Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tortoise-Pigeon-Dog
The Amazing Story behind the 256 Year-Old Man! “Keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon and sleep like a dog.” These were the words of advice Li gave to Wu Pei-fu, the warlord, who took Li into his house to learn the secret of extremely long life. Reported to Have Buried 23 Wives and Had 180 Descendants and Sold Herbs for First 100 Years. According to the 1933 obituaries in both Time Magazine and the New York Times, Li Ching-Yun was reported to have buried 23 wives and fostered 180 descendants by the time he died at the age of 256.
Was he really that old? By his own admission he was born in 1736 and had lived 197 years. However, in 1930 a professor and dean at Minkuo University by the name of Wu Chung-chien, found records “proving” that Li was born in 1677. Records allegedly showed that the Imperial Chinese Government congratulated him on his 150th and 200th Birthdays.
So the question is, had he forgotten his own birthday? Was this even the same Li Ching-Yun?
Looking at all of this from a medical and documented perspective: Jeanne Louise Calment, a French woman who died in 1997 so far holds the title for the person who has roamed the earth the longest: 122 years, which is a phenomenal length of time.
That means, that if the records discovered by Wu Chung-chien were accurate, Li Ching-Yun’s age would surpass the official record by more than 130 years. Is this even medically possible? The detail, which seems to prove both arguments and debunk them at the same time, is Li’s youthful appearance, noted in a 1928 article from the New York Times. Visually and physically, he appeared to look like a typical 60 year-old. Does this therefore signify a superhuman body capable of lasting one quarter of a millennium, or is the story of Li Ching-Yun based on a series of half-truths, lies or exaggerations?
Unfortunately, we may never know. You may draw your own logical conclusions.
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10:52 Posted in History | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: China, Aging, History, World, web, Death, Life
Monday, June 23, 2008
Things You Didn't Know About Benjamin Franklin
He never once sought public office. Benjamin Franklin was well-known and could have certainly achieved public office, but he never once ran for a political office.
He is related to the famous Folger's Coffee family. Ben's maternal grandfather (his mother's father), Peter Folger, was the ancestor to the founder of Folger's coffee, one of the best-known brands of coffee in the world.
He coined electrical terms still used today. The terms positive and negative, which signify the electric charge, which is another word he defined. He also gave us the word battery.
He invented bifocal glasses. Frustrated with having to switch between two pairs of glasses to correct his vision, Franklin cut two sets of lenses in half and mounted them together, creating the world's first bifocals.
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10:51 Posted in History | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Benjamin Franklin, History, USA, Web, news, blog, stamps
Friday, June 13, 2008
The Curse of Friday the 13th
It's Friday the 13th—is it O.K. to get out of bed?
Today's ill-fated date may be the most widely held superstition among Americans. Just look at the fact that many U.S. buildings are without a 13th floor. Other common superstitions include walking under a ladder (don't violate the Holy Trinity), throwing salt (do, especially after spilling some) and a black cat crossing your path (considered bad luck in much of the West; good luck in Japan). 
Some superstitions are so enmeshed in our daily habits, we might be oblivious about their untraditional origins.
For example, saying "God bless you" after someone sneezes isn't something Miss Manners created. It's been linked to an old superstition that says a bit of your spirit leaves your body after a sneeze. And how often do you end a good luck story with "knock on wood"? Have you ever told someone to "break a leg" before a performance or event? And how many girls have been given a charm bracelet? All are rooted in superstitions.
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10:13 Posted in History | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Friday 13th, superstitions, USA, world, web, History, blog
Friday, May 30, 2008
Childhood 'toy' revealed as ancient Persian relic
An ancient gold cup mysteriously acquired by an English scrap metal dealer is expected to fetch close to a million dollars at auction after languishing for years in a shoe box under its current owner's bed.
Owner John Webber says his grandfather gave him the 5.5-inch (14-centimetre) high mug to play with when he was a child, back in 1945.
He assumed the golden cup, which is decorated with the heads of two women facing in opposite directions, their foreheads garlanded with two knotted snakes, was made from brass.
But he decided to get it valued when he was moving house last year and was told it was actually a rare piece of ancient Persian treasure, beaten out of a single sheet of gold hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
Experts said the method of manufacture and the composition of the gold was "consistent with Achaemenid gold and gold smithing" dating back to the third or fourth century BC.
The Achaemenid empire, the first of the Persian empires to rule over significant portions of Greater Iran, was wiped out by Alexander the Great in 330 BC.
Auction house Duke's, in Dorchester, south-west England, will put the cup under the hammer on June 5, with an estimate of 500,000 pounds (630,000-euro, 988,000-dollars).
Webber, 70, told The Guardian newspaper that his grandfather had a "good eye" for antiques and picked up "all sorts" as he plied his trade in the town of Taunton in south-west England.
"Heaven knows where he got this, he never said," he added, revealing that as a child, he used the cup for target practice with his air gun.
15:24 Posted in History | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Persians, London, Uk, world, History, Antiques, shopping
Sunday, April 06, 2008
9 Common Idioms That Come from Technology
"Push the envelope"
Common definition: Extreme, testing the limits (e.g. "That backside 1440 on the halfpipe was really pushing the envelope, broseph!")
Original definition: In aviation, the term flight envelope has been used since WWII to define the limit of what is safe to fly (engine power, maneuverability, wind speed, altitude). By "pushing the envelope", test pilots were able to find out the limits of aircraft. The "envelope" was a mathematical term to describe the boundaries of a set of numbers-like performance data from test aircraft.
First use: The phrase was used in print as early as 1978 in an edition of Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine: "The aircraft's altitude envelope must be expanded to permit a ferry flight across the nation. NASA pilots were to push the envelope to 10,000 ft." However, it was Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" that put the term into popular consciousness.
"Out of steam"
Common definition: Tired, given up. (e.g. "I find after sorting the hounds, dear brother, I am quite out of steam.")
Original definition: Obvious, when you think about it. In the days of steam engines, engines would slow and stop when there wasn't enough steam pressure produced by the boiler.
First use: From an 1898 edition of The Perry Daily Chief, an Iowa newspaper: "...that made it impossible for me to get in one word to her hundred. I stood it for a little while in hope she would run out of steam or material, but she gathered force as she went."
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11:16 Posted in History | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: English, Language, Idioms, USA, History, blog, journal
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Viking treasure hoard uncovered
The most important Viking treasure find in Britain for 150 years has been unearthed by a father and son while metal detecting in Yorkshire.
David and Andrew Whelan uncovered the hoard, which dates back to the 10th Century, in Harrogate in January.
The pair kept their find intact and it was transferred to the British Museum to be examined by experts, who said the discovery was "phenomenal".
The pair, from Leeds, said the hoard was worth about £750,000 as a conservative estimate.
The ancient objects come from as far afield as Afghanistan in the East and Ireland in the West, as well as Russia, Scandinavia and continental Europe.
The hoard contains 617 silver coins and 65 other objects, including a gold arm-ring and a gilt silver vessel.
Dr Jonathan Williams, keeper of prehistory in Europe at the British Museum, said: "[The cup] is beautifully decorated and was made in France or Germany at around AD900.
A spokeswoman for the museum said: "The size and quality of the hoard is remarkable, making it the most important find of its type in Britain for over 150 years."
The find will now be valued for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport by the Independent Treasure Valuation Committee.
Dr Williams said that the British Museum and the York Museums Trust would be looking to raise the funds to purchase the collection so it could eventually go on public display.
The proceeds would be split between the finders and landowners.
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20:09 Posted in History | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: treasures, England, UK, News, web, blog, journals