Curious George

Putting an end to Ignorance!

• Why is the sky blue? The rays of the sun, in striking the earth'satmospheree, are scattered by the countless tiny specks that fill the air, the blue rays beingscatteredd farther than the red. It is thus the blue rays which we see, and which lead us to believe that the sky is of that color. If the air were free of all particles of dust, the sky would be quite dark, relieved only by the brightness of the sun and the moon and of the stars which would then always be visible.
• When do we shake hands at meetings? Students of folk lore trace the origin of handshaking to primitive magic; the physical contact of the hands symbolized that each of parties yielded himself up to the power of the other and united with him in peace and friendship; or signified the ratification of a compact or pledge. We still clinch an agreement or a business deal by "shaking hands on it." This element of contract is clearly seen in the Roman marriage ceremony, in which as also among the ancient Hindus the clasping of hands by bride and bridegroom was a prominent feature.
• Who introduced the potato to Europe? No one knows for certain, though the credit is usually given to Hieronymus Cardan, a monk. Sir Walter Raleigh was not its introducer. He planted potatoes on his Irish estates in 1586, but the vegetable had been known to the Spaniards for many years previously. Both Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake have been credited with its introduction into England, the former in 1563, the latter in 1580, but it is now held that they brought home the "sweet potato," not the ordinary variety. Drake's claim is upheld on a statue of the navigator at Offenburg, in Germany. An inscription on the base reads: "Sir Francis Drake, introducer of the Potato into Europe in the year 1580.
• What Does Goodbye Mean? Goodbye is a shortened and corrupted form of God be with you. The expression has had in its long life many spellings, of which God be why you and Goodbye are representative. God became good probably by association with Good morning, Good evening, and Good day which were probably themselves shortened forms of God give you good morning, etc. The suggestion has been made that Goodbye is a corruption of God buy you but the earliest forms of the salutation show that this is not the case. Many common exclamations, such as bless you, save us, and preserve us used formerly to begin with God, Mercy on us is an abbreviation of God the Lord have mercy on us.
• What is the origin of nicknames? Primitive mans habit of regarding his real name as his own private property and so rarely if ever to be used. To his companions he was therefore known by what was formerly called in England an eke (i.e., added) name. Slovenly pronunciation turned this into a nickname.
• How did surnames begin? Hereditary surnames were unknown among the Anglo-Saxons. It was not until the twelfth century that these came into use, and not universally even then. Many of them were formed by adding son to the fathers Christian name, such as Johnson, Ferguson, and son on. Others sprang from localities as Attwood, Byfield, Green, Abbey, Townsend, who were domiciled respectively at or by the wood, field, green, abbey and town's end. More important people took the name of the village or township in which they lived, for example John or Derby would later be plain John Derby. A very large class ofsurnamess recall the occupations of their original owners, as Smith, Miller, Baker, Tanner, Fuller, Mason, Dyer, Abbott; while a vast number arose from nicknames and epithets (not always complimentary) given to theiroriginall bearers on account of their personal appearance or characteristics. A few taken at random are Hogge, Fox, Short, Swift, Longman, Rich isselff explanatory; but not to Power; which means the exact opposite and was originally poor. Not all English surnames are English in origin. Russell for example is Anglo French and means red haired.
• Where is spring cleaning compulsory? In Hungary, where in 1937 it was made compulsory for all lofts, garrets and cellars to be spring cleaned, inflammable material removed, and cloth and paper stored in fireproof receptacles. The fine for non-compliance with the order was 30 pounds in towns and 10 pounds in county districts.
• What is the origin of mind your P's and Q's? Various theories have been put forward. Some say that it was a warning to printers apprentices when sorting type the letters p and q being almost identical in form, others that it was used in inns amount owing being chalked on a board in order that customers should not order more than they could pay for when settling day arrived.
• What is the difference between beer and ale? Today, virtually none. Lager beer is never called ale, nor are stout and porter, which technically are black beers, but other wise the term beer is taken to include ale. Only at one period, the fifteenth century, was the distinction clear cut. The English in England before the Norman Conquest drank both ale and beer, but what the difference was is not known. During the fourteenth century the terms appear to have meant strong and weak beer, as better beer cost four pence a gallon, penny ale only one penny. Meanwhile, German brewers were beginning to use hops in the making of beer, and it is though that English soldiers fighting on the Continent during the hundred years' War brought home the taste for this new liquor, for which apparently the name imported into England before 1400, and the ensuing century saw beer breweries of which latter at least seven were established in London by 1436. The struggle came to a climax or was ended, in 1483, when the use of hops in the making of ale was prohibited.
• Who invented red currant jelly? This is a matter of dispute between England and France. In August, 1937, the French unveiled an obelish to the memory of Perrin Lamonthe, for whom they claim the honor, at Velainesen-Barrois. Lamonthe, they say, first made this delightful confection in 1364. On the other hand, English cooks claim that Edward I used the jelly a century before that date.
• How hot is the Sun? The temperature of the surface of the sun is believed to be at least 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. In such intense heat every substance known on earth would be reduced to gas. This is one of the reasons why it is thought that the sun is not solid, but is chiefly made up of various forms of gases. If the light of the sun were to be shut off from the earth we should perish from cold and starvation. If only 10 per cent of its heat was lost large parts of the earth would become frozen and desolate wastes.
• How many planets are there? There are eight chief planets which revolve about the sun and comprise what is called the solar system. The names of these planets in the order of their distance from the sun are Mercury, Venus, the Earth, mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, Mercury and Venus are called the inferior planets because the lie between the earth and the sun. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are known as the superior planets. The inferior planets move about the sun, faster than the earth and the superior ones more slowly. All the planets belong to one family, but they differ in size and temperature. Some are smaller than the earth, some hundreds of times larger. Some are very hot, others very cold. Jupiter is the largest of all the planets and Saturn one of the most famous because of its beautiful luminous rings. In 1930 a new planet called Pluto was discovered. Some astronomers consider it to be a major planet, but this has not yet been proved and is possibly merely an unusual minor planet.
• What is the furthest planet from Earth? Pluto, which varies between 2,750,000,000 and 4,640,000,000 miles distant. Neptune, the next furthest away at times exceeds the minimum distance of Pluto from earth by over 150,000,000 miles, but it approaches 75,000,000 miles nearer than Pluto does.

Literature and Mythology

• Who First Translated the Bible into English? St. Aldhelm (about 640 - 709) is said to have translated the Psalms into Anglo-Saxon verse; the Venerable Bede translated part of the Gospel of St. John into Anglo-Saxon prose; and the name of King Alfred is doubtfully connected with the "Paris Psalter," a translation of Psalms 1-50. During the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries other translations of parts of the Bible were mae (none is known from the thirteenth century), but the first complete translations are the two attributed to John Wycliffe (about 1320 - 1384) and his associates. The Early Version appeared about 1382; the Later Version some fourteen years later. It is not known whether Wycliffe actually took part in the work himself.
• Who compiled the authorized version? A band of fifty four eminent scholars, who were divided for the task into six groups. Two groups met at Oxford, two at Cambridge and two at Westminster. A committee meeting in London had general supervision of the work. The authorized Version was suggested at the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, and the plan for its execution was drawn up by James I. The work was based on what was called the Bishops' Bible, published in 1568, which the revisers were told was to be followed and as little altered as the truth of the original will permit." The preparation of the Bible took about 3 1/2 years.
• Which Books of the Bible are Poems? The Book of Job, the Psalms, the Song of Solomon (the Song of Songs), and the Lamentations of Jeremiah are poems either wholly or in part. The first two chapters and the epilogue of Job, the Song of Solomon is apparently a love lyric; while the Lamentations of Jeremiah are short elegies.

Mankind Through the Ages

• Who was called the Scourge of God? Attila (about A.D. 406-453) king of the Huns, on account of the chastisement which he inflicted upon the corrupt and demoralized Roman Empire. The author of the appellation is not known with certainty.
• What desert kingdom defied the Roman Empire? Palmyra, a city and kingdom situated in a desert oasis of Syria, 150 miles north east of Damascus. In A.D. 270, under their energetic queen Zenobia, the Palmyrans seized Egypt, where Zenobia and her son, on whose behalf she was ruling, began to issue coinage bearing the imperial title of Rome. The rightful Emperor, Aurelian, recovered Egypt, marched in person into Asia Minor, defeated Zenobia, and took Palmyra by siege. Zenobia was taken captive to Rome, where apparently she settled down happily as a private citizen. In 272 the Palmyrana revolted Aurelian slaughtered the inhabitants and laid waste the city, which never after recovered its former greatness.
• How were Egyptian Hieroglyphics deciphered? The key to the decipherment of hieroglyphics was the celebrated Rosetta Stone, discovered at Rosetta in Egypt in 1799 by an French officer named Boussard, and now is in the British Museum. It bears three copies in Hieroglyphics in demotic or the Egyptian running hand and in Greek of a decree of the Ptolemaic period, with the Greek and the former was gradually deciphered. The leading name associated with the deciphering is that of J.F. Champollion (1790 - 1832).
• What is the meaning of Fid Def on British Coins? In stands for Fidei defensor, Defender of the Faith, a title conferred upon King Henry VIII by Pope Leo X in 1521 for his pamphlet against Luther entitled "Assertion of the Seven Sacraments."

The Wonderful World We Live In

• How big is the earth? The earth is a sphere slightly fl attended at the poles and just under 25,000 miles in equatorial circumference. The diameter of the earth is slightly greater at the equator than it is from pole to pole; at the equator it is 7,926.68 miles and from pole to pole 7,899.98 miles, a difference of 26.7 miles. The total surface of the globe is nearly 200 million square miles.
• What is the age of the Earth? Between 1,500 and 3,000 million years. The most accurate methods of calculating it are provided by radio activity, that is the breaking up of elements of high atomic weights into lead. By examination of the oldest known minerals subject to this process the minimum age of the earth is shown to be 1,500 million years; the quantity of lead present precludes a greater maximum than 3,000 million years.
• How hot is the Interior of the Earth? The earth is believed to consist of a solid outer shell of rock and metallic core, probably liquid. The heat at any point in the shell is due to heat at any point in the shell is due to (a) original heat and (b) heat due to radio activity. Both these factors can be calculated within certain limits of error. At about twelve and a half miles from the surface the temperature is probably about 560 degrees Centigrade, at 200 miles down probably more than double this heat; below 400 miles probably three times as hot. The metallic core is very likely so hot that but for the enormous pressure of the shell it would vaporize.
• Is the Earth becoming colder? When the earth broke off from the sun it cooled rapidly from its molten state, and a thick outer crust was formed. Now the temperature remains approximately the same; the heat lost by conduction is made up by heat from radio activity in the rocks.