Vol. 19: #10 • Lakes • (3-5-2023) Tidbits of Coachella Valley

TIDBITS APPRECIATES

by Janet Spencer

This week Tidbits goes aquatic as we explore some of the interesting water bodies found on every continent on our planet. So grab your snorkle and flippers and follow along as we dip into some fascinating facts about our remarkable lakes!

FAST FACTS ABOUT LAKES

• There are around 117 million lakes on planet Earth, covering about 3.7% of the surface. About 75% of them are smaller than the size of two football fields.

• A majority of the world’s lakes are located in just four countries: Canada, Finland, Russia, and Sweden—plus Alaska.

• More than 60% of the lakes of the world are in Canada, more than in any other country. Canada is the largest source of fresh water in the world.

• 85% of the world’s lakes are located at elevations less than 1,600 feet (500 m) above sea level. There are two reasons: First, mountainous terrain restricts lake size. Second, the countries with

TRIVIA NEWSFRONT

1. GEOGRAPHY: Which river flows through the European capitals of Vienna and Budapest?

2. SCIENCE: At what temperature are Fahrenheit and Celsius equal?

3. TELEVISION: The comedy series “Frasier” is a spinoff of which sitcom?

4. LITERATURE: Which novel features a character named Katniss Everdeen?

5. FOOD & DRINK: What kind of beans are used in falafel?

6. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a beaver’s home called?

7. THEATER: Which musical features a character named Tracy Turnblad?

8. MOVIES: Which actress plays the young Wendy Darling in the movie “Hook”?

9. HISTORY: Who invented the game of lacrosse? 10. SCIENCE: What percentage of the world’s population has brown eyes?

• In 1526, the Inca ruler, Huayna Capac (“the young mighty one”), died, possibly due to an infectious disease brought to the New World by Europeans. His designated heir died too. Therefore the empire was split in two, with two of Huayna’s other sons each ruling half of the kingdom: Atahualpa ruled the northern part from Quito, and Huascar ruled the southern part from Cusco.

• Not surprisingly, civil war broke out between the two brothers. Huascar captured and imprisoned Atahualpa, who managed to escape and subsequently waged war on Huascar. It was a crushing defeat and Atahualpa eventually killed his brother.

• He then invited all the leaders in Cusco to come together in order to divide up the country. However, this was only a ruse to gather them all in one place, and he slaughtered everyone who showed up in order to protect his throne.

• Just as things were settling down and Atahualpa was ascending to power, the Spanish conquistadors arrived. The band of 168 Spaniards was led by Fransisco Pizarro. Atahualpa had an army of 80,000 men and did not consider the Spaniards a threat.

Final

Atahualpa was taken prisoner.

• Knowing that the Spaniards were greedy for silver and gold, Atahualpa offered to fill a large room with gold once, and with silver twice, to earn his freedom. The Spanish quickly agreed and the gold began flowing in from all corners of the Andes. The room measured 22 feet (6.7 m) long, by 17 feet (5.2 m) wide, and 8 feet (2.4 m) tall. Over 24 tons of treasure was delivered over the course of the next eight months, whose value would exceed $100 billion today. Most of it was in the form of priceless art and it was all crushed and melted down, resulting in an incalculable cultural loss.

• After securing the ransom, rumors began circulating that Atahualpa had ordered a general to bring a large army to wipe out Pizzaro and his men. Pizzaro used the rumor as an excuse to order Atahualpa executed.

• Atahualpa was horrified by the prospect of being burned at the stake due to his belief that burning would destroy his soul. So Pizzaro gave him the option of converting to Christianity and being killed by strangulation instead. This Atahualpa reluctantly agreed to.

• The rumors of the large army descending on Pizzaro were false. There was no army.

• Pizzaro installed a puppet regime of Atahualpa’s other brothers while he himself ruled with an iron fist, making Atahualpa the last of the Inca rulers.

• Cultural destruction followed on a large scale. It took just eight years for the Spanish to all but destroy an ancient culture, replacing it with an unjust system centered around cruel slavery. And they kept all the gold and silver. □

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• When Pizarro invited Atahualpa to a feast in his honor, Atahualpa left his army behind and showed up with a contingent of just 5,000 unarmed soldiers. When they arrived, Atahualpa was captured and given the ultimatum of converting to Christianity along with the entire Inca empire, and also recognizing King Charles V of Spain as their sovereign leader.

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• When Atahualpa asked by whose authority these demands were made, he was shown a Bible. He looked through it, announced that it “did not speak to him” as it was in a foreign language, and threw the Bible on the ground.

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Bill LeGrave

Rolfing in the Desert (1 + 2 of 3)

1/8 pg BW 6x disc. March 5 + 12, 2023

• Atahualpa’s act of sacrilege, combined with his refusal to immediately adopt Christianity, gave Pizarro all the reason he needed to open fire. His 168 men, armed with horses and guns, slaughtered all 5,000 of Atahualpa’s men, while

Fax: 760-320-1630

BILL PETER LEGRAVE, talks about:

“ROLFING:® And Back Pain”

People often decide to be Rolfed because of pain in the muscular-skeletal system, often in the back, shoulders and neck. While Rolfing® is not designed as a system of treatment for illness, it can often be helpful in these situations as it brings the body into better alignment. A Rolfed body is more vertically balanced, with the leg more directly under the torso for better support, the pelvis less tipped forward, the chest lifted and symmetrical, and the head sitting directly over the neck and shoulders. In this alignment, chronic aches and pains often clear up as the body is positioned and moves in the most comfortable way. Call to schedule an appointment or for a free consultation:

2. -40.

3. “Cheers.”

4. “The Hunger Games.”

Lakes: (from page one)

the most lakes were scraped under enormous pressure by massive glaciers digging into the surface during the ice age, leaving many dips and depressions where water collects.

• Water will remain an average of nine days in the atmosphere; two weeks in rivers; ten years in the largest lakes; 3,000 years in the ocean, and up to 10,000 years in deep groundwater and in the polar icecaps.

THE GREAT LAKES

• Did you know that the five Great Lakes that border the U.S. and Canada contain around 21% of the world’s fresh water? Lake Superior is the largest of the five, and the second largest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Huron is the world’s fifth largest lake, and Lake Michigan is sixth largest. Lake Erie ranks 13th, and Lake Ontario is not far behind at 15th.

• Lake Superior is generally considered the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. It contains roughly 10% of all the earth’s fresh surface water.

• About 36 percent of the Great Lakes lie in Canadian territory. Lake Michigan is the only one of the five lakes that lies entirely within the U.S. boundary.

French word “hure” meaning “messy hair” because this particular tribe wore their hair in a bristly mohawk-type cut. Lake Erie has a taillike shape, and the Iriquois word “erielhonan” meant “long tail.”

• Lake Erie is the warmest of all of the Great Lakes because it’s the farthest south, but it also freezes over more than the other lakes because it is so shallow.

• The Niagara Falls, between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, have eaten their way seven miles (11 km) upstream since their formation some 10,000 years ago. At this rate, they will eventually disappear into Lake Erie in about 22,000 years.

LAKE BAIKAL

• Lake Baikal, located in southern Siberia, is the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world, containing 22–23 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. It contains more water than all of the North American Great Lakes combined. It supports some 1,200 different animal species and 600 types of plants, 75 percent of which are found only in that lake.

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• Lake Baikal is also the deepest lake in the world, more than a mile in depth at 5,387 feet (1,642 m) at its deepest point. It is considered among the world’s clearest lakes and is thought to be one of the world’s oldest lakes.

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average depth of just 14 feet.

• As with other salt lakes, the salt accumulates because the lake has no outlet. The water that enters the lake, carrying small amounts of dissolved salt, can only evaporate, leaving its salt deposits behind. Over time, the lake becomes more and more saturated.

• One of the Morton Salt Company's biggest plants harvests their salt from this region.

REMARKABLE LAKES

• The Dead Sea bordering Jordan and Israel is actually a lake, being a landlocked body of water. It is the world’s lowest lake at 1,371 ft (418 m) below sea level. Just like the Great Salt Lake,

Lakes: Turn to page 15

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QUIZ BITS

1. How many shipwrecks lie on the bottom of the five Great Lakes?

2. Which state has more freshwater shoreline than any other state, at 3,288 miles?

(Answers page 16)

1.What’s 2.What

• The area covered by the Great Lakes is more than the entire states of Pennsylvania and New York combined.

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• About 13 percent of the U.S. population lives around the Great Lakes.

• The word Michigan comes from the Algonquian word “machihiganing” meaning “big lake.” “Ontario” meant “fine lake.” Lake Huron, named after the Huron Indians, came from the

THE GREAT SALT LAKE

• As a land-locked body of water in Utah, the Great Salt Lake is an average of six times saltier than the sea, though the salinity varies from place to place. It is so thickly saturated with salt it never freezes over completely.

• No fish can live in that salty environment, and the only creatures that can survive are a species of brine shrimp and the larvae of a type of fly. The lake is famous for its outbreaks of flies, sometimes numbering 370 million per mile of shoreline, providing veritable feasts for the varieties of birds that flock to the lake by the thousands.

• It’s the largest lake west of the Mississippi River and the largest salt lake in the Western Hemisphere. While it's the world’s 34th largest lake, it is quite shallow for its size with an

Chargoggagoggmanchauggagogg-chaubunagungamaugg (we hope we've spelled that right) is the official name of a lake in Massachusetts, and was named by indigenous Native American tribes several hundred years ago. Its meaning translates, "You fish on your side of the lake, we fish on our side of the lake, and nobody fishes in the middle."

In 2003, the British Broadcasting Corporation used 600 sonar beams and satellite probes to carefully scour the waters of Lake Ness in Scotland, searching for evidence of the famed Loch Ness Monster. The search revealed nothing.

By Lucie Winborne

* Think money doesn’t grow on trees? Try telling that to a certain dog in Colombia. After seeing students pass money to a food stall attendant, the enterprising pooch began a regular practice of “paying” for dog biscuits with tree leaves.

* Best-selling author Maya Angelou was San Francisco’s first Black streetcar conductor.

* Sea sponges, like humans, sneeze to clear their internal filter systems. Unlike humans, such sneezes last about half an hour.

* In the 18th century, some wealthy folks with gardens decorated their plots with “ornamental hermits” -- actual people whom they paid to dress like a Druid (however they took that to look) and wander around their estates.

* America’s eighth president, Martin Van Buren, tried to keep a pair of tiger cubs given to him by the Sultan of Oman, but Congress made him send them to the zoo.

* The space between the bottom of a cabinet and the floor is called the toe kick.

* “Chess boxing” is a sport in which opponents alternate between rounds of chess and boxing until either competitor is checkmated or knocked out.

* In 2004, Alice Pike tried to use a fake $1 million bill to purchase $1,675 worth of merchandise at Walmart, expecting to receive change from the undoubtedly startled cashier. Well, she did think the bill was genuine ... as she remarked (from jail), “You can’t keep up with the U.S. Treasury.”

* The WD-40 Company never patented the WD-40 formula in order to avoid having to publicly disclose its trade-secret ingredients.

Thought for the Day: “Stay in your own lane. Comparison kills creativity and joy.”

-- Brene Brown

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

by Mary Hunt

Whacky Doodle Ground Beef

take one of these flat frozen packages of ground beef, whack it on the side of the sink to break it into pieces, unzip and pour the contents into a skillet. It’s ready for all uses.

Quick as a Flash Burrito Filling: Two bags of boiled beef whacked and dumped into skillet (equivalent of 2 pounds raw ground beef), two packets of Lawry’s Burrito Seasoning Mix (any brand will do) and 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Done! Wrap in warm flour tortillas with grated cheese. Serves 8-10.

by Mary Hunt

Years ago, I made a terrible mistake. I froze 10 pounds of ground beef. That big block of frozen burger languished in the freezer for years. What was I thinking? I should have browned it first and then frozen it in usable portions. But browning beef can be so messy. Lesson learned. A few weeks ago, I came upon another cheap ground beef opportunity. My supermarket needed to get rid of -- you guessed it -- ground beef. Ten pounds. The expiration date was within hours. I almost walked by. Then I decided to try something different, albeit a little weird.

I put the entire 10 pounds of raw ground beef into my ginormous stock pot. I added enough water to cover and set it over high heat to come to a boil -- no lid, no salt. After about 10 minutes, I gave it a stir to break up the big clumps, which were few. The hot water was doing all of my work for me -- no splatters, no mess. When all of the pink color disappeared, I knew it was done, even though it had not come to a rolling boil.

Next, I placed my large colander into a big bowl in the sink and poured the now-cooked beef into the colander. I did this in batches because my colander would not hold all of it at once. This drained off all the liquid into the bowl including the fat, leaving uniformly fine-textured ground beef in the colander. No clumps! I could have done the same thing scooping the meat from the stock pot with a large sieve, transferring the drained beef into a large bowl. (When done draining, I put the beef broth in the refrigerator. Later, I skimmed off the visible fat and will use the broth for soup.)

I measured 2 cups of cooked beef (the equivalent of about 1 pound of raw ground beef) into a gallon-size zip-type freezer bag, pressed out the air and zipped it shut, repeating until all of the beef was bagged. Then I laid each one on the counter to flatten it thin, stacked them like sheets of paper and popped the entire stack into the freezer.

Sloppy Joes: Two bags boiled beef (equivalent of 2 pounds raw ground beef) whacked and dumped, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1 cup chopped celery, 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 8 hamburger buns.

Place ground beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and celery, cover the pan and cook over medium heat until beef is thawed and onions and celery are tender, about five minutes. Add the tomato soup (undiluted), brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar,and Worcestershire sauce to the beef mixture. Stir to mix. Season with salt and garlic powder. Simmer over low heat until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Spoon the hot beef mixture onto buns, which may be toasted first. Serves 8.

Enjoy!

* * *

Mary invites you to visit her at EverydayCheapskate.com, where this column is archived complete with links and resources for all recommended products and services. Mary invites questions and comments at https://www.everydaycheapskate. com/contact/, “Ask Mary.” This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of EverydayCheapskate.com, a frugal living blog, and the author of the book “Debt-Proof Living.”

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Because my bags of beef are so flat, I can use them frozen -- no microwave required. I

Although there are more than three dozen islands situated in the waters of New York City, Manhattan is the one we hear the most about. Here are some facts about the smallest of the city’s five boroughs.

• Today about 1.6 million people live on Manhattan island, about 70,500 people per square mile.

• Manhattan was originally inhabited by the indigenous Lenape Indians, who had occupied the island for generations. It’s believed that explorer Giovanni da Verrazano was the first European to visit the island, but the area was not mapped until after the exploration of Englishman Henry Hudson in 1609.

• A Dutch fur trading settlement on neighboring Governors Island was founded in 1624, and the following year, the Dutch began construction of a fort on Manhattan, an island they called New Amsterdam. This 1625 completion is recognized as the birthdate of New York City.

• In 1626, the Dutch colonists under the leadership of Peter Minuit of the Dutch East India Company purchased the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans with inexpensive jewelry and other trade goods valued at about $24. In modern currency, this would be about $1,950.

• The 778-acre Central Park, nestled in the center of Manhattan opened in 1857. Today the park is 840 acres and receives about 35 million visitors every year.

• The opening of the Brooklyn Bridge across the East River in 1883 and the launch of the New York subway system in 1904 revolutionized travel in and out of Manhattan, and its population increased sharply .

• In the midst of the Great Depression, New

York City was building some of the world’s tallest skyscrapers. The Empire State Building was completed in 1931, the Chrysler Building in 1930, and the G.E. Building in 1933.

• From 1890 to 1973, Manhattan was home to the tallest building in the world, with nine different buildings owning the title, including the Singer Building, MetLife, the Woolworth and Chrysler buildings, the Empire State Building and the Twin Towers. The new World Trade Center stands 1,776 feet tall and is the tallest structure in the U.S.

• Fifth Avenue is lined with prestigious stores, such as Tiffany, Saks Fifth Avenue, Cartier, and Lord & Taylor, and is ranked as one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world. Yet in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was flanked by extravagant mansions of the rich and famous, including Andrew Carnegie, William A. Clark, and Cornelius Vanderbilt.

• Vanderbilt’s home on the corner of Fifth Avenue and West 57th was six stories tall and was and remains the largest private residence ever built in New York City. It was demolished in 1927 and is the current site of the Bergdorf Goodman department store.

• William A. Clark’s 121-room home cost $7 million to build in 1907 (about $162 million in today’s money), and only stood for 20 years. Only a very few mansions have survived, including Carnegie’s home, which is now the Cooper Hewitt Museum.

• The annual New Year’s Eve ball drop took place in Times Square for the first time in 1907, and the celebration has been held every year since. The two largest gatherings in Times

Square have been the August, 1945 celebration marking the end of World War II, and the millennial celebration on December 31, 1999. About two million crowded downtown Manhattan to welcome in the new millennium.

Good Recipes from Shrimp Cocktail

The outfitting of shrimp boats with refrigeration in the early 20th century made it possible to transport fresh shrimp to more American cities. Shrimp cocktail served with spicy red shrimper’s (cocktail) sauce remains an all-American favorite to this day. The original Rémoulade Sauce, based on mayonnaise and subtly spiced with mustard and horseradish, comes from France. When parsley is added it becomes Rémoulade Verte. For a Cajun rendition, forget the tarragon and Dijon and heat it up with some Creole mustard and cayenne.

1 lemon, thinly sliced

4 bay leaves

20 whole black peppercorns

10 whole allspice berries

2 teaspoons salt

24 extra-large shrimp (1 pound), shelled and deveined

*Red Cocktail Sauce and/or Rémoulade Verte

12 small romaine lettuce leaves

24 (7-inch) bamboo skewers

1. In 5-quart Dutch oven, combine 2 quarts water, lemon, bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice berries and salt; heat to boiling. Cover and boil 15 minutes.

2. Add shrimp, cook just until opaque throughout, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold running water to stop cooking. Cover and re frigerate shrimp up to 24 hours.

3. Prepare Red Cocktail Sauce and/or Ré moulade Verte.

4. Just before serving, place bowls of sauces in center of platter; arrange romaine leaves around bowls, leaf tips facing out. Thread each shrimp on a bamboo skewer and arrange skewers on romaine. Makes 8 appetizer servings.

 Each serving without sauce: About 51 calories, 1g total fat (0g saturated), 10g protein, 1g carbohydrate, 70mg cholesterol, 141mg so dium.

Red Cocktail Sauce

1 cup bottled cocktail sauce

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons minced jalapeňo chile

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

In small bowl, combine cocktail sauce, cilantro, jalapeño and lime juice until well-blended. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Makes about 1 cup.

Each tablespoon: About 18 calories, 0g total fat (0g saturated), 0g protein, 4g carbohydrate, 0mg cholesterol, 191mg sodium.

Rémoulade Verte

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sour cream

3 tablespoons finely chopped dill pickle

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

3/4 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh chives 1 anchovy fillet, finely chopped 1 teaspoon capers, drained and chopped

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

In small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, pickle, parsley, tarragon, chives, anchovy, capers and mustard; stir until well-blended. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Makes about 2/3 cup.

 Each tablespoon: About 61 calories, 6g total fat (1g saturated), 0g protein, 0g carbohydrate, 6mg cholesterol, 143mg sodium.

* * *

For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our Web site at www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/.

(c) 2019 Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved

The future looks bright

Donald Duck by Walt

By John Allen

Brett Koth

Tidbits Word Search

Cody’s Corner

Dog Talk with Uncle Matty

By Matthew Margolis

Creators

Don’t Be Shy About Asking Why

My 4-year-old mutt, Seamus, bit my stepson on the nose. In doing so, he ripped off a piece of his nose, and doctors are stitching it back on as I type. This is the second time he’s gone at my stepson’s face. The first incident was a year ago. Both times, my stepson put his face in Seamus’ face.

We are the second owner. I sent a message to his first owner asking whether he could provide any information. Seamus has been with us for more than three years. He is current on all of his vaccines and has been neutered. Please, any advice would be welcome.

Not knowing the dog and not knowing the actual circumstances, the best advice I can give is:

--Enlist the services of a dog trainer who specializes in aggression -- yesterday.

--Start networking to find Seamus a home without small children.

--Keep Seamus separated from your stepson at all times.

--Teach your stepson how to appropriately and kindly handle animals.

That’s my after-the-fact advice. The best solution for this kind of problem is prevention.

When inheriting a dog from a friend or relative, or adopting from a stranger, don’t be shy about asking why. “Why are you giving your dog away?” is a natural curiosity, and it could save you a lot of heartache.

Be prepared, though. People are rarely forthright with details that could work against them. If someone tells you they have to rehome their dog because their child or spouse is allergic, persist. Ask:

--How does your dog get along with your child? Your spouse? You?

--Does your dog guard resources such as food, bones, toys or bed?

--How does he behave when guests come over?

--How is he with other dogs and cats (or any other animals he’ll have cause to associate with if he goes home with you)?

--Is he friendly when approached by strange people and animals on walks?

Cody's Corner: Turn to Page 10

SENIOR NEWS LINE

by Matilda Charles

Shrinkflation: Beating Them at Their Own Game

“Shrinkflation.” That’s a word that’s been in the news lately, and one that we need to pay attention to.

We know prices are increasing on our groceries. We see it every time we look at the price tags on the shelves when we shop, and certainly at the checkout. But shrinkflation is different and harder to spot. It's a sneaky way for the manufacturers to milk even more from the consumer.

Shrinkflation means not only a higher price, but paying more to get even less of the product. In some cases the price may not go up, but the package they offer still contains less. This is impacting most things across grocery stores, including dairy, shampoo, meats, frozen foods, toilet paper, pet food, pastries, candy bars, laundry detergent, sliced cheese, tea bags ... well, everything.

Examples: The price of a can of beans stays the same, but we get fewer ounces. The price of a loaf of bread stays the same, but it’s

The Art of DESIGN

by Joseph Publillones

Design Destination: Stockholm

Stockholm, the Swedish capital, is testament to the Swedes’ love of beautiful albeit simple and functional design. Stockholm is sophisticated -- and much more than Ikeas and Volvos. It is a conglomeration of islands or neighborhoods with meandering streams and rivers. Each islet has its own defined style of architecture, which maintains an overall five to ten stories in height and is in beautiful brick patterns or in bright shades of stucco. Yellows, oranges and reds are reminiscent of fall’s changing leaves.

Like twinkling stars, lamps are placed in nearly every window of nearly every household, making a stroll through any street a fairytale experience. Drapes are open wide, engaging the passerby, only to be drawn for sleep. Streets are filled with people at all times of day and night, especially in the older part of town, Gamla Stan, which is mostly pedestrian.

Ziggurats, mansards and scrolled parapets dominate the flat skyline, except for Norra Tornen, the newest architectural works by the worldfamous Office for Metropolitan Architecture, which pierces the Stockholm sky. The residential tower, resembling small, stacked boxes, is an homage to Brutalist architecture composed of prefabricated concrete and large spans of glass. Brilliantly engineered on the foundation of a previously started project, it looks like the stacked residences are top-heavy and about to topple over. The large doors and plate glass windows were designed to

smaller. Same with cereal, which you will quickly notice by the new smaller box size.

In my case, one particular item (frozen meatballs) at my local store dropped from 64 meatballs to 56. That's a 12.5 percent decrease in quantity while they are charging me the same price I was previously paying for more product.

Keep an eye on the unit pricing on the tag on the grocery store shelf. Yes, it’s in tiny print (which is why I carry a small magnifying glass at all times), but the numbers will tell you the unit price per fluid ounce, by pound or count. You’ll be able to see if you’re getting less for your money.

Look at the generics to save money (and, in many cases, even get a better product) or just change brands. Buy more than one if the price is good, but watch the expiration dates.

Lastly, consider signing up for a store’s loyalty card if you get cash benefits for doing so, and sign up for the emailed weekly sales flyer to shop from.

By shopping carefully, we can try beating them at their own game.

Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into her column whenever possible. Send email to columnreply2@ gmail.com.

(c) KingFeaturesSyndicate

allow maximum light in to the interior spaces as an antidote to their seasonal long, gray days.

Down the street in what once was a warehouse district is the chic boutique hotel, Blique by Nobis. This hotel is set within the art gallery-filled neighborhood of Vasastan, in the north area of Stockholm. The building’s shell was designed as a warehouse by architect Sigurd Lewerentz.

The textures of steel, iron, leather and textured fabrics play side by side, next to the beautifully detailed concrete and exposed wood of the original structure and a revolving collection of cutting edge Swedish art. Not to be missed is the rooftop restaurant and bar, Arc. The city views are spectacular, and the food was also a sight to behold: fivecourse dinners with names such as Ocean Experience or Arc Experience -- a fusion of Swedish and Korean cooking all sourced from nearby farms.

What trip to Stockholm would be complete without a visit to the Nobel Prize Museum? Their recognition of the world’s discoveries, culture, literature and endeavors is awe-inspiring and, well ... noble. There is a prize in each category for almost everyone to identify with.

A short Uber ride away brought me to the most iconic place of Swedish popular culture: ABBA The Museum. The lines are longer here than in the Royal Palace, so set time aside to visit -- and dance like you are the Dancing Queen.

Cody’s Corner (from page 9)

Then persist further.

Request to walk the dog yourself. Ask that the whole family be present with the dog at some point in your presence, and make sure every member of your family meets the dog before he moves in. Ask to play with the dog and his favorite toy, and tell the owner you’d like to come around for feeding time -- for the dog, not you. And if this dog will be living with another dog, arrange an introduction on neutral territory before committing. Seeing is believing.

I read a news story a few years back about firefighter paramedic Bob Brown, who came home to find his wife’s body at the bottom of the basement stairs in their home, dog bite wounds adorning her neck. According to The Chicago Tribune, an autopsy confirmed that Dawn Brown, 44, died of severe dog bites to her neck from a 140-pound mastiff.

The Browns had adopted the mastiff only a week earlier, from a relative.

The reason the family member cited for giving up the dog? They could not care for it anymore.

French Mastiffs, while large, are typically gentle giants. But breed is no guarantee of temperament. The only thing investigators unearthed that could have played a role in the attack is that the mastiff wasn’t getting along with one of the Browns’ two older dogs.

Inviting a dog into your life is a big deal. It’s your life, your home, your family. It’s a 10- to 20-year commitment. Don’t be shy. Don’t feel obligated. Ask questions until you are satisfied. A good match serves the interests of everyone, including the dog.

Woof!

* * *

Dog trainer Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis is the co-author of 18 books about dogs, a behaviorist, a popular radio and television guest, and the host of the PBS series “WOOF! It’s a Dog’s Life!” Read all of Uncle Matty’s columns at www.creators.com, and visit him at www.unclematty.com.

YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY

by Tom Margenau

If You Mess Up, Don’t Blame the Government

Sometimes people will write to me complaining that the government, specifically the Social Security Administration, has messed them up and cheated them out of benefits they might have been due. But many times, the fault (to trivialize a famous line from Shakespeare’s play, “Julius Caesar”) is not in our government, but in ourselves. Here are some examples of what I mean:

Q: When I was 65, I retired and took the free Part A Medicare. But I didn’t want to spend all that money the government was gouging us to take the Part B. However, five years later when I was 70, I decided I needed the Part B, so I took it and started paying a penalty on top of my regular monthly premium. I’m now almost 80 and I’m still paying the penalty. This just proves my theory that the government is made up of a bunch of crooks who are just out to gouge all of us senior citizens!

A: Well, you didn’t really ask me a question. You just got up on your soapbox and blamed the government for the Part B penalty predicament you find yourself in.

But I think if you are looking for blame, you should check the nearest mirror. If you had done your homework when you were turning 65, you would have learned that your Part B Medicare monthly premium would increase by 10% for each year you opted not to participate in that part of Medicare. And you would have learned that the penalties are permanent.

So, frankly, you messed up. You were trying to save a few bucks each month by forgoing Part B coverage all those years -- and now you’re paying for that mistake. And it sounds like you’re trying to put the blame for that mistake on someone else!

Q: I had done lots of research and lots of planning to make sure my wife and I maximize our Social Security benefits. I waited until 70 (just two months ago) to start my Social Security. My wife, who was always a homemaker and doesn’t have her own Social Security, is also 70 and filed for spousal benefits on my record. We were counting on her getting half of my Social Security, so imagine my shock when we learned that she is only getting about 38% of my benefit. Everything I’ve ever read says a wife gets 50%. Why is the government cheating us?

A: The government isn’t cheating you. I think you cheated yourself (and your wife) by not doing enough research. Had you done your homework (by reading my book, “Social Security: Simple and Smart,” for example), you would have learned that your wife’s spousal benefit is based on your full retirement age benefit, not on your augmented age 70 rate. So, your wife is getting 50%, but again, it’s 50% of your FRA benefit, not your age 70 benefit.

And just FYI, if you should die before your

wife does, her widow’s benefit will be based on your full age 70 rate.

Q: What an outrage! What a scam the government is running on poor educators like me. I was a teacher in Texas and get a teacher’s retirement pension. Texas teachers aren’t allowed to pay into Social Security, so I don’t have any Social Security of my own. But my husband spent his whole life paying into Social Security, and now we learn that because of some rotten law called the “government pension offset,” I won’t get any of my husband’s Social Security, both now while he is alive and even after he dies. No wonder people don’t trust the government when they are allowed to pull a fast one like this on people like us!

A: There is no scam. There are no rotten laws. There are no fast ones being pulled. And when you read my explanation, you’ll see there is no need for outrage. The best way to explain what’s going on is with an example.

Let’s say that somewhere in a Dallas suburb, two married couples are neighbors. Bob and Carol live in one house, and next door live Ted and Alice. They’ve all recently retired. Bob and Carol both worked at jobs that were covered by Social Security, so now Bob gets $2,800 per month in retirement benefits and Carol gets $3,000 per month in her own Social Security retirement check.

Neighbor Ted also worked at a Social Security covered job. But Ted’s wife, Alice, was a teacher. And just for the sake of comparison, I’m going to say that, like Bob, Ted gets $2,800 in Social Security retirement benefits and Alice, like Carol, gets a $3,000 monthly retirement benefit. The only difference is that Alice’s retirement check comes from the Texas Teachers Retirement System while Carol’s check comes from Social Security.

benefit of $3,000 is way more than the 50% spousal rate she’d be due on Bob’s account. Or to put that another way, when you are due two Social Security benefits, you don’t get them both. You only get the one that pays the higher rate.

The Government Pension Offset law, that our emailer called “rotten,” simply says that a public retirement pension, like Alice’s teacher’s retirement pension, will be treated just like a Social Security retirement pension. In other words, it will offset any Social Security spousal benefits that might be due. In fact, before the GPO law went into effect, Alice would have been able to receive her $3,000 teacher’s pension AND a $1,400 dependent spousal benefit on her husband’s Social Security account. Nobody else could get such a windfall.

And in fact, the GPO law cuts teachers a sweet deal no one else can get. It says that only two-thirds of the teacher’s pension will be used as an offset. So, back to Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice. When Bob dies, Carol won’t get a nickel in widow’s benefits because, again, her own $3,000 Social Security check offsets dollar for dollar the $2,800 widow’s benefit she be due if she didn’t have her own Social Security. But when Ted dies, Alice will get some widow’s benefits that Carol won’t get. That’s because only two-thirds of Alice’s teacher’s pension, or $2,000, will be used to offset her widow’s pension on Ted’s account. So, after Ted dies, Alice will keep getting her $3,000 teacher’s pension and she will get $800 in widow’s benefits on Ted’s Social Security account.

If I were Carol, I’d be the one complaining that teachers get such a sweet deal from Social Security that no one else can get.

* * *

ADVERTISING PROOF

Final Changes DUE:

Carol isn’t due (and doesn’t expect) any spousal benefits on Bob’s record. Why? Because the law has always said that one Social Security benefit offsets another. So, Carol’s own monthly

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has two books with all the answers. One is called “Social Security -- Simple and Smart: 10 Easyto-Understand Fact Sheets That Will Answer All Your Questions About Social Security.” The other is “Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts.” You can find the books at Amazon.com or other book outlets. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

1. The book of Micah is in the a) Old testament b) New testament c) Neither

2. What perfectly square "new" city is described as having walls made of Jasper? a) Jericho b) Jerusalem c) Gibeon d) Bethlehem

3. From 1 Samuel, what Phillistine soldier was slain by a boy? a) Joab b) Dan c) Abishai d) Goliath

4. On what "Mount" did Jesus deliver his final discourse? a) Zion b) Moriah c) Olives d) Carmel

5. In which book does a man try unsuccessfully to innihilate the entire Jewish population? a) 2 Kings b) 1 Chronicles c) Nehemiah d) Esther

6. Which friend of Jesus was buried in a cave? a) Sisera b) Lazarus c) Stephen d) Ananias

Sharpen your understanding of scripture with Wilson Casey's latest book, "Test Your Bible Knowledge," now available in stores and online.

(Answers on page 16)

For comments or more Bible Trivia go to www.TriviaGuy.com

Inc. © 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

Statins and Thiazides Acutely Increase Blood Sugar, Risk of Diabetes

DEAR DR. ROACH: My question regards the results of my fasting glucose tests for the past couple of years. I am 81 and weigh around 150 pounds. The medications I am taking concern me, with relevance to the A1C levels of my quarterly blood work. My A1C levels have mostly been near mid-5%; the last showed 6%.

Medications relevant to this that I am suspicious of are 100-12.5 mg of losartan/hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and 20 mg of simvastatin. I have read that these medications can have an effect of raising blood glucose. My doctor is adamant that this does not exist, but it seems to me that there is a conflict on this.

Should I perhaps ask him to change those medications because of my blood sugar? I am concerned about issues with the thiazide and the statin. P.R.

ANSWER: There isn’t a conflict. You are absolutely right that both simvastatin (like all statins) and HCTZ (like all thiazides) increase blood sugar and the risk of diabetes. The risk, however, is small.

For thiazides, the risk of high blood sugar seems tied to potassium levels -- the lower the potassium, the higher the risk of diabetes. Interestingly, the losartan in combination with the HCTZ you are taking tend to raise potassium levels, so that combination may have a lower risk of worsening blood sugar levels than taking HCTZ alone. You are already taking the smallest effective dose of thiazide.

The risk of statins seems greater in higher doses and with more potent statins, like atorvastatin and rosuvastatin; however, the risk is still small. About one person in 100 treated with a high-dose intensive statin, such as 40 mg of atorvastatin for five years, would be expected to get diabetes, while a dosage of 20 mg of simvastatin would be expected to have an even lower risk.

The conflict isn’t whether the increased risk exists (it does), but whether the treatments to prevent heart attack and stroke are worth the increased risk. For nearly all people, the benefit of keeping blood pressure and cholesterol under control greatly outweighs the small increased risk of diabetes.

Given your normal A1C level, I would say your risk is low, and I do not generally recommend changing treatment based on your concern over blood sugar.

***

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 64-year-old man who recently had an ultrasound of my kidney to rule out any kidney stones. The utlrasound was negative for stones, but the radiologist noted a 2.3-cm echogenic nodule in the right lobe of my liver. The final impression was an incidental hemangioma in the liver. I was concerned, so I received an AFP (alfa-fetoprotein) test, which came back at 1.8

ng/mL. Is an echogenic nodule/incidental hemangioma a reason to have further testing? M.S.

ANSWER: Sensitive imaging studies, especially CT scans and MRIs, often reveal abnormalities that lead to a quandary of whether to get additional testing. For a mass found in the liver by ultrasound, if it is less than 3 cm and meets the radiologic criteria for a hemangioma, no further testing needs to be done in people at low risk for liver cancer (such as people with hepatitis C or cirrhosis). As long as these hemangiomas cause no symptoms, they do not get treated.

The alfa-fetoprotein test is a blood test that, when producing abnormally high results, helps signify several types of cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (classic liver cancer) as well as germ cell tumors (cancers of the reproductive cells, which usually occur in the gonads but can occur in the liver or elsewhere in the body). Your level is normal and not concerning.

*

VETERANS POST  

by Freddie Groves

Honor Flights 2023

By the time you read this, the first Honor Flights of the year will be taking place.

Honor Flights are free trips to Washington, D.C., for veterans, a day of visiting the memorials and monuments dedicated to their service. The trips leave from one of 124 hubs around the country, with all details managed by a crew of volunteers.

In 2022, there were 21,800 veterans who made the Honor Flights and 18,709 guardians with them. Since starting in 2005, Honor Flights have escorted over a quarter of a million veterans on these trips.

Because of the ages of elderly veterans, flights are currently restricted to veterans from the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War eras. For those not near a hub, or for those in the five states without hubs, there is the Lone Eagle program (loneeagle.honorflight.org).

Any veteran is eligible, but priority is given to veterans from the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam eras.

Each veteran needs to have a guardian along on the trip. Children or grandchildren are eligible, but they must be 18 years or older.

For veterans who are seriously ill (and who have less than one year to live), there is the TLC program. TLC in this case is taken to mean Their Last Chance -- veterans who might not have time in the future to make a regular Honor Flight. Each TLC veteran needs to have one guardian, a trained caregiver who will manage all the required medical care for that veteran. The costs are picked up by a donor. For specific info, contact Bobbie Bradley at 937-521-2400 ext 104.

To see the 2023 schedule and learn more about Honor Flights, go to www.honorflight.org

Will you open your wallet to send a few dollars to Honor Flights to help more veterans make the trip? They’re a nonprofit with a four-star Charity Navigator rating. You can donate online at the website or send a check to Honor Flight, Box L-4016, Columbus, OH 43260-4016.

M.D.

-- by Jim Miller

How to Protect Seniors from Scam Calls

DEAR SAVVY SENIOR: What tools or methods can you recommend to help protect trusting seniors from scam calls? My 84-year-old mother gets 6 to 8 calls every day from pushy telemarketers on both her cell phone and land line, and they are an extreme nuisance. Several of her friends have been duped out of money by these crooks. Is there a way to stop these calls and protect vulnerable seniors from these schemers? -- Furious Daughter

Dear Furious: A great question! Scammers are always looking for new ways to dupe people out of money, and in the U.S., phone calls remain the primary way swindlers are hooking older victims.

The Federal Trade Commission recently found that 24 percent of adults over age 60 who reported losing money to a scam in 2021 said it started with a phone call – the largest percentage of any method, including email, text and postal mail.

To help protect your mom from the onslaught of robocall scams, telemarketing and spam calls, here are some tips and tools you can help her employ.

Register Her Numbers

If your mom hasn’t already done so, a good first step in limiting at least some unwanted calls is to make sure her home and cell phone numbers are registered with the National Do Not Call Registry. While this won’t stop fraudulent scam calls, it will stop unwanted calls from legitimate businesses who are trying to sell her something. To sign up, call 888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register, or you can do it online at DoNotCall.gov

Cell Phone Protection

Most wireless providers today offer good tools for stopping scam calls and texts. For example, AT&T has the ActiveArmor Mobile Security app; Verizon provides the

Call Filter app; and T-Mobile offers the Scam Shield app.

To activate these tools, download the spam-blocking app from your mom’s carrier on her phone, which you can do at the Apple and Google App store. These apps are free to use, but most carriers will also offer upgraded services that you can get for a small monthly fee.

If, however, your mom uses a regional or small wireless carrier that doesn’t offer scam/robocall protection you can use a free third-party app. Truecaller (Truecaller.com), Call Control (CallControl.com), Hiya (Hiya. com) and YouMail (YouMail.com) are all good options to consider.

Built-In Call Blockers

Many smartphones today also offer built-in tools that can block spam calls. If your mom uses a newer iPhone (iOS 13 or later), she can completely silence all unknown callers who aren’t in her contacts list in the phone “Settings.”

Silencing all unknown callers is an extreme solution that will definitely stop all unwanted calls, but your mom will also miss some legitimate calls too. However, unknown callers do have the option to leave a voice message and their calls will appear in her recent calls list. And she can add any number to her contact list to let them through in the future.

If your mom owns a new Android phone, she can also block spam calls in the phone “Settings.” Or, if she owns a Samsung Galaxy phone, she can use “Smart Call,” which flags suspected spam calls and allows her to block and report them.

She can also block specific reoccurring spam call numbers on iPhones and Android manually.

Home Landline Protection

To stop scam calls on your mom’s home phone set up the “anonymous call rejection” option. This is a free feature available from most telephone companies, however some may charge a fee. It lets you screen out calls from callers who have blocked their caller ID information – a favorite tactic of telemarketers. To set it up, you usually have to dial *77 from your landline, though different phone services may have

different procedures.

Call your mom’s telephone service provider to find out if they offer this tool, and if so, what you need to do to enable it. And if they don’t offer it, find out what other call blocking options they do offer.

Grandfather

by Anne McCollam

Child’s Dish Is a Triple Crown Winner

Q: This is a photo of a child’s plate that is decorated with a scene from the story of “The House That Jack Built.” Since it was one of my favorite nursery rhymes when I was a child, I collect child’s dishes decorated with scenes of the story. Marked on the back of the plate are the words “Triple Crown China -- Germany” and three crowns.

Does my plate have any value other than bringing back fond memories of my childhood?

A: Children’s dishes decorated with nursery rhyme scenes and characters are perennial favorites with collectors. They were made in the late 1800s and early 1900s in both the United States and Europe. As a rule, the decorations were transfer prints rather than hand-painted. The mark you described was used by Unger and Schilde in Roschuetz, Thuringia, Germany. They were in business from 1882 to 1953.

Your plate was made between 1909 and 1916. It would probably fetch $50 to $75 in an antiques shop. ***

Q: I have enclosed a photo of the mark seen on the back of an oval dish that I have. I picked the dish up at a rummage sale and know nothing about it. The mark is a little

Puzzle Solutions

blurry so just to be clear, I will have to tell you what is included below the crown. It says “Patent Ironstone China -- Bow Bells -- England.” A multitude of blue flowers cover the white background. The measurements are approximately nine inches by six inches and it is in mint condition.

What can you tell me about the maker, vintage, and value of my dish?

A: Mason’s Patent Ironstone China made your dish. They were located in Staffordshire, England from 1813 to the present. “Bow Bells” is the name of the pattern and it was also produced in brown. Your dish was made around 1920. Mason’s continues to produce the pattern, but uses a different mark that identifies the period of manufacture. Your circa 1920 dish would probably be worth $75 to $100.

* On March 7, 161 A.D., Marcus Aurelius became emperor of Rome at the age of 39, after the death of his predecessor, Antoninus Pius, and after patiently waiting more than 20 years to assume that role. He was extremely popular, and his reign would later be recalled as a “golden age.”

* On March 9, 1562, kissing in public was banned in Naples, Italy, and actually punishable by death, but not for reasons of morality. Rather, it was part of an effort to halt the spread of a plague throughout Europe. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the legislation failed to achieve its goal.

* On March 8, 1941, Hugh Mulcahy, a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, gained national attention when he became the first major league baseball player to be drafted into the Army. He continued to pitch during his service, which lasted for four years, before he returned to his old team.

* * *

Antiques expert and columnist Anne McCollam has recently retired and no longer receives inquiries nor answers reader letters. Due to the popularity of her column, this publication will continue to reprint previous columns of interest to our readers.

To find out more about Anne McCollam and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

* On March 6, 1986, American painter Georgia O’Keeffe, whose work included large-format paintings of natural forms, especially flowers and bones, died at age 98. She had continued painting, with the help of assistants, into her last years, even though nearly blind from macular degeneration.

* On March 10, 1988, Prince Charles narrowly escaped death from an avalanche while skiing at a Swiss resort. Sadly, though he managed to help dig out the body of his friend Major Hugh Lindsay, a former aid to the Queen, Lindsay was declared dead on arrival at a local hospital. Diana, Princess of Wales, and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, had accompanied Prince Charles on the trip but were not skiing when the avalanche occurred.

* On March 10, 2015, a copyright infringement suit filed against Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke led to a record payout of $7.3 million to the family of Marvin Gaye. Williams and Thicke had copied from Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got to Give It Up.”

* On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared that the COVID-19 outbreak was a pandemic, citing more than 118,000 cases of the coronavirus illness in over 110 countries and territories around the world.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc

GO FIGURE

SOLUTION

I've been told that I might have to relocate.

I expect that'd be a moving experience.

Children’s dishes decorated with nursery rhymes are very collectible.

Mason’s Patent Ironstone China was has been in business in England, since 1813.

there is no outlet and it steadily grows more saline as time passes, to the point where it is too salty to sustain life aside from microorganisms and algae.

• Lake Titicaca located on the border of Bolivia and Peru at an altitude of 12,507 feet (3,812 m), is the highest commercially navigable body of water in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, it is the largest lake in South America. Its name comes from an indigenous phrase meaning “rock of the puma” because the lake is shaped somewhat like that of a puma.

• Located in in the northern reaches of New Zealand’s Southern Alps, Blue Lake, also known as Rotomairewhenua in the local native language, is known as the world’s clearest lake. Visibility in the lake’s crystal waters is up to 262 ft (80 m), meaning the water is considered almost as clear as distilled water.

FINAL FACTS

• At an average depth of nearly 2,000 feet, (610 m) Oregon’s Crater Lake is the deepest lake totally within the borders of the continental United States.

• The Caspian Sea is actually considered to be not only the world’s largest lake, but also the world’s largest salt lake. It stretches nearly 750 miles (1,200 km) from north to south, with an average width of 200 miles (320 km).

• The highest lake in the world is the volcanic crater lake of Ojos del Salado on the border of Chile and Argentina in South America. It sits nearly 21,000 feet (6,390 m) above sea level.

• The largest freshwater lake in the world by length is Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania, Africa which is 410 miles (660 km) long. □

Game Changers

by Jason Jenkins

I used to think that Lake Superior was pretty arrogant, but if you think about it, all the Great Lakes are completely full of themselves!

STAN SMITH’S TENNIS CLASS

Rehinge the Finish

A good finish should have the left leg straight, the right thigh up close to the left leg, the right foot up on the toe, and the upper body arching back slightly. The trick is that the hips are now “tucked under” the upper body or the stomach is pushed forward. Many beginners, or players who don’t have good core strength, will finish with their hips pushed out behind their upper body. Learn to correct the finish by tucking the hips under or pushing your belt buckle forward in order to feel the correct position. Good leg work will assist in correct hip positioning as well.

One of the swing’s power leaks that I often see, particularly with a lot of adult male golfers, is a restricted release of the hands or wrists in the follow through. These players have a tightening of the left arm and hand in such a way that the club rarely makes its way behind the player’s neck. It should be considered a fundamental that the left wrist re-hinges in the follow through so that by the finish position it’s noticeably bent.

When I work with a lot of beginning to intermediate players, the finish position requires extra attention. The body is contorting into an unusual position and needs to be balanced to be effective. Advanced players take the finish position for granted, especially when it comes to the small arch in the lower back.

Tuck It Under

Most of the problem stems from excessive grip pressure and a “controlling” effort to guide the ball to the target. The correction usually rests in finishing the swing with a note to the left wrist’s bent orientation. These players shouldn’t worry so much about when and where to think about the proper wrist action through impact, but simply finishing in the correct orientation. This usually is a progressive fight through the course of ball striking on the range, so continue to rehearse the full finish before each shot.

of the world’s population has brown eyes?

TRIVIA TEST Answers Answers

Answers

1. The Danube River.

2. -40.

3. “Cheers.”

or

Games.”

The idea of Go Figure is to arrive at the figures given at the bottom and right-hand columns of the diagram by following the arithmetic signs in the order they are given (that is, from left to right and top to bottom). Use only the numbers below the diagram to complete its blank squares and use each of the nine numbers only once.

DIFFICULTY:

4. “The Hunger

5. Chickpeas or fava beans.

6. A lodge,

a den.

7. “Hairspray.”

8. Gwyneth Paltrow.

9. Iroquois tribes in the eastern United States and Canada.