The World Almanac

The Race for the White House

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:02:45 -0500

Elections have been referred to as horse races, so why not bet on them? In advance of the 2008 elections in the U.S., the online magazine Slate will be tracking the results from four political prediction markets:

Iowa Electronic Markets (operated by University of Iowa College of Business faculty)
Intrade Trading Exchange
NewsFutures
Casualobserver.net (Web site not yet live)

The impetus for this undertaking is the frequency with which big political prediction markets have forecast election winners, making them "consistently" more accurate than pre-election polls, according to Slate. And as in horse racing, shares in a candidate who's perceived to have little chance of winning will pay off more if he or she is indeed chosen.

2008 Political Futures (Slate)

Graphic: Snapshot of the Iowa Electronic Markets' 2008 U.S. Republican National Convention Market, between Mar. 2007 and Jan. 24, 2008. The graph shows the recent decline of Giuliani and the rise of McCain and Romney.

Growing Up Online

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:27:04 -0500

Full disclosure: I almost never watch Frontline on PBS anymore. I usually watch it online. But the other night, however unexpectedly, I sat down and watched "Growing Up Online" on PBS. The show examined how this first generation to grow up within the MySpace/Facebook sphere socializes on and is socialized by the Internet. "Growing Up Online" refuses to reel off cautionary tale after cautionary tale in a tone of shrill alarm, as many media profiles of this issue seem to. Rather, the filmmakers try to offer a more nuanced documentation of how children, their parents, and teachers struggle to find their appropriate levels of interaction with the limitless resources of the Internet age. Watch "Growing Up Online" on Frontline's website, where not only are the most recent shows available, but most programs since 2001 are archived, along with some older classic episodes from the show's 25-year history. If you've already seen it, there are some great topical resources on the show's site, along with some follow-up on the kids documented by the program. "Growing Up Online" Frontline Archive

Test the Nation: Bloggers FTW*

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:00:00 -0500

It took me a few days to recover, but the CBC's Test the Nation: Trivia seemed to be a roaring success. Six teams locked horns: chefs, flight crews, cab drivers, celebrity lookalikes, backpackers, and bloggers. But in the end, there could be only one...

The bloggers dominated all three categories: highest-scoring celebrity guest (Samantha Bee with 49/60), highest-scoring individual in studio (Rick Spence of CanEntrepreneur and The National Post with 57/60) and yes, the team with the overall #1 high score (average 50/60).

You can still take the test online, and match your wits against Canada's finest bloggers and The Daily Show's Most Senior Correspondent... let us know how you did!

Image from photojunkie, operated and maintained by Rannie Turinga of "Team Blogger." Congrats!

* FTW = for the win, for those who aren't fluent in l33t-speak

This Day In History: Jan. 25

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:01:00 -0500

Today is the 25th day of 2008 and the 35th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1533, King Henry VIII of England married Anne Boleyn. In 1787, Shay's Rebellion broke out in Massachusetts. In 1915, Alexander Graham Bell made the first transcontinental telephone call from New York to San Francisco. In 1961, a few days after his inauguration, President John F. Kennedy held the first televised presidential news conference.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Robert Burns (1759-1796), poet; W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1964), novelist; Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), novelist/essayist; Etta James (1938- ), singer, is 70; Paul Nurse (1949- ), biochemist, is 59; Chris Chelios (1962- ), hockey player, is 46; Alicia Keys (1981- ), singer, is 27.

TODAY'S SPORTS In 1924, the first ever Winter Olympics began in Chamonix, France.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Yet it is in our idleness, in our dreams, that the submerged truth sometimes comes to the top." - Virginia Woolf

TODAY'S FACT: In the first Winter Olympics, the Canadian ice hockey team trounced their opponents, winning all 5 games and outscoring the competition 110-3.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6 - number of wives of King Henry VIII, two of which he ordered executed by beheading.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (January 22) and last quarter (January 30).

The New York Public Library Blog

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:30:00 -0500

Unbeknownst to me, the staff at The New York Public Library has been blogging since last August. So far the staff of nine departments are involved including sports and cooking. The blogs are technically in beta mode and aren't all updated frequently (sadly, the maps department only has 3 posts). There seem to be several posts each week, most pertaining to the library's extensive Digital Gallery, work on upcoming exhibitions, or the history of New York City.

For instance, a post recently noted their newly uploaded collection of early baseball photos from A. G. Spalding (yes, the guy whose name is on your basketball). Paula Baxter, Curator of the Library's Art and Architecture Collection, has been sharing her thoughts on an upcoming exhibition on Art Deco fashion and design.

Links:
New York Public Library Blog
Photo: "New York City Public Library front" by melanzane1013 via Flickr.

Gold!

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:02:27 -0500

James W. Marshall was merely hired to build a sawmill for John Sutter along the American River at what is now Coloma, CA, but when he found small pieces of gold in the mill's tailrace on this day 160 years ago it touched off a rush for riches.

More than 100,000 people moved to California in the following years—so many that it entered the Union on Sept. 9, 1850 with the nickname "The Golden State." Very few made their riches through gold, but some found success in other ways, including Levi Strauss (jeans), James McClatchy (newspapers and publishing), and Leland Stanford (railroad tycoon and founder of Stanford Univ.).

The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco has a chronology of the gold rush and accounts by Marshall, Sutter, and several "Argonauts of 49" (49ers for short).

The California State Library has posted some of their manuscripts pertaining to the gold rush in an online exhibit of ephemera, including some by Marshall and Sutter.

The Gold Rush (Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco)
California As We Saw It (California State Library)
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park

"Gum Shan Meets El Dorado" Quarter plate daguerreotype by J. B. Starkweather (c. 1852)

This Day In History: Jan. 24

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:01:00 -0500

Today is the 24th day of 2008 and the 34th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in California, setting off the California Gold Rush. In 1965, Winston Churchill died at the age of 90. In 2003, Tom Ridge was sworn in as the first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Pierre de Beaumarchais (1732-1799), playwright; Edith Wharton (1862-1937), novelist; Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), artist; Oral Roberts (1918- ), evangelist, is 90; Neil Diamond (1941- ), singer/songwriter, is 67; John Belushi (1949-1982), comic actor; Nastassja Kinski (1960- ), actress, is 48; Mary Lou Retton (1968- ), Olympic gold medalist, is 40; Mischa Barton (1986- ), actress, is 22.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1980, Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday bought the New York Mets for an estimated $21.1 million, at the time the most ever paid for a baseball franchise.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Songs are life in eighty words or less." - Neil Diamond

TODAY'S FACT: Seventy-three years ago today, canned beer went on sale for the first time, in Richmond, Virginia.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2,558 - number of times Barry Bonds was walked in the 2007 season, more than Hank Aaron (1,402) or Babe Ruth (2,062).

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (January 22) and last quarter (January 30).

This Day In History: Jan. 23

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:01:00 -0500

Today is the 23rd day of 2008 and the 33rd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1845, Congress designated that presidential elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In 1922, in Toronto, insulin was first injected into a human patient with diabetes. In 1968, North Korean patrol boats captured the USS Pueblo.. In 2005, Viktor Yushchenko was sworn in as president of the Ukraine, only four months after becoming seriously ill as a result of dioxin poisoning.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Stendhal (1783-1842), novelist; Edouard Manet (1832-1883), artist; Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948), film director; Ernie Kovacs (1919-1962), comedian; Chita Rivera (1933- ), actress/dancer, is 73; Rutger Hauer (1944- ), actor, is 64; Princess Caroline of Monaco (1957- ) is 51; Mariska Hargitay (1964- ), actress, is 44.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1944, the Detroit Red Wings set a record for the most one-sided hockey game by beating the New York Rangers 15-0.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Eighty percent of success is showing up." - Woody Allen

TODAY'S FACT: Chita Rivera was the first Hispanic woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honors Award. She has also received two Tony Awards for her work in musical theatre.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2,600,000 - highest recorded mileage for a car, a 1966 Volvo P1800-S owned by retired science teacher Irv Gordon of Long Island in New York.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (January 22) and last quarter (January 30).

This Day In History: Jan. 22

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:01:00 -0500

Today is the 22nd day of 2008 and the 32nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1901, Britain's Queen Victoria died at age 82, after a record 64-year reign. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling on abortion in the Roe v. Wade case. In 1997, Madeline Albright was confirmed as the first female U.S. Secretary of State. In 1998, "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski pleaded guilty in Sacramento, CA, and was sentenced to life without parole.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Francis Bacon (1561-1626), philosopher/essayist; Lord Byron (1788-1824), poet; August Strindberg (1849-1912), playwright; D.W. Griffith (1875-1948), film director; George Balanchine (1904-1983), choreographer; Steve Perry (1949- ), singer, is 59; Linda Blair (1959- ), actress, is 49.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2006, Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second most in a regular NBA game.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Opinions are made to be changed--or how is truth to be got at?" - Lord Byron

TODAY'S FACT: The tradition of performing Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker during the holiday season began with George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet in 1954.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 16 - number of bombings attributed to Ted Kaczynski over his 17-year spree.

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (January 22).

This Day In History: Jan. 21

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 00:01:00 -0500

Today is the 21st day of 2008 and the 31st day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1793, King Louis XVI of France went to the guillotine in Paris. In 1861, Jefferson Davis resigned from the U.S. senate. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardoned nearly all Vietnam War draft evaders. In 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that Hispanics had surpassed Blacks as the largest minority group in the U.S.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Stonewall Jackson (1824-1863); soldier; Christian Dior (1905-57), fashion designer; Telly Savalas (1924-1994), actor; Jack Nicklaus (1940- ), golfer, is 68; Placido Domingo (1941- ), opera singer, is 67; Geena Davis (1956- ), actress, is 52.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1979, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 35-31, in Super Bowl XIII to become the first NFL team to win three Super Bowls.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Governments rest on the consent of the governed, and that it is the right of the people to alter or abolish them at will whenever they become destructive of the ends for which they were established." - Jefferson Davis

TODAY'S FACT: Though it was primarily in use during the French Revolution, the guillotine was used for executions in France as recently as 1977; the death penalty was abolished there in 1981.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 44.3 million - estimated Hispanic population of the U.S. as of July 1, 2006.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter (January 15) and full moon (January 22).

Doonies vs. Uppies

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:46:05 -0500

One of the more entertaining articles I've recently read is The Washington Post's "Tradition: The Old Ba' Game," one in a special series called "Why We Compete."

Ba' has been played in the town of Kirkwall—located on the largest of Scotland's Orkney Islands—since at least the mid-1600s. The games are held twice a year, on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The premise of the game is simple:

Half of the men in Kirkwall, called Doonies, try to push a small ball into the sea using any means necessary. The other half, called Uppies, work to push the ball to a wall one mile across town. The ba', which refers to both the game and the ball with which it is played, can last anywhere from four minutes to nine hours in freezing temperatures and hurricane-force winds.

A players' place of birth used to determine his team: men born closer to the ocean joined the Doonies while those born closer to the hills above town became Uppies. (A women's ba' game was attempted but fizzled out after a few years due to low participation.) Now that all births occur at the town hospital, family tradition usually dictates a man's team.

Parts of the St. Olaf Hotel were trashed during one game when the scrum "trampled through its lobby." Though injuries are a given—scrapes and gashes, black eyes, players falling unconscious from the crush of bodies—there has reportedly been only one death in known history.

Photo: "Men's Ba, New Year 2007" by Sandwick via Flickr.

This Day In History: Jan. 18

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:01:00 -0500

Today is the 18th day of 2008 and the 28th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1778, Captain James Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands, calling them the Sandwich Islands. In 1964, planners unveiled the designs for New York's World Trade Center. In 1993, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time. In 2002, the decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone was declared over by President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755), political philosopher; Daniel Webster (1782-1852), statesman/orator; A. A. Milne (1882-1965), children's author; Cary Grant (1904-1986), actor; Danny Kaye (1913-1987), entertainer; Kevin Costner (1955- ), actor, is 53; Mark Messier (1961- ), NHL player, is 47.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1976, wide receiver Lynn Swann gained 161 yards on four receptions and was named MVP as Pittsburgh defeated Dallas, 21-17, in Super Bowl X.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." - A.A. Milne

TODAY'S FACT: Cary Grant's real name was Archibald Leach.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 137 - number of islands included in Hawaii's official territory, a chain extending more than 1,000 miles.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter (January 15) and full moon (January 22).

Flickr: The Library of Congress Pilot Project

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:07:26 -0500

No, it's not a World Almanac editor's meeting, though we do wear remarkably similar uniforms... this is a photo pulled from a terrific new collaboration between the Library of Congress and Flickr. The LOC has placed thousands of images from two major collections on Flickr, and invites the public to browse the collections and contribute tags, notes, and comments to individual photos. User-generated data might (or might not) end up in the LOC's own database; for the time being it's just a test program, focused on three major goals:

To share photographs from the Library's collections with people who enjoy images but might not visit the Library's own Web site.

To gain a better understanding of how social tagging and community input could benefit both the Library and users of the collections.

To gain experience participating in Web communities that are interested in the kinds of materials in the Library's collections.

There's really nothing more to say except: clear a few hours from your schedule, and start browsing some fascinating photographs.

Links:
Flickr: The Commons
Library of Congress Photos on Flickr (FAQ)

Image: Instructor explaining the operation of a parachute to student pilots, Meacham Field, Fort Worth, Tex. (LOC)

This Day In History: Jan. 17

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:01:00 -0500

Today is the 17th day of 2008 and the 27th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1773, Captain James Cook, along with his shipmates, became the first to sail south of the Antarctic Circle. In 1819, Simon Bolivar proclaimed Colombia a republic. In 1991, a U.S.-led coalition's planes struck targets in Kuwait and Iraq, launching the Persian Gulf War.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), statesman/inventor/author; Al Capone (1899-1947), organized crime boss; Betty White (1922- ), actress, is 86; James Earl Jones (1931- ), actor, is 77; Muhammad Ali (1942- ), boxer, is 66; Jim Carrey (1962- ), actor, is 46.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1971, the Baltimore Colts defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13, in Super Bowl V, a game so filled with errors it was called the "Blunder Bowl."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A man who views the world at 50 the same way as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life." - Muhammad Ali

TODAY'S FACT: When James Earl Jones was four he developed a stutter and refused to talk. A high school teacher finally helped him overcome it.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 26 - age of Al Capone when he became boss of the Chicago Outfit.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter (January 15) and full moon (January 22).

Test the Nation, Test Yourself

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:01:16 -0500

If you're reading this, chances are you're something of a trivia buff already—so why not put all that arcane knowledge to the test? Canadian viewers can tune in to CBC Television this Sunday (Jan. 20) at 8PM EST for the latest edition of Test the Nation, which is...

...a two-hour television event, with viewers playing at home as they watch our six teams of Canadians compete in our Toronto studio. By the end of the test, you'll know if you've been paying attention to the world around you, or if you've been sleepwalking through the last eight years.
The show will also reveal information about others who are playing at home and in the studio. Who will turn out to be more century savvy? The Men or the Women? Will the meat eaters devour the vegetarians? Will the coffee drinkers overpower the tea drinkers? We'll find out as Canadians give us their answers on the most technologically advanced and information saturated century the planet has ever seen!

And the most important question... will World Almanac readers crush all other test-takers? They just might: the producers of Test the Nation asked us to review the quiz, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how many questions could be answered within the pages of our book. So if you need to cram for the quiz, you could do worse than to pick up a copy of the 2008 World Almanac.

If you don't get CBC TV, you can still take the test at the Test the Nation website (starting Sunday) and find out how you measure up against test-takers around the world. You can warm up this week in the "Mental Gym," or take tests from previous shows: IQ Test and Watch Your Language.

If you do tune in, watch for my smiling mug to pop up somewhere between questions 26 and 27, offering up some "expert" commentary on the test...

Test the Nation: Trivia