May 31- Presidents

One of the main reasons I find presidential history so interesting, besides the word history being in it, is that I believe that whomever America elects as their leader shows where the nation is at that time. Just one example is the election of Thomas Jefferson after John Adams, two completely different presidents, but coming one after the other. That shows where America was in finding itself. I could go on all day, but alas, there is only 1 hour and 20 minutes left in that day, so I better speed it up. When electricity was brought into use for things like light bulbs, people didn't really understand it. Frankly, even people today don't really understand electricity that much. I'd sure have a hard time telling you how flipping the switch makes the light bulb turn on (perhaps that will be a Tuesday question...) The difference is, when electricity was first introduced, people were afraid of it. Actually, the president who had electricity put in the White House was so afraid of it, he wouldn't touch any of the switches (and he was a Civil War vet!) So for my daily question, I ask: Which president had electricity put into the White House?







The president who put electricity in the White House was Benjamin Harrison.

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 29- Music

Isn't the radio fun? You can listen to it in the car, outside, or anywhere with plugs or batteries. You can hear the Sox game, or any random assortment of musical goodness. And supposedly, AM and FM attempt to de-randomify the assortment, but in recent years, as you probably have noticed, the line has become blurred. Back in the good ole days, shows were allotted AM or FM according to what they were, like music on FM and talk on AM, but as you have undoubtedly noticed, there is plenty of talk on FM, and all sorts of music on AM. And why does this matter, you may be asking yourself (for good reason!) What could possibly be the difference a weary reader might ask. Well, there is a difference! So, I ask: What is the difference between AM and FM? (Besides the channel numbers, that would be cheap!)







The difference is how their frequencies are altered. With AM, the strength of the signal is changed with the sound information. FM's frequency is varied, and is less susceptible to static. Since I did a terrible job at explainging that, for more info visit: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/radio/radiorelayer.html

May 28- Sports

Have you ever noticed how strange the Olympics would sound to someone who has never heard of them? Now I know most people have heard of the Olympics, but think about how crazy it sound. Amateurs from all different countries gather in one host country to compete in a bunch of random sports, sometimes in freezing weather, and never for pay. And yet, every 4 years, the Earth is graced with either summer or winter Olympics, always a monolithic sporting, event, no, epic, no matter where you are on the planet. But as you might know, for over 1,000 years, the Olympics weren't around. It wasn't until recently that the "modern" Olympics were started. So with that, I ask my daily question: Where and when were the first modern Olympics held?







The first modern Olympics games were held in Greece in 1896.

May 27- Geography

All countries have their own special way of dealing with crime. For a fun social experiment, you can compare the crime rate to the justice method used, but we're about already proven facts here at The Daily Question. Now, most countries try to keep the crimes committed per person down, but the country that has the highest crime committed per person is 1.5! That means 1.5 crimes are committed for every person in that country. So, keeping in mind a bit of irony, which country has the highest crime rate in the world.






The country is in Europe, and is Vatican city. Most crimes are pickpockets, but count for a lot because the country is so small.

May 26- Science

Hello! Bonjour! Olá! Hallo! Ciao! Γειά σου! I don't know how many people have noticed the little spinning globe at the bottom of The Daily Question main page, but it is a very useful tool I am just utilizing the benefits of. Notice the orange dots scattered throughout? Those show where people have visited my blog. The flashing title is you, and any flashing title that is different from about where you are is someone else looking at the blog simultaneously. The reason I am saying all of this is that I am now proud to announce that we have international viewers! I think I know where the European dot came from, but I have no idea who looked me up in Asia. Who ever you are, thank you for your support in the global uplifting of The Daily Question, and thanks to all of those here in the "States" who read everyday also. It is daily readers whom I know are out there that give me the gumption to post everyday, regardless of the hour. (Let's just forget about Saturday for the moment.) In the spirit of this worldwide connectivity, I am going to ask a question about the Internet, which, after all, makes The Question possible. During the Cold War, the American government launched a boatload of new agencies to help get America ahead of the Russians technology-wise. Information Processing Technology Office was one such branch. (Click the link if you knew as little about IPTO as I did.) Long story short, a guy named Lawrence Roberts started a project to work on a new network (packet switching instead of circuit switching, apparently. Yet another thing I learned more about to write this post.) Anyway, on October 29, 1969-a good date to remember for a completely different reason- a connection was made using packet switching. So, for my daily question, I ask: Which two places was the connection made between?







The connection was made between UCLA and the Standford Research Institute.

May 25- History

Since it is Memorial Day, I'm going to ask a question about said holiday. And also by happenstance, it is history day here at the Daily Question, so today's question will be about the history of Memorial Day. Originally called "Decoration Day", no one is really sure exactly where the holiday originated. Some say Waterloo, N.Y. Others, in the deep South. Anyway, New York was the first state to officially recognize the holiday. By World War 1, all the states in the Union celebrated Memorial Day. Now, we celebrate Memorial Day on the last Monday in May (Passed by Congress with National Holiday Act.) But for my daily question, I ask: Which war is responsible for spurring the idea of a Memorial Day?






On May 5, 1868, General John Logan declared Memorial Day, and it was celebrated on May 30th. General Logan the national commander for the Grand Army of the Republic. He originally started it for the fallen veterans of the Civil War.
For more info visit: http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html