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TIDBITS® USES
PUNCTUATION
by Janet Spencer Come along with Tidbits as we punctuate!
LITTLE DOTS
• Aristophanes of Byzantium was a librarian at the Egyptian library of Alexandria in the third century B.C. when he noticed a problem with the current method of writing. At the time, writing was done on scrolls. The characters would run left to right on one line, then right to left on the next line, continuing in this zigzag pattern to the end. There were no spaces or breaks in between the words or separating the sentences. People trying to read these scrolls out loud had a hard time. Aristophanes invented a simple system of dots to indicate pauses and phrases in order to make scrolls easier to read aloud. • A dot in the middle of the line indicated a place where someone reading out loud should pause to take a breath, and it was called a “komma,” the Greek word meaning “clause.” A dot at the bottom of the line indicated where a reader should take a longer pause. It was called a “kolon” meaning “verse” and indicated a break in between two clauses. A dot at the top of the line was called a “periodos” meaning “segment” and indicated a full-stop pause at the conclusion of the written sentence. This system of dots became our comma, colon, and period. It was the first punctuation. (turn the page for more!)
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Vol 2 Issue 13
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Tidbits of The Pass Area
Vol. 2 Issue 13
DOTS AND DASHES (continued) • In the years before there were spaces placed between letters, a small curved mark would often be placed underneath letters to indicate which word they belonged to where it would otherwise cause confusion. For example, “susanalbumparty” is confusing until marks are added to indicate which letters belong to which words: “susanalbumparty.” The Greek word “hypo” means “under” (as in “hypodermic” meaning “under the skin”) and “hen” means “one.” This is the origin of the hyphen, a mark originally underneath a word, now located right in-between words. • It wasn’t until the 8th century that writers began adding spaces in between words, largely in response to the difficulty that Irish and Scottish monks had when they were copying Bibles written in Latin without knowing Latin themselves. • Charlemagne commissioned scholars to make reading and writing easier for the proletariat, and that’s when upper case and lower case letters were invented. • A particular typeface is called a “font” from the French word “fonte” meaning “to melt” or “to pour out.” This is the same root word for “fountain,” “foundry,” and “fondue.” In the early days of printing, and later when typewriters were invented, the letters were made of metal, with molten metal being poured into molds to create individual letters in an entire collection of moveable type. • Printers kept their different fonts inside cases. Capital letters were put in the top part of the case, leading to the terms “upper case” and “lower case.” • The exclamation point comes from the Latin word “io,” meaning “an exclamation of joy.” It was written vertically within a single space, with a lowercase I over a lowercase O. Eventually the O was abbreviated to a dot and the exclamation point was born! (continued next page)
Ricotta Pie
Ricotta pie is a traditional Easter dessert in many Italian families. One taste, and you'll know why! 1/2 package refrigerated piecrusts, one 9-inch piecrust from 15-ounce package, at room temperature 1/2 cup milk 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin 1 package (12-ounce) milk-chocolate pieces, 2 cups 1 pint heavy or whipping cream, 2 cups 1 container (15- to 16-ounce) ricotta cheese 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1. Line 9-inch pie plate with piecrust dough as label directs for 1-crust pie; make fluted edge. Bake pie shell and cool as label directs. 2. Place cold milk in small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over milk; let stand 1 minute to soften gelatin slightly. Over medium heat, heat milk mixture until gelatin dissolves, stirring constantly. Set aside to cool slightly. 3. In another saucepan over low heat, heat chocolate pieces until melted and smooth, stirring occasionally; keep warm. In small bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat 1 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream until soft peaks form; set aside. 4. In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat ricotta cheese, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and remaining 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream until blended; gradually beat in gelatin mixture. Increase speed to medium; beat mixture until creamy. 5. Reserve 1 cup whipped cream for top of pie. Fold remaining whipped cream into ricotta mixture. 6. Drizzle about one-fourth of melted chocolate over baked pie shell. Top with one-third of ricotta mixture. Layer chocolate and cheese mixture 2 more times. Spread reserved whipped cream over top of pie. Drizzle remaining chocolate over whipped cream in decorative pattern. Chill pie about 3 hours to set. Makes 10 servings. * Each serving: About 555 calories, 41g total fat, 103mg cholesterol, 120mg sodium. For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our Web site at www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipes/. (c) 2019 Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved
Week of April 21, 2019
Tidbits of The Pass Area
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SQUIGGLES and TITTLES (continued) • In Latin, when they wrote a query, they’d finish it with the word “questio” which was abbreviated “qo.” Eventually, they put the abbreviation into a single space, with the lowercase “q” on top of the lowercase “O.” As time went on, people made the “q” a tailed loop, and the O turned into a dot. This turned into the question mark. • The tilde is a squiggly line ~ whose name comes from the Latin “titulus” meaning “title.” The tilde means “approximately”: ~42 means “approximately 42.” • In the Roman language, “libra pondo” meant one pound in weight, where “libra” meant “scales” and “pondo” came from “pendere” meaning “to weigh.” The Romans abbreviated “libra pondo” as “lb” with a line drawn horizontally through the two letters at the top. The little line is called a “tittle,” which indicates an abbreviation. Eventually, it became easier just to write the symbol “#” instead of spelling out the two letters lb and drawing a line through them. Today we still abbreviate pound as “lb” and the hashtag # originally designated weight in pounds. • The term “libra pondo” expanded into other languages, becoming the French “livre,” the Italian “lira,” the British “pound,” and the German “pfund.” Charlemagne decreed that a single pound of silver should be minted into 240 coins, and today Britain still counts its money in pounds sterling, abbreviated as the stylized L that hearkens back to libra pondo: £ with the “L” standing for “libra” and the tittle indicating an abbreviation. • The # symbol is known variously as the pound sign, the number sign, or a hashtag, but its official name is “octothorpe.” The “octo” denotes the eight points, and “thorpe” comes from the Old English word meaning village. This is because the symbol resembles eight villager’s fields surrounding a village square. (continued next page)
A Flu Shot Could Save Your Life
Some of us just don't want to get a flu shot every year. It's too much trouble to get an appointment, or we just don't like needles -- or maybe we figure that we'll just tough it out for a week if we do get the flu. After all, it's not going to kill us, right? A researcher at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis has come up with a strong reason to get an annual flu shot: You could have a heart attack if you don't. After studying 450,000 medical records of four flu seasons, the VA researcher and his colleagues concluded that while the number of flu cases might go up only slightly (5%) in a given month, the number of heartrelated problems soars (24%) during that same period. They coordinated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for flu stats, and concentrated on four specific communities in Maryland, North Carolina, Mississippi and Minnesota. While a correlation between the flu and heart failure has long been suspected, this large study nails it with real numbers. If you're already a heart patient, don't depend on the doctors to send you a note about getting your flu shot. Get one. If you're otherwise healthy, take responsibility for getting your shot, and make sure others around you get it too, especially children. You can find the shots everywhere, including the local pharmacy and chain grocery stores. While the 2018-2019 flu season is nearly over, get started early for the next round by paging through your calendar to September and October and making a note to get a flu shot then. Consider this: As of March, there were 30,000 flu-related deaths and 300,000 flu-related hospitalizations.
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To Your Good Health By Keith Roach, M.D.
Iron Overloads Body DEAR DR. ROACH: I was hoping that you could answer a quick question. I am a 46-year-old female and have hemochromatosis. I can't get very good medical care where I live. It's a small town where I can't switch doctors, and mine is subpar. Anyway, I just had a blood test, and my ferritin is 39 and my saturation is 0.76. I don't know if I need a phlebotomy. The doc likes to have me do it when my ferritin is in the 50-75 range. He has NEVER mentioned saturation before. Can you shed some light on this? -- A.R. ANSWER: Hemochromatosis is iron overload caused by the body being unable to reduce iron absorption even when it doesn't need iron. The high iron saturation is a good test for diagnosing hemochromatosis. However, it's the ferritin that best approximates total body iron stores. A large proportion of the body's iron is located in the red blood cells, so by removing these through phlebotomy (literally, "bloodletting" -- usually the blood is donated), iron is taken out of the body. Most experts remove iron through phlebotomy until ferritin levels are below 50. Someone with a ferritin of 39 probably doesn't need treatment, since the total body iron is nearly normal. Women who are still menstruating have some degree of protection against iron overload, although it certainly still is possible to develop problems if the iron intake is greater than iron output, in which case phlebotomy is necessary.
Tidbits of The Pass Area
DEAR DR. ROACH: My problem is that I am losing my hair. I am a 63-year-old gal in relatively good health who walks for exercise, eats a healthy, balanced diet and takes a pill each day to manage cholesterol and blood pressure. I do not have a thyroid problem, nor do I have diabetes. My dermatologist told me I do not have alopecia, as some of my siblings do. Instead, he suggested that my hair loss -- and specifically the thinning of the hair on top of my scalp -- is due to heredity; male pattern baldness runs through both sides of my family. So here's the question: Is it safe and/or effective to take 5,000 mcg of over-the-counter biotin supplements to lessen the effect of hair loss, or is this product ineffective and just being pushed on women by pharmaceutical and vitamin manufacturers to increase sales and profits, and to manipulate the consumer into believing that this expensive vitamin product is essential to our well-being? Thank you. -- C.W.R. ANSWER: Biotin has been studied for both male pattern and female pattern baldness, and has had limited success, especially when combined with other vitamins and nutritional supplements (60 percent effectiveness versus 11 percent in one placebocontrolled trial). It might be worth a try, since it is very safe. As far as expense goes, I found biotin tablets for 6 cents each at an online retailer. It certainly isn't essential to well-being; in fact, with a healthy diet, I believe no supplement is essential. Vitamin and supplement manufacturers may try to make you think supplements are essential, but there is no good evidence for this. Taking it to try to improve a problem like male-pattern baldness is reasonable, but if it doesn't help significantly, save your money. Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu. (c) 2019 North America Synd., Inc. All Rights Reserved
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Help in Deciding Where to Retire
If you plan to move when you retire, where will you go? What is important to you, and how will you decide? U.S. News & World Report, working with Aetna, has released a report about the healthiest communities in the country. While all of the 81 characteristics they compared aren't about health, they do affect quality of life. Their ranking calculated the scores on 3,000 counties across the country, broken down into 10 categories: population health, equity, education, economy, housing, food and nutrition, environment, public safety, community vitality and infrastructure. To see the rankings, go online to www.usnews.com/news/healthiestcommunities/rankings. Scroll down the page and you'll see the list of the top 500 counties and how they ranked in each of the categories.
Vol. 2 Issue 13
MORE SQUIGGLES (continued) • Greek and Roman merchants shipped goods such as grain, olives, wine, and oil in vaselike vessels called “amphora.” An amphora indicated not only the container but also the weight of the goods inside the container. The word derives from the Greek terms “amphi” meaning “on both sides,” indicating the two handles on the container, and “phoreus” meaning “carrier.” It was customary to abbreviate any word with the first letter of that word combined with a tittle to indicate an abbreviation. So the abbreviation for how many amphorae of goods had been delivered would have looked like this: ā. Through sloppy handwriting done in a rush, it eventually started to be written as @. The @ sign became universally used by merchants meaning “at the rate of,” such as: “John bought 13 kegs of apples @ $20 per keg.” • In 1971 when an engineer was working on developing the world’s first e-mail system, he needed a symbol to separate the name of the sender from the name of the system. He chose the “@” symbol because it was not commonly used. The symbol doesn’t have a name other than “the ‘at’ symbol” or “the commercial ‘at’” but in other languages it’s referred to as “elephant’s trunk” in Swedish; “monkey’s tail” in Dutch; “spider monkey” in German; and “strudel” in Hebrew. • The Latin word for “and” is “et.” Scribes abbreviated “et” with a stylized rounded capital E that looked like a backwards 3, plus an overlapping small case letter “t.” This symbol eventually morphed into the ampersand symbol: “&”. The word “ampersand” derives from the Latin phrase “per se” meaning “by itself” combined with the word “and.” Throughout the 1800s, the ampersand sign was treated as the 27th letter of the alphabet. Schoolchildren reciting the alphabet would follow “X Y Z” with “and, per se, And” denoting the symbol &.
On the first page, however, you can specify the county name or ZIP code of an area you're interested in. After you click, you'll see the rankings for your selected area, with individual category scores, as well as a state and U.S. average. Scroll down for the details of each one. You'll find everything from the smoking rate to voter participation, the poverty rate, changes in housing values, crime rates -- information on all 81 metrics. Be sure to click or mouseover everything because there's more to it than appears. At the very bottom of the page you'll find sliders for each of the 10 categories where you can shop for your ideal retirement location. Customize your preferences by moving the sliders, and a list of your best communities will appear on the right of the screen. Even if you're not ready to decide about a move right now, this report will get you thinking about what's important to you about where you live. All in all, this report is very well done and comprehensive in the amount of information it provides. (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
Week of April 21, 2019
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1 Name the last World Series before 2017 featuring two teams that each won 100 or more 1. games during the regular season. 2. Which Yankees player hit the most home runs in his first three full years (at least 100 games per year) in the majors: Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig or Mickey Mantle? • On May 5, 1821, Napoleon Bonaparte, the French military leader who once ruled an empire that stretched across Europe, dies as a British prisoner on the remote island of Saint Helena in the southern Atlantic Ocean. His body was returned to Paris in 1840.
3. In 2017, South Florida's Quinton Flowers became the sixth player in Football Bowl Subdivision history to record 60-plus passing touchdowns and 40-plus rushing TDs during his career. Name two of the other five. 4. Name the top three coaches in terms of wins in Miami Heat history.
• On May 4, 1886, a peaceful labor protest in Haymarket Square in Chicago turns into a riot, leaving more than 100 wounded and eight police officers dead. Seven of the eight fatalities and the most of injuries were caused by shots fired by fellow officers.
5 In 2019, Nikita Kucherov became the fastest Tampa Bay Lightning player to reach 100 points in a season (62 5. games). Who had been the fastest?
• On May 2, 1933, the modern legend of Scotland's Loch Ness Monster is born when a newspaper reports a couple's sighting of "an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface" of the lake. The "monster" became a media phenomenon, and a circus offered a huge reward for the beast's capture.
1. It was 1970 (Baltimore versus Cincinnati). 2. DiMaggio had 107 home runs; Gehrig, 83; Mantle, 71. 3. Dan LeFevour, Tim Tebow, Colin Kaepernick, Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott. 4. Erik Spoelstra, Pat Riley and Kevin Loughery. 5. Vinny Lecavalier, in 78 games in 2006-07. ¡))6. Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjoergen. 7. Nick Faldo, with 25 points.
6 Who was the only Olympian to win five medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics? 6. 7 Sergio Garcia set a Ryder Cup record in 2018 for most career points (25.5). Who had held the mark? 7.
• On April 30, 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered, ending Hitler's dreams of a "1,000-year" Reich.
by Jo Ann Derson
• On May 3, 1951, the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees begin hearings into the dismissal of Gen. Douglas MacArthur by President Harry Truman. The American public liked MacArthur's tough stance on communism, and he returned home to a hero's welcome.
• To keep bugs off your camp table, bring four tuna or cat food cans that are clean. Set each table leg into a can and fill halfway with water.
• On April 29, 1968, the musical "Hair" premieres on Broadway. The show featured a much-talked-about scene in which the cast appeared nude on the dimly lit stage. "Hair" quickly became not just a smash hit, but a cultural phenomenon.
• "It's about time to store my calf boots, as spring is warming things up. I don't want them to fall over, causing creases that can stress the fabric and create tears or otherwise ruin decent boots. So, I tape together two or three paper towel cores and set the whole thing down inside my winter boots to help them stay upright in storage." -- R.F. in Missouri
• On May 1, 1991, Oakland Athletics outfielder Rickey Henderson steals his 939th base to break Lou Brock's career record. Henderson would steal a total of 1,406 bases in his major league career, almost 500 more than the next closest player. (c) 2019 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
• Stuff wet shoes with newspaper to absorb the moisture. It not only cuts down on drying time, but helps absorb odors too. • Did you know that popcorn has a lot of insoluble fiber, which makes it a good snack if you're suffering from constipation. One caveat, though. Make sure you drink plenty of clear fluids, and don't add extra salt! • If you have trouble poaching eggs, add a bit of white vinegar to the boil water. The acidic additive will help the eggs set and retain their shape. Also, add the egg slowly -- don't just plop it in the water.
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• "Condiment squeeze containers are great for lots of other things, like paints, cooking oil and even frosting. The squirt tip allows a little more precision for decorating, but you don't want your sweet stuff to taste savory with the leftover mustard. Clean out the container well with soap and water. Add a couple of teaspoons of baking soda and some warm water. Let sit overnight and then rinse well. Allow to air dry before filling." -- T.I. in Washington Send your tips to Now Here's a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803
(c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
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Tidbits of The Pass Area
Vol. 2 Issue 13
1. Is the book of Gethsemane in the Old or New Testament or neither? 2. What's the only book of the Bible (KJV) that mentions Christ's tomb being sealed? Matthew, Mark, Luke, John 3. From Matthew 28:2, who rolled back the stone from the door of Jesus' tomb, and sat upon it? Simon, An angel, Villagers, Disciples 4. When Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" came upon the risen Jesus, who did He ask them to inform? Priests, Disciples, No one, Villagers 5. From John 20, which disciple doubted Jesus had risen unless he could see the wounds? Peter, Andrew, Thomas, Thaddeus 6. How long did Jesus remain after His resurrection before He ascended into heaven? Instantaneously, 1 hour, 7 days, 40 days 1) Neither; 2) Matthew (27:65-66); 3) An angel; 4) Disciples; 5) Thomas (called Didymus); 6) 40 days (Acts 1:3) Visit Wilson Casey’s Trivia Fan Siteat www.patreon.com/triviaguy. Š 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
Week of April 21, 2019
Tidbits of The Pass Area
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Does My Cat Need Himalayan Salt? DEAR PAW'S CORNER: I'm thoroughly confused by all the "health advice" for pets that I read online. One site tells me my cats should eat only organic meats and chicken (and nothing else!), while a Facebook page tells me that my pets will do fine on a vegan diet. My granddaughter's Instagram feed says that cats need a slew of supplements to be healthy, including pink Himalayan salt, which is all the rage. How can I figure out what's really best for my cats? -- Jim H., Manchester, New Hampshire DEAR JIM: I feel your pain. The internet has given us access to all the information we're looking for -- and all the information we weren't. Companies have sprung up left and right, peddling the latest supplement or dietary recommendation to keep our pets totally healthy, guaranteed. Fad diets can sometimes do harm to pets because key nutrients may be left out. Feeding dogs and cats only meat, and nothing else, can be as bad as feeding them no meat. And while most supplements are safe, you have to read up on what they actually do and know what a safe dose is. Your first and best resource is your pet's veterinarian, who has years of advanced education in animal care and stays abreast of the latest developments in pet health and wellness. He or she can tell you the best diet or supplements to give your cats, and which info on the internet to pay attention to and which to disregard. Talk to the vet at your cats' next checkup, and you'll get a much clearer picture of the best way to keep them healthy and well fed. No trendy salts needed. Send your questions or pet care tips to ask@pawscorner.com.
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(c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
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Tidbits of The Pass Area
Vol. 2 Issue 13