Tidbits of N Idaho Vol12 #16

For Ad Rates Call: 208-704-9972 www.tidbitsinc.comDistributed by TBNIApril 2012 Volume 2012-16

Of North Idaho

TIDBITS® APPRECIATESMODERN CONVENIENCES

by Kathy Wolfe

Think of all those little things you just couldn’t live without. How long have they really been around? This week, Tidbits investigates the origin of several of those conveniences we make use of on a regular basis.

• Earl Tupper founded his company in 1938, pro-moting his new line of polyethylene containers with airtight seals named, appropriately, Tupperware. The items were initially sold in department stores, but in the early 1950s, the marketing strategy was changed to the familiar Tupperware “party.” Tupper didn’t just make bowls and cups; he also had a con-tract to make gas mask parts during World War II. He sold his plastics company in 1958 for $16 mil-lion. • If you think we’ve always used envelopes, think again! This simple item didn’t come along until 1845. Prior to that, folks simply folded letters both ways and sealed them with wax. Pre-gummed en-velopes weren’t introduced for another 50 years. • We all take our polio vaccinations for granted, but they weren’t administered for the first time until 1954, in the city of Pittsburgh, where Dr. Jonas Salk had been conducting his experiments. A 1952 polio epidemic that killed 3,300 and paralyzed thousands inspired Dr. Salk to develop a vaccine. • Chester Carlson spent a good part of his life per-fecting the copy machine, receiving a patent in 1937. However, the world didn’t share his vision of one-touch copying, and 20 companies, including IBM, rejected his presentation before it was finally marketed for the first time in 1959 under the name “Xerox 914.” By 1968, Fortune magazine ranked Carlson among the richest people in America.

Continued on page 13

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FAMOUS LANDMARKS OF THE WORLD:

GREAT WALL OF CHINAIt should come as no surprise that the Great Wall of China is the world’s longest wall. So what are some things you don’t know about this work of ancient architecture? Here are some highlights. •Construction began on this edifice in the 7th century B.C. by feudal warlords. At that time, China was broken up into many small states, with each state having its own walls of defense, in essence, several short Great Walls.• During the Qin Dynasty in the 2nd century B.C., the northern part of China was in danger of at-tack by the Mongolian and Manchu empires, and the emperor of China ordered that all the northern sections be joined together to create one unified defensive wall. Once that was com-pleted, the Wall stretched more than 3,100 miles (5,000 km) across the country. •The Han Dynasty followed the Qin, and the Wall was at its longest up to that point, more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km). • As the years wore on, the Wall suffered ero-sion, was rebuilt and added on to many times. The Ming Dynasty, 1368 – 1644, was the time of the most recent construction, bringing the Wall to what we know today. A 2009 investigation determined that the Great Wall of the Ming Dy-nasty totals 5,500 miles (8,852 km). It includes 723 beacon towers, 7,062 lookout towers and 3,357 wall platforms. It’s difficult to estimate the actual length of the Wall, considering all the side branches that don’t actually contribute to its west-to-east length. It is believed that the forti-fications extending in all directions throughout all of Northern China added together exceed 13,000 miles (50,000 km). • It is estimated that more than a million workers perished during the various states of construc-tion of the Great Wall, earning it the nickname of “the longest cemetery on Earth.” Laborers in-cluded peasants, unemployed intellectuals, dis-graced noblemen, guards and convicts. Family members of the dead workers traditionally car-ried a coffin with a caged white rooster on top. The rooster’s crowing was said to keep the spirit of the dead awake until he had crossed the Wall. If the rooster did not crow, it was thought that the spirit would escape and wander forever along the Great Wall. •Before the Ming expansion, rammed earth, ado-be and stone comprised the Wall, mortared with a rice flour mixture. After the Ming, bricks were used in construction. In some places, the Wall’s height reaches 25 feet (7.6 m). Its average width is about 32 feet (10 m). • Portions of the Wall began admitting tourists in 1955, with the final section opening to the public in 1957. Both sightseers and erosion pose a seri-ous threat to the Wall, and it is considered one of the world’s most endangered monuments. With millions of visitors annually and tourists helping themselves to souvenir bricks, the Wall actually becomes a little shorter each day. •The Wall’s primary purpose has always been to defend the Chinese Empire. The last battle fought along the edifice was in 1938 during the Sino-Japanese War between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. Bullet marks from the battle can be seen along the Wall’s length.

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Buying Long-Term Storage Food

If you’ve considered laying in a store of long-term storage food for future emergencies, there are some things to think about before you spend your money.Freeze-dried foods: Because of the way freeze-dried foods are processed (a flash-freezing and drying process), they’re more likely to retain their nutrients than foods pro-cessed other ways, but they also take up more storage space.Dehydrated food: Typically vacuum-sealed in Mylar bags and stored in food-grade 5-gallon tubs, many dehydrated foods can last up to 15 years, depending on how they’re stored. Dehy-drators are available, but you’ll pay a hefty price for a good one. Do-it-yourself dehydrating can be a risky venture if you don’t run the machine long enough to get enough of the moisture out. Botulism can grow in moist food (for example, brown rice, dehydrated vegetables and certain grains) in an environment where the oxygen is removed, such as with vacuum sealing.Mystery meals: You don’t really know what’s in the sealed cans or bags unless you open them, thereby canceling any benefits of storing long term.Storage: The food must be kept cool and dry, in a dark environment and away from insects and mice.Nutrition: Don’t buy any foods that don’t clearly state all the nutritional values. “Seventy-five servings” in a bulk buy doesn’t tell you how many calories are in a serving. Many of the manufactures of long-term storage food con-sider a few hundred calories to be a serving. High sodium content is very common. Stick to what you know: Don’t buy foods that you don’t eat now, or that will require compli-cated preparation. If you don’t bake bread from scratch, it’s not likely that you’ll want to face 50 pounds of wheat that you’ll need to grind into flour. If one of your family members is lactose intolerant, it won’t do you any good to have a year’s worth of pasta dinner products that all have milk as an ingredient.Read online reviews of the different foods: Call to ask which manufacturer they use. There are only a half-dozen or so, and some companies buy those and put on their own label.If you buy, get a wide variety of types and fla-vors. Best bet: Order a sampler pack and see if you like the food. If your family won’t eat it, there’s no sense in ordering a year’s worth.

David Uffington regrets that he cannot personally an-swer reader questions, but will incorporate them into his column whenever possible. Write to him in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or send e-mail to [email protected].

Summer Sports Clinic

If you’re a veteran with severe physical or psychological impairments, consider whether you’d enjoy participating in an adaptive sports clinic. The next National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic will be held in September 2012 in San Diego.Clinic categories are surfing, sailing, cycling (hand and tandem), kayaking and track and field in venues all over the San Diego area.Check the website [www.va.gov, then click Media Room] to be sure you qualify, but if you have spinal cord injuries, burns, injuries sustained in the past six years, psychological trauma, amputations or traumatic brain inju-ries, you’re likely the veteran they’re hoping will sign up.Registration forms are available for download online. The deadline is June 1, so don’t delay. (You’ll pay a late fee after that.)The application pack has multiple parts, and you’ll need to fill out all of them: a registration checklist, application, medical/physical exam form, media and news release questionnaire, and application for health benefits (if you’re not registered with the VA).Once you have all your paperwork completed, send it all to:

Tristan Heaton (00SSC)SV National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic VA San Diego HCS 3350 La Jolla Village Dr. San Diego, CA 92161

If you have questions or don’t have a computer and need the forms sent to you, call the local organizing committee chair at 858-642-6426. If you don’t think you can afford the trip, talk to the Veterans Service Organization at the VA center where you receive care.The vision statement for the event says that these sports clinics and enjoying those sports later can improve independence, increase self-worth and quality of life, lower stress, re-duce dependency on medications and serve as an addition to rehab you might be getting. Sounds like that could open some doors, doesn’t it?

Q: I read your advice to Christine H. about figuring out where a puddle of wa-ter at the base of her toilet was coming from. You said that if no other source of the leak could be detected, such as from the inlet valve, she should contact a plumber to replace the seal at the base of the toilet. Why can’t she just tighten down the bolts on either side of the toi-let base? This might fix the problem and cost zero dollars. A: That’s certainly worth a try, since it re-ally doesn’t cost anything. But be careful that the bolts (or really, the nuts secur-ing the bolts) aren’t tightened too much, as they could crack the porcelain base, requiring a complete replacement of the toilet.If this doesn’t resolve the issue, a plumb-er should come in, at least in the case of Christine H. For hearty do-it-yourselfers who have some experience repairing pipes or replacing faucets, replacing the wax toilet seal can be done in an after-noon or less. And the quicker it’s done, the better, as the leak isn’t just causing an inconveniently wet floor; it could also be affecting the subfloor and causing si-lent water damage.To replace the toilet seal, you’ll need a new wax toilet ring, some plumber’s put-ty and a strong helper.Turn off the water at the shutoff valve, usually located on the wall behind and below the toilet tank. Flush the toilet, then remove as much water from the toi-let bowl as possible, first using a small cup and then a sponge. Next, detach the inlet tube from the shutoff valve and from the base of the toilet tank.Unbolt the tank from the toilet base and carefully lift off. Then, unscrew the nuts attaching the base of the toilet to the floor. With your helper, carefully rock the toilet base back and forth to loosen the seals and caulking around the base, then lift the toilet base up.Next, tilt the toilet base so you can ac-cess the bottom and wipe away all the old putty and wax. Clean the floor and the area around the drain pipe as well, so it’s completely dry and free of putty.Put the replacement wax ring on the floor around the drain pipe. Then, place plumber’s putty around the foot of the toilet base -- one way is to create a putty “rope” and press it around the perimeter.With your helper, lift the toilet base and position it over the wax ring and drain pipe and bolts. Ease it into position by rocking and pressing the base down so that the new ring sits tightly in place. At-tach the nuts to the bolts on either side of the base and tighten carefully.Reattach the tank to the base, attach the water supply line to the tank and shut-off valve, and turn on the water supply, checking to make sure the supply line connection doesn’t leak.


TRIVIA PAGE

1. Which singer-songwriter produced “Blue Bayou”? What was the b-side on the record?2. “Ain’t That Peculiar” was a hit for which artist?3. Which singer-songwriter released an album titled “Sweet Baby James”?4. Name the singer-songwriter who released “Sail-ing” and “Never Be the Same.”5. What was Patti Smith’s debut single? 6. Debut album “Appetite for Destruction” was cer-tified as platinum 20 years after its release. Name the group.

1. GEOGRAPHY: What is Europes longest river?2. TELEVISION: What was the fictional home state of ÒM A S HÓ surgeon Hawkeye Pierce?3. MOVIES: What was the name of the wood-carver and creator of ÒPinocchioÓ in the Disney film?4. LANGUAGE: What does ÒgesundheitÓ mean in German?5. RELIGION: Who is the patron saint of danc-ers?6. ROYALS: Who preceded Queen Elizabeth II in the English throne?7. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the term for the pointed wheel at the end of cowboy bootsÕ spurs?8. LITERATURE: In Ian FlemingÕs spy novels, what agency did James Bond work for? 9. FOOD & DRINK: What fruit that is commonly eaten today was widely considered poisonous until the 18th century?10. INVENTIONS: What popular drink did drug-gist John Pemberton invent in 1886?

¥ On May 6, 1911, George Maledon, the man who executed at least 60 men for “Hanging Judge” Isaac Parker, dies of natural causes in Tennessee. Paid $100 for each hang-ing, he tried to be a conscientious hangman who minimized suffering with a quick death. Maledon considered the job “honorable and respectable work.”¥ On April 30, 1927, the Federal Industrial Institution for Women, the first women’s federal prison, opens in Alderson, W.Va. All women serving federal sentences of more than a year were to be brought there, with the vast majority imprisoned for drug and alcohol charges imposed during the Prohibi-tion era.¥ On May 1, 1931, President Herbert Hoover officially dedicates New York City’s Empire State Building. The entire 102-story build-ing went up in just over a year, under budget (at $40 million) and well ahead of schedule. During certain periods of building, the frame grew an astonishing four-and-a-half stories a week.¥ On May 5, 1945, in Lakeview, Ore., six people are killed while attempting to drag a Japanese balloon out the woods. The explo-sive balloon was one of a handful of Japa-nese attacks against the continental United States, which were conducted by Japanese submarines and later by balloons explosives or incendiaries.

¥ In 2007, a world record was set off the coast of Brazil when a single wave was caught by 84 surfers.

¥ Have you ever heard of a book called “Never Again” by Doug Nufer? Probably not -- it’s not on any bestseller lists and hasn’t been reviewed by any notable crit-ics. It’s quite possibly unique in literary history, however; in its entire 192 pages, not a single word -- even basic words such as a, an, the, of and for -- is used twice.

¥ The Twist dance craze in the 1960s changed the culture in America and spread around the world. Most people don’t realize, though, that the song “The Twist,” which started the fad, wasn’t orig-inally sung by Chubby Checker, though he was the one who sent the single up the charts and has since been irrevoca-bly associated with the dance. The song was originally written and performed by an R&B singer named Hank Ballard. A deejay in Baltimore saw teenagers danc-ing to Ballard’s song and called Dick Clark, host of “American Bandstand.” Clark loved it and invited Ballard to per-form the song on the show, but it didn’t work out. Instead, Clark found someone else to perform the song: Ernest Ev-ans, who changed his name to Chubby Checker. It made his career.

1. Is the book of Amaziah in the Old or New Testament or neither?2. From Acts 5, who convinced the Jerusalem council not to stone the apostles? Haggai, Shebna, Gama-liel, Levi3. The Gospels often use the word “Gehenna,” which translates into English as? Hell, Paradise, Poem, Soul4. Besides Abiathar, who was a high priest during the reign of David? Passhur, Zadok, Caiaphas, Zebedee5. From Mark 3, James and John were the sons of what? Righteous-ness, Baptism, Thunder, Pentecost6. At what age was Moses when he died? 33, 100, 120, 164

Answerson

Page 14


The Grandparent Scam

The Grandparent Scam targets seniors who fall for a trick of handing over money to an imposter grandchild. Even though it’s an old scam, it shows no sign of fading away. If any-thing, this scam is making a resurgence. Typically the senior will get a call, suppos-edly from a grandchild, and be told there’s an emergency: The grandchild is in trouble, or there’s been an accident, or a mistaken ar-rest. It sounds very believable.No matter what the story, it always involves the need for secrecy -- and fast cash to be wired immediately. Sometimes the story is that the money is needed to pay an attorney or for medical treatment. Perhaps the person on the other end of the phone pretends to be the police, a doctor or an attorney.If you get one of these calls, don’t immedi-ately agree to send money. Your first step is to verify the details. Is it really your grand-child on the other end of the phone? If you don’t recognize your grandchild’s voice, don’t feed him information by saying “Is this Da-vid?” Wait until he gives you the name. If he doesn’t, it’s likely a scam. Your second step is to call your grandchild’s home to verify whether he or she is actually away -- or sitting right there.Whatever you do, don’t send any money without verification.Keep in mind that crooks on social media sites online can glean a lot of information. Beware naming your grandchildren on Face-book or anywhere else.If this has happened to you, you must re-port it to the police. But you won’t be alone. Thousands of others experienced this type of scam last year alone.

Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot per-sonally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into her column whenever possible. Write to her in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or send e-mail to [email protected].

(c) 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My husband has had a cough that seems to have lasted for-ever. He saw several doctors. Each gave him a different diagnosis and different treatment. None worked. The last doctor believed he had whooping cough and tested him for it. He did have it. The doctor said the cough would go away. He put him on antibiotics, but he said they wouldn’t shorten the cough. Why did he give them to him? Isn’t whooping cough a thing of the past, and wasn’t it a children’s disease? -- K.P.ANSWER: Whooping cough -- pertussis is the medical name -- used to be a frequent child-hood illness. It is highly communicable, and in some infants, it proves to be fatal. The vaccine practically eliminated it. Adults get it, too, even if they were vaccinated in childhood. The vac-cine loses its power in five to 10 years. Boost-er shots are necessary to shield people from the bacterium that causes the illness.The typical course of whooping cough in a youngster consists of a week where the child appears to have cold symptoms. Then the child experiences explosions of a hacking cough that can be so violent that the child vomits after coughing. When the cough calms and the child takes a deep breath in, a high-pitched whooping sound is heard. The cough disappears gradually in a month. When treat-ed early with the antibiotics erythromycin or azithromycin, the course of the infection is shortened.Adult whooping cough is different. No whoop-ing sounds are made. Adults cough and cough, and may do so for months. They are usually seen far too late for antibiotics to do any good. However, the antibiotics are pre-scribed to stop the spread of the whooping cough bacterium.Whooping cough is making a resurgence and spreading across the country. Some infants have died from it. One reason is that many parents have opted to not have their children immunized out of fear of vaccine complica-tions. Vaccines have been one of medicine’s greatest achievement in prevention of diseas-es. Fear of them is unsound and dangerous.DEAR DR. DONOHUE: On seven occasions, I have had severe pain in my right big toe. It hurts so bad that I feel like going to the emer-gency room, but I feel stupid about going for toe pain. My uncle has gout and diabetes. Can you have gout without having diabetes? What should I do? -- J.P.ANSWER: At your next attack, you should go to a doctor immediately. You can have gout without having diabetes. They’re not related. The pain of gout is severe. You are not the least bit stupid for seeking relief from it. The attacks you have sound like gout. You’ve had seven attacks; you’re likely to have more. You can obtain effective medicine to stop them.The pamphlet on gout explains what gout is and how it is treated. To obtain a copy, write: Dr. Donohue -- No. 302W, Box 536475, Orlan-do, FL 3283-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Canada with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.


¥ It’s tough to eat home-cooked meals as a sin-gle eater -- most recipes are geared for multiple portions, and you probably don’t want to eat the same thing for five days straight. Try this: Get together with some friends and have a potluck. Each guest brings an entree and at least two side dishes, in extra-large portions, and his or her own leftovers containers. Split the food up amongst the guests, packaged as meals. Everyone can cook once and eat for a week.

¥ “If your baby gets very rashy on her backside, try to give her some “air time” each day. Just an hour a day with no diaper has made a big differ-ence in my baby girl’s rash.” -- H.P. in Illinois

¥ “Leftover dry-erase calendars make good bin-go-card bases. Cut out a 5 by 5-inch section, and use a permanent marker to fill the squares with small random numbers. Make matching call cards from the unused squares. Place the call cards in a sandwich baggie and the rest in a larger plastic bag. Include a couple of dry-erase markers, and you have a set that can be used anywhere (ours is in the car) over and over again.” -- E.W. and S.D. in Oregon

¥ Did you have too much fun last summer? Be ready to soothe that sun-kissed skin this year with frozen aloe vera. Use an ice-cube tray to freeze aloe vera gel, and let the soothing begin!

¥ Control kids’ artwork with a digital photo album. Take photos of the best pictures of the month, then arrange them in a scrapbook template and print them out. Keep the pages in a three-ring binder. Label with the child’s name.

Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, c/o King Fea-tures Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475 or e-mail JoAnn at [email protected].

Answers on page 14


Before he hit the 40-feet hook shot out of the straw to take him to within two putts of the Green Jacket, a little bit of banter in the room turned to what Bubba Watson was wearing. As most of us know by now, Bubba Watson won the Masters, largely due to his mon-strous 300-plus yard drives and unorthodox swinging style. But I, too, became curious about Watson’s game and, yes, his style, too. For the techies out there, Watson uses a PING G20 driver with a custom pink True Temper Grafalloy Bi-Matrix shaft. The same exact driver will be made available to pro shops this year, the company announced af-ter the tournament. Pink is a color that most sports fans are be-coming accustomed to. It appears in splash-es on various uniforms these days to signify the fight against breast cancer, a cause that has successfully managed to co-opt that color and increase awareness. Knowing this, we were all a little leery of making fun of the color. And we were right: Ping donates $300 to Watson’s charity for every 300-foot drive he makes. His Phoenix-based charity aims to donate $1 million to various organizations during the year, and after this win, it’s a safe bet to say it will do so.But his manner of dress and that unortho-dox swinging style also reminded me of for-mer PGA tournament winner from the Ô60s, Doug Sanders. Known as the “Peacock of the Fairways,” Sanders came out of nowhere to win the Ca-nadian Open as an amateur. His best finish at the Masters was a fourth place tie, and he won 20 events on the Tour, but Sanders was best known for his manner of dress. Sanders was famous for his “Mad Men”-esque devo-tion to what he wore. He was known to wear golf shoes that looked more like dress shoes, pleated golf plants, button-down cardigans and a golf polo. Each outfit had complimen-tary colors of the same shade, and he even made sure his golf bags matched his outfit. While both Sanders and Watson are philan-thropists and champions, they have some-thing else in common -- they’re both self-taught golfers. Neither has taken a lesson in his life. Sanders grew up a poor cotton farm-er’s son; Watson’s father was a Green Beret Vietnam veteran who gave him a 9-iron once and told him to “beat it down the fairway.”Well, Watson surely will be beating it down the fairway for a while now, and nobody will make fun of his clothes anymore, but I have one suggestion -- and I’m sure Mr. Sanders would agree -- you should at least shave be-fore putting on the Green Jacket. Sure he won in a playoff, but this isn’t hockey, you know.

Mark Vasto is a veteran sportswriter who lives in Kansas City.

SPORTS OF SORTS

NASCAR THIS WEEK By Monte Dutton

Burton’s Comeback Trail

So far for Jeff Burton, the season has been “just OK.” Burton collected top-10 finishes in four of the final Sprint Cup races of 2011 and expected more than what the current season has yielded to date.Burton, 44, has failed to make the Chase in two of the past three seasons. The most recent of his 21 victories at NASCAR’s premier level occurred on Oct. 11, 2008, at Charlotte Motor Speedway. That was 119 races ago.The South Boston, Va., native admitted, “We have certainly not had the start we wanted to have.“We set out to change a lot of stuff, and we’ve seen some improvement in some areas, and in others we haven’t. ... The day I don’t think I can be competitive, I promise you, I will leave. I’ve never gotten into a race car to get a check. I got every dollar I could get while I was driving it, but I didn’t want to get in it to get the dollar. I got in it because I wanted to get the trophy.”Burton is in decent position to make a run at the Chase. Entering this weekend’s Samsung Mo-bile 500, he ranks 15th in the point standings. He

1. Who was the first major-league player from the Dominican Republic?2. What major-league player had the most at-bats as a designated hitter.3. Who was the first NFL running back to rush for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons?4. Who was the last Harvard basketball player before Jeremy Lin to play in the NBA?5. Who scored four goals to lead the U.S. men’s hockey team to the gold medal in the 1960 Olympics.6. Name five of the nine NASCAR Cup drivers to have won at least three season titles.7. How many times did Jimmy Connors play in the men’s singles final at the Australian Open?

1. Ozzie Virgil played with the New York Giants in 1956. 2. Harold Baines, with 5,806 at-bats as a designated hitter during his 22-year major-league

career. 3. Joe Perry of the San Francisco 49ers, 1953-54. 4. Ed Smith played with the New York Knicks in 1953-54. 5. Roger Christian.

6. Richard Petty (7), Dale Earnhardt (7), Jimmie Johnson (5), Jeff Gordon (4), Lee Petty (3), David Pearson (3), Tony Stewart (3), Darrell Waltrip (t3)

and Cale Yarborough (3). 7. Twice -- he won the title in 1974 and lost in 1975.

already has a fifth-place finish in the Daytona 500 and a sixth in the Auto Club 400 (Fontana, Calif.).“I have been through this before in my career where I wasn’t successful, but we got back to it, and I believe we will get back to it this time,” Burton said. “It will be difficult. There are some things I’ve got to change and some things that have to change around me.“We’ve had a few shots, and at this point last year we weren’t even close to seeing it. We have seen some improvements but not at the level we need to.”Burton won six races in 1999, then driving a Ford for Jack Roush. Now he is in his eighth full season driving one of Richard Childress’s Chevys. He once finished in the top five in points four years in a row with Roush (1997-2000). His best showing with Childress to date was a sixth in 2008.Texas Motor Speedway, coincidentally, was the site of Burton’s first Cup victory on April 6, 1997.

Monte Dutton covers motorsports for The Gaston (N.C.) Gazette. E-mail Monte at [email protected].(c) 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.


COMICS



Find Mr. Tidbits! He’s hidden somewhere in the paper. Here’s what he might

look like:

He can be any size and any color. If you find him, go to

www.tidbitsinc.com

Last week’s AnswerOn page 8:

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Is Human Remedy Safe for Dogs?

DEAR PAW’S CORNER: Our dog, “Kerry,” has pigmentary keratitis, and our vet prescribed ta-crolimus and gentamycin solutions, which are very expensive. Instead, we are trying Simila-san dry eye relief in Kerry’s eyes. Is this safe to use? It seems to be working. -- C. Tobias

DEAR C.: Pigmentary keratitis can be difficult to treat, and often is chronic in many dogs. Ac-cording to vision4pets.com, this clouding of the cornea is caused by chronic inflammation stem-ming from a number of possible issues, such as constant irritation from hairs, decreased tears, an incomplete blink reflex, abnormally shaped eyelids or very prominent eyes -- such as those seen in pugs and other short-faced breeds.Because it’s chronic, Kerry likely must be treat-ed with eyedrop solutions like the ones you mentioned, and they are indeed often expen-sive. Using Similasan may be one option. According to justanswer.com’s veterinary section, while this dry-eye treatment is normally for humans, it can be applied to your dog’s eyes two or three

Q: I recently received a California Faience bowl from a relative who told me it was from the 1920s. I can’t find anything about the company in any of my reference books. Can you help me? -- Laura, Earth City, Mo.A: California Faience was a brand that was started in about 1920 by William V. Bragdon and Chauncy R. Thomas at their tile shop in Berkeley, Calif. Pieces of their pottery are gen-erally marked “California Faience” with a die stamp and are quite collectible. Typical prices are ashtray with stylized dog design in orange matt, $225; and burgundy gloss bowl, $250. ***

Q: I have a set of Elsie and Elmer coffee cups that were given away as premiums by the Bor-den Company. They are mint. -- Milton, Albu-querque, N.M.A: Elsie was introduced during the 1930s as a mascot for the Borden Company. In 1940 she “married” Elmer, who began promoting Borden’s glue. Together they had Beulah. Elmer and El-sie appeared on dozens of products, including, of course, your coffee cups. I suspect your set of four are worth in the $12 to $20 range.***

Q: I have a set of cuff links that originally be-longed to a riverboat captain who worked on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The set is in a leather case stamped “Currier & Ives by Squire” and are quite elaborate. Do you have any idea of what they might be worth? -- Michael, Or-mond Beach, Fla.A: Eugene Klompus is an expert and collector. His contact information is P.O. Box 5970, Ver-non Hills, NJ 60061; [email protected]; and www.justcufflinks.com.

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times a day. The website didn’t find Similisan to be very effective, but if it’s working for Kerry, then it’s worth a try. Just be sure to tell Kerry’s vet that you’re using it so that he can monitor its effectiveness and make sure that it’s safe for your dog.As far as using it long term, definitely consult the vet. Treating pigmentary keratitis properly is important, because not only does it make your dog more comfortable, it also slows or prevents the pigmentation of the cornea, which can cause vision loss.

Send your questions or tips to [email protected], or write to Paw’s Corner, c/o King Fea-tures Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlan-do, FL 32853-6475. For more pet care-related advice and information, visit www.pawscorner.com.



JUST FOR KIDS?


Amazing Travel Maze Game

“Please turn off all electronic devices,” announc-es the flight attendant as the door is locked shut on the aircraft taking you and your kids to your destination. No longer tethered to gadgets and gizmos, you are officially an unplugged family. Now it’s time for real, live entertainment. Take advantage of the incredible view through the frame of your seat window as your plane banks over your departure city. No matter how many times you’ve flown, it’s always a new adventure to catch the scene below. Your kids may squeal, “Where’s our house? Is that the Mississippi Riv-er? Wow, look at all the cars on the freeway dur-ing rush hour!” Not even Disney makes a ride like this.When you soar above the clouds, pull out this handheld toy and let it keep you entertained un-til the peanuts and pretzels arrive on your tray table. It’s a maze made using simple supplies including a tiny bead, bendable straws for barri-ers, and a plastic CD case.Here’s how to make a maze toy before your trip:1. Open a CD case and remove the contents. Cover the bottom of the case with a sheet of heavy construction paper or craft foam. Cut to size and glue in place. 2. Be maze architects. Set the CD case in front of you. Determine where the “START” entry point and final goal will be near the bottom and make dots with a marker as a guide for con-struction, or simply write “START” at the top and “FINISH” at the bottom of the game board. To create a path for the game, sketch a route on the board with a pen from “START” to “FINISH.” 3. Arrange different cut pieces of bendable straw lengths on the game board using the drawing as a guide. Include several dead ends along the way for a challenging course, and leave ample space for the size of the bead you choose to roll through the course. When you are satisfied with your design, glue the straw segments in place. Let dry.4. To play, set a bead at “START,” snap the case closed and let it roll. For an extra challenge, time the contestants with a stopwatch. When you really get the hang of it, try going through the maze without looking, using verbal cues from siblings, or Mom and Dad.Extra idea: Construct the game with a tiny bead that goes through the bendable straws instead of around them.

Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Don-na’s Day” is airing on public television nation-wide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page.

Chocolate-Pecan Ice-Cream Sandwiches

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut up1 bag (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk2 cup pecan, chopped1 cup all-purpose flour1 tablespoon vanilla extract2 pint favorite ice cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease large cookie sheet. Place 2 jelly-roll pans or cookie sheets in freezer to use later for ice cream.2. In microwave-safe large bowl, combine but-ter, chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Cook in microwave oven on High 1 min-ute; stir. Microwave 30 to 60 seconds longer and stir again until chocolate and butter are completely melted.3. Into chocolate mixture in bowl, stir pecans, flour and vanilla until combined. Drop dough by rounded measuring tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto greased cookie sheet. With fingers, press each mound into 2-inch round.4. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes or until firm when lightly pressed. Cool on cookie sheet on wire rack 2 minutes. With metal spatula, trans-fer cookies to wire rack to cool completely. Re-peat with remaining dough. Store cookies be-tween layers of waxed paper in tightly covered container at room temperature until ready to use or up to 2 weeks, or freeze up to 3 months.5. Meanwhile, scoop ice cream by rounded 2 tablespoons into 24 mounds onto cold jelly-roll pans; flatten each mound into 2-inch round. Freeze ice cream rounds until firm, at least 1 hour. If not using right away, store ice cream rounds in freezer-safe container with waxed paper between layers, up to 1 week.6. Just before serving, assemble ice cream rounds and cookies into 24 sandwiches.

¥ Each serving: About 305 calories, 20g total fat (9g saturated), 32mg cholesterol, 85mg so-dium, 31g total carbs, 2g dietary fiber, 5g pro-tein.

For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our website at www.goodhousekeeping.com/reci-pefinder/.

Chocolate Clusters

Salty, crunchy and chocolaty, these bite-size candies are easy to whip up whenever you need a treat.

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips1/4 cup peanut butter2 cups cornflakes1/2 cup crushed potato chips1/2 cup unsalted peanuts

1. In a large glass bowl, microwave chocolate chips and peanut butter on High 30 seconds; stir. Repeat until melted.2. Mix in cornflakes, potato chips and pea-nuts; drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Refrigerate until hard. Makes 3 1/2 dozen clusters.mixture; toss well. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese if you like. Serves 6.

Contiinued from front page

• The 1950s brought all kinds of innovations to the modern home. Velcro, power steering, pock-et transistor radios and Legos all hit the scene during this decade. The world’s first credit card, the Diners Club card, was introduced in 1950. Issued in New York City, it offered credit at 27 restaurants. The American Express card came along eight years later. • When your eyes begin to age, you’ll be thank-ful for one of Benjamin Franklin’s innovations. Our founding father invented bifocal eyeglasses at the age of 79. • Travelers have had the convenience of pull-ing into a Holiday Inn along the road since the chain opened its first hotel in 1952 in Memphis, Tennessee.• Masking tape was developed by the 3M Com-pany, a sandpaper-making firm, in 1925. One of the company’s young engineers, Richard Drew, was testing sandpaper at an automobile plant and noticed that painters were having difficulty painting the newly popular two-tone cars. Drew went back to 3M and immediately began work on a product to solve the painters’ dilemma. Waterproof transparent “Scotch” tape came along five years later, also the creation of Rich-ard Drew. A 3M co-worker of Drew’s invented the tape dispenser with a built-in cutter blade in 1932. • Thanks to a Chicago inventor, Whitcomb Jud-son, you can zip up your pants! While experi-menting in 1891 with a gadget that would make it easier to button and unbutton shoes, dubbed the “Clasp Locker and Unlocker for Shoes,” Judson came up with the zipper.• The fax machine has been around longer than you think. This device that transmits a facsimile of a document through the telephone system has been around since 1944. And how about another item you’d think has been around for-ever, the ballpoint pen? It came out the same year as that fax machine. Nine years later, Bic introduced their now-famous brand of ballpoint pen. In 1973, Bic presented its next best-selling gadget, the disposable lighter.• Two unrelated items, the voting machine and waxed paper, were both invented by the same person, Thomas Edison. During the 1880s, this brilliant individual filed for a new patent on the average of every five days, equaling more than 1,300 items over the course of his creative life. The motion picture camera and projector, incandescent light bulbs and the phonograph are well-known Edison inventions, with lesser-known innovations being the stock ticker, dictat-ing machine and electric pen. • What would your life be like without comput-ers? Although many would claim the honor of inventing the world’s first computer, a 1973 American court decision officially awarded this achievement to Dr. John V. Atanasoff, a phys-ics professor at Iowa State University. Although Dr. Atanasoff had devised his digital computer with a memory drum back in 1939, he was not credited as the “father of American computing” until after years of patent litigation. President George Bush conferred the National Medal of Science and Technology to him in 1990.• The next time you strike a match, consider the fact that this little convenience has been around since 1816, when a Frenchman developed a friction match with a phosphorus tip, providing a simple means of access to fire. • Do you run faster in your Nikes? No one did, prior to 1972. That’s the year the company introduced its first running shoes, named after the Greek goddess of victory. The company was originally named Blue Ribbon Sports, and remained so until the name change to Nike in 1978.


Puzzle and Game AnswersPOST OFFICE TRUTHS

The United States Post Office delivers mail to every city and every town in every state, nearly 151 million homes, businesses and P.O. box-es. Here are some details about the origin and operation of this immense delivery system, one that receives none of its income from tax dollars.

• During the early colonial days, mail was deliv-ered by friends, traveling merchants or Native Americans. A service between England and its colonies was developed in 1639, and a Boston tavern became the first post office mail drop for overseas mail. The colonies instituted their own monthly post route between New York and Boston, known as the Old Boston Post Road, now part of U.S. Route 1. •Pennsylvania’s founder William Penn estab-lished that area’s first post office in 1683. In 1737, 31-year-old Benjamin Franklin, a local printer and publisher of the Pennsylvania Ga-zette, was appointed as postmaster of Phila-delphia. Thirty-eight years later, Franklin be-came the nation’s first Postmaster General, and was paid $1,000 a year for the position. • America’s first postage stamps were issued in July of 1847, with two varieties available. The five-cent stamp featured the likeness of Ben-jamin Franklin, while the ten-cent denomina-tion honored George Washington. The stamps were pre-gummed, but had to be cut from a sheet with scissors. Washington’s likeness has appeared on more U.S. postage stamps than any other person’s. • Every day, approximately 563 million pieces of mail are processed. That’s about 23 million pieces each hour, and 391,000 per minute. • The Post Office operates more than 215,000 vehicles, making it the largest civilian fleet in the world. These vehicles drive over 4 million miles each day. Each time the price of gas in-creases by just one penny, there is an increase of $1 million in costs to the Post Office. How-ever, not every mail carrier drives a vehicle –— about 8,800 deliver the mail strictly on foot and have earned the nickname “The Fleet of Feet.” •In the early 1960s, with the volume of mail increasing dramatically, the Post Office began working on a coding system to enable faster processing. It was dubbed the Zoning Im-provement Plan, or ZIP, for short. A five-digit code was assigned to every address across the nation, with the first number designating the geographical area and the second two dig-its identifying a regional center. The last two signified the post office. The ZIP Code system went into effect in July 1963. Today there are more than 42,000 codes nationwide.• If a ZIP code begins with a zero, it indicates the northeastern part of the United States. The lowest ZIP code identifies Holtsville, New York. ZIP codes beginning with nine designate the far West, with the nation’s highest ZIP code of 99950 in Ketchikan, Alaska. General Electric in Schenectady, New York, has been assigned the easiest to remember, 12345. •Houston, Texas, is the leader in the number of dog attacks on mail carriers. Last year, nearly 5,700 postal employees were attacked, with medical expenses costing the Postal Service close to $1.2 million. •The nation’s smallest post office can be found in Ochopee, Florida, measuring just 61.3 square feet. New York City is home to the larg-est facility, with 393,000 square feet. Hinsdale, New Hampshire’s post office has been in its current location longer than any other — 195 years!

Trivia Test Answers1. The Volga River2. Maine3. Geppetto4. To your health5. St. Vitus6. Her father, George VI7. Rowel8. MI6 (Military Intel-ligence Section 6)9. The tomato10. Coca-Cola

Bible Trivia Answers:1) Neither; 2) Gama-liel; 3) Hell; 4) Zadok; 5) Thunder; 6) 120

Flash Back Answers: 1. Roy Orbison, in 1963. Oddly enough, “Mean Woman Blues” went higher on the charts that the better known “Blue Bayou.”2. Marvin Gaye, “The Prince of Motown,” in 1965. The song was used in the 2003 film “American Splendor.”3. James Taylor, in 1970. The album included “Fire and Rain,” which Taylor allegedly wrote about hav-ing shock therapy in a mental hospital.4. Christopher Cross, in 1980. Both went to the top of the charts and appeared on his self-titled debut album.5. “Hey Joe,” in 1974. It didn’t chart, but “Hey Joe” established Smith as a rocker.6. Guns N’ Roses. The group released the album in 1987. Since then it’s made numerous “best” lists, including being ranked No. 16 on Rolling Stones magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.


ShowBiz Weekly

CELEBRITY EXTRABy Cindy Elavsky

Q: Throughout the years, I’ve been hearing Q: My friends and I watched the Wladimir Klitschko heavyweight-title bout against Je-na-Marc Mormeck at our local bar, and were happy to see Wladimir retain his heavyweight title. One of my friends said he heard that Wladimir intends to start up an acting career when he’s done with boxing. Is that true? -- John R., Indianapolis A: While it’s true that the handsome Ukrainian has dipped his foot in the Hollywood pool -- the documentary “Klitschko,” which centers on his and his older brother Vitali’s rise in the boxing world, has been making quite an im-pression on festival goers since premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival last year -- Wladimir is keeping his eye firmly on his boxing career. I spoke with him recently about the acting ru-mors, and he told me: “While I am asked often about being in movies -- usually it’s a Russian mob character -- it’s always the same thing. I did play myself in ‘Ocean’s Eleven,’ and I did two German comedies. But right now I’m playing the role called the Heavyweight Champion of the World, and it takes all of my time. I really like to play it, and I have to stay focused. So there’s no nonsense with any wannabe Hollywood stuff. If I lose my focus, then I’m going to lose the titles, and I don’t want to do that.” You can watch Wladimir defend his title July 7 against Tony Thompson, and read my entire engaging interview with the charming heavy-weight at www.celebrityextraonline.com.Q: I am so excited to see “The Avengers,” starring all of my favorite comic-book heroes, especially Captain America. Because of “The Avengers,” does that mean there won’t be a “Captain America: The First Avenger” sequel for a while? -- Fred D., via e-mailA: Walt Disney Studios recently announced that Chris Evans will again suit up in red, white and blue to save the world from the bad guys. You can expect the sequel to last sum-mer’s blockbuster hit to arrive in theaters April 4, 2014. While it’s still too early to camp out for tickets, at least there’s a release date in sight.Q: I’m really sad about this being the final season of “Desperate Housewives.” How are the ladies of Wisteria Lane taking it? -- J.J.A: If one of Marcia Cross’ latest tweets is any indication, they are as sad as you are. Marcia recently lamented via Twitter: “How do you handle goodbyes? Me, not so well ... already feel so sad and vulnerable ... [I] will miss my ‘Desperate Housewives’ family terribly.”


JILL JACKSON’S HOLLYWOOD

By Tony Rizzo

PHOTO: Ashton Kutcher

HOLLYWOOD -- You can start calling Ashton Kutcher the multi-million dollar man! Word is he’ll be back next season on Two And a Half Men for $1 million an episode. But before he starts shooting his second season, he’ll start shooting Jobs, the Steve Jobs biopic about the late Apple tycoon. Looking at pictures of Jobs from his youth reveals he and Ashton could be twins. Job’s former partner at Apple, Steve Wozniak, a for-mer Dancing With the Stars contestant, has given his blessing and says, Steve would have approved of Ashton playing him.

Multiple Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood is headed back to acting via the upcoming baseball pic Trouble With the Curve, filming in Atlanta, hometown of the Braves. But have no fear, Clint still is in control -- he’s producing and his partner, Robert Lorenz, is directing. They’ve rounded up a first-rate cast with Justin Timberlake, Amy Adams, Mat-thew Lillard, John Goodman and Scott Eastwood. Yes, Scott is Clint’s son (with former flight attendant Jacelyn Reeves) and had roles in Gran Torino, Invictus and the January 2013 release of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D.

And here’s an update on Clint’s A Star Is Born with Beyonce. Will Fetters, who wrote the screenplay, admitted he based the role that Tom Cruise may end up playing on Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, who met a tragic, premature end.The Help Oscar-winner Octavia Spen-cer is trapped on a train full of travelers struggling to co-exist in a world covered in ice and snow in Snow Piercer. Her fellow passengers are Captain America Chris Evans, Man on a Ledge co-star Jamie Bell, Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) and two-time Oscar nominee John Hurt.


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