AgentNgo's New Writeups

First African-American in Space (person)

2000-07-14T17:30:51Z

It was Guion Buford Jr., a much-decorated Vietnam vet jet pilot who rode the Space Shuttle out of earth's atmosphere on 30 August 1983.

However, according to Vivian Sammons' Blacks in Science and Medicine (Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis 1990), he only made it because the the first black selected for astronaut training, Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr., was killed on a training flight on December 8, 1967.

But I still think it's a great honor.

month (thing)

2000-07-13T19:39:59Z

January: named after Janus, protector of the gateway to heaven
February: named after Februalia, a time period when sacrifices were made to atone for sins
March: named after Mars, the god of war, presumably signifying that the campaigns interrupted by the winter could be resumed
April: from aperire, Latin for "to open" (buds)
May: named after Maia, the goddess of growth of plants
June: from junius, Latin for the goddess Juno.
July: named after Julius Caesar
August: named after Augustus, the Roman Emperor
September: from septem, Latin for "seven"
October: from octo, Latin for "eight"
…

tumbleweed (thing)

2000-07-13T19:35:25Z

Like all plants, the tumbleweed does not really have a destination to go to. But there is a reason for its seemingly constant traveling.

Other than to be seen in a Western movie, these plants have the universal goal of spreading their seeds.

Once its seeds are ripe, a layer of cells in the stem of the plant weaken, and it breaks cleanly away. At this stage, the tumbleweed is almost a perfect ball with about 250,000 seeds stored inside. The wind then takes control of the weed. The ball is designed so that when the plant hits the ground as it tumbles along, it bounces and it won't lose all of its valuable seeds in just a single bounce.

Eventually something will stop the tumbleweed.... Like a fence, or a shrub, or an old trailer. Like all plants the…

The scary parallels between Lincoln and Kennedy (thing)

2000-07-13T18:26:50Z

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.

Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both were shot in the head.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln.

Both were assassinated by…

Walt Disney (thing)

2000-07-13T18:02:33Z

Nope, Walt Disney did not have any part of himself put into cryogenic suspension before or after his death

And contrary to Urban legends, his corpse definitely isn't stored under the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland.

He died in 1966, was cremated, and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. You can go visit his grave there and find out for yourself. At that time, cryogenics was at its infancy as well.

easy as pie (thing)

2000-07-12T19:50:38Z

Easy as pie (or apple pie) originated in Australia around 1920. The Australian expression to be "pie at" or "pie on" something means to be very good at something (from the Maori word "pai" = good).

If you are good at something it is easy.... as pie!.

And to think...you thought is was easy as Pi.