CAROLINA NATURALLY: Feb 7, 2017

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of
Carolina Naturally

Today also happens to be Man Day ...!

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Ballet, Yeah ... !

Today is - Ballet Day

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Today in History

457		A Thracian officer by the name of Leo is proclaimed as emperor of the East by the army general, Aspar, on the death of the Emperor Marcian.
1668		The Netherlands, England and Sweden conclude an alliance directed against Louis XIV of France.
1783		The Siege of Gibraltar, which was pursued by the Spanish and the French since July 24, 1779, is finally lifted.
1818		The first successful U.S. educational magazine, Academician, begins publication in New York City.
1882		American pugilist John L. Sullivan becomes the last of the bare-knuckle world heavyweight champions with his defeat of Patty Ryan in Mississippi City.
1913		The Turks lose 5,000 men in a battle with the Bulgarian army in Gallipoli.
1915		Fieldmarshal Paul von Hindenburg moves on Russians at Masurian Lakes.
1917		The British steamer California is sunk off the coast of Ireland by a German U-boat.
1926		Negro History Week, originated by Carter G. Woodson, is observed for the first time.
1928		The United States signs an arbitration treaty with France.
1931		Amelia Earhart weds George Putnam in Connecticut.
1944		The Germans launch a second attack against the Allied beachead at Anzio, Italy. They hoped to push the Allies back into the sea.
1950		The United States recognizes Vietnam under the leadership of Emperor Bao Dai, not Ho Chi Minh who is recognized by the Soviets.
1963		The Mona Lisa is put on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
1964		The British band The Beatles are greeted by 25,000 fans upon their arrival in the United States at JFK Airport.
1965		U.S. jets hit Dong Hoi guerrilla base in reprisal for the Viet Cong raids.
1968		North Vietnamese use 11 Soviet-built light tanks to overrun the U.S. Special Forces camp at Lang Vei at the end of an 18-hour long siege.
1978		Ethiopia mounts a counter attack against Somalia.
1983		Iran opens an invasion in the southeast of Iraq.

Six Freeway Removals That Changed Their Cities Forever

We've written before about how modern cities are designed for automobiles, which is not necessarily a good thing. But what are you going to do about it? Believe it or not, there are cities who have taken the step of ripping out highways to reduce traffic and bring city life back to people. That doesn't mean those areas are free of streets, but without multi-lane highways, commuters take longer routes around where they once went straight through the neighborhoods. And the results are looking good.

One of the most transformative freeway removal projects not only tore out a dirty highway from a city center, it actually daylighted a lost waterway. An elevated highway had been built through Seoul in 1976 as a way to boost economic prospects in a low-lying area which had become a slum. In 2003, the city’s mayor proposed to remove the freeway and and turn the site into green space, which also required naturalizing the creek that once ran there.
Not only has the greenway become a well-loved part of the city, it has proven to benefit the city in many different ways. The temperature of the inner city has dropped several degrees, and birds, fish and other wildlife have returned to the urban core. Also, since the freeways were removed, fewer people are driving into the city, choosing to take public transit or other options. They even left a few freeway pillars as reminders of what came before.

Read about five other cities that removed urban highways, plus one in the planning stages, at Gizmodo.

What Happened to Model Trains?

In the 19th century, the railroad was the biggest thing going. Like the internet, it connected people across long distances, promoted exploration of new places, and captured the popular imagination. The fascination with trains gave birth to the craze for model trains and the worlds they traveled. Whether they came pre-assembled or you built your own, it was a hobby that reigned for around 100 years. But times have changed.

In recent decades, selling model trains to children of either gender has been equally challenging, as author and self-described “recovering model railroader” Gerry Souter explained to me recently. He and his wife, Janet, have written a half-dozen or so books on the hobby. “I have breakfast every Tuesday with some friends of mine who run trains,” he says, “and I still have all the kits I built. I love model trains, and I enjoy going to conventions to sell our books.”
Unfortunately, Souter doesn’t see a lot of children at those events. “The average age of a model railroader is 40-plus,” Souter says with a sigh. That may be optimistic: According to a “Wall Street Journal” article published just last year, the average age of the National Model Railroad Association’s 19,000 or so members is 64, up alarmingly from 39 in the mid-1970s.
That’s too bad, because today’s analog model trains have plenty to offer 21st century’s digital kids. Though many trains are sold pre-assembled, there are still a lot of do-it-yourself kits out there, making them a good fit for those inspired by Maker and DIY culture. In addition, despite the historic image of locomotives belching black smoke everywhere they go, real trains are surprisingly efficient in terms of their energy consumption, making them one of the greenest modes of transportation going. As for train layouts, they can be as traditional or as far-fetched as a child’s imagination will allow, snaking through everything from forests of living dwarf conifers to cityscapes constructed entirely of LEGOs.

Read about the rise and fall of model trains at Collectors Weekly.

Erasing the NAZIS

Cleaning up the graffiti

New York City train riders take collective action against Nazi swastikas and graffiti

Universities Are Increasingly Choosing Capitalism Over Education

How Universities Are Increasingly Choosing Capitalism Over Education

Things you might not be aware of ...

Were you aware that the word sophomore literally means “wise fool”.

Can Diet Sodas Actually Make You Gain Weight?

Can Diet Sodas Actually Make You Gain Weight?

The Red Meat-Diverticulitis Connection

New research gives yet one more reason to cut back on your red meat consumption: It puts you at much greater risk of the painful, digestive disorder diverticulitis. A sweeping new 26-year study found that men who ate red meat six or more times a week were 58 percent more likely to develop it.
Diverticulitis occurs when an infection or inflammation causes small pouches along the colon lining to form, causing symptoms ranging from, most commonly, stomach pain to diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, and even permanent scarring. Its primary causes are widely unknown, but it has become a widespread issue, sending some 200,000 Americans to the hospital every year.

The Red Meat-Diverticulitis Connection

Real Reason Vegetarians Tend to Live Longer Than Carnivores

The Real Reason Vegetarians Tend to Live Longer Than Carnivores

When you got to go ...

A nun, really needing to go to the bathroom, walked into a neighborhood pub. The place was hopping with music and dancing but every once in a while the lights would turn off. Each time after the lights would go out the place would erupt into cheers. However, when the revelers saw the nun, the room went dead silent. She walked up to the bartender, and asked,” May I please use the restroom?”
The bartender replied, “I really don’t think you should.”
“Why not? ” the nun asked.
“Well, there is a statue of a naked man in there, and his most private part is covered only by a fig leaf. “
“Nonsense,” said the nun, “I’ll just look the other way.”
So the bartender showed the nun the door at the top of the stairs, and she proceeded to the restroom. After a few minutes, she came back out, and the whole place was hopping with music and dancing again. However, they did stop just long enough to give the nun a loud round of applause.
She went to the bartender and said, “Sir, I don’t understand. Why did they applaud for me just because I went to the restroom?”
“Well, now they know you’re one of us,” said the bartender. “Would you like a drink?”
“But, I still don’t understand,” said the puzzled nun.
“You see,” laughed the bartender, “every time the fig leaf is lifted on the statue, the lights go out in the whole place. Now, how about that drink, Sister?