The Spring edition of Bits and Pieces contains interesting information and observations. Enjoy! And let us rejoice that we have traversed another Winter in good spirits.
Pieces: The pinnacle of styling in 1936 included high neck blouses for the lady with rows of tiny buttons, a “Cravenette” men’s hat and petticoats designed in Paris. A weekly newspaper “Liberty” sold for 5¢. June, 1936, and the Radio Corporation of America opened its first television sending station on the roof of the Empire State Building. President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to Congress and said in part, “In many nations the masses of the people follow blindly and fervently the lead of those who seek autocratic power.”
Bits: Dom Perignon was a Benedictine French monk and cellar master in Hautvillers who first used cork to seal wine bottles in 1670. His champagne was the first to blend grapes to improve the wine quality, and to balance clear white wines from black grapes by clever manipulation of the presses. A glass of the champagne today sells for about $200. One bottle sold recently for $40,000. The monk died in 1715.
Pieces: The planet Mercury put on a celestial show last Autumn when it moved across the Sun at 150,000 miles per hour. Its next transit will occur in 2033 and again in 2049. Earth sees Mercury’s transit about 13 times in a century. Mercury is 3,000 miles in diameter compared with the sun’s 864,000 miles.
Bits: I so enjoy solo travel for many reasons, not the least of which I do not have to listen to someone’s snoring, let alone their other foibles. If they like golf and pubs, I can go to the art museums and libraries. I meet interesting foreigners who engage in meaningful conversations about their countries and about mine. Research shows that talking to strangers makes us feel better. I was admiring a small child one morning when the mom and I had a lovely conversation. She seemed as pleased as I was about the conversation in real time to a real person. Neither of us showed evidence of an electronic device. She was living in the moment as was I.
Pieces: If you have any doubts about your “No” vote this coming November on the “Pritzker Tax”, consider these facts: Broken promises include the 1973 Illinois tollways will be freeways by 1973 and the Illinois Lottery which was authorized in 1973 will fund schools. Instead in a shell game, lottery proceeds are diverted. Consider that the 1989 income tax surcharge is just temporary. It was made permanent in 1993. The “College Illinois” program that Madigan helped pass in 1997 is guaranteed to pay for itself. Unfunded liability is now facing taxpayers at $501 Million. In 2017 Springfield insisted more revenue was needed. So the elected ones raise the personal income tax rate by 32% to 4.95%. Vote a resounding no November 3.
Bits: Every year the average American sends approximately 40,000 words through E-mail. That is close to the word count of The Great Gatsby!
Pieces: It’s a becoming Spring day so let us imagine we are visiting London and decide to have breakfast at historic The Savoy Hotel. The full Savoy breakfast is £32 and includes juice, tea, or coffee, croissants, Danish pastry, free-range eggs, bacon, Cumberland sausages, semi-braised vine tomatoes, and mixed berries. We can dream, can’t we?
Bits: Did you know that president John Adams said “You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket?” He was a voracious reader of Cicero, Tacitus, and others, including Plato and Thucydides in the original Greek. He was drawn to Shakespeare and Swift as he tried to understand human nature. His brilliance in the courtroom as he rode the court circuit was widely recognized and respected.
Pieces: The earliest known elevator was built in the 3rd Century by the Greek scientist Archimedes.