]*INFOTAINER
Here’s the first issue you’ll find on Sundays at this forum.
The real Santa Claus was Saint Nicholas a fourth century Bishop in Turkey. Famous for acts of kindness, especially towards children, he eventually became popular in Holland, where he was known as “Sinter Klaas”. Around 1870, the Americans turned the name into Santa Claus.
In nineteenth century Britain the Elizabethan character Father Christmas - the jolly old man imagined to provide the Christmas feast - merged with Santa.
Up to 1890, he was sometimes depicted as tall and thin, wearing green or brown as often as red. Santa’s present appearance was created by Swedish artist Jenny Nystrom in a series of Christmas cards. Fellow Swede Haddon Sundblom helped universalise the new image when he adopted Nystrom’s ideas for Coca-Cola’s advertising campaign - Santa matched Coke’s red-and-white logo. Sundblom also refined the character, making his body a little fatter and giving him his herd of flying reindeer.
The idea of Santa Claus entering people’s homes by dropping down the chimney comes from American Scholar Clement Moore’s famous 1822 poem A Visit from St Nicholas.
The Bushs’
The Secret Service’s code name for Barbara Bush was
“Tranquility.” President Bush was known as “Timberwolf.”
Trial and Error
One way birds learn is by trial and error. Scientists have
discovered that many of their learned motor patterns are
linked to appetite. For instance, young doves must learn
to drink water. The pecking of domestic chicks improves
about 30 hours after hatching. They snatch up a grain with
increased efficiency. Simple trial-and-error learning is also
believed to be very important in birds’ nest-building.
The distance from Honolulu to New York in USA is greater than the
distance from Honolulu to Japan.
The Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia, has nearly 68,000
miles of telephone lines.
According to Aristotle, the liver served as the body’s seat of emotions.
Natalie Portman
Reportedly, teen actress Natalie Portman who played Queen
Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, missed
the film’s premiere party in New York because she had to
study for her high school final exams.
Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa on a piece of
pinewood, 77 cm x 53 cm (30 in. x 20 7/8 in.) in the year 1506.
Ringo Starr (BEATLES group member of early 60’s)
In 1996, Ringo Starr appeared in a Japanese advertisement
for applesauce, which coincidentally is what his name means
in Japanese.
Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ), for “O Magazine”
“With every experience, you alone are painting your own canvas,
thought by thought, choice by choice.”
SOME NUMBER !
A standard 747 Jumbo Jet has 420 seats.
Mexico
Mexico banned imported films that depicted Mexicans as
villains in 1926. The ban was ignored by Hollywood, but the
effect on exports south of the border was sufficiently serious
for the Hays Office to order no more Mexican heavies in 1930.
Film censors let it be understood that it would be quite
acceptable for the stock foreign undesirable to be portrayed
as Russian, in retaliation for Soviet restrictions on Hollywood imports.
SHOAIB AKHTAR!
The velocity of his pitched ball is about 8 mph faster (than recorded in
speed machine) as it leaves his hand than when it reaches batsman.
Anne Baxter ( God Mother of Moses in 10 Commandments)
Anne Baxter, who co-starred in All About Eve, The Razor’s
Edge, and The Ten Commandments, was the granddaughter of
world-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Albert Einstein’s younger son was a schizophrenic.
In 1915, the average annual family income in the United States
was $687 a year.
The first product to have a UPC bar code on its packaging
was Wrigley’s gum.
Technology…!
Technology collections are becoming more popular. According
to some experts, people today are choosing to collect old
toasters and typewriters because technology is changing so fast.
Hurricanes
The practice of naming hurricanes began early this century
when an Australian weather forecaster decided to insult
politicians he didn’t like by naming devastating tropical
storms after them.
Royalty
Should there be a crash, Prince Charles and Prince William of England,
never travel on the same airplane as a precaution.
King of Hearts
The king of hearts is the only king without
a moustache on a standard playing card.
**COMPUTER TIPS
**Collapsed Menu Problem in Internet Explorer
Recently I’ve been guessing about the IE Favorites
folder being collapsed? The writer always wants to know how
to fix it so that he or she doesn’t have to click the down
arrow to open the favorites list. It’s not broken, that’s
actually supposed to be a feature, but here’s how to “fix” it:
- Open Internet Explorer and select Tools/Internet Options.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- In the Browsing section, uncheck Enable Personalized Favorites Menu.
- Click OK to close the dialog. Close Internet Explorer and re-open.
Problem solved…!
SOFTWARE SPOTLIGHT - Toddler Keys
Toddler Keys is a useful freeware tool for parents. It allows
you to lock your computer keyboard, CD drive doors and power-
off button to prevent the little ones from damaging your
computer while you’re away from it.
When keyboard keys are pressed Toddler Keys will display
images and play sounds every time a key is pressed, making
it a little fun for the kid as well as protecting your computer.
You can select the images and sounds used so they always meet
your approval. Just type QUIT to exit the program and start
working again.