End Of An Era.

For more than 150 years English police have worn a helmet during routine duties.  Modeled on a Prussian military helmet of the time, it has become a symbol of policing worldwide.  But the hats are cumbersome, fall off frequently and can't be worn in cars. So the English have given police agencies permission to change to the American peaked cap.  Several forces have done so already with more to follow shortly.  The helmet will still be worn on special ceremonial occasions.  The Scottish and Northern Irish police have never used the helmet.

Johnny Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on September 26, 1774. His real name was John Chapman, but he was called Johnny Appleseed because of his love for growing apple trees.

Johnny died at the age of 70; he is buried in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He had spent 50 years growing apple trees and traveling to spread his precious trees around his country.

SafeRoadMaps

“saferoadmaps.org" is a ground-breaking tool that combines information from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System with Google Maps to give you a visual report for a zip, town, or street address of all the road fatalities in that chosen area over the past 8 years. Details of any deadly accident is also available.

comment: Worth the look if you have a spouse or children driving!

Old wooden drilling pads

The wooden beams used are quite large.. 20-40'  and  8" x 20" approximately. They are being repurposed into modern log style homes....woods free for the taking when the drilling is ended..

burning brush

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcTeoA5Fz88

have done 10 piles so far with several more to be done. start with cardboard, flares

shortest 4 lane highway

Indiana State Road 520 is a four-lane connector about 1,000 feet (305 m) in length.

The red rose

Evidence suggests that the red rose is nearly 35 million years old.

Ancient civilizations such as those of the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans have given the red rose a special place.The Romans discovered the medicinal properties of the red rose, and also found ways of capturing its fragrance in perfumes.

The red rose also has an interesting place in the history of England. Opposing factions in York and Lancaster fought for control over England in the 15th century. York was synonymous with the white rose and Lancaster with the red rose. In fact, the friction between these warring factions led to the coining of the term 'War of the Roses'.

In catholicism red roses are associated with Our Lady Of Guadalupe.

Afterwards

Can't resist

Day Light Savings

The implementation of Daylight Saving Time has been fraught with controversy since Benjamin Franklin conceived of the idea. Even today, regions and countries routinely change their approaches to Daylight Saving Time. Ugh!

IOOF

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), also known as the Three Link Fraternity, is an altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization derived from the similar British Oddfellows service organizations which came into being during the 1700s, at a time when altruistic and charitable acts were far less common.

"There is an IOOF lodge in Washington Ct that has the same look as one in Colliers, Wv.
A bit surprising?" JPR

Early Roman peace symbol

The anti-nuclear emblem, aka peace symbolst is reported to be a reuse of the sign of St. Peter crucified upside-down. The inverted crucifix was known for centuries as the‘nero cross’ from the roman reign of the emperor nero (54-68 A.D.)

Big Pets

The largest dog ever officially recorded was a St. Bernard weighing approximately 330.7 lbs.
The largest domestic cat came from the Ragdoll breed and reached over 30 lbs.

Japanese Superstitions

The number four is considered inauspicious because it is pronounced the same as the word for death. Similarly, the number 9 is the same as 'pain' in Japanese. Both room numbers 4 and 9 are avoided in hospitals and hotels.

Also pornounced alike are '42' (to die), '43' (still birth) and '24' (double death) are all considered extremely unlucky and never appear.

Don’t sleep with your head pointing North.

back to school

1.1 million is the number of students who are home-schooled, or 2 percent of all school-age students ages 5 to 17.

Where is all the lightning?

Tampa, Florida has the most lightning in the USA, with more than 100 days worth of thunderstorms annually. Parts of Africa and South America close to the equator have the most lightning, with nearly 200 thunderstorm days per year.

Most of us are considerably more lucky!

Famous Red Heads

                                               Richard the Lionheart                                    

Henry VII
Henry VIII
Queen Elizabeth
Winston Churchill
Napoleon Bonaparte
President Thomas Jefferson
President Martin Van Buren
General George A. Custer
King David



jpr: These folks ruled a lot of land, and peoples with a lot of turmoil.

Aging

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

Mark Twain

Tornado facts

In the USA, April has the most tornados with over a thousand events. July is the month in the year with the least and averages only 70 plus events

To live longer?

A poll of the most senior citizens showed that diet and exercise was not common to long life, i.e. health. The dominate theme of long living was the continuation of enjoying the things of youth.

This is a very simple goal. It also permits no time for worry.

FLEUR-DE-LIS

Called Lily of France, it was first an adaptation of the Gaulish lily representing the Virgin Juno. Among goddess worshippers, it apparently had several meanings, including the Triple Goddess (The Maiden, Mother and witch). It appeared in Arthurian legends as well as on the French (and other national) "coat-of-arms" and royal or military emblems. It has also been an emblem for the Boy Scouts.