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What do the Bible texts used to condemn homosexuality actually mean?
Kevin H reacted to Gail for a topic
To me, this implies something other than regular homosexuality as the normal ratio of gay men in any town is not 100%. I see this as violence.1 point -
Warning re Stan!
phkrause reacted to Gail for a topic
What would you do if Stan HAD changed his religion?1 point -
What Makes a Word "Dirty"?
phkrause reacted to Morwenna for a topic
It's the value, we as speakers and hearers, we assign to a word that makes it "dirty" or "clean" or acceptable for common use. Vulgar words, once assigned, are stored in a separate part of the brain (think of people who have Tourette Syndrome, or even some people with advanced stages of Alzheimer's Disease: gutteral noises and swearing are often connected).1 point -
Trivia
dgrimm60 reacted to phkrause for a topic
5 Cool Facts About The Library of Congress The Library of Congress is celebrating its 219th birthday today, and the Trivia Today team is ready to party! On April 24, 1800, President John Adams approved a $5,000 budget for Congress to purchase over 700 books in what would become the first entries in the Library of Congress. Here are 5 cool facts you didn’t know about the Library of Congress… The Library Is so Large, It Is Housed in Three Buildings People who see photos of the Library of Congress are familiar with the Thomas Jefferson Building, which is located across the street from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. However, there are two other buildings: the James Madison Memorial Building, which is located about one block from the Jefferson Building; and the John Adams Building, next door to the Jefferson. All three buildings are connected underground by a tunnel system. The Library of Congress Has an Enormous Digital Collection Many people don’t know that the Library of Congress has placed a large number of its collections online for viewers to see. The online collections include everything from historical documents to photographs and paintings. In addition, the library offers services for the deaf and blind, circulating books by request in either braille or audiobook form to local libraries. The Library Has the Largest Comic Book Collection in the World Comic books were introduced in the 1930s, and the Library of Congress has more than 140,000 comics with over 5,000 titles. While most are in print form, others have been placed on microfiche or are reprints such as the original Superman and Wonder Woman. For aficionados, the library has Famous Funnies No. 1, which is considered the first comic book placed in print, and original artwork for Spider-Man. The Library of Congress Is One Where Your Library Card Won’t Work The Library of Congress carries this label because it was established for members of Congress and their staff to use as a research library. For this reason, these are the only people who can actually check out a book. However, those over 16 can relax in one of the reading rooms with a book as long as they have a photo reader card. British Troops Set the Library on Fire Although the library was established in a permanent city in 1800, it was located in the U.S. Capitol building. British troops burned the Capitol down on August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, and the 3,000 books held in the library at that time were lost. To rebuild the library, Thomas Jefferson shared 6,487 books from his private collection and was paid $23,950.1 point -
Warning re Stan!
rudywoofs (Pam) reacted to JoeMo for a topic
I think the headgear is simply a ruse to conceal his Jesuit roots. Or it could be his "crown" as the "Maharaja of the Kingdom Adventistan."1 point -
Trivia
dgrimm60 reacted to phkrause for a topic
5 Shocking Facts You Didn't Know About New Coke_2 April 23, 1985, was the day that Coca-Cola announced it was changing the formula for Coke. The ensuing product, New Coke, did not work out, and about three months later, Old Coke came back. Here are 5 shocking facts you probably didn't know about New Coke... New Coke Would Have Saved the Company $50 Million a Year If you think Coca-Cola's attempt at launching a new recipe was all just a marketing ploy to boost sales, you're wrong. The "new and improved" recipe was actually a major cost-savings measure by the soda conglomerate. New Coke contained fewer ingredients and was, therefore, cheaper to produce than the classic recipe. If it had taken off the way executives thought it would, the savings would have totaled around $50 million a year. Instead, the company lost at least $30 million on unsold product (though Coca-Cola has never publicly announced the total hit they took). It Actually Wasn't a Product Fail Although the New Coke story has become synonymous with marketing failure, the product itself did not fail. When it was rolled out, three quarters of drinkers polled reported they would buy it again. After the initial boom in sales, New Coke wound up performing about the same as the original formula had been selling at the time. It was determined that the backlash to New Coke was really just the result of people being angry at the absence of the old formula rather than a distaste for the new one. The Company Received Over 400,000 Letters and Phone Calls About New Coke In 1985, consumers didn't have the option to hop online and leave bad reviews about New Coke, so they had to do it the old-fashioned way: by phone and mail. Coca-Cola received over 400,000 calls and letters from disgruntled customers in the brief two-and-a-half month window that New Coke was sold in stores. When CEO Roberto Goizueta announced bottlers would have the option of buying both New Coke and Coca-Cola Classic concentrates on July 10, 1985, producers bought the old recipe at a 10 to 1 ratio. The people had spoken: New Coke was out. The Switch Did Not Help Pepsi Upon the announcement of New Coke, Pepsi launched a popular ad campaign announcing itself the winner of the "Cola Wars." In actuality, Pepsi performed worse in sales that year than it had the year before. It was beaten by New Coke, Coke Classic, and Cherry Coke, which was also released that year. Turns out that loyal Coke drinkers, when faced with choosing between New Coke or Pepsi, simply chose neither. Bill Cosby was the Official New Coke Spokesman Though Mr. Cosby isn't getting any PR work these days, in the mid-eighties he was the king of promotions. His Jell-O commercials live on in infamy, but surprisingly few people remember that Cosby was also the guy brought on to promote New Coke. When the backlash hit, Cosby himself stepped down as the pitchman for Coke, stating that he had lost all credibility. A few months later, Coke replaced Bill Cosby with a pitchman who wound up being equally as popular: Max Headroom.1 point -
Trivia
dgrimm60 reacted to phkrause for a topic
5 Things You Didn't Know About Earth Day_2 April 22 is Earth Day, when people from all corners of the world unite to support environmental reform. Earth Day is intended as a moment to reflect on and help preserve the health of the planet – but here are 5 things that you might not have known about the annual event. Earth Day Is Responsible for the Beginning of the EPA Earth Day might not have had a very widespread celebration in its first year (it didn't really become a big national observance until the 1990s), but that first year alone was enough to spur the U.S. government to create the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. The agency was created in December 1970, less than a year after the first Earth Day observance. Earth Day and the formation of the EPA were not the first steps taken regarding environmental concern; earlier in 1970, President Richard Nixon formed the Council on Environmental Quality following such environmental disasters as 1969's fire on the Cuyahoga River, in which an Ohio river became so clogged with pollution that the water went up in flames. April 22 Was Chosen Because It Didn't Conflict With Other U.S. Holidays or Spring Break April 22 is not a random date by any means, nor is it an anniversary date that the observance is trying to commemorate. April 22 was chosen specifically for Earth Day because it — at least at the time — wasn't a holiday and typically wasn't part of Spring Break for college students, who the organizers of Earth Day were really trying to target. Of course, in typical "If one is good, a lot more must be better" fashion, April 22 is now also National Jelly Bean Day (pretty much every date now has a food holiday associated with it), so be sure you recycle or dispose of any jelly bean bags responsibly. Do not do what the people in Fact #4 did. A Number of Trees Have an Astronomical Link to Earth Day Back in 1971, an astronaut on the Apollo 14 mission brought some tree seeds with him as he orbited the moon. The point was partly to see how lowered gravity would affect the seeds and partly to pay tribute to the Forest Service, for which the astronaut used to work. The container holding the seeds broke open prematurely, making the gravity experiment pointless, but many of the seeds were still planted around national monuments, and they still grew normally, forming a select group of trees known as Moon Trees. In fact, they grew so well that NASA and the National Arboretum planted a sycamore that was a second-generation Moon Tree. This was done on Earth Day, no less. People Celebrating Earth Day Tend to Create a Lot of Trash, Unfortunately Earth Day has become a worldwide event, with concerts and lots of celebrations. Unfortunately, just as many people have forgotten that Memorial Day was originally about military service and not about advertising sales on backyard grills, many have forgotten that Earth Day is about environmental concern and instead think it's a big party, complete with mountains of trash. Every year there are reports of how an Earth Day celebration at a park or beach left behind tons of garbage scattered across the land, even in eco-friendly cities like San Francisco. The trashing has led to frustration from residents and a rift between them and local officials who haven't been able to get a handle on the situation. Earth Day Isn't the Only Event or Holiday Dedicated to Planetary Environmental Causes Earth Day may be the full day dedicated to environmental causes, but it's not the only observance linked to the environment. March also sees a celebration on the Equinox, and when the sun crosses over the equator, a bell is rung at the United Nations, followed by silent prayer. Also, Earth Hour happens at the end of March each year, when people in each time zone turn off their lights, typically around 8:30 p.m. or so, for one hour. However, Earth Hour has created a bit of controversy over how much it really helps. While the energy savings sound impressive at first, the total amount saved during that hour is not very big compared to the total energy used to power cities. Plus, many people respond by burning candles that contribute more pollutants and that create more carbon dioxide.1 point