Gist Weekly Issue 11 - Valentine's Day

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A Free Paper of Trivia, Humor, Puzzles, and More

February 11, 2009

Valentine’s Day

INSIDE Which state was the first to give women the right to vote?

By Kane Casolari

February 14 is Valentine’s Day. (That’s this Saturday, guys.) In between planning a special day with that special someone—or looking for a special someone—take a break with Gist Weekly’s trivia about this holiday.

Fifty State Fun Facts. . . . . . PAGE 4

Looking for love this Valentine’s Day? Best of the Net: OKCupid..PAGE 5

Which films have won the most Oscars?

idea that St. Valentine’s Day is when birds choose their mates for the spring, an idea recorded in a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1382. Some historians think that Chaucer might have been referring to May 2 rather than February 14, as there is more than one Saint Valentine, each with his own saint day.

By the Numbers . . . . . . . PAGE 6

This Week in History . . . PAGE 7

According to one legend, Valentine’s Day can trace its origins to a third-century priest. Valentine reportedly continued to perform marriage ceremonies even after a ban by the Roman Emperor Claudius II, who wanted his soldiers to remain single. For disobeying the decree, Valentine was thrown in jail, where he is said to have begun a relationship with the daughter of the jailor, signing his final message to her “From your Valentine” before being executed on February 14 in or around the year 270.

• Illustraion: MS

Which leader took power 50 years ago this Monday and kept it until last year? Which two influential historical figures both turn 200 this Thursday? B i r t h da y s . . . . . . P A G E 7 Plus games including: Crossword— PAGE 2 Scavenger Hunt— PAGE 2 Trivia Quiz— PAGE 5 Sudoku— PAGE 6 ...And More!

Some dispute the above origin. Another hypothesis about Valentine’s Day’s origins is that it comes from a Roman festival, Lupercalia, that occurred on February 15 and celebrated the marriage of Zeus and Hera, king and queen of the gods.

•

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Valentine’s Day is second only to Christmas in terms of the number of cards sent. According to the U.S. Greeting Card Association, about a billion valentines are sent each year. Roughly 85 percent of those valentines are purchased by women. Valentine’s Day isn’t the only holiday celebrated on February 14. Some single people instead observe the alternative, humorous holiday “Singles Awareness Day”, or SAD for short. Rather than greeting people with “Happy Valentine’s Day,” people celebrating Singles Awareness Day may greet each other by saying “Happy SAD!”

How to Say “I Love You” in Twelve Languages Seeing someone from another country, or just want to seem romantic by telling your significant other that you love them in French or Italian? Here’s a guide on how to say “I love you” in some of the most commonly spoken languages in the U.S. and the world. •

Arabic: (to a man) Ana behibak; • (to a woman) Ana behibek

Korean: Sarang heyo OR Nanun tangshinul sarang hamnida

•

French: Je t’aime OR Je t’adore

•

Mandarin Chinese: Wo ai ni

•

German: Ich liebe dich

•

Portuguese: Eu te amo

•

Italian: Ti amo

•

Russian: Ya tebya liubliu

•

Japanese: Aishiteru OR Anata • ga daisuki desu

Alexandra D.—Worcester, MA

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Yet another possible source of Valentine’s Day traditions is the

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Regardless of the origins, Valentine’s Day has become associated with love and symbols such as hearts, roses, and Cupid, the Roman god of love. •

Spanish: Te amo

ISSUE #11

Coming Soon: Gist Weekly answers readers’ questions—on any topic! Gist Weekly is planning a feature called Ask Kane. Submit questions with factual answers (for example, “What is the record for the fastest one-mile run?”1 or “Does chewing gum really take seven years to pass through a human digestive system?”2) and editor Kane Casolari will do his best to answer them in a future issue. Send questions to [email protected] or use the contact form on Gist Weekly’s website (www.gistweekly.com/contact). 13

minutes, 43.13 seconds by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999 2 No

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Gist Weekly

Page 2

Word Search

Valentine’s Day

February 11, 2009

FUN AND GAMES Scavenger Hunt

Find the following words in the diagram above. They may be forward, backward, up, down, or diagonal. Candy

Love

Chocolates

Romance

Cupid

Roses

Flowers

Sweetheart

Hearts

Valentine

Search this issue of Gist Weekly to find the pictures and words listed below. They may be anywhere in the issue, in articles, Image: MS games, or ads. (Sorry, but finding them in this box doesn’t count.) Answers are on page 8. Text

Images

A. Tonica

D. Cowboy Hat

B. Dessert

E. Eagle

C. Laser

F. Mouse

MAZE

While information in Gist Weekly is collected from sources judged to be reliable, the accuracy of all information cannot be guaranteed. Gist Media is not responsible for the content or accuracy of advertisements. Advertisements are the property of their respective companies and/or creators. The Gist Weekly name and logo are property of Gist Media. Any other trademarks used are the property of their respective owners. All images not otherwise indicated are in the public domain. For image credits, WC: Wikimedia Commons; MS: Microsoft Corp., used under license; PD: public domain; CC BY #: Creative Commons Attribution License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/#, where # is the number next to “CC BY”).

Find your way from the upper-left corner to the lower-right

Any text and puzzles created by Gist Media and not otherwise indicated as being in the public domain or created/copyrighted by a third party were created by Kane Casolari and are released under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. For more information, visit gistweekly.com/ license or creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0.

CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1. The Simpsons creator Groening* 5. Valentines, for example* 10. Former Iranian leader* 14. Jai ___ 15. Valentine’s Day symbol* 16. To yield 17. Sign on for another tour 18. Dispute 19. Extent of space

20. Don’t evade the question! 22. Erin 24. Devoted follower 25. “Let’s Make ___” 26. Historic county in S Scotland 30. Willows 34. Charlotte-to-Raleigh dir. 35. Make into an act 37. Religious scroll 38. Some TVs

40. Big 42. US space agency 43. Woman in charge of a household 45. Maj.’s superior 47. NL Central team: abbr. 48. Uncovered 50. You’re on! 52. Pertaining to the ileum 54. Area of coll. study 55. Convertibles 58. Vegas venue 62. Olive genus 63. Hurl 65. Malarial fever 66. Celestial body 67. Tropical plant used in cosmetics 68. Flows 69. Breezy 70. Serpentine 71. Magician DOWN 1. King William III’s wife* 2. On sheltered side 3. Greek consonants 4. Warning 5. West Wing actress Stockard* 6. Air (prefix) 7. Worthless piece of cloth 8. Celtic priest 9. Sound system 10. Green onion

Valentine’s Day Humor A woman, having given up on her husband taking her anywhere for Valentine’s Day, was just getting out the ingredients for dinner when she heard her husband come up behind her. “Do you want to go out, girl?” he asked. His wife quickly replied, “Yes, I’d love to!” They went out to a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant. On the way home, the husband confessed something. “Remember when I asked if you wanted to go out?” “Of course.” “I was actually talking to the dog.”

A man saw in the newspaper that an athlete known for not being very bright was marrying one of the best-looking actresses in Hollywood. The man said to his wife, “I’ll never understand how the most dimwitted guys end up with the most beautiful women.” The wife replied, “Thank you, dear.”

11. Zeus’ wife* 12. Capital of Yemen 13. Person in Charge 21. Admirable 23. The Orient 25. Austere 26. Prefix with -plasty 27. Open, as a toothpaste tube 28. Civil War general 29. British nobleman 31. Efface 32. Bob Marley fan 33. Will 36. Mediator’s skill 39. Free from dirt 41. Chuck 44. Dramatic opening? 46. Ornamental fabric 49. Core 51. Unarm 53. Gray 55. Civil rights activist Parks 56. High: Prefix 57. Equipment 58. Strike on the head 59. Río contents 60. Ladder step 61. Zaire’s Mobutu ___ Seko 64. Biochemistry abbr. *Starred clues have answers that can be found elsewhere in this issue Solutions to all puzzles are on page 8

ISSUE #11

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Utica’s Follies Theatre Begins 2009 Season With Melodrama, “Run To The Roundhouse, Nellie! (He Can’t Corner You There!)” UTICA—The Follies Theatre has perfected the recipe for an old-time potboiler melodrama by adding the elements of Burlesque comedy, music, and plenty of audience participation with it’s first show of the 2009 season, “Run To The Roundhouse, Nellie! (He Can’t Corner You There!)”—or “He Dumped Her At The Depot ‘Cuz She Got Her Signals Crossed!” beginning January 23. “Even the titles of melodramas are meant to be fun,” said Follies Producer Dr. David Kuester. “What we’ve done is amped up the melodrama formula. Instead of one villain, there are three. Instead of one swindle, there are multiple doublecrosses. It’s just meant to make you laugh at the outrageous antics of these over-the-top characters.” “In addition,” added Producer Don Grant Zellmer, “how many times does an audience member get the opportunity to legitimately ‘boo’ and ‘ h iss’ a p er fo rm e r ? Wit h a melodrama… and especially one as completely wild as this one, the audience becomes a part of the whole experience, cheering and booing.” Indeed, the audience’s role is as vital as that of the performers in this melodrama. The show begins with a tableau of the six characters, and the audience is introduced to them in the manner of an old time music hall, given the appropriate response for

much of which is double-entendre— in a very innocent way. And it works.” Kuester added, “We took an adaptation of an original vintage melodrama, then re-adapted it. Basically, it’s a brand new show with roots in melodrama, Vaudeville, Burlesque, and a whole melting pot of other elements.”

each character’s entrance. This is all done, however, tongue in cheek, and the laughter begins right from the start. With asides to the audience, ad libs, and a liberal dose of song and dance, “Run To The Roundhouse, Nellie!” is meant to be a good-time event show, determined to make the audience leave wanting more. The melodrama stars many Follies Theatre regulars. The villainous trio of ne’er do-wells include Don Grant Zellmer as the sinister Simon Blackheart, Grace Lethiot as the seductive temptress Lucretia Anita Mann, and R.C. Schultz as the gunwielding lackey, Remington Colt Winchester. On the side of good, Erin Gibson stars as the innocent Nellie Gage, Eric Chambliss as the hapless hero, Sterling Worth and a

The usual elements of a melodrama still exist in “Run To The Roundhouse, Nellie!” The heroine is tied to the tracks, the hero saves the day, and evil deeds are punished. However, the Follies’ twist on the show provides surprises, campy humor, pratfalls, physical comedy, special surprise guest performer music, dancing, and much more. completes the cast as the helpless Widow Harriet Gage, who is the “Run To The Roundhouse, Nellie!” target of the railroad swindle. plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm January 23 Zellmer said, “This script is one we through March 15. Reservations are adapted in 1993 for our dinner theatre required, and may be made by calling in Peoria, and it was performed on the Follies Theatre Box Office at board the Spirit of Peoria.” He (815) 667-7008 from 1pm until 6pm continued, “we recently took a look at daily except Mondays. Group rates it, and decided to add characters and a are available as well. For more lot more comedy. With David information on this show or any (Kuester) a being a playwright, and upcoming Follies Theatre my catalog of “schtick” and material, productions, visit on line at we put our heads together and www.folliestheatre.com. Dinner tailored the script to these performers theatre packages are available with we’ve worked with for such a long participating area restaurants. time. As we were working on it, the idea of putting Burlesque humor into The content and accuracy of this press release are the show came to light, so here we wholly the responsibility of the originating company or have these very broad characters organization. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of Gist Media or Gist Weekly’s saying these very misleading things, editor.

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Colorado became the 38th state in 1876. Because it gained statehood 100 years after the United States declared independence, Colorado • is nicknamed “The Centennial State.”

state, at 17.6%. By comparison, the national average is 26.6%— over one-and-a-half times as high. The United States Federal government owns about 37% of the land in Colorado, including four National Parks, eleven National Forests, the Denver Mint, a federal penitentiary, and multiple military bases.

One feature that Colorado is known for is its elevation, with Denver nicknamed “The MileHigh City.” Denver is • Over half of slightly more Colorado’s citizens than a mile were born outside high, on averof the state. Curage, but it is rent governor Bill lower than the Ritter (elected in average of the Colorado’s State Flag 2006) is the state’s whole state. first native-born The average governor since 1975. elevation of Colorado is 6,800 feet—about 1.3 miles—above sea • With approximately 4.86 million level. residents, Colorado is the smallest U.S. state (in terms of population) The highest point in Colorado is to have at least one team in each more than double the average of the four major professional elevation—Mount Elbert is sports leagues: Major League 14,440 feet, or about 2.7 miles, Baseball (the Colorado Rockies), above sea level. Even Colorado’s the National Basketball Associalowest point, the Arikaree River, tion (the Denver Nuggets), the is over 3,315 feet above sea level, National Football League (the making it the highest “lowest Denver Broncos), and the Napoint” of any state in the U.S. tional Hockey League (the ColoColorado was the first U.S. state rado Avalanche). to give women the right to vote, • “Where the Columbines Grow” doing so in 1893—27 years behas been the state song of Colofore the ratification of the Ninerado since 1915. In 2007, the state teenth Amendment gave all adult adopted a second official song: women in the U.S. that right. “Rocky Mountain High” by the As of 2007, Colorado had the singer with the perfect Colorado lowest obesity rate of any U.S. name: John Denver.

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“I Want You to Want Me”

Cheap Trick

“Something”

Elton John

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ISSUE #11

TRIVIA QUIZ

Best of the ‘Net:

Each question below relates to the topic of a feature in this issue of Gist Weekly, but is not answered in it. Answers are on page 8. 1. Valentine’s Day (Page 1): What company produces Sweethearts, the popular brand of pastel candy conversation hearts that have sayings like “BE MINE” and “KISS ME” printed on them? 2. Colorado (Page 4): Which silent film actor and Denver native was nicknamed “The Man of a Thousand Faces” for his roles in such films as The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)? 3. Best of the ‘Net: OKCupid (Page 5): The founders of OKCupid also created which popular line of online and print study guides that was purchased by Barnes & Noble in 2001? 4. By the Numbers: 11 (Page 6): There are exactly eleven stars in which famous Vincent van Gogh painting? 5. This Week in History (Page 7): England’s King William III and Queen Mary II officially took power 320 years ago this Friday. In what U.S. state is the College of William & Mary, named after the two monarchs?

Online Dating with OKCupid favorite books, movies, foods, etc.

The Gist of It

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age, but also limit the search by distance and/or age, then look at the profiles of the matches to further judge compatibility. Other ways to find matches include the “quiver”— three potential matches recommended to you by OKCupid—and by looking at people who have recently viewed your profile. (If you don’t want others to know you’ve viewed them, there is a setting to browse anonymously, but it works both ways—you won’t be able to see who has viewed your profile, either.)

The real strength of OKCupid lies in its matching feature. Users answer What it is: A free online dating site questions about themselves and indiHow it works: Answer questions cate how they would like potential about yourself and fill out a mates to answer the question as well profile to increase your odds of as how important the answer to that finding someone compatible question is to them. The site then with you uses that information to determine Link: www.okcupid.com/signup how well any two users match each Other notes: Must be 18 or older to other. It also calculates the margin of sign up; does not discriminate error and adjusts the match percentbased on orientation age accordingly, recognizing that a match on nine out of ten questions is Spending another Valentine’s Day a less reliable indication of compati- In addition to tools to help find a alone? OKCupid may be able to help. bility than matching 90 out of 100. date, users will find that OKCupid OKCupid is an online dating site. has a journal/blog as well as trivia Unlike other dating sites, however, it Users can answer as many or as few quizzes and personality tests that do does not charge a monthly or annual questions as they want, but answering not affect the match percentage. Usfee. It also does not exclude GLBT more questions makes it more likely ers can also make their own tests or users like some other, better-known that users will find someone who is submit match-making questions. online dating services such as eHar- really compatible with them. As the mony and, until recently, Match.com. system gains more information about If you’re looking for love, you might a person, “awards” appear on the want to give this site a try. Who To get started on OKCupid, you user’s profile page indicating person- knows? Maybe you’ll be struck by an make a profile for yourself. The proality types—more or less introverted, arrow from OKCupid’s bow. files are similar to those found on somore or less athletic, etc. OKCupid did not pay for this review. This recomcial networking sites such as Faceis based solely on the editor’s experience book and MySpace and have sections When users look for matches, they mendation with the service, which includes two (so far) dates with for such things as a self-summary and can not only sort by match percent- someone he met on OKCupid.

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By the Numbers: 11

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•

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The word “eleven” comes from a word meaning “one left” or “one loan.”

•

The phrase “These go to eleven” (along with similar sayings, such as “turning it up to eleven”) comes from the film This Is Spinal Tap. When showing off • his guitar amplifiers, the character Nigel notes that his amps are “one louder” than standard amps, as they are numbered from zero to eleven instead of to ten. When asked why ten wasn’t just made louder, Nigel pauses before responding, “These go to eleven.” The Guitar Hero series of video- • games reference this scene and phrase with amps and volume settings that go up to eleven.

Oscar’s Automotive 176 E. Walnut St. Oglesby Papa John’s 930 Shooting Park Rd. Peru

De Angelo’s Hair Styling 407 5th St. Peru

Eleven is the smallest whole number to have three syllables in English.

Oglesby Public Library 111 S. Woodland Ave. Oglesby

Illinois Valley Community Hospital 925 West St. Peru

The first hu- • mans to land on the Moon did so on Apollo 11.

•

Mr. Salsa’s 309 E. Walnut St. Oglesby

Ricardo Calderon, MD 128 Bucklin St. LaSalle

February 11, 2009

•

KFC’s batter famously uses a secret blend of eleven herbs and • spices.

•

American football, soccer, field hockey, and cricket all have eleven players per team playing at once in regulation play.

•

Eleven is the atomic number of sodium.

While 21-gun salutes may be more widely known by the general public, the United States military also has eleven-gun salutes, used to salute Brigadier Generals (Air Force, Army, and Marines) and Rear Admirals Lower Half (Coast Guard and Navy). World War I famously ended at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month— 11AM on November 11, 1918. Many countries celebrate this day as Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, or, in the United States, Veteran’s Day. The Canadian federal government apparently likes the number eleven—there are eleven points on the maple leaf of the Canadian flag, the dollar coin has eleven sides, and the fifty-dollar bill features a clock showing the time to be 11:00. The eleventh President of the United States was James Knox Polk, the only former Speaker of the House of Representatives to become President. The most Academy Awards (Oscars) won by any film is eleven. Three films share this record: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King (2003). All three count the Academy Award for Best Picture among their eleven Oscars.

Number Games SUDOKU

NONOGRAM

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Place a number in each empty box so that every row, column, and 9box square contains each of the numbers from one to nine.

Difficulty:



Use logic to determine which boxes to fill in and which to leave white. The numbers above each column and next to each row indicate unbroken sets of filled-in boxes: i.e., “5 2” means that sets of 5 and 2 black boxes appear in it, in that order, with at least one white box in between. Fill in a box only when you are sure it must be black. You may want to mark known white boxes with Xs or dots.

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ISSUE #11

Page 7

This Week in History •

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February 11, 1979: Revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers succeed in overthrowing the Shah of Iran and establishing a new, Islamic govern- A drawing of the H.L. Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy warship. ment. Khomeini that of Al Capone in Chicago. serves as leader of the new regime until his death of cancer in 1989. The event becomes known as the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. February 12, 1909: W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, and five others • February 15, 1879: President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill found the National Association allowing female lawyers to argue for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). cases before the United States Supreme Court for the first time. February 13, 1689: After King James II flees the country in the • February 16, 1959: Fidel Castro is officially sworn in as Prime “Glorious Revolution” of 1688, Minister of Cuba. Castro leads the England’s Parliament proclaims King William III and his wife country, first as prime minister, then as president, for 49 years Queen Mary II joint sovereigns of until officially turning over power the country, the first (and so far, to his brother Raúl in 2008. only) time in British history that two monarchs reigned with equal • February 17, 1864: The Confedpower. erate submarine H. L. Hunley (pictured above) becomes the February 14, 1929: Seven men, first submarine ever to sink an all associated with a gang led by enemy warship when it torpedoes Bugs Moran, are killed in a conflict between Moran’s gang and the USS Housatonic.

This Week’s Celebrity Birthdays Actress Jennifer Aniston (Marley & Me, Friends) . . . . . . February 11, 1969 Actor Jesse Spencer, best known as Dr. Chase on House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 12, 1979 Actress Stockard Channing (The West Wing, Grease) . . . . February 13, 1944 Actress Florence Henderson, best known as Carol Brady on The Brady Bunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 14, 1934 Cartoonist Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons and Futurama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 15, 1954 Actor Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who, Heroes) . . . . . February 16, 1964 Actor Jerry O’Connell (Crossing Jordan, Sliders) . . . . . . . . February 17, 1974 Clipart: MS

Historic Birthdays This Week Boxer and actor Max Baer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 11, 1909 Naturalist Charles Darwin and President Abraham Lincoln . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 12, 1809 Painter Grant Wood, best known today for his painting American Gothic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 13, 1891 Actor and comedian Jack Benny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 14, 1894 Astronomer Galileo Galilei, whose observations confirmed that the Sun, not Earth, was at the center of the solar system . . . February 15, 1564 Singer and U.S. Congressman Sonny Bono . . . . . . February 16, 1935 Department store founder Aaron Montgomery Ward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 17, 1844

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Gist Weekly

Page 8

February 11, 2009

Next Week in Gist Weekly: •

In honor of UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day (February 21), Gist Weekly looks at some interesting information about languages.

•

This Week in History takes a look at the 30th anniversary of an unexpected snowstorm and other events that took place between February 18 and February 24.

•

In Birthdays, a young actress turns 15 and a baseball legend would be 135.

•

By the Numbers looks at Hercules’ labors and other things related to the number twelve.

•

Plus the usual assortment of puzzles and games, including a crossword, sudoku, scavenger hunt, and more.

Look for Issue #12 on Wednesday, February 18! All planned upcoming features are tentative and subject to change. Planned publication/delivery date may be delayed due to weather or other circumstances.

Game and Quiz Answers —MAZE— Solution

—WORD SEARCH— Solution

—CROSSWORD PUZZLE— Solution

—SCAVENGER HUNT LOCATIONS—

—MATCH UP— Answers “Good Feeling” - The Violent Femmes

A. B. C. D. E. F.

Page 8 (Illini State Bank ad) Page 8 (The “New” Pine Cone ad) Page 7 (Illinois Retina Institute ad) Page 3 (Cast photo) Page 6 (Apollo 11 insignia in “By the Numbers”) Page 5 (Computer mouse in “Best of the Net”)

“I Want You to Want Me” Cheap Trick

—TRIVIA QUIZ— Answers 1. Necco

“Something” - The Beatles

2. Lon Chaney, Sr.

“Something About the Way You Look Tonight” - Elton John “Wonderful Tonight” - Eric Clapton

3. SparkNotes 4. The Starry Night 5. Virginia

Please recycle this paper or pass it on to a friend when you are done with it.

—SUDOKU— Solution

—NONOGRAM— Solution