Weekly Observations

In article <[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

More extra credit trivia, why is the White House white?

'Cos that's the color whoever rebuilt it after we burned it down two
centuries back decided to paint it?

dave

--
Dave Vandervies [email hidden]
So, If you go to Washington, its buildings clean and nice,
Bring a pack of matches, and we'll burn the White House twice!
--attributed to The Arrogant Worms

Dave Vandervies said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Mark Hickey wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But in general - college students are among the most dangerous
"cyclists" out there

[...]

Quoted message said:

Funny, I was at the University of Toronto yesterday, and there are bike
lanes along college and St George streets, and both were being used
properly, is that because Canadians are smarter?????

Maybe in your part of Canada. I haven't noticed it much here, and I'm
walking distance from two universities.
I've had to dodge wrong-way cyclists in bike lanes, had cyclists ride
through crosswalks in front of me against a don't-walk signal when I'm
proceeding through an intersection with a green light, seen cyclists
riding in the middle of the wrong-way lane... at least once I've seen
all of these in a single ride (though that's exceptionally bad; at the
normal density of seeing suicidal students on bikes any ride long enough
to see more than one or two instances will usually take me far enough
from the universities to get away from it).

This reminds me of the good old days. I was in a seminar when the prof
was called away. Her husband had just been run down by a cyclist on the
sidewalk cyclist as he walked back from the little plaza on the SW
corner of UW. He was carted off to the hospital but returned a couple
of hours later not much worse for the experience. He was lucky.

I rode home carefully that afternoon.

John Kane
Kingston ON

The Wogster said:

Michael Press said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Michael Press wrote:

> In article <[email hidden]>,
> The Wogster <[email hidden]> wrote:
>
>
>
>>>> Nope, we are more polite, generally less haried, more law abiding
>>>> (the exception seems to be car drivers), better educated about
>>>> things (name the last three Canadian Prime Ministers -- I can
>>>> name the last 3 US Presidents -- Bush, Clinton, Bush). Clue, the
>>>> latest guy has been in for a little over a year.....
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Thatcher, and I forget the other one.
>>>
>>
>> Not even close, Thatcher was British,
>
>
>
> Are you sure?

Yup, see http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108099.html
Third from the bottom.

Hey, I was just funnin' aboot Thatcher.

Quoted message said:

>> Trudeau was earlier, and other one, never served.
>>
>> Correct Answer Paul Martin(present), Jean Chretien and Kim Campbell
>> lets go further, Brian Mulroney, John Turner, Pierre Trudeau, Joe
>> Clark, Pierre Trudeau (again), Lester B Pearson, John Diefenbaker,
>> Louis St-Laurent. That's 10, in order newest to oldest serving (I
>> only counted Trudeau once, even though he served twice).
>>
>> I will admit I needed to look up the spelling on Chretien.
>>
>>
>> Which Prime Minister served, got booted, served again, got booted,
>> and served again. Clue, his picture is on the $50 bill.
>
>
>
>> Can you name the last 10 US Presidents, in order?
>
>
>
> Piece-a-cake. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon,
> Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt, Hoover, Coolidge,
> Harding, Wilson, Taft, Roosevelt, McKinley, ...
>
> Gets vague here. Polk, Garfield, Harrison, Grant.
>

You could have stopped at Truman, but that's okay, you missed a
question though, who's picture is on the Canadian $50 bill, clue the
Bank Of Canada website has this info. One thing you will notice if
you go there, bills are colour coded, the latest series looks more
European then the US bills, with their diareah green tinting (even
new US bills look dirty).

I looked it up.

William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada's longest-serving prime minister.
He held power for almost 22 years, from 1921 to 1926, from 1926 to
1930, and from 1935 to 1948. Under King's administration, the
Government of Canada introduced unemployment insurance in 1940 and the
family allowance in 1944. Mackenzie King is also remembered for his
support of the Famous Five in their historic appeal to the British
Privy Council, then Canada's highest court of appeal, and for
appointing the first woman, Cairine Wilson, to the Senate in 1930.

Extra credit trivia. Give the surnames shared by more than one
President of the USA. Who was heavier Taft or Cleveland?

More then one strangely enough Adams (both named John, strangely
enough), Bush, Johnson, Harrison, Roosevelt.

Taft or Cleveland, couldn't find a weight rating on line, but pictures
show them as both having a severe lack of bike time......

More extra credit trivia, why is the White House white?

W

Dear Flogster;

White paint was cheaper?

jmt(legendary Tightwad/Skinflint/Miser)

Quoted message said:

The Wogster said:

More extra credit trivia, why is the White House white?

I would guess it's all part of the classical revival
fantasy that colored (literally and figuratively) the
politics architecture and general mythology of the
New Republic at that time, and still makes an attempt to
advertise on its behalf in the face of ever increasing
reality creap. A wonder our presidents and
legislators don't walk around in togas.

Robert

Quoted message said:

The Wogster said:

More extra credit trivia, why is the White House white?

I would guess it's all part of the classical revival
fantasy that colored (literally and figuratively) the
politics architecture and general mythology of the
New Republic at that time, and still makes an attempt to
advertise on its behalf in the face of ever increasing
reality creap. A wonder our presidents and
legislators don't walk around in togas.

Actually it's because in the War of 1812, the British North Americans
(what would later be the Canadians) burned it, and when the US restored
it, they painted it white, to cover the burn marks....

W

In article
<[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Michael Press said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Michael Press wrote:

>In article
><[email hidden]>,
> The Wogster <[email hidden]> wrote:
>
>
>
>>>>Nope, we are more polite, generally less haried, more law abiding (the
>>>>exception seems to be car drivers), better educated about things (name
>>>>the last three Canadian Prime Ministers -- I can name the last 3 US
>>>>Presidents -- Bush, Clinton, Bush). Clue, the latest guy has been in
>>>>for a little over a year.....
>>>
>>>
>>>Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Thatcher, and I forget the other one.
>>>
>>
>>Not even close, Thatcher was British,
>
>
>Are you sure?

Yup, see http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108099.html
Third from the bottom.

Hey, I was just funnin' aboot Thatcher.

Quoted message said:

>>Trudeau was earlier, and other
>>one, never served.
>>
>>Correct Answer Paul Martin(present), Jean Chretien and Kim Campbell lets
>>go further, Brian Mulroney, John Turner, Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark,
>>Pierre Trudeau (again), Lester B Pearson, John Diefenbaker, Louis
>>St-Laurent. That's 10, in order newest to oldest serving (I only
>>counted Trudeau once, even though he served twice).
>>
>>I will admit I needed to look up the spelling on Chretien.
>>
>>
>>Which Prime Minister served, got booted, served again, got booted, and
>>served again. Clue, his picture is on the $50 bill.
>
>
>>Can you name the last 10 US Presidents, in order?
>
>
>Piece-a-cake. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford,
>Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt,
>Hoover, Coolidge, Harding, Wilson, Taft, Roosevelt,
>McKinley, ...
>
>Gets vague here. Polk, Garfield, Harrison, Grant.
>

You could have stopped at Truman, but that's okay, you missed a question
though, who's picture is on the Canadian $50 bill, clue the Bank Of
Canada website has this info. One thing you will notice if you go
there, bills are colour coded, the latest series looks more European
then the US bills, with their diareah green tinting (even new US bills
look dirty).

I looked it up.

William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada's longest-serving
prime minister. He held power for almost 22 years, from
1921 to 1926, from 1926 to 1930, and from 1935 to 1948.
Under King's administration, the Government of Canada
introduced unemployment insurance in 1940 and the family
allowance in 1944. Mackenzie King is also remembered for
his support of the Famous Five in their historic appeal
to the British Privy Council, then Canada's highest court
of appeal, and for appointing the first woman, Cairine
Wilson, to the Senate in 1930.

Extra credit trivia. Give the surnames shared by more than
one President of the USA. Who was heavier Taft or
Cleveland?

More then one strangely enough Adams (both named John, strangely
enough), Bush, Johnson, Harrison, Roosevelt.

Taft or Cleveland, couldn't find a weight rating on line, but pictures
show them as both having a severe lack of bike time......

More extra credit trivia, why is the White House white?

Because it was painted white when it was built, and has
been painted white ever since.

--
Michael Press

In article
<[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Quoted message said:

The Wogster said:

More extra credit trivia, why is the White House white?

I would guess it's all part of the classical revival
fantasy that colored (literally and figuratively) the
politics architecture and general mythology of the
New Republic at that time, and still makes an attempt to
advertise on its behalf in the face of ever increasing
reality creap. A wonder our presidents and
legislators don't walk around in togas.

Actually it's because in the War of 1812, the British North Americans
(what would later be the Canadians) burned it, and when the US restored
it, they painted it white, to cover the burn marks....

Popular story, but not true. It was painted white from the start.

--
Michael Press