Europe Trip Blog

Hey guys,
Melissa and I leave for Belgium today! Check out our trip blog here:
http://clintmelissaeurope.blogspot.com/

British Knights

OK - so I haven't learned much in the last few days...I've been busy.

A spare thought...

British Knights - not the royal guard but you know, BKs? I'm talking shoes people, do you remember them? They became popular in the late 80s - early 90s I was probably in the 6th grade or so. They were the must-have shoe. MC Hammer wore them in the U Can't Touch This video...not that I was allowed to watch the video, but Hammer wore them. They have a little metal diamond stud up near the laces that said "BK" - those were some fly kicks yo!

Anyway, I was wondering today, what ever happened to BKs? Well, I checked out wikipedia for the answer...first off, not only did Hammer promote these (he was paid $138 million to endorse these), but the biggest push to the kids was through Nickelodeon kids game shows like Double Dare and Hidden Temple - they were always in the prize packs the kids recieved for being on the shows...everyone wanted to get slimed by Marc Summers and win some BKs.

When I say everyone wanted them, everyone wanted them...including the Crips gang. "BK" began to stand for "Blood Killer" in reference to their rival "Bloods" gang. Schools were very much in a public battle to rid the schools of gangs and so any references used by gangs, including the much-beloved BKs were banned from schools. Talk about a brand-killer...

In hinesight, maybe it was kind of stupid to want a shoe that is described on wiki as having "a chunky sole design, large tongue and inclusion of multiple "BK" logos on the heel, toe guard and upper."

I thought they were rad...

That's what I learned.

Viscoelastic Liquid = Silly Putty

That's right - Silly Putty is a liquid. Who knew - maybe my parents, I'm not sure. Probably some sort of generational knowledge that did not get passed down. Someone gave me some Silly Putty yesterday and I've been playing with it at my desk (I'm actually not that bored at work). I noticed that if I rolled it in a ball and set it on my desk, after about an hour it would flatten out like a pancake.

So then, I rolled it up in a ball and put it on the edge of my desk...see Exhibit A

I came back 5 hours later and it looked like this, see Exhibit B:

WOW! That looks like a viscoelastic liquid if I've ever seen one! The material was discovered in 1943 when a GE engineer accidentally dropped boric acid into silicone oil (the very reason I have someone at Texaco change my oil). An enterprising individual bought the rights to the product and named it Silly Putty, he put it in an Easter Egg because Easter was approaching - and the rest is history!

When rolled into a ball, it bounces really well - perhaps it's best known for kids pressing it down over their favorite comic-strip and the art transfers onto the putty. Except for now in modern times, more and more printers are using soy-based ink as opposed to petroleum inks and they don't transfer as well anymore. Hmm. Also, it dissolves in alcohol. Hmm.

That's all I've got, except for this very interesting picture of some putty slowing "flowing through a hole on a glass table."

That's what I learned today (for extra credit, you can read the scientific details below)!

Here is a scientific explanation of Silly Putty:

"It acts primarily as a viscous liquid, though it can have properties of an elastic solid, too. Silly Putty is primarily polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). There are covalent bonds within the polymer, but hydrogen bonds between the molecules. The hydrogen bonds can be readily broken. When small amounts of stress are slowly applied to the putty, only a few of the bonds are broken. Under these condition, the putty flows. When more stress is applied quickly, many bonds are broken, causing the putty to tear.

I think I could have taken him...

So a couple of nights ago we hosted world champion boxer, Juan Diaz at the ballpark. He has an upcoming HBO fight and is from right here in Houston. So I'm think boxer...cool...stay out of his way. I met Evander Holyfeld one time and his open hand I think is bigger than my chest, seriously, the biggest hand I have ever seen. My boss had his camera (typical) and asked Evander "Hey can I take a picture of you fake-punching Clint in the face (ha, ha very funny)." The champ replies, "I only throw blows for money." No picture.

So this Juan Diaz character shows up (I can say that flippantly because he's not here) and I'm bigger than him. He might be 5'6" or 7" and looks like he weighs 20 pounds less than me, granted his are "in shape" pounds. I think I could have taken him...

Got me thinking about weight classes, you hear heavyweight, featherweight, bantamweight - what's a bantam. So, here we go...

First off, here is a chart of the classes (based on the Olympic standards):

Over 200+ lb Super heavyweight
178-200 lb Heavyweight
165-178 lb Light heavyweight
155-165 lb Middleweight
141-155 lb Welterweight
132 - 141 lb Light Welterweight
125 - 132 lb Lightweight
119-125 lb Featherweight
112 - 119 lb Bantamweight
106 - 112 lb Flyweight
Under 106 lb Light flyweight

I know the first thing you did was check what your weight class is...right?

So our boy Juan is in the lightweight division, but he's also known as "Baby Bull" - probably can't take him. He qualified for the Mexican Olympic team at the age of 16 but then was told he was ineligible to compete because he was too young. Enough about Juan...

So where do the terms come from - most are obvious, two aren't...

Bantamweight

A bantam is a small variety of chicken that is about 1/5 the size of a normal chicken. If you are going to be a fighter you might want to gain a few more pounds or lose a few just to stay out of the category, just isn't suiting...

Welterweight

Welter means to "Writhe, toss or wallow" "to be in turmoil" "to rise and fall or toss about in the sea" or my favorite, "a confused mass" - not sure how this applies to boxing but as a welterweight myself, I know what they were talking about.

What's interesting is that the fighting weight is determined at weigh-in, so the guys will sometimes starve themselves down and dehydrate to hit the weight class, and then pig out after the fight. Sounds like trying to fit into a dress to me...

One other funny thing I found comes from the East Side Boxing website...

It's Square, Why is it Called a Ring?
The term "ring" comes from the original practice of having a circle of spectators form a ring around the two contestants. Often a rope would be held by the crowd to designate the area the fighters would have to move around. There weren't even stools, since the fights were usually outdoors and in isolated areas, so one of the fighter's supporters, called a "second", would kneel with one knee on the ground and the other up to form a seat for the resting fighter between rounds. Also, since boxing was illegal almost everywhere in its early days, if the "proper authorities" dropped in uninvited, the spectators simply dropped the rope and ran in every direction. The police might round up a few of the slow footed, but all the promoters would be out would be the cost of a rope.

I learned something new today...I couldn't take him!

Sarasota, FL = Carnyville

Intrigued?

So about three years ago, we at the Astros were challenged to find the Flying Wallendas and to bring them to Minute Maid Park. I didn't know what a Wallenda was nor why it was that they flew. I won't exactly go into the circumstances as to why we needed them, but suffice to say, I needed to find them.

Turns out, the Flying Wallendas are longtime circus folk specializing in high-wire acts. The goal was to get them to walk from foulpole to foulpole at the ballpark after a baseball game. After some negotiation, Tino, acting patriarch of the Wallenda clan agreed to fly to Houston. It was determined that it wasn't possible for them to rig up on the poles so we had to settle for a 30 foot long wire, about 30 feet in the air...I know, thrilling.

The most interesting part about the event though was talking to Tino and his two kids. The Wallendas' act dates back to the 1780's in Bavaria. Since then they have been traveling the world, performing in some form ever since then including decades in the Ringing Bros. Circus here in America.

The two Wallenda kids, were both in high school and were facing the decision on whether to follow in the family footsteps and continue the great tradition of the seven-man pyramid (see below) or go to college and get a "normal" job. They said it was great to be a part of such a long heritage but were really longing for a regular life.

Here's where it got fun - they said, "I mean even our neighborhood in Sarasota, it's filled with carney-folk." What? A neighborhood of circus people? "Yes" they answered, "our next-door neighbor is a trapeeze artist and our back yard neighbor eats fire."

Holy smokes. Why wouldn't you want to be a part of that?

So, it turns out Sarasota, Florida is the Circus Capital of America. Nice. Back in the early 20s, the Ringling Bros. (there were 5 of them) decided to make Sarasota the "Wintering Grounds" of the Greatest Show on Earth. The circus would tour all year long and then come home to Sarasota to rest and work on the next season's show. The town quickly became a hotbed of juggling, lion taming and yes, high wire acts. These folks are still there. The Wallenda kids literally told me that the lady next door has a trapeeze in her back yard. The lady to the right is not their neighbor, but more to help you get the idea. Who wouldn't want that next door?

I wonder if the Circo Garcia that is in the Fiesta Food Mart parking lot winters in Sarasota - probably not.

Side note - I checked out the Circo site and they have something called The Mighty King of the Jungle, which is described as...

"The Garcia family present their own creation/version of Beauty Meets the Beast. The Beast, meaning a 40 foot robotic gorilla that has capabilities of walking up to the circus ring and befriends a beautiful young girl. Their friendship does not last long, for unfortunately the evil doers do not see this gentle giant in the loving way that she does. To the viewers delight, this king of the jungle fights through an incredible adventure seen right before their eyes and lives
forever through the loving strength of his new found friend. "

No lie...

I learned something new today, and it was awesome!

Brotherly Love, Quaker Oats & Willy Wonka

OK so my first question was where did the phrase "City of Brotherly Love" come from. As most folks know, this is the nickname of Philadelphia. Turns out, it's pretty simple. William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania was a Quaker who had been persecuted for his faith back in England and wanted a colony where you could worship freely. Philadelphia, is greek for brotherly love (philos=love/friendship and adelphos=brother). Done.

Which made me think of Quakers - and oatmeal. They have an image of a Quaker gentlemen on his package of oats. Turns out, Quaker Oatmeal has nothing to do with the "Religious Society of Friends" but the founders selected the the quaker name and image to portray good quality and honest value. It was the first registered trademark for a breakfast cereal back in 1877.

Boring so far, right? OK, so I was looking at some info about the Quaker Oats Company and found out they actually funded the production of the 1971 cult-classic film - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The reason for the arrangement? Quaker Oats wanted to put out a new chocolate bar - bought the movie rights and name of the bar - The Wonka Bar. An early example of product placement that's actually integrated into the plotline.

Quick Quiz

What were the four ways that the kids in the movie met their demise? (answer below)

So to the name of the movie - some may know that the book that the move is loosely based on is called "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - why the name change? A) To further promote the new candy bar B) "Charlie" was the nickname of the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War ongoing during production.

In the end, the movie was initally considered to be a box office failure despite good reviews and apparently, it didn't work out too well for Quaker Oats either...because of a mistake in the formula of the chocolate bar, they melted to easily, even on the shelf! They were shortly removed from the market. The movie didn't become popular until the 80s, when people started watching movies on VHS tape.

A few tidbits courtesy of wikipedia:

- The chocolate river was only 2 feet deep and was created by adding chocolate ice cream mix to 150,000 gallons of water - apparently after a few days of shooting, it reeked.

-The combination to the first door in the chocolate factory is 99-44/100% pure, which was an ad slogan for Ivory Soap.

- Peter Ostrum, who plays Charlie Bucket, made no other films. He later became a veterinarian.

- In the scene where Willy Wonka drinks from a flower-shaped cup and then eats the cup, the cup itself was made of wax. Gene Wilder had to chew the wax pieces until the end of the take, at which point he spat them out.

-During the "Wonka Wash" car scene, the foam used to spurt out was compiled from basic fire extinguishers, but what was unknown to the cast and crew was that the foam itself was potent skin irritant, so after shooting the scene, the actors were left in considerable discomfort when their skin puffed up and required several days to receive medical treatment and recovery.

-The musical code for entering the Chocolate Factory played by Wonka is identified by Mrs. Teevee as "Rachmaninoff" when it is actually the opening strains of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro".

OK the answers to the trivia question...1) Augustus Gloop falls into the two-foot deep chocolate river and is sucked up the pipe to the fudge room.

2)

Violet Beauregarde, who is obsessed with chewing gum, chews a piece of the experimental
three-course dinner" gum and subsequently turns into a blueberry.

3) Veruca Salt, is determined to be a "bad egg" and is sent down the garbage shoot

4) Mike Teevee the TV-obsessed kid is shrunk down to 6 inches tall by "Wonkavision"

And as a parting gift - the website of the actress who played Veruca Salt - wow, is all I have to say. Seriously?

I learned something new today!

Presidential Physical Fitness Test

This came up in conversation last night at dinner – do you remember this in elementary school? We’d do it once a year and if you got a certain score on the tests you got a certificate saying you were awesome. I didn’t get many of these… All I remember is watching a video with Arnold Schwzeneggar and President H.W. Bush and then struggling to do a pullup while the whole class watched.

So think back with me, remember the Five Tests?

Sit-ups, Push-ups, Running (One Mile), Pull Ups (or flexed arm hang), and…

V-Sit Reach…which I thought was incredibly unfair because guys aren’t flexible…this is the one where you sit down with your legs out in front of you making a “V” and then you stretch and see how far past your heels you can reach. Stupid. Flexed arm hang was a sham as well – the guys had to struggle to do pull-ups and the girls were lifted up to the bar and basically had to hang there, and were timed for how long they could keep their chin above the bar. Stupid.

Let’s take a quick look back on where this program came from…basically kids were starting to get fat. From the media nowawdays, you would think this was a recent trend but they were very concerned about back in 1956 when President Eisenhower created a cabinet level position called the President’s Council on Youth Fitness. Moving forward a bit, JFK would do 50 mile hikes with youth around the country to show he was “walking the walk.” But our beloved Presidential Physical Fitness Award was started by LBJ back in 1966. Some notable chairmen or advisors to the original program were baseball great Stan Musial and Apollo 13 astronaut, Jim Lovell. Fast forward to 1989 when Bush is joined by Arnold Schwarnegger on the White House South Lawn for a series of Great American Workouts.

This is when I come into the picture…at 9 years old, trying to be like Arnold…and if you are like Arnold, the President will sign my certificate. Never got one…but if you were wondering, here is the chart that shows where you have to be to get a certificate…I have to reach 7 inches past my heels??

One note, there is also a program for adults…yes, that’s right, we all still have a chance to earn a certificate signed by President Bush (or Obama), your choice. Seriously, it’s called The President’s Challenge. I won’t bore you with the details BUT the list of activities that count towards this award include: baton twirling, cheerleading, croquet, fishing, marching (???), lawn bowling, Nintendo Wii, darts and my favorite…stretching. You can’t make this stuff up…I am going to do it…Obama, get my certificate ready.

I learned something new today!

Clint, The Bugle

I've always found it to suit me to be the dorky kid who new a little about alot. As a kid, if I had a tidbit of information that I thought was interesting, I would tell anyone who would listen – thus my childhood nickname, “The Bugle.” Usually, the information was something I wasn’t supposed to share, I always needed to be in the know and then tell everyone.

Another thing I find interesting is reading about random things. Not long novels or books, I have too short of an attention span, but short articles that give the basics of the topic. I guess you can say my knowledge base is wide, but shallow. :)

So, onto this blog thing, the whole point is to let you in to my mind and the tidbits I dig up. Nothing is going to be something particularly groundbreaking or something you can’t find out on Wikipedia (in fact a lot of times, that’s my source – so if it’s wrong, oh well). So, here goes the journey to be able to say “I Learned Something New Everyday.”