– DNA analysis has progressed rapidly these past few years. It is now possible to detect more than 2,000 different diseases from information derived from genetic testing.
– Meanwhile neurologist Dr. Robert Cantu conducted a recent study that indicates that young people who want to play tackle football should wait until at least age 14. His assessment suggests that those who played the game before age 12 were imperiled with a significant increased risk of developing permanent behavior and mood problems.
– Seth Kinman (1818-1888) was a Western mountain man who was a legend amongst fellow Western mountain men. Kinman was renowned as a fiddle player, hunter, Indian fighter and chair maker. He crafted chairs made of elk horns and grizzly bear hides. Presidents Buchanan, Lincoln, (Andrew) Johnson and Hayes were recipients of prized Kinman grizzly chairs. Included on his alleged list of “achievements” was that Seth killed and skinned at least 800 grizzly bears.
– The Gadsen Purchase (aka Gadsen Treaty) was negotiated in 1853 and finalized in 1854. The purchase by the United States included 29,670 sq. miles for which Mexico was paid $10,000,000. The acquired land encompassed large portions of what is now Arizona and New Mexico. The deal calculates to approximately 53 cents per acre. And who do you think sold this land for Mexico? One Santa Anna, the same “villain” commanding the attack at our famous Alamo in 1836. He had regained political power and sold the land to obtain funds to finance his newly assembled Mexican Army.
– A horrible event known as the Hartford Circus Fire occurred on July 6, 1944. Toward the conclusion of an afternoon performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily Circus, a fire broke out from an unknown source. Exacerbating the blaze was the fact that the huge tent had recently been water-proofed by coating the Big Top’s canvas material with alternating layers of paraffin and gasoline. Witnesses reported a “sickening loud whoosh” quickly followed by intensely hot flames. At least 167 people died, most of them children.
– Unless the law has recently been altered – kissing a woman while she is asleep is a crime in Logan County, Colorado. Not to be outdone: Eureka, Nevada has an ordinance forbidding any man wearing a mustache to kiss any woman inside its city limits. (Even one’s mother?) Well, plan your osculations carefully – and have a great week.
James White is a retired mathematics teacher who enjoys sharing fascinating trivia. He can be reached at [email protected].
