Miscellaneous
Why do they name hurricanes?
Besides the story about the man who showed up at Discovery Channel headquarters with a gun and explosives yesterday, the other newsworthy event is Hurricane Earl ripping through the entire East Coast. North Carolina is feeling the brunt of it right now (along with Virginia and Maryland), and Earl may head north toward Long Island [...]
Workers trapped in Chilean mine
33 miners have been trapped in a gold and copper mine in Chile’ since August 5. The story has been in the news for a few days now because after fearing the worst, they were found alive this week. It will take about FOUR MONTHS to get to the miners, so this story is sure to be [...]
How does salmonella get in eggs?
The big egg recall originating with eggs packaged in Iowa has many people talking and checking their refrigerators this week, and you can never be too safe when dealing with salmonella and other bacteria, but the truth is the risk of salmonella in eggs has actually decreased in the past 10 – 20 years thanks [...]
Roger Clemens and definitions of perjury and indictment
Roger Clemens has been indicted on perjury and other charges related to his 2008 hearing when he provided a testimony regarding his use, or lack of use, of steroids. Before you start recounting this story, you should really make sure you’re aware of some definitions. “Indict” is a formal accusation of wrongdoing1, so don’t confuse the word [...]
What is Ramadan?
August 11 is a big date for about a billion and a half people, but there’s just one problem: it doesn’t really show up on most calendars. It’s the beginning of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. For those other five billion people who don’t practice Ramadan, this post will be a small [...]
Aurora Borealis tidbits
The aurora borealis (also called the Northern Lights) will be visible to many people tonight. The super short definition of the effect is: “… a barrage of solar radiation hitting and then bouncing around Earth’s magnetic field.”1 If you are looking for a lot more detail, check out the links below, but so as not [...]
Speaking in tongues with Perry’s parents
Singer/songwriter/girl kisser Katy Perry made news this week by mentioning in a Rolling Stones interview that her parents would speak in tongues during her childhood. Oddly enough, it wasn’t the first time she made such a statement. Over a year and a half ago, Perry made similar comments about her parents during an interview with Katie [...]
What is WikiLeaks?!
Before this week and the release of thousands of classified reports about the war in Afghanistan, you never heard of WikiLeaks. Now you’ve heard it but you still don’t know what it is. Dinner Topics to the rescue! WikiLeaks is a website (wikileaks.org) which lets people anonymously submit documents and reports that were previously classified. Special focus [...]
