July 18- Random

A few weeks of vacation has given me time to ponder over the blog. Is a format change necessary? Should I make it more interactive? Over the next few weeks I'll be looking at other blogs, and experimenting with my own to figure out how best to conduct The Question. If you have any ideas, please leave a comment. Anyway, I probably should commence in the question for today. The reason I haven't been blogging was because I've been in the capitol. Now, when you're in the capitol, it is impossible not to notice the Washington Monument. Since the buildings in the city are size restricted, the monument is able to tower majestically over everything else. But, if you notice, a third of the way up the monument changes color. So today, I ask, why is the symbol of our founding father's greatness multicolor?

Today, I will be trying out a new format, the format being no posted answer. Please comment if you like or dislike, or even better, about the answer.

June 20- Random

Could you imagine a world without pens? More specifically, could you imagine a world without ballpoint pens? You may laugh, but there are many things that make pens more useful than pencils. You can sign papers with them, they don't have to be sharpened, and they aren't scarily sharp. But alas, there was a time where ballpoint pens didn't exist. In fact, it wasn't until 1938 that the ballpoint pen was invented by two brothers living in Europe. One was a newspaper editor, and the other a chemist. Their idea for a pen with a free moving ball and ink cartridge was patented in 1938. By 1940, they had started a successful pen company in Argentina. The idea was noticed by an American, who started selling the pens at Gimbels in 1949. But, for my daily question, I ask: what are the names of the brothers who came up with the original ballpoint pen idea?





The brothers were Lazlo and Georg Biro.
If you liked that fact, I noticed it while reading "The Mental Floss History of the World". It's a fantastic book. Pick it up at pretty much any bookstore, even if you don't like history.

June 6- Random

I'd just like to start off this post with stating how hard it is to come up with a random question that doesn't fit into any other category. So today, I am going to ask a question that isn't quite intellectualy stimulating, but just random cinema trivia. Bruce Lee was a founding father of the "Kung Fu" film industry. Pioneering movie techniques that are still in use today, Lee has left his mark on fighting movies forever. However, he was able to do so in a short amount of time. This brings me to my daily question: How many movies was Bruce Lee in?




He been in 26 movies: "Game of Death II" (1981);"Game of Death" (1978); "Enter the Dragon" (1973); "Return of the Dragon" (1973); "The Chinese Connection" (1973);"Fists of Fury" (1971); "Marlowe" (1969); "Ren hai gu hong" (1960); "Lei yu" (1957); "Zha dian na fu" (1956); "Zao zhi dang cu wo bu jia" (1956); "Er nu zhai" (1955); "Ai xia ji" (1955); "Gu er xing" (1955); "Ai" (1955); "An Orphan's Tragedy" (DVD title) (1955); "Wei lou chun xiao" (1953); "Ci mu lei" (1953); "Ku hai ming deng" (1953); "Qian wan ren jia" (1953); "It's Father's Fault" (1953); "Ren zhi Chu" (1951); "My Son, Ah Chung" (1950); "Meng li xi shi" (1949); "Fu gui fu yun" (1948); and"The Birth of Mankind" (1946).

And since I blatantly copied that, here is my source, and their sources: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080923172656AAu7Hyu

May 30- Random

Whether you oppose or support, one has to admit that McDonald's is convenient. If you're stopping for coffee, there is McCafe. If you want to run through a plastic tube, there is the PlayPlace. Or perhaps you want to stay awhile with your fancy laptop, you could go to the "linger" area with Wi-Fi. Now, I'm not trying to label myself a McDonald's supporter, I'm merely commenting on the speed in which things are done. And it is this infectious idea of speed that inspired McDonald's original mascot, before Ronald. So for my daily question, I ask: Who was McDonald's original mascot, and for a bonus, who were its original owners?







The mascot's name was Speedee, and the owners were Dick and Mac McDonald.
For more visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mcdonalds

May 16- Random

Remember Theodore Seuss Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss? Born in Massachusetts, Geisel went on to write many popular children's books. One such book has a particularly interesting story behind it. After the publication of The Cat in the Hat, Geisel's publisher made a bet with him, the bet being $50 that Geisel could not write a book only using 50 words. (The Cat in the Hat used 225 words) In the end, Geisel was able to accomplish his task, and the result was the fourth Best Selling Children's Book of all time. So, for my daily question, I ask: Which Dr. Seuss book was a result of a bet and only has 50 words?






The book was Green Eggs and Ham.
For more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_eggs_and_ham

May 9- Random

I was watching Modern Marvels the other day, and, it happened to be about the scientific aspects of, well... truck stops. Now I might have changed the channel to something more informative like The Simpsons or Everybody Loves Raymond, but the science part piqued my interest. Like right now, technology is in the works for truck so they don't even have to stop at weighing stations =o Anyway, one of the things I heard was about how many truck stops there are in the U.S. (There are quite a few) and I would like to relay that fact to you. So, my question of the day is: How many truck stops are there in the U.S.?






There are about 6,000 truck stops.

May 2- Random

So today, after participating in town green-up day, the volunteers all gathered and had a big lunch. One of the things I enjoyed was a nice big sandwich with salami on it, a delicious meat with the shape of a sausage and fermented in bacteria. Anyway, it was pretty good. But after it, I began to wonder about the history of this noble meat. As it turns out, salami has a long and proud history, (It could only be made by the finest meat artists) starting in the Mediterranean area and working its way into the hearts and stomachs of the whole world. And all this salami history brings me to my question of the day: When and where was the worlds longest salami made, and how long was it?





The longest salami on record was 500 feet long, (200 longer than the Statue of Liberty). It was made in Denmark in 2003.

April 25- Random

The game of Monopoly. Invented during the Great Depression, this intense real-estate game involves bribing, tricking, and buying ones way to victory, or, monopoly. The "spokesperson" and mascot for the game of Monopoly is, or was, Rich Uncle Pennybags. But recently, Pennybags changed his name to Mr. Monopoly. Also, with the changing times, (and I suspect a decent dose of political correctness) Mr. Monopoly quit smoking. Which brings me to my question of the day: When was Mr. Monopoly renamed and quit smoking?




He changed his name and quit smoking in 2000. And, just for a bonus, a quick fact: The longest game of monopoly ever was 1,680 hours long, or 70 days.

*I got these facts from Mental_Floss, probably the best magazine ever. Check them out at www.mentalfloss.com

April 18- Random

I've decided that finding decent news stories is hard, so I'm changing Fridays to music day. Now for today-
Ketchup. The all important condiment. Found on french fries and hot dogs alike. Unfortunately, it seems like it takes forever for the ketchup to get from the bottle to the food item. And really, does hitting the top of the ketchup container with your palm do anything? But actually, ketchup is moving pretty fast, which brings me to this question: How fast does ketchup leave the bottle?




On average, the speed of ketchup leaving the bottle is 30 miles per hour.