From: Bill the Greatest
[wlassegard@socal.rr.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2012
7:54 AM
Subject: Word of the Day
Attachments: 5.3.EatingBirds.wmv
House of
Knowledge
Bill Word of
the Day
May 3, 2012
**"You have read
of 'Lepers', I am sure. What is the History of Leprosy?"**
Gone With The Wind
Tests
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xmfLHXiAhA&feature=related
"Every
government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit,
extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others." - Ayn Rand
"A friendship
founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship." -
John D. Rockefeller
Comment
on Word
Uncle Bill: "I
was surprised to see the note from Evelyn regarding her son's baptism. He
obviously was the first baby I held during a baptism - but must have been good
practice as I held 3 of my own in later years! Glad he (and Evelyn) are
doing well. What I do remember is buying a bassinette for him to use while he
was in CA. My kids and many others have used it since - last count was 18
babies! Thanks for the heirloom, Evelyn" - Cheri Huber Phelps
Did you check out
the Attach:
Humble
Hayes: "You know that look women get when they want sex?"
Dakota
Jim: "No."
Humble
Hayes: "Me neither."
Queen Victoria was
so opposed to smoking that she wouldn't even read a letter if she suspected the
writer might have been smoking while he wrote it.
Humble
Hayes: "If a father gave one of his sons 19 cents and the other 6
cents, what time would it be?"
Dainty
Diana: "A quarter to two?"
"The vote is
the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice
and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different
from other men." - Lyndon Baines Johnson Bill Note: "He never was
very bright."
Illinois has the
most heavy drinkers per capita in the United States. Utah has the fewest. Let
me see now - Romney is from Utah and Obama is from Illinois - or so he says.
"Imagination is the wide-open eye which leads us
always to see truth more vividly." - Christopher Fry
An 8-year-old girl
went to her grandfather, who was working in the yard and asked him,
"Grampa, what is couple sex?"
The grandfather was
surprised that she would ask such a question, but decided that if she's old
enough to know to ask the question, then she's old enough to get a straight
answer. Steeling himself to leave nothing out, he proceeded to tell her all
about human reproduction and the joys and responsibilities of intercourse. When
he finished explaining, the little girl was looking at him with her mouth
hanging open, eyes wide in amazement.
Seeing the look on
her face, the grandfather asked her, "Why did you ask this question,
honey?" The little girl replied, "Grandma says that dinner will be
ready in just a couple secs."
It's time to Clean House at NBC!
This once reputable network is now working harder to
re-elect President Obama than his own campaign team.
http://www.cleanhouseatnbc.org/?
The United States
holds jurisdiction over almost as much square mileage of ocean water as of
land. Most of it is full of oil - which will one day be drilled and used by
some smart people who elected a few politicians with brains.
"Early ball
carriers in the game of football would yell 'down' when they were tackled. That
is where we get the term 'down'."
About
this Time
|
|
In 1818 Political
philosopher Karl Marx was born in Prussia. My brother and I visited his home
(now a museum) in Trier. The caretakers gave me a book written by him which I
keep in my library. I inscribed in it the words: "I shall read this when I
have time" It is still unread. Trier was the home of Lotties grandparents
- the reason for our visit. In 1776 Rhode Island declared its freedom from England,
two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted. In 1899 A lawn mower was
patented. In 1913 The 17th amendment to the Constitution, providing for the
election of US senators by popular vote rather than selection by state
legislatures, was ratified. In
896 Pope Formosus died. His body was
exhumed by his successor in the Cadaver Synod. He was then put on trial for
perjury, found guilty and dumped in the Tiber River.
"This country
has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when a baby gets hold
of a hammer."- Will Rogers
Uffdah!
A road
crew supervisor hired Ole to assist with painting the yellow line down the
middle of the road. He was skeptical about hiring him, but he appeared
enthusiastic and told him that he really needed the job. At least his wife Lena
told him so.
He
explained to Ole that his work day would be to complete 2 miles of line on the
road, and he was set up with brushes and paint and got him started. After the
first day, the supervisor was pleased to find that he did an excellent job and
was able to paint 4 miles of road in his 8 hour shift. He told him that he did
an excellent job and how pleased he was with his progress.
On the
second day, Ole completed painting 2 miles of road. His supervisor was
surprised that on day one, he had completed twice as much work, but did not say
anything, as 2 miles of road was the amount that the job required anyway. He
decided to just accept it, and to look forward to the next day when he was sure
that he would pick up his speed again. On day 3, the supervisor was shocked to
learn that in his 8 hour shift, Ole only completed painting 1 mile of road. He
was called the supervisor's office and asked what was the problem .. "On
your first day, you completed 4 miles of road, on your second day, 2 miles of
road, and now on day 3, you were only able to complete 1 mile of road. Can I
ask you, what is the problem?"
"Vell,"
Ole replied, "I’ll tell you vhat, but I tought you vould know. Every day I
vas getting farder and farder avay from da paint can.”
"You
must believe in free will; there is no choice." - Isaac Bashevis Singer
"But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite
simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives
it to other persons to whom id does not belong." - Frederic Bastiat
Note: Who is Bastiat?
"Claude Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850), French economist,
statesman, and social philosopher, born in Mugron, near Bayonne, France. He was
the son of a merchant in the Spanish trade. Bastiat had only a limited success
working in his uncle's business and farming at Mugron on the estate he
inherited upon his grandfather's death in 1825. Becoming an ardent protagonist
of free trade, Bastiat founded a society advocating its principles and edited
the society's journal. The Revolution of 1848 brought his agitation for this
cause to a temporary close, as he turned his efforts for some
years to combating the spread of socialism. In August 1848 he was
elected to the constituent assembly and in May 1849 to the legislative
assembly."
Definitions
Inwit: Native
Intelligence
Outwit: School-book Larnin
Nitwit: Silly Learned
Dimwit: Unlearned
You can't copyright
the title of a book.
Humble Hayes: "This coffee isn't
fit for a pig!"
Dainty Diana: "No problem, I'll
fix you some that is."
The
Prussian "Iron Chancellor", Otto von Bismarck, once commented:
"Anybody who wants to retain any respect for laws or sausages should
not watch them being made." Do you ever watch Congress on TV?
Did you know?
"When two earthworms mate, both become pregnant."
Humble
Hayes: "I can see, darling, that I am only a little pebble on the
beach of your life."
Dainty
Diana: "Well, go on. Be a little boulder."
Few
American families had TV sets when Harry Truman was president, but just about
all had them by John F. Kennedy's time. Few had clocks in George Washington's
era, but all had them in Abraham Lincoln's day - seven decades later.
On
September 13, 1779, King Frederick II of Prussia issued a manifesto:
"Everybody is using coffee. If possible, this must be prevented. My people
must drink beer." This King is commonly known as 'King Frederick the
Great'.
"Real tragedy
is never resolved. It goes on hopelessly forever." - Chinua Achebe
A government census
taker who interviews an escaped convict is barred by regulation from turning in
that felon.
Jim Thompson - Here is
one for you:
When General Motors came out with their Chevrolet "Blazer" in 1968,
little did they know what an enormous market they were setting up. The Blazer
was the first automotive hybrid know as the sport-utility vehicle. To you
people from Emery - that's a SUV.
Iraqis
In California
Two
Iraqis meet in California. One starts to greet the other in Arabic, the
language of their native country. The other Iraqi waves him away contemptuously
and says, "We're in America now. Speak Spanish." - Gary W
"The danger is
not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to
govern." - Lord Acton
"Jonah was in
the belly of a whale for Three Days and Three Nights."
"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." - William James
"We lived for
days on nothing but food and water." - W.C. Fields
Professor Hayes: "You are probably a Caucasian. Do you know where that term came from?"
Joe Lass: "A German
scientist named Johann Friedrich Blumenback in 1795 thought the Caucasus
Mountain people were the world's best looking human beings. So when he
classified humanity into races, he coined the term to identify them as
'Caucasian'.
"Blumenback
proposed five human races, which he called varieties: Caucasian, Mongolian,
Malayan, Ethiopian, and American. These races corresponded approximately to the
geographic regions of Europe, Asia, Australia and Oceania, Africa, and the
Americas, respectively. Later, Blumenbach’s divisions were popularized as the
white, yellow, brown, black, and red races, terms that continued to be used
into the 20th century. Blumenbach rejected Linnaeus’s grouping of humans with
the apes and instead placed them in separate orders, reflecting his belief that
humans were dramatically different from all other animals."
According to an
archived 1933 report, four elephants were seen linked up trunk to tail in
single file. They were taking a stroll in Tanganyika (Tanzania) when lightning
struck one. All the elephants dropped dead.
Did you know? "Charles Goodyear
developed vulcanized rubber and was the first to produce it commercially. He
began his experiments while in prison for debt."
Joe Lass: "Does every living creature—including insects and tiny marine animals—have a brain?"
Marilyn
vos Savant:
"No. For example, a starfish is—literally—brainless. (It also has no
blood. In fact, it’s not even a fish. For this reason, marine biologists call
it a “sea star.”) Many other animals also have no brains, depending instead on
a nervous system or at least sensory cells. Yet sponges, which are far from
tiny, don’t have either of those. Jellyfish, by contrast, are bundles of
nerves! (And no, they’re not fish, either.) There are brains, and there are
brains. A grasshopper has one, but it can walk and jump without it. And a
cockroach has a brain, but not like the kind you may have in mind. If you cut
off its head, it will continue to learn! But not for long. Sorry you asked,
aren’t you, Joe?"
"When they came
up with highway signs in the 1930's they tested the size on some young men. It
was good back then. Now the population has aged, roads have improved and cars
go faster. They still use the same size signs. It has been found they are too
small to be deciphered by 40 percent of the drivers - that includes me."
Boeing
(With Douglas and McDonald) had volumes of books which had information about
every little piece that went into the missile site and the missile itself. One
book gave a description of the part, and then referred to another book for its
use, every part had a number. The part in question was a "Eleven foot
pole". When looking up the part in the usage book, it stated: "Eleven
foot pole"--Usage: "To be used on things that cannot be touched by a
ten foot pole." A true story.
Single-Wattled
Cassowary
The
cassowary is the most dangerous bird in the
world.
"The cassowary,
native to the forests of northern Australia and New Guinea, is among the few
birds capable of killing a human being. It is a large, flightless bird with
strong legs and bladelike claws. It
stands about 4 to 6 ft high and can run as fast as
30 mph. Their inner toes bear long,
straight, knifelike nails, which are deadly defense weapons. The
Cassowary has strong powerful legs with dagger-like claws on its toes. It
defends itself by kicking. Its kick is powerful
enough to rip open a person's stomach - even kill the person. The loose,
hair like body plumage is brownish-black; the head and neck are bare and
brightly colored in various combinations of red, yellow, and blue. The top of
the head bears a large, bony crest. Two species have long, leathery wattles
hanging from the front of the neck. The female Cassowary lays a clutch of four
to ten eggs . The male Cassowary incubates the eggs. Originally found only in
northern Australia and New Guinea, cassowaries were brought as pets to New
Britain, Ceram, and the Aru islands. Unlike their relatives the emus, rheas,
and ostrich, cassowaries are birds of the forest rather than of open
plains."
Wattle:
"Skin hanging from
animal’s throat: a loose, often highly colored fold of bare skin hanging from
the throat or cheek of birds and lizards."
"Let there be
no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit." - Khalil
Gibran
"The
original canoe with an Indian kneeling below the water line was the safest
vessel on the river. When they put in a seat, it raised the center of gravity,
which made it the most dangerous vessel on the river.
A little
girl asked her mom, "Mom, may I take the dog for a walk around the
block?" Mom says, "No, because the dog is in heat." "What
does that mean?" asked the child. "Go ask your father. I think he is
in the garage." The little girl goes to the garage and says. "Dad,
may I take Belle for a walk around the block?" "I asked Mom, but she
said the dog was in heat, and to come talk to you." Dad said, "Bring
Belle over here." He took a rag, soaked it with gasoline, and scrubbed the
dog's backside with it and said, "Okay, you can go now, but keep Belle on
the leash and only go one time around the block." The little girl left,
and returned a few minutes later with NO DOG on the leash. Dad asked,
"Where is Belle?" The little girl said, "She ran out of gas
about halfway down the block, and there is another dog pushing her home."
"Young
men want to be faithful and are not; old men want to be faithless and
cannot." - Oscar Wilde
Only in
America:
"Do people order double cheese burgers, a large fry, and a diet
coke."
Very, Very, Very Funny
Mannequin
Head Drop Prank [VIDEO]
If a skunk fires at
you and misses, look out! He will fire again - up to six times. His spray glows
in the dark.
Until a century ago,
a pearl was more valuable than a diamond.
"Women's
faults are many,
Men have only
two:
Everything they
say,
And everything
they do."
"Wisdom is meaningless until our own experience has given it meaning."
"A man's growth
is seen in the successive choirs of his friends." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"A racist is no longer someone who judges others by their color, but someone who won't."
"Being
considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college
degree." - Marian Wright Adelman
"Kindness in
women, not their beauteous looks, shall win my love." - Washington Irving
"The old
Pharaoh kings were known for having back problems. They figured out how to
solve them. That's why they had a Cairopractor."
**"Leprosy is an ancient disease and is even mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. It has affected humanity for over 4,000 years, However, these biblical descriptions do not resemble leprosy as we know it today. It is likely that the term referred to a number of different skin ailments that were considered to be a punishment from God for sin and that marked the sufferer as unclean. Authentic descriptions of leprosy are found in documents from India dating back to 600 BC.
Men
with Leprosy
"This Myanmar
man (On the Left) has leprosy, an infectious disease once widespread in Europe
but now occurring primarily in countries with poor
nutrition. The man on the right is a 24 year old with Leprosy. Disfiguring symptoms of leprosy, such as the loss of extremities, can now be prevented
through early treatment.
"Father Damien,
full name Joseph Damien de Veuster (1840-1889), Belgian Roman Catholic
missionary to the lepers of Hawaii. Born in Tremelo, Belgium, Damien was the
son of a farmer. Following his elder brother Pamphile, he joined the
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Damien had nearly finished
his studies for the priesthood when his brother, about to embark for the
Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands, fell ill. At his own request, Damien was sent
(1865) in his place. He was ordained (1866) in Honolulu, where he worked among
the natives until 1873; then he was appointed to work among the lepers on the
island of Molokai. Conditions there were deplorable, with lack of proper
housing, medical aid, and sanitary conditions. Damien devoted himself entirely
to the spiritual and physical care of the lepers, obtaining government aid for
them and encouraging agriculture and local industry. Although he contracted
leprosy in 1884, he continued his labors until his death.
History
"Leprosy
probably originated in India and was distributed throughout the world by
various travelers, including Roman Legionnaires, Crusaders, Spanish
conquistadors, Asian seafarers, European colonists, and Arab, African, and
American slave traders. Some historians believe that Alexander the Great’s
troops brought leprosy from India to Europe during the 300s BC. In Western
Europe, the prevalence of leprosy peaked between ad 1100 and 1300, then began
to decline as living conditions improved. As recently as 1900 leprosy could be
found in northern Europe. Today the disease is found primarily in tropical areas.
" Mycobacterium leprae was first
identified as the cause of leprosy in 1874 by Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, a
Norwegian physician. Hansen was frustrated in his work because he was unable to
culture the bacterium in the laboratory—a feat that scientists still have not
accomplished today. Although Mycobacterium leprae cannot be grown in
laboratory culture dishes, scientists have developed ways to obtain populations
of the bacteria for use in scientific studies. The bacteria can grow to a
limited extent in the relatively cool hind footpad of the mouse, allowing
scientists to test new anti-leprosy drugs. It grows in enormous numbers
throughout the body of the nine-banded armadillo, an animal that has a body
temperature several degrees cooler than that of humans. In fact, recent studies
have shown that, in some areas of Louisiana and Texas, one-quarter of the wild
population of armadillos is infected with the leprosy bacterium. Growth of the
bacteria in the spleen, liver, and other internal organs can eventually prove
fatal for these animals. Scientists do not know whether armadillos can transmit
the disease to humans. But even if they can do so, they are not essential in
spreading the disease because they do not live in Africa, Asia, or India, where
the disease is most prevalent. Although the bacteria will grow in mice and armadillos,
neither of these animals develops nerve damage and other symptoms typical of
human leprosy. This means that although the animals can help test new drugs or
serve as bacteria “factories,” they are poor models to help scientists
understand how the disease develops in humans.
" In 1991 WHO launched
a leprosy elimination program to provide multidrug therapy to leprosy patients
all over the world. The goal of the program was to reduce the prevalence of
leprosy to 1 in 10,000 people in 122 countries. By 1998 the goal had been met
in 90 of those countries. However, new leprosy cases have continued to emerge
at a rate of 1.4 cases per 10,000 people. The disease has proven difficult to
eliminate for several reasons. One reason is that scientists do not understand
how the bacterium is transmitted from person to person. Also, scientists do not
know how to identify people who are infected but have not yet developed the
disease. Efforts to eliminate leprosy are also hampered by the stigma still
attached to the disease: Many patients are reluctant to seek treatment for fear
of being abandoned by their family and ostracized by society in general.
" Scientists have made
enormous strides in understanding how the leprosy bacterium causes disease,
developing an effective treatment that will not lead to drug-resistant
bacteria, and preventing or even surgically correcting deformities caused by
the disease. Scientific understanding and effective drug therapy have debunked
many of the myths surrounding leprosy, and life for most patients today is
quite different than it was in Medieval Europe. However, the stigma long
associated with the disease does still exist. In some countries, people who
develop leprosy are often forced to leave home, and many end up in the slums of
large cities, where they must beg to survive. In the United States, some
elderly patients continue to live at two leprosaria—at the Gillis W. Long
Hansen’s Disease Research Center in Louisiana, where antibiotic treatment was
begun, and on Molokai island in Hawaii where Father Damien worked—because they
fear that the stigma of leprosy may prevent them from being accepted on the
outside. Only a better-informed public can eliminate the stigma of the
disease."
Nine-Banded
Armadillo
"The
nine-banded or common long-nosed armadillo is often used in leprosy research
because it is one of only a few animal species in which the leprosy bacterium
can grow. The most widespread and adaptable of all species of armadillos, it
ranges from the southern United States southward into Argentina and Uruguay and
feeds on fungi, fruits, tubers, termites, ants, small vertebrates, and carrion."**
