Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 9, 1994 TAG: 9401120011
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From wire reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A: All three religions consider the Israeli capital an important holy city for different reasons. To the Jewish faith, the city's Jewish heritage goes back to Old Testament times when King David united the various Israelite tribes and established Jerusalem as their seat of power. For Christians, the city is where some of the most important events in the life of Jesus, including his crucifixion, took place. And for Muslims, the ancient city represents Islam's third most important location, behind Mecca and Medina. It was there that Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, is believed to have risen to heaven from a location in the east part of the city known as the Dome of the Rock.
The three religions have contested and claimed control of the city through the centuries, from Roman times and the later crusades to modern Israel today.
Q: How many U.S. health-care workers have contracted the HIV virus on the job?
A: Since 1981, when the Centers for Disease first started keeping statistics on the spread of AIDS and the HIV virus, 39 health-care workers have become infected with the HIV virus on the job. According to the CDC's latest nationwide estimates, about one million Americans carry the HIV virus.
Q: Did all slaves receive immediate freedom when the Emancipation Proclamation was dated: Jan. 1, 1863?
A: Not exactly. The slave freedom policy was limited to Union-occupied slave areas in rebellious Southern states at the time. As Union forces moved through the South and scored more victories, slaves along the way enjoyed the gift of freedom.
It also did not apply to the border states of Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware and Missouri, which had remained in the Union, but still practiced slavery. President Lincoln feared that if they were forced to adhere to the Proclamation, then they too would join the Confederacy.
Q: Why can't the Emancipation Proclamation, one of this country's most cherished documents, be put on permanent display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.?
A: The Emancipation Proclamation, authored by President Abraham Lincoln and signed by him on Jan. 1, 1863, cannot be put on extended public display because of the poor quality paper and the highly acidic ink used to pen the frail five-page document. It has faded over time when exposed to light and air, unlike the Constitution and Declaration of Independence which are on much higher quality papers that was made by 18th-century craftsmen, and are on permanent view at the Archives. Today the Emancipation Proclamation requires special attention through chemical treatments, a protective plastic shield and low lighting.
The document's most recent public display was last January for its 130th anniversary - the first time in 14 years. On January 13, 1994, the document will again be on view at the National Archives - but only for a week.
Q: When was Jan. 1 established as the start of a new year?
A: New Year's Day was established by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. The date was dedicated to Janus, the Roman god of gates, doors and beginnings who had two faces that looked forward and backward. The date later became the year's starting point for the Gregorian calendar, which was established in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, and is used by most of the world today.
Q: Why are the letters on a typewriter keyboard arranged the way they are?
A: You can blame the so-called ``qwerty'' keyboard on Christopher Sholes, who in the late 1860s invented what is considered the first practical typewriter. His original keyboard was laid out in alphabetical order, but it was found that when the typist picked up any kind of speed the machine would jam. To solve the problem, he arranged what he thought were the most commonly used letters in such a way as to separate their rods in the inside of the machine. Although there have been other, improved keyboards, the qwerty has stuck.
Q: Is there any warning system that shows heavy objects stuck ahead on train tracks?
A: There is not one that registers people, or vehicles on rubber wheels. So many of those pass over tracks every day that a warning system would be going off constantly. Track is broken into segments, each with built-in electronic circuitry. When the circuit is broken, signals ahead turn red. But it breaks only when there's metal on metal on both rails, such as after a car wreck. A spokesman for the American Railroad Association said that's the only kind of warning system that's practical.
by CNB