Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 13, 1994 TAG: 9402130200
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A. At least 18 Olympic medals have been removed from their recipients. Most people know the story of legendary athlete Jim Thorpe, who in 1912 became the first person to win both the pentathlon and the decathlon, and lost his gold medals because of a small stint as a paid baseball player (they were restored posthumously in 1982).
But an equally poignant story involves American hurdler Jack Keller, a bronze medal-winner. 1932 was the first year film was used to verify medal-winners' placements, and according to David Wallechinsky, author of "The Complete Book of the Olympics," the tape showed that Keller hadn't come in third place. But the medals ceremony had already taken place, so Keller personally went into the Olympic Village looking for Don Finlay of Great Britain and handed him the bronze.
But the majority of incidents of medals won and lost involve illegal drug use. Of those cases probably the most controversial is the removal of the gold medal from 16-year-old swimmer Rick DeMont, winner of the 400-meter freestyle in the 1972 Munich Games, after testing positive for the banned substance ephedrine. Ephedrine was a component of his asthma medication.
Q: I understand the White House is undergoing renovation. What for this time, and who's paying?
A: The work, begun last April 21 on Earth Day, covers nearly everything from an inefficient heating system and water-wasting toilets to leaky windows in the Oval Office and pesticides in the Rose Garden. Experts say that when the work is finished, the White House will be able to cut its energy bills 30 percent. The effort is being led by the White House Office of Environmental Policy in coordination with the Energy Department and Environmental Protection Agency. Some of the work is being done within existing budgets, and some nongovernmental groups are donating their services. But eventually President Clinton must seek a congressional appropriation for the major work.
Q: Small business does not want to pay for national health care, so who now picks up the tab for sick people working for small businesses?
A: A small- business employee who is not covered by insurance would be treated at a hospital in an emergency situation. Hospitals raise their prices on those who do pay, in order to make up for what they lose by treating people who can't.
Q: I read an item in USA Today that said the Defense Department blocked testing of a new drug that may help HIV-infected people. Why is the Pentagon involved in this type of thing in the first place?
A: It is not unusual that the Defense Department, with its vast network of health facilities, gets involved with the testing of new drugs. Traditionally, the National Institutes of Health decides which drugs will be tested. In the case of the drug VaxSyn, however, traditional methods were bypassed. When the NIH said it was premature to begin testing the drug, which was designed to slow the spread of AIDS, the maker, MicroGeneSys of Connecticut, then lobbied Congress, which then appropriated $20 million for the Army tests. After wide criticism that the episode was an example of how money and politics can corrupt scientific research, the Army announced it was scrapping the tests.
Q: What happened to the 50-cent piece. You just don't see any around anymore. Where are they?
A: Half-dollars began to get scarce in circulation with the introduction of the Kennedy half-dollar in 1964. In spite of the huge numbers produced, people tended to hold on to them. Then, after the silver content was removed in 1971, people squirreled away half-dollars minted before then, because they soon were worth more than their face value. The U.S. Mint produces about 30 million halves every year, or about 1 percent of all coins produced. If you have a hankering for halves, you might try going to a casino. Casinos keep large quantities for slot machines.
Q: Are cadets at The Citadel required to serve time in the military?
A: No. Unlike West Point, Annapolis or the Air Force Academy, founded by the U.S. government to prepare individuals for military careers, The Citadel is not affiliated with the federal government or any branch of service. It is a state-supported school organized along military lines. The federal government subsidizes the ROTC program, and a cadet must serve in the military if he was on ROTC scholarship. About one-quarter of The Citadel's graduates serve in the military, and only 10 percent make the military a career.
Q. Why is the Notre Dame football team referred to as the Fighting Irish?
A. No one seems to know for sure, but there are several theories. One story has it that while playing Northwestern in 1887, Notre Dame's first football season, the Wildcat fans opened the second half with the chant: "Kill the fighting Irish! Kill the fighting Irish!" Another story traces the moniker to a 1909 game against Michigan, when the team was trailing 3-0. Fullback Pete Vaughn supposedly yelled at his teammates - who had names like Dolan, Kelly, Glynn, Duffy and Ryan - "What's the matter with you guys? You're all Irish and you're not fighting worth a lick." Notre Dame turned the game around for an 11-3 win, and the press reported a victory for the "Fighting Irish."
According to a 1974 article in Notre Dame Magazine, the "best guess" on the nickname's origins is that it was inspired by the school's large following of fiercely loyal Irish fans.
But according to the Notre Dame Football Guide, the most generally accepted explanation is that the press coined the nickname to characterize Notre Dame's "never-say-die fighting spirit" and its "Irish qualities of grit, determination and tenacity."
"The term likely began as an abusive expression tauntingly directed toward the athletes," the football guide says. The school adopted it proudly, making it official in 1927.
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.
Q: I've often heard weather reports use the term "baseball-size hail." Does hail commonly get that big in the Southeast? What kind of damage does hail do, and what is the largest recorded hail?
A: Baseball-size hail isn't a common occurrence, but it does happen. Hail starts out as small ice crystals or snowflakes that bounce around the atmosphere collecting layer upon layer (much like an onion) of supercooled water that turns into layers of ice. When they get heavy enough, they fall to Earth. Golfball-size hailstones are reported frequently, and marble-size hail is fairly common. Severe hailstorms can damage buildings, cars, windows and many other things. Hailstones weighing 21/2 pounds fell in Bangladesh in 1986, killing 92 people. In 1888, a hailstorm in India reportedly killed 246.
Q: When did the Vietnam War officially start and end?
A: The start of U.S. military involvement is officially dated July 8, 1959, when a U.S. Army major and master sergeant were killed in a Viet Cong attack in Bien Hoa, near Saigon. They were advisers sent by the Eisenhower administration. At midnight on Aug. 14, 1973, in accordance with a congressional resolution, U.S. bombing in Indochina ceased. When the North Vietnamese captured Saigon on April 30, 1975, the war was officially over.
by CNB