the National Safety Council archery is safer than bowling.

The innermost circle on an Olympic-style 10ring target measures about 12.2 centimeters across. That’s roughly the size of a CD or grapefruit. Now add three-quarters of a football field between you and the target.

Archery is a national sport of Bhutan to the extent that nearly every village has its own archery range.

In most archer competitions, competitors must engrave their initials on their arrows.  In 1457, King James II banned golf in Scotland because they were wasting too much time playing golf instead of training with the bow and arrow.

U.S. Paralympian archer Matt Stutzman was born without arms. He uses his feet to hold and aim his bow, and he set the Guinness World Record for longest shot by hitting the target that was 210 meters away.

Although by the mid-17th century archery was completely wiped out and replaced by firearms in most armies, China had an archery brigade until 1904.

Archery was the first Olympic sport in which women were allowed to compete. Eliza Pollack, a one-time gold and two-time bronze medalist in archery, is the oldest female Olympic medalist, having won in 1904 when she was 63 years old.

You Gotta Be Kidding Me!

The contestants are told to hit the target in the distance. The guy wearing the eye patch picks up his bow, pulls back an arrow, and releases it. The arrow completely misses the target, goes in a totally different direction, and buries itself in the hat of one of the judges. The judge jumps up, shocked, and starts shouting at the archer.

The other judges calm the angry judge and tell the archer to go again.

He picks up the bow again, pulls back another arrow, and lets it fly. Again, it misses the target, this time flying into the hat of another judge, carrying it off into the wind. The second judge gets really mad, but the other judges calm him down, and they tell the archer wearing the eye patch to go again. He picks up his bow yet again and releases another arrow.

This one also completely misses the target and lands in the hat of the last judge, who starts shouting at the archer, “What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill us?!”

The archer flips his eye patch onto his other eye and says, “Oops! Must’ve had the eye patch over my good eye.”

Firefighter Trivia

1. Why are dalmatians often associated with fire departments? a. Because they are cute b. Because the fire department in Curious George had a dalmatian c. When fire trucks were horsedrawn carriages, dalmatians would run ahead of the horses and clear the path for them so they could get to fires faster than otherwise. Dalmatians were chosen because they worked well with horses. d. Dalmatians have a good sense of smell for smoke

2. Which of the founding fathers started the first volunteer fire department in America in 1736? a. George Washington b. Ben Franklin c. Paul Revere d. Alexander Hamilton 4. Approximately how many fire departments are there in the U.S.? a. 4,500 b. 27,000 c. 40,000 d. 62,500

5. Fire helmets come in different colors for different ranks. Who would wear a white helmet? a. Fire Chief b. Fire Inspector c. Media on scene d. Probationary firefighter

6. The ladder on a ladder truck can operate in winds of up to how many miles per hour? a. 15 b. 30 c. 50 d. 75 8. What’s another name for the highlyspecialized firefighters who fight remote forest fires, usually by flying or parachuting into the fire zone? a. Fireflyers b. Smokejumpers c. Fire Rangers d. Wildfire Brigadiers

9. How many acres were burned across China and the Soviet

Union in The Black Dragon Fire of 1987, the largest wildfire in modern times? a. 20 million b. 40 million c. 60 million d. 240 million

the mind up a bit. 0-3 correct: Gotta learn how to heat

3. What is the name of the fire truck that holds a mobile water supply? a. Pumper truck b. Mobile Water Unit c. Tanker truck d. Hydration truck 7. How many buildings were destroyed in the Great Chicago

Fire of 1871? a. 300 b. 790 c. 2,500 d. 17,450 4-7 correct: Warm 8-9 correct: Hail to the Fire Chief! Wisdom Key:

8-B, 9-A 1-C, 2-B, 3-C, 4-B, 5-A, 6-C, 7-D, Answers:

Riddle Me This

An old man wanted to leave all of his money to one of his three sons, but he didn’t know which one he should give it to. He gave each of them a few coins and told them to buy something that would be able to fill their living room. The first man bought straw, but there was not enough to fill the room. The second bought some sticks, but they still did not fill the room. The third man bought two things that filled the room, so he obtained his father’s fortune.

What were the two things that the man bought?

A candle and a box of matches. After lighting the candle, the light filled the entire room. Answer: