
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 19, 1993                   TAG: 9308190154
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FOR BEST RESULTS TRY BEEF, POULTRY

Q: A lady who works with me had a fly in her microwave and she nuked it for 3 minutes on high, but it did not kill the fly. A cup of water in the microwave was boiling, but the fly just flew out of the microwave. Can you find out why that is? M.S., Roanoke

A: The fly was too dry.

Microwave ovens are designed to heat water. Flies contain only a little moisture, so most parts of the fly couldn't be heated.

"The fly got hurt, but just not zapped completely," surmises Phil Kennedy, an engineer with Microwave Power Devices in Hauppauge, N.Y.

Charlotte Kidd of the Roanoke City Extension Office says another factor may have been that the fly was not in a container, as the water was. Containers intensify the microwave effect.

Most food items, including bread, contain enough water molecules to generate heat in a microwave.

So don't try this with your pet mouse.

Q: The picture I'm enclosing was taken on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. What is a statue of a Confederate soldier doing in Massachusetts? W.L., Roanoke

A: It was an effort to heal old wounds.

The statue was intended to show that no hard feelings remained toward the South 26 years after the war was over.

Some guidebooks to Martha's Vineyard say the statue actually depicted a Union soldier, but it's now painted Confederate gray with flesh tones and a brown beard.

Charles Strahan, a former Confederate soldier who had become editor of a newspaper on Martha's Vineyard, erected the statue in 1891. A plaque reads: "The chasm is closed. In memory of the restored Union. This tablet is dedicated by Union veterans of the Civil War and patriotic citizens of Martha's Vineyard in honor of the Confederate soldiers."

Strahan, who was born in Baltimore about 1840, enlisted in May 1861 as a private in Company B, 21st Infantry Regiment. The outfit consisted of men from Baltimore, Richmond and Southside Virginia counties, according to a history compiled by Susan Riggs.

Strahan was discharged in October that same year.

This monument may be the only one north of the Mason-Dixon Line to honor Confederate soldiers, according to some of the guidebooks.

Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.

by CNB