Tidbits of the River Region, News, Funnies, Puzzles, Quizzes by Ray Dutton

Tommy Contest Page 5

of the River Region

October 9, 2018 Published by PTK Corp.

The Neatest Little Paper Ever Read® To place an Ad, call: (334) 202-7285 TIDBITS® IS SURROUNDED BY

PLASTIC by Janet Spencer The word plastic comes from the Greek “plastikos” meaning “capable of being shaped.” THE HISTORY OF PLASTIC • Billiard balls used to be made out of elephant ivory. By the mid-1800s, elephants were in short supply. In the 1860s a billiards company in New York City offered a $10,000 prize for anyone who could invent a substitute. • John Wesley Hyatt began experimenting with a new material called celluloid in 1869, made from plant cellulose, camphor (a resin), and alcohol. Billiard balls made out of celluloid couldn’t match the rebound effect of ivory, so he never collected the prize money. • Celluloid did not make good billiard balls, but it had other benefits. It didn’t get slimy when wet like wood. It didn’t corrode like metal. It didn’t get brittle like rubber. It didn’t crack like ivory. One thing the celluloid did well was that it made great motion picture film. • The first silent films were made possible by celluloid, which had only one drawback: it was highly flammable. Celluloid was replaced by non-flammable safety film in the 1930s. • Celluloid was the first plastic-type of material produced on an industrial scale, and ushered in the age of plastics. Hyatt went on to patent over 200 other items, from water filters to sewing machines. PLASTIC, PHASE 2 • Leo Baekeland came to the U.S. from his native Belgium in 1863. He invented a type of photographic paper which he sold to George Eastman of Kodak for $1 million in 1899. He used that money to set up a lab in Yonkers, New York, where he continued to tinker. • Because use of electricity was expanding exponentially, Baekeland wanted to invent something that would act as an electrical insulator. At the time, shellac was used as an electrical insulator. Shellac comes from the sticky excretions of the female lac beetle, but it takes 15,000 beetles six months to make enough resin to create a single pound of shellac. The expansion of electricity out-paced the ability of beetles to produce shellac. (Continued next page)

Vol 7 Issue 41 paul@riverregiontidbits.com

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Tidbits® of the River Region (Front page continued)

1. Is the book of 1 Peter in the Old or New Testament or neither? 2. Who slew a giant that had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot when he defied Israel? Sibbechai, Cyrus, Silas, Jonathan 3. What god of the Philistines had a man’s face and hands, but the body and tail of a fish? Bullock, Elohim, Dagon, Baal-gad 4. From Proverbs 22, what is a good name better than? Great riches, Scorn, Its own reward, Lust 5. What town was home to Jesse’s boys? Gilgal, Jericho, Hebron, Bethlehem 6. On which day of creation did dry ground appear? Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth Visit Wilson Casey’s new Trivia Fan Site at www.patreon. com/triviaguy. (c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.

By Chris Richcreek 1. Between 2015-18, the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player also hit a home run in the game. Name two of the four MVPs. 2. Name the last Dodgers pitcher before Alex Wood in 2017 to win his first 10 decisions in a season. 3. Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell set an NFL record in 2017 for most field goals in a playoff game. How many was it? 4. Who was the first men’s basketball player in University of Michigan history to have more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists during his career? 5. Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov set a franchise record for points (10) in a playoff series in 2018. How many of those points were goals, and how many were assists? 6. Who was the last NASCAR Cup driver to win three consecutive road races? 7. In 1998, Jana Novotna became the oldest first-time winner of the Wimbledon women’s singles title in the Open Era. How old was she? (c) 2018 King Features Syndicate, Inc.

• Baekeland worked with phenol, a derivative of coal tar, combining it with formaldehyde. Not only did the substance make an excellent electrical insulator, but its ability to be molded made it ideal for use in the manufacture of many items. Baekeland dubbed the substance “Bakelite” and called it “the material of a thousand uses” which was true. Because it could be molded quickly, it could be used in mass-production. Anything made out of it was smooth, scratch-resistant, heat resistant, lightweight, and impervious to solvents. It was the world’s first synthetic plastic. • Starting in 1907, Baekeland patented over 400 uses for it, including telephones, kitchenware, combs, ash trays, buttons, jewelry, and even billiard balls. It was used extensively in many ways during both World Wars. By the 1920s his factory was turning out nearly 4,500 tons of Bakelite annually, and by 1944 production had increased to 175,000 tons. By then Bakelite was used in over 15,000 products. Union Carbide bought the rights to Bakelite in 1939. By the time Baekeland died at the age of 80 in 1944, new and better plastics were already being discovered. A PLASTIC FABRIC • Wallace Carothers was a chemist for DuPont before World War II. He studied polymers, synthetics, and polyesters, trying to come up with a replacement for silk. America’s silk came from Japan, and trade relations were breaking down. • One day a fellow researcher discovered that when he stirred a flask of warm soft synthetics with a rod, and then pulled the rod out of the flask, the material would stretch into long silky fibers. They decided to see how far these filaments would stretch. They took a blob into the hallway and stretched it out into strings the length of the hall. Amazingly, the fibers became stronger the longer they grew, the opposite of what they expected. They had accidentally discovered that the stress of being stretched causes the molecules to align in strong chains, a process called cold-drawing. • Using this process on other synthetic substances led to the discovery of a material that turned out to be not only a substitute for silk, but also found a million other uses. The raw material consists of coal, petroleum products, air, and water, which is formulated and run through the cold-drawing process. It won’t mildew, decay, or absorb moisture, and it’s impervious to greases and cleansers. In certain forms it has an amazing elasticity, making it perfect for use in ropes, parachutes, and clothing. A rope made of this material holds 50% more weight than a steel cable of the same diameter. Other uses include toothbrushes, guitar strings, and ski boots. They called it nylon, a word they made up. A PLASTIC FILM • It was 1933 and college student Ralph Wiley took a job at Dow Chemical Company to pay his way through college in the middle of the Great Depression. It was his job to clean up after the scientists, which meant washing out a lot of bottles, test tubes, and flasks. • One day one of the flasks refused to come clean, no matter how hard Wiley scrubbed, and no matter what cleaning solutions he used. The flask had been used in an experiment searching for better dry cleaning solvents. Finally Wiley peeled a thin film of polymers away from the glass. He showed this film to his boss, John Reilly. Reilly saw potential in the material and put his best chemists on the project. The film needed a name, and Reilly thought of his wife, Sarah, and his daughter, Ann and named the product after them: Saran. • During World War II Saran was sprayed onto airplanes to protect parts from salt sea spray and sand. After the war, it was revamped and used to protect car upholstery. In 1949, it became the first cling wrap designed for commercial use. Re-named Saran Wrap, it was first sold for household use in 1953. • Ralph Wiley continued his career at Dow Chemical, receiving many patents. Today the polyethylene film he discovered is the most abundant form of plastic made, with 80 million metric tons produced worldwide each year. Most is used in packaging. POLYETHYLENE • Ethylene is a gas which is a byproduct of refining crude oil. It used to be burned off and wasted, until 1933 when two British chemists started experimenting with it. One experiment resulted in their lab blowing up, but later they found that if they added benzaldehyde and oxygen under pressure, ethylene molecules hook together into long strong chains called polyethylene. Polyethylene is stronger than steel but soft as wax. Today there are two types: high-density polyethylene (HDPE) used for things such as milk jugs; and low density polyethylene (LDPE) used for plastic wraps and bags. Polyethylene was the first plastic to sell more than a billion pounds per year in the U.S.

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by Samantha Weaver * It was Democratic governor and presidential hopeful Adlai Stevenson who made the following sage observation: “A free society is a place where it’s safe to be unpopular.” * Statistics show that for every 71,000 skydiving jumps made, there is only one fatality. That might not seem surprising until you put it in context: You have a one in 20,000 chance of dying from a regular fall right here on solid ground. * A.A. Milne, the British author best known for his children’s books about Winnie the Pooh, had a teacher and mentor you might not expect: H.G. Wells, one of the acknowledged fathers of science fiction and author of such novels as “The War of the Worlds,” “The Invisible Man” and “The Island of Dr. Moreau.” * Here’s a smart idea: Some fitness centers are now using the energy clients expend on its exercise bikes to help power the building’s lighting. * Arctic biologists say that polar bears can go weeks without eating -- which is certainly handy in an environment where food isn’t always easy to get. Evidently, if a polar bear goes a week to 10 days without eating, its metabolism will slow down and the animal will live off its fat reserves until it finds its next meal. * According to not one, but two studies conducted on the subject, those who have a ring finger that is longer than their index finger tend to be better athletes.Ê * If you drive a white automobile, you have a lot of company. There are more white cars in the United States than any other color. *** Thought for the Day: “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” -- Albert Einstein (c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.

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Tidbits® of the River Region

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* On Oct. 13, 1792, the cornerstone is laid for a presidential residence in the newly designated capital city of Washington. It was called the “White House” because its white-gray Virginia freestone contrasted strikingly with the red brick of nearby buildings. * On Oct. 10, 1845, The United States Naval Academy opens in Annapolis, Maryland, with 50 midshipmen students and seven professors. * On Oct. 8, 1871, flames spark in the Chicago barn of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary, igniting a two-day blaze that kills up to 300 people and destroys 17,450 buildings. Legend has it that a cow kicked over a lantern and started the fire, but in 1997, the Chicago City Council exonerated Mrs. O’Leary and her cow. * On Oct. 14, 1913, over 400 workers die in a massive coal-mine explosion near Cardiff, Wales. Nearly 500 miners were brought up safely, but with no further signs of life, mine officials decided to seal the mine, entombing the bodies. * On Oct. 9, 1940, during the Battle of Britain, the German Luftwaffe conducts a heavy nighttime air raid on London. The dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral was pierced by a Nazi bomb, leaving the high altar in ruin. Otherwise, the cathedral survived the Blitz largely intact. * On Oct. 11, 1975, the single “Born to Run” became Bruce Springsteen’s first-ever Top 40 hit. In 1974, a Rolling Stone editor had bestowed this now-famous praise upon the Boss: “I saw rock and roll’s future and its name is Bruce Springsteen.” * On Oct. 12, 1997, songwriter and performer John Denver dies when his experimental amateur aircraft crashes into Monterey Bay on the California coast. Known for hits like “Rocky Mountain High” and “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” Denver sold more than 32 million albums in the U.S. alone. (c) 2018 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Leonard, Jamie David Black/Male 5’6” 170 lbs 39 yrs old Hair: Black Eyes: Brown

Outstanding Warrants: Charge: Domestic Violence 3rd (Harassment)

Outstanding Warrants:

Pettus, Markia DOB: 7/20/1994 Black/Male 5’11” 160 lbs Hair: Black Eyes: Brown

Wanted for: Theft of Property 3rd/ Fraudulent Use Credit Debit card (4) Counts

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“Be known before you’re needed” Advertise with Tidbits (334) 202-7285 THE PLASTIC BAG

1. Name the first group to release “Bring a Little Lovin’.” 2. What was the name of Mitch Ryder’s band in the 1960s? 3. Which duo released “Mr. Turnkey”? 4. Emerson, Lake & Palmer later had a different name. What was it? 5. Name the country music song that contains this lyric: “We gotta all stick together or else I’ll lose my mind, I’ve got a feeling she’ll be gone a long long time.” Answers 1. Los Bravos, in 1968. The song was written for them by songwriters in the band The Easybeats. Ricky Martin came along with his Spanish version in 1992. 2. The Detroit Wheels. Ryder, born William S. Levise, Jr., started with Billy Lee & The Rivieras. Producer Bob Crewe renamed them Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels. 3. Zager and Evans, in 1969, shortly after they released their one and only hit, “In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus).” 4. After the band broke up in 1979, they regrouped in 1980 with a replacement for Palmer and became Emerson, Lake & Powell. 5. “Hello Walls,” by Faron Young in 1961. The song was a huge hit and helped launch songwriter Willie Nelson’s career. (c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.

• In the early 1960s, Sten Thulin was working for the Celloplast company in Sweden when he developed a method of forming a one-piece bag by folding, welding and die-cutting a flat tube of plastic in order to turn out a simple plastic bag with handles. Patented in 1965, Celloplast had a monopoly on the iconic “T-shirt” plastic grocery bag. • In the U.S., Exxon Mobile challenged Celloplast’s U.S. patent, and it was overturned in 1977. The first plastic bags showed up in stores in 1979, and by the 1980s, many firms in the U.S. were manufacturing them. • Kroger began offering shoppers the choice between “paper or plastic” in 1982, followed by Safeway. Because 1,000 plastic bags cost $24, while the same number of paper bags cost $30, they caught on quickly. By the end of 1985, 75% of supermarkets were offering plastic bags to their customers. • Many customers still preferred paper bags because they would stand upright in the trunks of cars. Plastic held just 25% of the market, but within the next decade, the plastic bag had captured 80% of the market. Plastic bags were waterproof, able to contain up to 1,000 times their own weight, and easier to carry. • Today Americans use around 100 billion plastic bags each year, amounting to almost one bag per person per day. Laid end-to-end, they could circle the equator 1,330 times. Worldwide, it’s estimated that 1 trillion bags are used annually. • The bags are made from high-density polyethylene, or #2-type plastic, which is the same kind used to produce many types of plastic bottles. #2 plastic can be recycled and re-used, but it does not break down in the environment. • In 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags, followed by the entire state of California in 2016. • Mumbai, India, banned plastic bags because they block storm drains and made monsoon flooding worse. Ireland put a 15¢ fee on every plastic bag, and use of the bags dropped by 94% within weeks. When China banned plastic bags altogether, it’s estimated that they saved 1.6 million tons of oil in the first year. • Only about 5% of plastic bags are recycled in the U.S. PLASTIC BOTTLES • The polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) bottle was invented in 1973. Prior to 1973, soda pop and other liquid items were packaged in glass bottles, which were heavy and prone to breaking during transport. PET is a type of plastic that does not explode under the pressure of containing carbonated beverages. • Today about a third of beverage containers sold in the U.S. are made of PET, otherwise known as plastic type #1 at recycling centers. Recycled PET containers are used to make synthetic fleece clothing, straps, paintbrush bristles, sleeping bag filler, t-shirts, carpets, furniture, and new bottles. Still, only about 25% of PET bottles are recycled. • 55 billion PET bottles that could have been recycled end up in American landfills each year. The energy contained in those bottles would have been enough energy to heat and light 1.2 million homes for a year. They could have been made into enough polyester to knit three sweaters for every resident of the U.S. It takes only five recycled two-liter bottles to make enough fiberfill for one ski jacket. • Americans recycle 23% of their glass, 34% of metals, and 55% of paper, but only 7% of plastic. People in Japan recycle 77% of their plastic. States with bottle bills have recycling rates double the amount of states without them. Michigan charges 10¢ for every PET bottle sold, and 90% are returned. California recovers 75% of their bottles.

Michaela Oswalt Please call 334-202-7285 within 7 days of this issue to claim your prize!

Tommy Count ______

This week’s winner receives

Zoo Boo 4-Pack Tickets from

Montgomery Zoo 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. Gene Jones Insurance Agency Inc., p.1 2. Baptist Health, p.4

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TidbitsÂŽ of the River Region

Credit Cards Now Accepted

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Fabulous Food

JELLY, JAM, & JUICE • The quince tree grows in a variety of locations in the Mediterranean region, and it bears a fruit that looks like a cross between an apple and a pear. The quince fruit is hard and sour, but when it is peeled and then roasted, baked, or stewed, the flesh of the fruit becomes sweeter, though it remains pungent. It can be added to applesauce or turned into wine or brandy. Also, quinces that are slowly boiled for a long time with honey will gel into a thick, sticky substance due to the pectin in the peel. This quince jelly was popular during sea voyages because it kept well and supplied sailors with vitamin C. • According to legend, when a ship ran aground off the coast of Scotland near Dundee, its load of oranges was going to spoil, so the local residents had a heyday with the windfall. One enterprising woman named Janet Keiller, wanting to preserve the oranges before they rotted, experimented with making quince jelly with oranges instead of quince, dropping chunks of orange peel into the mix. • Whether or not the story is true, Dundee, Scotland became the headquarters for production of this type of orange jam when a factory was opened there in 1797. Since then, oranges have become associated with the jelly more than quinces, although it is also made with limes, grapefruit, and strawberries. • This jam-like treat got its name from the Portuguese word for quince, “marmelo” a word that derives from the Latin word “melimelum” meaning “honey apple.” Today it’s called marmalade. • The widespread mass marketing of jelly in the U.S. began with Thomas Welch, who was a dentist, a minister, and prohibitionist in the 1800s. He felt it was hypocritical for churches to oppose the consumption of alcohol while still offering real wine for communion. • In 1869 Thomas Welch discovered that pasteurizing grape juice would prevent it from fermenting while also giving it a long shelf life. He lived near Concord, Massachusetts, the birthplace of the Concord grape. He began to bottle grape juice in his home, and he launched a campaign to have churches use ‘Dr. Welch’s Unfermented Wine’ for communion, naming the product after himself. Churches generally felt it was sacrilegious to serve anything but real wine, and ignored him. His product flopped. • After Thomas died in 1903, his son Charles Welch followed in his footsteps, but instead of selling it to churches, he began to sell it to the general populace, hawking it as a healthy fruit drink. By 1909 Charles Welch was selling a million gallons a year. • When Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan served grape juice instead of wine at a high-toned diplomatic dinner in 1914, the newspapers had a field day and Welch’s juice got much free publicity. • In 1914, the U.S. Navy forbade the consumption of alcoholic beverages on board ships, and supplied the sailors with Charles’ grape juice instead. Charles added jellies and jams to his product line and the entire supply of “Grapelade” (grape marmalade) was purchased by the U.S. Army during World War I. When soldiers returned home, they asked their local stores to stock the products. • When Prohibition kicked in, sales of the grape juice really took off. Today Thomas and Charles Welch’s last name is synonymous with juice, jam, and jelly. • Welch’s Food Inc. is still located in Concord, Massachusetts, and has been owned and operated by the National Grape Cooperative Association since 1956. In addition to a variety of juices, jellies, and jams, they now also manufacture several kinds of soda pop as well as fruit snacks.

BIBLE TRIVIA ANSWERS:

1) New; 2) Jonathan; 3) Dagon; 4) Great riches; 5) Bethlehem; 6) Third

1. Mike Trout, Eric Hosmer, Robinson Cano and Alex Bregman. 2. Don Newcombe, in 1955. 3. Six. 4. Derrick Walton Jr. (2013-17). 5. Five goals, five assists. 6. Tony Stewart (2004-05). 7. She was 29.

Tidbits® of the River Region

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Last Week Total

10-5 66-24

8-7 65-25

11-4 65-25

8-7 64-26

9-6 64-26

8-7 62-28

8-7 60-30

10-5 60-30

8-7 59-31

National Champ

Alabama

Georgia

Alabama

Auburn

Clemson

Texas Tech TCU

TCU

Tennessee Auburn

Auburn

Missouri Alabama

Alabama

Ole Miss Arkansas

Ole Miss

Alabama St S Alabama

S Alabama

USA

S Alabama

Alabama St

Florida Vandy

Florida

Vandy

Florida

Georgia LSU

LSU

Georgia

LSU

Georgia

LSU

Georgia

Texas A&M S Carolina

Texas A&M

Michigan St Penn St S

Penn St

Michigan St

Penn St

Wisconsin Michigan

Michigan

Wisconsin

Michigan

Wisconsin

Michigan

Duke Georgia Tech

Duke

Georgia Tech

Duke

Georgia Tech

Duke

Louisville Boston College

Boston College

Louisville

Miami Virginia

Miami

Virginia

Miami

Virginia

Miami

UCF Memphis

UCF

Washington Oregon

Oregon

Washington

Georgia Tech Georgia Tech