Fourth of July = The Birthday of the USA

June 29, 2007

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW A WORD, IDIOM OR PHRASE ORIGINATED IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE?

One of the most famous holidays in America is Independence Day, the Fourth of July, when we typically make an effort to join family picnics in a public forum.  The standard fare, besides the enormous amounts of food being offered, is the patriotic speeches, traditional music, and capped off by spectacular fireworks.

The initial research into the origin of this national holiday provided the normal information, such as:

• Adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776
• Celebrating our independence from Great Britain
• The importance of the War of 1812
• The typical traditions used in celebrating the holiday

After gathering facts from a variety of sources, I wanted develop a certain feel to this posting by using words from the time period.  Of course, the use of the “We hold these truths – - ” phrasing was perfect; however, the right image for the top left of the page took some time – it must feature the American flag and remind the reader of fond memories. The picture of some sheet music from the Duke University Library did the trick.

Now, I wanted use the trusty timeline to reflect the gradual steps taken to either distinguish the Fourth of July from other holidays and/or the legislative attempts to actually create the holiday.  The capstone at the end of each posting is pretty standard – first, the Conventional Wisdom, which came easy with the Birthday of the USA.  The final section (Moment of Zen) is always the toughest, because I want to add some flavor or texture to the posting. 

Once again I wanted to create the nostalgia, or the true feeling of what must have been felt in the late 1770s – a line that also reflects real patriotism.  I’m happy with the attached posting on the origin of the Fourth of July – it seems right.  As always, I hope this stimulates your own research, and I would appreciate your feedback

1) Did you find the posting informative?

2) How would you improve this posting?

3) Can you provide a better Moment of Zen? 

Jim C Quiz – Fourth of July.pdf

Tennis = To Play For the Love of the Game

June 25, 2007

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW A WORD, IDIOM OR PHRASE ORIGINATED IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE?

June is National Tennis Month.  This may have something to do with the opening ceremonies and matches start in June each year at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.  After all, “The Championships, Wimbledon,” is the oldest event in the sport of tennis and is widely considered to be the most prestigious.

Around 1877 the All-England Croquet Club agreed to set aside one of its lawns at Wimbledon for tennis, which soon proved so popular a sport that the club actually changed its name.  Later that year, they decided to hold a formal tennis championship with a complete set of regulations, including:

• The size of the rectangular court — 78 feet long by 27 feet wide
• The method of scoring — 15, 30, 40, game
• Allowed the server one fault (i.e., two chances to deliver a proper service on each point)

According to most tennis historians, modern tennis terminology also derives from this period, because one of the originators, Major Walter C. Wingfield, borrowed both the name and much of the French vocabulary of royal tennis and applied them to his new game:  

• Tennis comes from the French tenez, the imperative form of the verb tenir, to hold, which was a cry used by the player serving in royal tennis, meaning “I am about to serve!” 
• Racquet comes from raquette, which derives from the Arabic rakhat, meaning the palm of the hand.
• Deuce comes from deux le jeu, meaning “to both is the game” (i.e., the two players have equal scores).
• Love may come from l’oeuf, the egg, a reference to the egg-shaped zero symbol; however, since “un oeuf” is more commonly used, the etymology remains in question.
• The scoring convention of ”15″, “30″ and “40″ comes from quinze, trente and quarante, which to French ears makes a euphonious sequence.

For more detail on the origin of Tennis, please read the attached pdf posting.  As always, I hope this stimulates your own research, and I would appreciate your feedback

1) Did you find the posting informative?

2) How would you improve this posting?

3) Can you provide a better Moment of Zen? 

Jim C Quiz - Tennis.pdf 

Summer Solstice = Longest Day & Shortest Night

June 20, 2007

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW A WORD, IDIOM OR PHRASE ORIGINATED IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE?

In our Northern Hemisphere, the summer season will officially begin at the solstice, on Thursday, June 21 at 11:06 a.m. PDT, when the sun will reach the point where it’s furthest north of the celestial equator. 

As a result, this date marks the longest day and shortest night of the year.  Because the day is so long, the Sun rises to the north of east and sets to the north of west allowing it to be in the sky for a longer period of time.

Definition:  Solstice from Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). 

Origin:  The word solstice was first seen in print around 1250 AD.

When researching the various sources on the summer solstice, you will quickly find some startling (well, at least very interesting) facts about June 21:

• The equator receives twelve hours of daylight
• There’s 24 hours of daylight north of 66°30′ N and the North Pole
• There’s 24 hours of darkness south of 66°30′ S and the South Pole

Daylight hours grow longer as you move north in the United States:

• On June 21 the sun rises in Los Angeles at 5:41 a.m. and sets at 8:07 p.m.  L.A.’s earliest sunrise is the same as the solstice and lasts from June 4-21, but the sunset is one minute later, 8:08 p.m. from June 28-July 1.

• On June 21, Sacramento’s sunrise is at 5:42 a.m. and its sunset is at 8:33 p.m. The maximums are each one minute off of the solstice times. The earliest sunrise in Sacramento is 5:41 a.m., which lasts from June 7-20 and the latest sunset is at 8:34 p.m. from June 25-July 1.

• The solstice in Seattle experiences a sunrise at 5:11 a.m. and sunset at 9:10 p.m. The earliest sunrise of 5:10 a.m. lasts from June 13-18. The maximum sunset of 9:10 p.m. lasts from June 20 through July 2.

For more detail on the origin of Summer Solstice, please read the attached pdf posting.  As always, I hope this stimulates your own research, and I would appreciate your feedback

1) Did you find the posting informative?

2) How would you improve this posting?

3) Can you provide a better Moment of Zen?

Jim C Quiz – Summer Solstice.pdf  

Father’s Day = The 3rd Sunday in June

June 14, 2007

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW A WORD, IDIOM OR PHRASE ORIGINATED IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE?

At any sporting event or awards program, the recipient (even at the most critical moment) typically remembers to say, “Thank you Mom and Dad.”

So, it seems fitting that Father’s Day (June) follows Mother’s Day (May) and that the origination of the first Father’s Day came in 1910 partly as a follow-up to the first Mother’s Day in 1907. This sequence also exists in the ranking of sales in holiday cards – Mother’s Day ranks 3^rd and Father’s Day ranks 5^th.

So as you search for a Father’s Day present, try to remember that Dad is probably tried of coming in second.  However, the following quote from Anne Sexton is much more applicable:

“It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.”

For more detail on the origin of Father’s Day, please read the attached pdf posting.  As always, I hope this stimulates your own research, and I would appreciate your feedback.

1) Did you find the posting informative?

2) How would you improve this posting?

3) Can you provide a better Moment of Zen?

Jim C Quiz – Father’s Day.pdf 

Belmont Stakes = Third Jewel in Triple Crown

June 14, 2007

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW A WORD, IDIOM OR PHRASE ORIGINATED IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE?

The Belmont Stakes is a prestigious 1.5 mile (2.4 km) thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and geldings, which is held on the second Saturday of June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.  The race is also the third and final jewel in the Triple Crown of horse racing – the first being the Kentucky Derby followed two weeks later by the Preakness Stakes.

 

The race is named for a famous New York banker and financier, August Belmont, who gained a reputation as an avid sportsman.  He was the first president of the American Jockey Club and owner of many celebrated horses, including Rock Sand, Norman III, Tracery, Man o’ War, and Ladkin. 

Stakes Race:  This type of race derives its name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay.  These fees, to which the track adds an additional amount, constitute the total amount from which prize money is paid to the first, second, third, and (usually) fourth place finishers.

The first running of the Belmont Stakes was in 1867 at Jerome Park, which makes it the oldest of the three Triple Crown events – it predates the Preakness Stakes by six years and the Kentucky Derby by eight.  The original race distance was 1 5/8 miles (2.6 km), which was reduced to 1 1/2 miles (2.4 km) in 1874.

For more detail, please read the attached pdf posting.  As always, I hope this stimulates your own research, and I would appreciate your feedback.

1) Did you find the posting informative?

2) How would you improve this posting?

3) Can you provide a better Moment of Zen?

Jim C Quiz – Belmont Stakes.pdf 

Triple Crown = Three Straight Victories, A Rarity

June 4, 2007

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW A WORD, IDIOM OR PHRASE ORIGINATED IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE?

Most of us have heard of the sports phrase, triple crown, which was originally applied in Great Britain to an English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh national Rugby team that defeated all three of its opponents in a single season.

However, this term is primarily defined in America for three premiere thoroughbred horse races:

• Kentucky Derby (1 ¼ mi.) – first Saturday of May (5/5/07) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY; a blanket of red roses is draped over the winner
• Preakness Stakes (1 3/16 mi.) – third Saturday in May (5/19/07) at Pimlico Race Track in Baltimpore, MD; black-eyed susans are the flowers of choice
• Belmont Stakes (1 ½ mi.) – second Saturday in June (6/09/07) at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York; white carnations are the flowers for this race

Sad to say, two different horses won the first two races in 2007; therefore, there will not be a Triple Crown winner this year. This has become a pretty standard result for the past 25+ years, because the last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978.

In fact, a Triple Crown winner is a real rarity – there have been only 11 winners in over 125 years of these three races, which means the odds are less than one in ten.

For more detail, please read the attached pdf posting. As always, I hope this stimulates your own research, and I would appreciate your feedback.

1) Did you find the posting informative?

2) How would you improve this posting?

3) Can you provide a better Moment of Zen?

Jim C Quiz – Triple Crown.pdf