Tommy Contest Page 5
of the River Region
June 5, 2018 Published by PTK Corp.
The Neatest Little Paper Ever Read® To place an Ad, call: (334) 202-7285 TIDBITS® COLLECTS
SOCIAL SECURITY by Janet Spencer Come along with Tidbits as we cash our Social Security check! A NEW PROGRAM • In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal was signed into law. One aspect of it was that the Social Security program was implemented to limit the hazards of old age, poverty, unemployment, and disability. • The Social Security number (SSN) was created in 1936 for the purpose of tracking the earnings histories of U.S. workers, for determining Social Security benefit entitlements, and for computing benefit levels. Since then, use of the Social Security number has expanded substantially. Today it may be the most commonly used numbering system in the United States. Its universal use has led to its adoption throughout government and the private sector as a chief means of identifying and gathering information about an individual. • There have been more than 465 million nine-digit Social Security numbers issued since the program started. With just under 1 billion possible number combinations, there has never been a need to recycle numbers. Over 5.5 million new numbers are assigned every year. At some point the numbers will run out and a change will be made to keep up that policy, perhaps adding a digit. • The first set of three digits of a Social Security number is called the “Area Number” and is assigned to the state where you were born, with the lowest numbers starting in the northeast and increasing as you move west and south. Beginning in 1973, they were based on the zip code of the application. • The middle set of two digits is called the “Group Number” and are assigned a number between 01-99, but not in consecutive order. The group number was created as way to organize Social Security Administration filing cabinets into sub-groups to make them more manageable. • The final set of four digits is called the “Serial Number” and runs from 0001 through 9999. These are assigned consecutively as applications arrive. (Continued next page)
Vol 7 Issue 23 paul@riverregiontidbits.com
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Tidbits® of the River Region (Front page continued)
1. Is the book of Lydia in the Old or New Testament or neither? 2. From 1 Corinthians 11, because of “what” did Paul say women should have a “symbol of authority”? Life, Trust, Love, Angels 3. In Acts 10, who said, “Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean”? Herod, Peter, Thomas, John the Baptist 4. Whose four daughters were considered prophetesses? Gad, Philip, Jonah, Noah 5. From Hebrews 7, who was the only king said to have neither mother nor father? Solomon, David, Melchizedek, Sargon 6. Whose biblical name means, “God has helped”? Solomon, Paul, Lazarus, Amos Visit Wilson Casey’s new Trivia Fan Site at www.patreon. com/triviaguy. (c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.
By Chris Richcreek 1. When was the last time before 2017 that the Philadelphia Phillies hit three consecutive homers in a game? 2. Name the last major-league player before Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon in 2017 to lead off two consecutive games with a triple. 3. Before 2016, when was the last time the Oakland Raiders had a winning record for an NFL season? 4. When was the last time a men’s college basketball team west of the Mississippi won the NCAA Tournament? 5. Name three of the four NHL players to have scored 600 or more career goals in fewer than 1,000 games. 6. Who are the only three drivers to have won a NASCAR Cup championship at age 43 or older? 7. In 2017, Venus Williams became the oldest finalist (37) at the year-end WTA Finals. Who had been the oldest? (c) 2018 King Features Syndicate, Inc.
• Unfortunately, the formula the administration used to come up with a particular Social Security number was getting increasingly easy for criminals to figure out especially because many people’s social media pages include their birthplace and date of birth. However, the government recognized the problem, and as of June 25, 2011, changed how numbers are assigned. The first three digits no longer indicate the area of birth, and the other six digits are randomized in order to combat fraud and ID theft for those who were born after 2011. • Because the lowest numbers started in the northeastern U.S., you’d expect a Maine resident to have the lowest number ever issued. However, New Hampshire was ultimately given the 001 area number instead. John Winant, three-time governor of New Hampshire, served as the chairman of the Social Security Board. They wanted to honor him by giving him the lowest number ever: 001-01-0001. Winant declined the honor, and it was instead given to New Hampshire’s first applicant, Grace Owen. • You’d expect Grace Owen’s low number to have been the very first Social Security card ever issued, but it wasn’t. On December 1, 1936, as part of the publicity campaign, Joseph Fay of the Social Security Administration selected a random record from the top of a pile of a thousand records that were stacked on a desk next to him as reporters snapped pictures. He announced that the first Social Security number in history (055-09-0001) was assigned to John David Sweeney of New Rochelle, New York. Sweeney died in 1974 at the age of 61 without ever receiving any benefits. Sweeney’s widow, however, did receive benefits until she died eight years later. • Cards have never been issued where the first three digits are 000 or 666. There are no cards where any set of digits is all zeros. • Before 1986, people often did not obtain a Social Security number until the age of about 14, since the numbers were used for income tracking purposes, and those under that age seldom earned much. Many youth waited until they turned 16, when it was required for obtaining a driver’s license. • The Tax Reform Act of 1986 required parents to list Social Security numbers for each dependent over the age of 5 for whom the parent wanted to claim as a tax deduction. Before this act, parents claiming tax deductions were simply trusted not to lie about the number of children they supported. Many people lied about the number of kids they had anyway. During the first year of the Tax Reform Act, this anti-fraud change resulted in seven million fewer minor dependents being claimed as dependents. By 1988, parents needed a SSN for children over the age of 2 if they wanted to claim them as dependents, and in 1990 it was lowered again to the age of 1. Today most parents apply for a SSN as soon as their child is born. • In 1938, the vice president of a company that massproduced wallets thought it would be a good idea to stick a fake copy of a Social Security card into millions of the wallets, which were then distributed throughout the nation at department stores such as Woolworths. The dummy cards were much smaller than normal Social Security cards, they had the word “specimen” written on them, and they used all red ink which was not the same color as real Social Security cards, but the number written on the fake cards was real: it was the Social Security number that belonged to the vice president’s secretary, Hilda Schrader Whitcher. The FBI subsequently paid a call on Hilda to find out why so many people were claiming her Social Security number as their own. Hilda was assigned a new number. Eventually over 40,000 people illegally appropriated her number, even as late as 1977. • More recently, Todd Davis distributed his SSN in advertisements for his company’s LifeLock identity theft protection service, which allowed his identity to be stolen numerous times. • You can lose your card 10 times during your lifetime (but only three times in a single year) and still get a free replacement card. After that, it’ll cost you to get a new card. Legal name changes don’t count toward the limits. • Social Security retirement benefits are based on your highest 35 years of income. • In 2017, the average Social Security retirement benefit was $1,322 per month. For a couple, the average monthly combined benefit was $2,212. In 2017, the maximum Social Security benefit at full retirement age was $2,687. • Today, about 157 million Americans pay Social Security taxes and over 61 million Americans receive Social Security benefits.
“Be known before you’re needed” Advertise with Tidbits (334) 202-7285
by Samantha Weaver * It was British writer and humorist Jerome K. Jerome who made the following sage observation: ÒIt is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do. There is no fun in doing nothing when you have nothing to do. Wasting time is merely an occupation then, and a most exhausting one. Idleness, like kisses, to be sweet must be stolen.Ó * Europe is the only continent without a desert. Even icy Antarctica has deserts -- including the worldÕs largest cold desert. * Modern dietary trends notwithstanding, raw vegetables have not always enjoyed the healthsome reputation they now have. In medieval times, in fact, veggies would always be cooked; raw ones were considered to be bad for the humors. * Have you ever heard of an ÒadhocracyÓ? If youÕre like many frustrated workers these days, you may be employed by one. An adhocracy is an organization characterized by lack of planning, responding to problems as they emerge rather than anticipating and avoiding them. * In La Paz, Bolivia, you can find one of the most unusual prisons in the world. At San Pedro Prison, inmates have to purchase their cells. Those who are well off financially can buy private cells with bathrooms, television and kitchens. Those who are less lucky must share tiny rooms. * You might be surprised to learn that the worldÕs most-translated author, by far, is Agatha Christie. Jules Verne ranks second, followed closely by William Shakespeare. ItÕs interesting to note that three of the top 10 -- Enid Blyton, Hans Christian Anderson and Jacob Grimm -- wrote works for children. *** Thought for the Day: ÒThe trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.Ó -- Terry Pratchett (c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.
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Tidbits® of the River Region
* On June 6, 1683, The Ashmolean, the worldÕs first university museum, opens in Oxford, England. Today, the collection at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology ranges from the earliest implements of man, made about 500,000 years ago, to 20th-century works of art. Ê * On June 10, 1692, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Bridget Bishop, the first colonist tried in the Salem witch trials, is hanged after being found guilty of practicing witchcraft. Bishop, known for her dubious moral character, frequented taverns, dressed flamboyantly (by Puritan standards) and had been married three times. * On June 4, 1942, the Battle of Midway begins. During the four-day sea-and-air battle, the outnumbered U.S. Pacific Fleet succeeded in destroying four Japanese aircraft carriers while losing only one of its own, the Yorktown. * On June 9, 1956, bestselling crime novelist Patricia Cornwell, creator of crime-solving medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, is born. Her mother had a nervous breakdown when Cornwell was 9 and tried to give the children away to evangelist Billy Graham and his wife. The Grahams placed the children in foster care. * On June 5, 1967, the Six-Day War begins when Israel launches simultaneous attacks against Egypt and Syria. Jordan subsequently entered the fray. By the time the United Nations cease-fire took effect on June 11, Israel had more than doubled its size. * On June 7, 1976, New York magazine publishes the story that becomes the film “Saturday Night Fever.” “The Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night,Ó by journalist Nik Cohn, thought to be a true story about a Brooklyn disco dancer, was almost entirely fabricated. * On June 8, 1999, some 1.3 million copies of “Hannibal,” the final book in the Hannibal Lecter series by Thomas Harris, arrive at bookstores. The cannibalistic serial killer first appeared in HarrisÕ 1981 book, “Red Dragon,” as a minor character. (c) 2018 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Chartrand, Evan White/Male 5’7” 160 lbs Age: 16 Hair: Brown Eyes: Blue MISSING PERSON Osborne, Susan Lynn White/Female 5’3” 120 lbs Age: 43 Hair: Blonde Eyes: Blue MISSING PERSON
Hill, Preston DOB: 04/22/1969 Black/Male 6’3” 170 lbs Hair: Black Eyes: Brown
Outstanding Warrants: Wanted for: Burglary 3rd/Theft of Property 1st Failure to Appear Theft of Property 4th/ Theft of Property 3rd
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“Be known before you’re needed” Advertise with Tidbits (334) 202-7285 THE DEMPSTER DUMPSTER
1. What was Def Leppard’s first No. 1 song? 2. Phil Collins’ “Two Hearts” was used on the soundtrack to which film? 3. The Highwaymen was a country supergroup from 1985 to 1995. What does that mean? 4. Who had a posthumous hit with “Blue Side of Lonesome”? 5. Name the song that contains this lyric: “Hitchin’ on a twilight train, Ain’t nothing here that I care to take along, Maybe a song to sing when I want.” Answers 1. “Photograph,” in 1983. The song appears in “Grand Theft Auto V.” 2. “Buster,” in 1988. The song went to the top of the charts and stayed there for two weeks. 3. All four members were successful in their own careers outside of the group. They were Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings. 4. Jim Reeves, in 1966. It was the fifth song after his death to go to No. 1 on the charts. 5. “Cracklin’ Rosie,” by Neil Diamond in 1970. Legend says the song was written for the music director (named Rosalie) of a radio station, hoping she’d play it on the air. The refrain, “play it now, play it now” was supposedly a message to her. (c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.
• George Dempster was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1887, one of 11 children born to immigrant parents. When he was 19, he went to Panama with his brother to work on the Panama Canal. He was particularly talented at handling the gigantic steam shovels. He even re-designed his steam shovel, improving it so that the bucket, once it was filled, would self-empty. His bosses were impressed and every single steam shovel was re-built following his design. • When George and his brother returned to Tennessee, they started a company named after themselves: The Dempster Construction Company. They built roads, dams, and railways. By 1922 they owned 26 steam shovels including the largest strip-mining shovel in the world at the time. Things were really going well, but then the Great Depression hit. George Dempster watched as the luxurious home he had built was auctioned to the highest bidder to satisfy company debts. But he did not give up. • Instead, he brought in two more of his brothers, reorganized, and formed the Dempster Machinery Company, focusing on building large construction machines, with construction jobs relegated as a side-line. • One of the biggest headaches of owning a construction firm was hauling away the waste generated which had to be loaded onto dump trucks. What he really needed was a way to easily dispose of huge amounts of garbage. He went to work designing something that could do that. In 1935 he built the first unit, dubbing it the “Dempster-Dumpster,” a word he invented using his name and the world “dump.” The Dempster Dumpster was a specially designed truck that could lift a specially designed container over its head, dumping tons of refuse into the rear of the truck, then crushing it before unloading it. • Dempster Dumpsters reduced the cost of collecting, hauling and dumping garbage more than 75% compared to the cost of performing the task with conventional dump trucks. George Dempster designed and built models capable of handling a 38,000-lb net load, plus the two ton weight of the container, all on a single-axle heavy-duty truck. By 1939 the company was also manufacturing the Dempster-Balester, a hydraulic machine capable of crushing and bailing an entire car into a billet for shipping. • He designed the Dempster Dumpster to make things easier for his own construction company, but once other rival companies got a look at it, they wanted Dempster Dumpsters for themselves. Soon, municipalities started putting in orders, because it beat the current method of having garbage men manually empty garbage cans into the back of dump trucks. Dempster advertised the product as being “rat-proof, windproof, fly-proof, fire-proof, and scavenger-proof.” • Before long, the five Dempster brothers were spending their entire time turning out Dumpsters at Dempster Brothers, Inc. Work with the U.S. Navy resulted in Dempster’s equipment being used all over the world. In fact, there were 125 Dumpsters on the docks in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. • By the 1950s, his company employed over 450 people and was grossing over $6 million a year. • By the end of his career he would hold over 75 patents. By the time he died of a heart attack in 1964, the word “Dumpster” which he had coined was used as commonly as other corporate names such as “Kleenex” or “Xerox” or “Band-aid.” Dumpsters are now found in every city all over the world.
Scott Decker Please call 334-202-7285 within 7 days of this issue to claim your prize!
Tommy Count ______
This week’s winner receives
2 Dozen Glazed Doughnuts from
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Register to win by sending an email to entertommycontest@gmail.com or USPS to PTK Corp., PO Box 264, Wetumpka, AL 36092 with the following information: 1) Your name (first and last), and, 2) the number of times you find Tommy in the ads in the paper. From the correct entries a winner will be selected. You must be 18 years of age to qualify. The gift certificates will range in value from $25 to $100 each week. Entries must be received by midnight each Friday evening.
Last Week’s Ads where
Tommy was hiding:
1. Baptist Health, p.4 2. MCA Fitness Center, p.6
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TidbitsÂŽ of the River Region
“Be known before you’re needed” Advertise with Tidbits (334) 202-7285 Fabulous Food
HONEY
BIBLE TRIVIA ANSWERS:
1) Neither; 2) Angels; 3) Peter; 4) Philip; 5) Melchizedek; 6) Lazarus
1. It was 2008, when Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell did it. 2. Miami’s Jose Reyes, in 2012. 3. It was 2002. 4. Kansas, in 2008. 5. Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull and Alex Ovechkin. 6. Bobby Allison (age 45 in 1983), Dale Earnhardt (43 in 1994) and Lee Petty (45 in 1959). 7. Martina Navratilova was 36 when she reached the championship of the WTA Finals in 1992.
• Honey is great for three reasons. First, it’s one of nature’s most unique foods. Second, it lasts virtually indefinitely. Third, it doubles as a topical antibiotic. • First, is it really one of nature’s most unique foods? It is the only edible foodstuff that is manufactured by insects. Bees collect nectar secreted by flowers, mix it with enzymes from their digestive tract, spit it into a honeycomb, and then dehydrate it by fanning their wings until it is reduced to about 18% water. • Honey has equal parts of glucose and fructose. In the digestive tract, the glucose is absorbed quickly and provides immediate energy, whereas the fructose is absorbed slowly and provides sustaining energy. • Due to the high level of fructose, honey is about 25% sweeter than ordinary sugar. A tablespoon full of honey contains about 60 calories, which is about the same as sugar. • Honey is fat-free and cholesterol-free and contains 22 amino acids and many essential minerals perfectly designed to maintain metabolism in the body of a bee. • There is one drawback to honey, which is that it cannot be fed to children under one year old. This is due to the risk of botulism. Botulism spores are everywhere, in the dirt, carried by the wind, blowing around as dust. When bees collect nectar, they’re also collecting microscopic botulism spores and mixing them with the honey. Normally this isn’t a big deal; botulism is only dangerous when it’s concentrated. Adults can eat honey without fear of botulism, but babies have an underdeveloped immune system and do not develop a full complement of protective digestive bacteria until they are about a year old. Because of this, they have less resistance to botulism than adults. • Does honey keep forever? Honey found in King Tut’s tomb was 2,000 years old and it was still good. Honey crystallizes and solidifies over time, but reverts to its original form when the container is placed in a pot of warm water. (Be sure not to boil it, which destroys enzymes.) It keeps well in air-tight plastic or glass containers, but do not store it in metal cans because the acids in the honey will oxidize the metal, ruining the taste. It can be kept indefinitely at room temperature and can be frozen without harm, but heat ruins the nutritional value, and it’s best to store it where the temperature remains constant. • Can it be used as an effective ointment? Although bacteria usually thrive in sugary environments, honey has an acidic pH value of between 3.2 and 4.5, making it a highly unfavorable environment for bacteria. Because honey is so high in sugar and so low in water, it acts like a desiccant, drawing the water out of anything it comes into contact with, including bacteria, which die. This desiccating property of honey also means that when it’s used as an ointment, it draws fluids from the wound, reducing inflammation. • Finally, when moisture is added to honey (such as from a weeping wound), a chemical reaction between water and an enzyme produces hydrogen peroxide as a by-product. Hydrogen peroxide is an antiseptic. Ancient Egyptians used honey for all manner of problems, and during World War I, honey mixed with castor oil was used to treat battlefield injuries. It’s effective for treating bedsores, burns, sunburns, cuts, scrapes, rashes and so forth. • While enjoying your honey, keep in mind that the total output over the lifetime of a single honey bee might equal 1/12th of a teaspoon. To make one pound of honey, bees in a colony must visit about 2 million flowers and fly over 55,000 miles.
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“A Taste of Home” Graduation Gift Pre-addressed, stamped postcards sent by college students from around the country find their way back to Nancy Cripe’s kitchen in Minnesota throughout the school year. Even an old and tattered postcard recently arrived from a UCLA graduate student with the three-word message, “Is this expired?” “Cookie cards never expire,” replied the high-school biology and human anatomy and physiology teacher at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis. Nancy’s “cookie cards” have become her unique high-school graduation gift-giving tradition. At the end of each academic year, she receives numerous invitations to her science students’ graduation open-house parties. A few years ago, she decided to change up how she honored their achievement, by giving something personal that is a little taste from home when they feel far away -- in the form of home-baked chocolate chip cookies. Like a monetary gift card with dollar amounts for purchases at stores and restaurants, her cookie postcard can be redeemed for one dozen home-baked cookies. “Not surprisingly, that’s usually during their final exam week,” she says. It’s a gift that keeps on giving. “Hearing back from students when they send me the postcard is a personal way to stay in touch, and baking for them gives me a chance to think about them individually, and what they are experiencing and working toward.” This personalized gift idea can work for a graduating grandchild, friend, niece or nephew, too. You even might wish to give several cookie-card postcards to be redeemed quarterly or monthly. Here’s how she does it: She designs the postcards with images and words of blessing and inspiration printed on one side. On the left half of the reverse side, she prints this message in the high school’s colors: “Congratulations on your Graduation! When you’re away at college and need some extra inspiration to help you study (especially science!), just send me this postcard and homemade cookies will soon be on their way to you!” Below the message are four lines where the student writes his or her college address, along with a space for jotting a note to her. On the right half, she prints her home address and adds a postage stamp. The postcard is tucked inside a graduation card. When she receives the postcard, she bakes the cookies (she has a large quantity of cookie dough shaped into balls and frozen to bake a dozen on a moment’s notice) and packs them carefully in a plastic bag wrapped with bubble wrap to fit the smallest U.S. mail flat rate box. She includes a handwritten greeting, and sends it off. *** Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.” (c) 2018 Donna Erickson Distributed by King Features Synd.
Tidbits® of the River Region