Tidbits of the Rogue Valley - Vol 2 Issue 10

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Volume 2 Issue 10

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TIDBITS® VISITS

THE RAINFOREST

by Janet Spencer

As our thoughts start turning to spring, come along with Tidbits as we explore a place where there is no spring, no autumn, no winter— only perpetual summer: the jungle rainforest.

JUNGLE FACTS

• Why is the jungle so diverse? 30 million years ago, the area that is now the Amazon jungle entered a long dry period. The tropical rain forests growing there at the time were wiped out, and only isolated pockets of jungle surrounded by vast grasslands remained. Each pocket of jungle followed its own evolutionary course over thousands of years.

• When the climate once again became warm and wet following the last ice age 10,000 years ago, the different types of jungle grew together again, with each forest contributing many different species of plant and animal.

• As a result, the South American forests are the most diverse in the world. Whereas many temperate forests are composed largely of just a few species of tree, in the Amazon you may have to travel a mile or more to find two trees of the same species.

• In any North American forest it is rare to find more than 15 species of tree in the entire ecosytem. In the Amazon, a fiveacre plot may contain between 100 and 250 different species.

(Continued next page)

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RAINFOREST (continued) • In the northern deciduous forests of the temperate climates, every tree drops its leaves at the same time, triggered by the change of seasons. Thus, each year the forest floor receives a huge boon of nutritious new dead material all at one time. This stuff gradually turns into rich soil.

• But in the tropical rainforest, no change of season occurs so no massive leaf drop ever happens.

Tropical trees drop their leaves gradually over the entire year. The unending heat and moisture of the climate spur the growth of bacteria, insects, and fungi, which consume the material and cause it to decompose quickly, converting it into nutrient building blocks.

• The process of decomposition which takes between one and seven years in North American forests (depending on climate) takes only six weeks in the Amazon. Nutrients are immediately used again by the many growing plants. The deep rich soil that accumulates in temperate forests never has a chance to collect in the Amazon. The forest floor in the Amazon is like a huge living stomach.

UNENDING RAIN • In temperate forests, it usually rains only sporadically, but in the Amazon, it rains daily.

Millions of years of daily rainfall combined with constant heat leached the nutrients from the soil, leaving it high in aluminum and iron oxides which are responsible for the soil’s characteristic red color. The soil is highly acidic and unable to support much plant life. Without the constant fall of dead material from above, the dirt is worthless.

• So the ecosystem of the rainforest is up-sidedown in comparison to other forests: the nutrients are stored not in the soil, but in the living canopy.

When the forest is cut and burned, the only nutrients left are in the ashes.

Don’t Leave Pets Outdoors in Winter DEAR PAW’S CORNER: I routinely see people’s cats wandering the icy streets and snowy backyards here in upstate New York. Recently I noticed a neighbor’s dog chained up outside in the snow-covered backyard on a day that was near freezing. I contacted animal control the instant I saw that, and the neighbor had to go pick up his dog from the shelter and pay a fine.

He’s not happy, but his dog stays inside now! To me, a fine for leaving pets out in the cold isn’t enough. I wish cruel owners would be treated exactly as they have treated these beautiful animals! Cold, lonely, often without food or water, they cannot survive on their own, especially in these brutal New York winters. Tell your readers that people need to think before they put their pets outside. Would they treat their children this way? -- Spitting Mad DEAR SPITTING: You told them! Common sense can go a long way when it comes to properly caring for pets in winter. Step outside for just a moment wearing regular clothes, no coat and no shoes. Now imagine having to do that for much longer than a minute or two. Despite

having fur, domesticated pets don’t do too well in the cold for extended periods.

If you have cats, keep them indoors. If they insist on going out, keep them in a fenced area like the backyard, and only for a short time. For dogs, only let them out in an area where you can supervise them at all times.

Or, take them for walks on a leash, using cleared sidewalks only, with a warm vest and booties in freezing temperatures.

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ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Consider moving beyond the usual methods to find a more creative means of handling a difficult on-the-job situation.

Avoid confrontation and, instead, aim for cooperation.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Seasonal change creates a new look for the outdoors. It also inspires Taureans to redo their own environments, and this is a good week to start redoing both your home and workplace. Enjoy.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A misunderstanding needs to be straightened out so the wrong impression isn’t allowed to stand. If necessary, offer to support the use of a third party to act as an impartial arbitrator.

CANCER ( June 21 to July 22) A career change offering what you want in money and responsibilities could involve moving to a new location.

Discuss this with family members before making a decision.

LEO ( July 23 to August 22) Feeling miffed over how you believe you were treated is understandable. But before you decide to “set things straight,” make sure the whole thing wasn’t just a misinterpretation of the facts.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Showing you care makes it easier to build trust and gain an advantage in handling a delicate situation. What you learn from this experience also will help you understand yourself better.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Planning for the future is fine, especially if you include the roles that family members may be asked to play.

Don’t be surprised if some hidden emotions are revealed in the process.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Making choices highlights much of the week, and you have a head start here, thanks to your ability to grasp the facts of a situation and interpret them in a clear-cut manner.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Carrying a torch can be a two-way situation: It can either keep you tied to the past or help light your way to the future. The choice, as always, has to be yours.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Your watchwords this week are: “Focus.” “Focus.”

“Focus.” Don’t let yourself be distracted from what you set out to do. There’ll be time later to look over other possibilities.

AQUARIUS ( January 20 to February 18) A workplace opportunity might require changes you’re not keen on making. Discuss the plusses and minuses with someone familiar with the situation before you make a decision.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Love and romance are strong in your aspect this week. If you’ve already met the right person, expect your relationship to grow. And if you’re still looking, odds are you’ll soon be finding it.

BORN THIS WEEK: You approach life in a wise and measured manner, which gives you an edge in many areas.

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1. GEOGRAPHY: What river flows through the Grand Canyon?

2. MUSIC: Who sang the pop hit “School’s Out”?

3. LANGUAGE: What is the subject studied in zythology?

4. MOVIES: In “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” what kind of creature was Jim Carrey looking for?

5. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a group of ants called?

6. MATH: What is the name of an angle that is more than 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees?

7. HISTORY: Which country gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States?

8. INVENTIONS: Who invented the mercury thermometer?

9. CHEMISTRY: What element does the Br symbol stand for?

10. ANCIENT WORLD: Which key figure in the Trojan War was described in literature as having “the face that launched a thousand ships”?

1. In 2009, the Los Angeles Dodgers set a record by winning their first 13 home games of the season. Who had held the modern-day mark of 12?

2. In 2015, Eduardo Rodriguez (22) became the youngest Red Sox starting pitcher since 1967 to win his major-league debut on the road. Who was it in ‘67?

3. Name the last NFL defensive lineman before Houston’s J.J. Watt in 2014 to have at least five touchdowns in a season.

4. When was the last time before 2015 that the Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball team won an NCAA Tournament game?

5. Name the last NHL goalie before Montreal’s Carey Price (2014-15) to win the Hart (MVP) and Vezina (top goaltender) trophies in the same year.

6. When was the last time a CONCACAF Gold Cup men’s soccer final did not have either Mexico or the U.S. as one of the teams?

7. In 1976, the U.S. Olympic team featured Michael and Leon Spinks and Sugar Ray Leonard, but another American won the award for top boxer. Who was it?

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Apple Rose Dessert

RAINFOREST (cont’d) • After the trees are cut down in a tropical rainforest, nutrients in the soil disappear after only a few harvests of crops, and the soil is soon lost entirely to erosion, never to be replaced.

Once the forest is cleared, it is extraordinarily difficult to reverse the damage.

THE DESTRUCTION • A forested landscape acts as a living reservoir by trapping rainfall and releasing it slowly. In the dense jungle, the canopy is so heavy that the water from a driving rainstorm may take 10 minutes to reach the ground. Rain is caught by leaves and trapped in hollows where it evaporates gradually. It’s sucked up by roots and it soaks into soil that acts like a sponge. Rain feeds underground springs.

• But when the land is cleared, rainfall is no longer absorbed. There are no leaves and branches to protect the ground from the pounding rain.

Water runs off immediately, taking the soil with it. Exposed to the sun, the ground becomes an unproductive hard-packed cement. The small amounts of nutrients in the soil are quickly leached away.

• A 2.5 acre tract of healthy growing rainforest will lose an average of three pounds (1.3 kg) of soil through erosion annually. Cut the forest, however, and the same area can lose up to 34 tons of dirt in a year.

• Half of the rain that falls comes from water evaporating from the forest below. With no forest, the land dries quickly and offers no moisture to be turned into more rain. When the forest is gone, the rain is gone too. Drought, erosion, and flooding result.

• It’s been estimated that the Amazon produces half of all the oxygen generated by land plants on Earth. Without the climate-moderating effects of the forest, temperatures would rise.

Rainfall would plummet. Loss of the Amazon could cause a change in the global environment. (continued)

Apple roses have been in bloom all over Pinterest and cooking sites. The techniques creatively transform apples, puff pastry, spices and preserves into a whimsical roseshaped dessert.

I’ve come up with a fun step-by-step version that you and your kids can use to make six roses together. A highlight during the prep is sharing the moment of surprise when you roll up the lined apple slices on a strip of dough and transform it into a rose shape. “Wow, look at this!” your kids might exclaim, as they set it in the muffin tin. “It really looks like a rose!”

APPLE ROSE DESSERT 1 frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed and cold, such as Pepperidge Farm brand 2 medium apples with reddish skin 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon apricot or peach preserves, mixed with 1 teaspoon water Cinnamon and sugar (optional) Powdered sugar 1. Heat oven to 375 F. 2. Grease a six-cup muffin pan. (Or, for easier removal of roses, grease sides and cut parchment paper to fit the bases of the pan.)

3. Slice apples in half from top to bottom. Core. Place halves cut side down on cutting board sideways, in front of you. Slice each apple half thinly to make about 15 equal length slices resembling a half moon shape.

4. Toss slices in a bowl of lemon juice mixed with 1/4 cup water. Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes until pliable but not too soft. If you don’t have a microwave, add water and simmer briefly in a pan. Remove apples and pat dry.

5. On a lightly floured board, roll out one puff pastry to form a 10-by-12-inch rectangle. Let your child measure with a ruler and cut six 10-by-2-inch strips with a pizza cutter. Use a pastry brush to spread a thin layer of the jam mixture on the upper half of each pastry strip.

6. To form each rose, arrange about 10 apple slices across the top half of the pastry strip, overlapping them as you go.

The top rounded edge with skin should extend about a 1/4 inch above the dough. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and sugar, if you wish.

7. Gently lift the bottom half of the dough over the top. Roll up the strip, keeping apple slices tucked in; pinch the edge into the dough, and set in a muffin cup.

8. Bake for 45 minutes. Cool on wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature. Set roses on small plates and dust with powdered sugar. For an extra treat, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled with caramel sauce.

TIP: This recipe works equally well with firm pears. Cut the slices from the plump portion of the fruit. Instead of apricot jam, you might try fig spread.

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Preparing Your Home For Sale PART I

Rogue Valley Real Estate Once you decide to sell your home, you’ll need to prepare it for viewing. You may think your home is in top condition, but there are ways to make potential buyers drool over your property. And since you want top dollar, a little sprucing up could go a long way.

The best way to determine what your home might need is to consult the experts. Call a real estate agent, we are happy to help, and ask them to view your home and give you some advice. We look at homes all day long and can tell you exactly where your house excels and where there’s room for improvement.

The first thing potential buyers see is the outside of your home: the exterior paint, siding, roof, windows, entryway and driveway. By inspecting your home, you may notice areas in need of repair. Walk around the outside of your home and examine it objectively as if you were a buyer—be critical. Is the paint chipping?

Do the bricks need tuckpointing? How does the roof look? Are any shingles missing? Are there any broken or cracked windows on the house? What condition are the entryway and driveway in? You may use your back door everyday, but buyers will be looking at the front door. If your storm door is damaged, replace it.

The driveway takes up a good portion of the front view of most homes. If it’s in good repair, most buyers won’t notice it, but a cracked and crumbling driveway will stick out like a sore thumb and turn buyers off. A crumbling driveway

To Your Good Health

By Keith Roach, M.D.

Is Prostate to Blame for Sluggish Bladder?

DEAR DR. ROACH: I would like your opinion on enlarged prostate. My primary-care doctor sent me for a blood test and said my PSA number was too high, then sent me to a urologist. He said my bladder is not emptying and that I am having urine retention in the bladder. After one week of medication (Rapaflo), I had a catheter inserted for another week.

He measured the urine in the bladder, and it was 880 ml. Now he is suggesting surgery. Is he going too fast? What are your thoughts on the procedure and side effects? Will this correct the problem? -- D.G. ANSWER: The bladder is drained via a tube called the urethra, and in men, the urethra runs right

is an indication of a home that has not been well maintained and could prompt low offers. In order to make a good first impression, fix or replace it. A good rule of thumb to remember for the exterior is: fix what is broken and clean what is not. Home buyers list dirt as the biggest turnoff.

You’ll want to show your home to potential buyers in the best light. The easiest and least expensive way to improve any home is to clean it and paint it inside and out.

Inside, nothing spruces up a home quicker than a coat of paint and clean carpets. When painting, use neutral colors, such as white or cream, and don’t overlook ceilings. Although ceilings don’t get scuffed up, they do collect dirt which makes the room look darker. And don’t paint natural wood trim. Just clean it with a good wood cleaner to give it a highgloss finish. Pay particular attention when painting the kitchen and bathrooms; buyers look very closely at these two areas. Use a high-gloss paint that’s easy to clean. Outside, give the front door two coats of paint.

Potential buyers will be seeing it up close.

CONTINUED NEXT WEEK: PART II Sponsored by:

through the middle of the prostate. As men get older, the prostate commonly enlarges, and this can cause resistance to flow. The symptoms can range from mildly annoying to complete obstruction. Complete obstruction is an emergency, since the kidneys will fail within a few days of being unable to drain urine at all.

But the obstruction does not need to be complete in order to cause kidney damage. It’s the high pressure in the urethra, bladder and ureters (the tubes that allow urine to flow from the kidneys to the bladder) that causes kidney damage. Placing a catheter allows the urine to drain at low pressure if the problem is in the urethra.

Normal bladder capacity is between 300-400 ml. At 880 ml, you would experience very abnormal bladder drainage and would be at high risk for ongoing kidney damage. Thus, I completely agree with your urologist that something, probably surgical, needs to be done quickly.

It’s not completely clear to me whether your inability to drain the bladder is due to obstruction from enlarged prostate, even though an elevated PSA suggests that this might be the case. It also is possible that there is something wrong with the nerves that go to or from the bladder. I suspect your urologist has done additional bladder tests to help sort this out.

THE INCREDIBLE AMAZON • Covering about 2.1 million square miles of land, the Amazon rainforest is about two-thirds the size of the U.S. The Amazon covers approximately 40% of the South American continent. If the Amazon were a country, it would rank 9th in size • Around 60% of the Amazon is in Brazil; 13% in Peru; 10% in Columbia; and six other countries split the rest.

• The Amazon comprises a little more than half of the world’s rainforest, and a third of the world’s forests overall.

• The Amazon harbors the densest variety of life on the planet, hosting over 40,000 plant species including 16,000 kinds of trees alone, as well as 1,300 types of bird, 3,000 kinds of fish, about 430 mammal species, and an incredible 2.5 million kinds of insects.

• Researchers estimate that they have discovered and cataloged only one-sixth of the species that live in the Amazon.

• A plot of rainforest 100 acres in size may contain as many frog species as can be found in all of North America.

• More species of fish live in the Amazon River than in the entire Atlantic Ocean.

• Over 100 types of plants can be found growing in the branches of a single mature tropical tree, along with 1,700 kinds of bugs. Fifty different types of ants may inhabit a single square yard of jungle floor.

• The Amazon River is the world’s largest river by volume. It originally ran westward into the Pacific Ocean, but as the Andes Mountains rose, it shifted course and now runs eastward, draining into the Atlantic Ocean.

• The Amazon River is 4,000 miles long (6,400 km) and only the Nile River is longer. It has over 1,100 tributaries

The booklet on the prostate gland discusses enlargement as well as cancer. Readers can obtain a copy by writing: Dr. Roach -- No. 1001W, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Canada with the recipient’s printed name and address.

Please allow four weeks for delivery. *** DEAR DR. ROACH: I have weaned off Zoloft, and I noticed a swelling of my fingers -- I can’t get my rings on. Do you think it is related? -- E.P. ANSWER: Discontinuing an antidepressant such as sertraline (Zoloft) certainly can cause symptoms.

Dizziness, fatigue, muscle aches, anxiety and irritability are common. It happens more frequently if the drug is suddenly stopped versus tapered down over weeks. Paroxitine (Paxil) seems to have the highest incidence of symptoms on stopping.

However, I haven’t seen swelling as a result of stopping sertraline. It may be related, but I doubt it. Is it possible that you are consuming more salt? That’s the most common reason for increased fluid in the fingers over a short time.

I would see your doctor if it doesn’t go away in a week or so.

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at the Munchkin cat. Only recognized as a separate breed in 1995, this cat is characterized by the shortness of its legs. * It was President Franklin Roosevelt who made the following sage observation: “Government by organized money is just as dangerous as government by organized mob.”

Amazing Animals

ANTS

• In terms of sheer numbers of individuals, ants are among the dominant species on earth.

• Ants, which evolved from wasps, are perhaps the most highly developed social insects. There are about 400 different species of ant in the U.S. alone, and about 15,000 species worldwide.

• To find food, a typical harvester ant will go straight out from the nest for up to 50 feet (15 m), and then start wandering. When it finds food, instead of following the round-about trail back to the nest, it will head for home in a beeline, thus refuting speculation that all ants follow a scent trail home. If the soil in front of an ant is scraped away or covered, the ant will continue its direct course. However, if the ant is placed inside an enclosure from which it is unable to see surrounding landmarks, it will lose its way until the enclosure is removed. Furthermore, if the ant is picked up and transferred to a new location, it will re-orient itself without hesitation, unless it is put down outside the area in which the ants of that colony forage, in which case it will wander about, lost.

• Ants may use large landmarks to find their way home, as well as the position of the sun. If an ant is entrapped in a box in the dark for an hour, when it is released it will strike out again in a direction different from the original direction by an angle equal to the number of degrees the sun has moved during the hour.

• Some species of ants do leave a scent trail to mark the way back to the food. When a forager makes a discovery, it becomes excited and secretes an odorous substance from the abdomen as it returns to the nest. Other ants follow the trail to find the food.

* Are you a ceraunophiliac? If so, Central Florida, is the place to live. The area between Tampa Bay on the peninsula’s west coast and Cape Canaveral on the east coast is known as Lightning Alley, and Florida is the lightning capital of the United States -- an excellent home for anyone who has an extreme love of thunder and lightning. * Singer Katy Perry reportedly has a cat named Kitty Purry. * If you’re an animal lover who’s fond of Corgis -- the Welsh dog known for its extremely short legs -- you might want to take a look

Tricks Scammers Use to Steal Our Money The U.S. Senate Aging Committee has made a list of the top 10 frauds targeting seniors based on calls to the Fraud Hotline. Some of these have been around for many years, and the number of victims keeps growing: In one year alone, seniors lost $2.9 billion due to scams.

1. IRS Impersonation Scams 2. Sweepstakes Scams 3. Robocalls/Unwanted Phone Calls 4. Computer Tech Support Schemes 5. Identity Theft 6. Grandparent Scams 7. Elder Financial Abuse 8. Grant Scams 9. Romance Scams/Confidence Fraud 10. Home Improvement Scams There are ways to avoid becoming a victim: Step 1 is to use Caller ID and an answering

VA Budget Numbers Just Don’t Add Up

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ proposed budget for 2017 is $182 billion. That’s roughly broken down as follows: $78 billion for discretionary spending, of which $68 billion is for health care, and $103 billion for benefits such as compensation and pensions.

Somewhere in the $182 billion budget is $12 billion for care in the community, $1 billion for telehealth, $515 million for women’s health care, $836 million for new health-care facilities and $900 million for new cemeteries.

The budget includes $54 million for 300 employees for claims processing. (That comes to $180,000 per employee.) And because it can take upward of five years for an appeal to reach completion, VA officials are requesting $156 million for 922 full-time employees. (That’s $169,000 per employee.)

Also buried in there is $180 million for the

* When Edgar Allan Poe first started writing his most famous poem, “The Raven,” he intended it to be short. Over the next decade, though, he kept adding to it, until it finally reached a length of 18 verses. The poem’s publication in 1845 had a mixed critical reception; William Butler Yeats called it “insincere and vulgar” and said “its execution [is] a rhythmical trick,” and Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “I see nothing in it.” “The Raven” was wildly popular with the public, though, and Poe became -- for a brief time -- the most famous writer in America. * Worried about snooping? You may be surprised by the results of a recent survey: It seems that 82 percent of men claim that they have never peeked into a date’s medicine cabinet.

machine. If you don’t recognize the number that’s calling, don’t answer. However, scammers now know how to “spoof” phone numbers and can make it appear that the number is coming from anywhere. Answering a scammer call does two things: It lets scammers know that someone is at that number, and it puts you in the position of being a potential victim.

Which makes Step 2 even more important if you get a scam call: Hang up, quickly. You’re under no obligation to talk to anyone you don’t know on the phone, especially if they ask you for information or make you uncomfortable in any way.

Step 3 is to get details about how each type of fraud is perpetuated. The committee has put together a 48-page guide that describes each one in detail. Go online to www.aging.senate.gov and search for “Fighting Fraud Guide.”

If you’ve been a victim of fraud, or even if you were contacted but didn’t fall for the scam, call the fraud hotline at 1-855-303-9470.

If you’re a caregiver or have a senior parent, get the guide and go over it together to make sure your senior understands how to handle potential scams.

electronic claims processing system and $143 million for VCIP, the program that converts medical records to digital images. It also requires $4.3 billion for cybersecurity and info technology.

Although the numbers of homeless have come down, officials are asking for $1.6 billion for programs.

The Choice Act, giving veterans fast access to care in the civilian community, needs $5 billion for in-house staff and $10 billion for a temporary Choice program. (Which is confusing because Choice is a done deal, not temporary.) In another place, the budget explains that they’ll need $1.4 billion and $853 million to hire 9,700 medical staff for Choice. In yet another place it mentions taking $969 million from the 2014 Choice Act. Confused yet?

If you’ve run these numbers as you’ve read down the column, you’ll see that they don’t really add up. And if you want to take a sharp look at the details, go online to www.va.gov/budget and look for the FY2017 budget request. Then look at the official press release at www.va.gov (search for news release 2746) and compare the numbers.

Carpenters’ Tools Q: My grandpa and dad were both carpenters and they accumulated an entire outbuilding of tools. Most seem to be at least a century old.

Can you put me in touch with someone who can appraise them for me and perhaps give me an idea of where and how I can liquidate this collection? -- Beverly, Brooklyn, New York A: William Gustafson is the owner of William Gustafson Antiques, a company that deals,

specializes and appraises older tools. He conducts several tool auctions each year, and he might be able to help you. Contact is P.O. Box 104, 11643 Rte. 22, Austerlitz, NY 12017.

A second source is Martin J. Donnelly antique tools.

Donnelly is considered the foremost American auctioneer of older tools. His address is P.O. Box 281, Bath, NY 14810; mjd@mjdtools.com; and www. mjdtools.com. In addition to auctions, Donnelly publishes a catalog of antique tools for sale, fully indexed, and so comprehensive that dealers use it as a guide. *** Q: I have some old coins from the 1950s and ‘60s, an assortment of Avon bottles and about a dozen Beanie Babies. I am interested in selling them, and wonder whom I can contact. -- Sue, Tulsa, Oklahoma A: Unfortunately, you seem to have the trifecta of difficult-to-sell collectibles. Your coins probably aren’t old or rare enough to be of much interest to a dealer

or serious collector. The market for Avon bottles is sluggish at best, and I suggest you monitor eBay to see what they are selling for in Internet auctions.

Beanie Babies were a fad and in great demand a number of years ago, but as interest waned, prices plunged. They will be extremely difficult to sell. *** Q: I have a Wilcox and Gibbs treadle sewing machine in a nice cabinet and with original instruction book and attachments. Where can I sell it? -- Jim, Chillicothe, Ohio A: According to Antique American Sewing Machines by James W. Slaten, most Willcox and Gibbs treadle machines manufactured after 1880 are worth between $400 and $500, depending on condition. I recommend you contact antique shops in your area to see if there is any interest.

Sewing machines are plentiful and not in great demand with collectors.

ANTS (cont’d)

• One researcher was able to prove conclusively that ants will follow a scent trail to food.

The scientist placed food near an anthill and covered the distance between with sheets of paper. After the first ant discovered the food and rushed back to the nest, he replaced the original paper with fresh sheets. When the ants swarmed out to get the food, they were unable to find it.

• Another naturalist devised a test that proved that ants can measure, estimate, and communicate. He chopped a grasshopper into three parts: a small section, a medium section, and a large section. He then gave each section to a different ant scout from the same nest. All of the pieces were too big for a single ant to carry. Each ant measured its section with its antennae and then returned to the nest. Would each ant call out the same size crew? Would too many show up to do the work, or too few? The naturalist

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was surprised to see that 28 ants returned to fetch the small piece; 44 went for the medium piece; and 89 for the large piece. The second crew was twice as big as the first, just as the medium piece was twice as big as the small; and the large crew was twice as big as the medium crew to move a piece that was twice as big.

• When ants find a puddle of fruit juices or a dollop of jelly, they will chew a leaf into a spongy mass and then place it in the middle of the food. When they return later, the leaf has absorbed the juices and the ants carry it home.

• Queen ants can live for 20 years. Female worker ants can live as long as ten years.

Male ants, however, live only a few weeks.

They die immediately after mating.

• One typical Maryland woodland was estimated to contain 1.3 million ants per acre.

• Ant blood is colorless.

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her dishwasher at the Columbian Expo in 1892 in Chicago, but also sold her dishwashers to many of the restaurants and other establishments with vast kitchens catering to the large crowds coming to see the Expo. Against heavy competition from around the world, her dishwasher received the first prize for “the best mechanical construction for durability and adaptation to a particular line of work.” One of the concessionaires using her product sent her this glowing tribute: “Your machine washed without delay soiled dishes left by eight relays of a thousand soldiers each, completing each lot within 30 minutes.”

INVENTING THE DISHWASHER

• Josephine Cochrane was a wealthy woman who lived in Illinois. She gave a lot of dinner parties and was very proud of her china. She collected rare and expensive dishes. However, her servants weren’t particularly careful with the priceless dishes when they washed them after each party.

Pieces were broken; pieces were cracked; pieces were chipped. Josephine took to washing the dishes herself by hand while wondering why there wasn’t there a machine that would wash the dishes for her.

• She decided to invent one, setting up a workshop in her woodshed. Dishes fit into a rack; the rack fit into a wheel; the wheel fit inside a tub; the wheel turned while hot soapy water squirted up from the bottom of the tub. Shortly after she perfected the design, her husband died. She was left with little money and a lot of debt. She needed to turn her idea into a way to make a living.

• Cochrane continued to improve the product, producing models with revolving washing systems, a centrifugal pump, and a hose for draining into the sink. She ignored the clergy who claimed the dishwasher was immoral because it denied women the labor to which God had called them. She ignored the outcry of the servants who claimed it would put them out of business. The company kept growing, pushed by Josephine Cochrane’s energy and ambition until her death at age 74 in 1913.

• Late in her life she said, “If I knew all I know today [I] never would have had the courage to start.”

• The company was sold and eventually evolved into the Kitchenaid division of the Whirlpool Corporation. Still, dishwashers did not become commonplace in ordinary homes until the 1950s.

• She patented her design in 1886 and her wealthy friends immediately starting ordering the Cochrane Dishwasher for their own luxurious kitchens. A Chicago machine firm began to manufacture them while Josephine managed the company and marketed the product. She later said that designing the dishwasher was far easier than marketing it.

• The home model did not sell well. Few homes had electricity. Water heaters were rare. Most municiple water systems offered only hard water which did not make soap suds. The price tag of $150 would be equivalent to about $4,500 today.

• Housewives often felt that soaking their hardworking hands by washing the dishes in hot soapy water was a relaxing way to end the day.

Cochrane changed her sales pitch to point out that water in dishwashing machines was far hotter than human hands could stand and therefore resulted in germ-free dishes.

• The strongest market for the dishwasher lay not in private homes, but in industries. Hotels, restaurants, boarding houses, and hospitals saw the advantage of being able to wash, scald, rinse, and dry up to 20 dozen dishes of all shapes and sizes in two minutes.

• She got her big break when she not only exhibited

1. The Detroit Tigers, in 1911.

2. Billy Rohr, at 21 years old.

3. Chicago’s Connie Mack Berry, in 1944.

4. It was 2001.

5. Montreal’s Jose Theodore, in the 200102 season.

6. It was 2000.

7. Lightweight boxer Howard Davis.

Answers 1. Colorado 2. Alice Cooper 3. Beer and beer making 4. A dolphin 5. Colony 6. Obtuse 7. France 8. Gabriel Fahrenheit 9. Bromine 10. Helen of Troy