Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 23, 1995 TAG: 9502230047
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
G.D., Christiansburg
A: Spring is the time for rock slides, highway engineers say.
We've had enough freezing weather to disturb the rocks where roads cut through mountainsides.
Moisture seeping into the cracks on warm or rainy days can nudge a lot of rocks down the slopes.
The "Watch for Falling Rocks" signs should be taken seriously. Along I-81, though, the shoulders are so wide the boulders rarely roll onto the road, said Jeff Echols, resident highway engineer.
Rocks can be more dangerous along older roads such as U.S. 11, 460 and 220. The Blue Ridge Parkway also has a lot of slides.|
Lockers in the mall
Q: Those of us who walk and shop at Valley View Mall wonder why it doesn't have lockers to hold coats and packages.
V.H., Roanoke
A: Valley View managers will check into your suggestion and hope to have an answer soon, said Scott Ashcraft, marketing director.
The problem with lockers is that items can be left in them for too long - items such as sandwiches, for example.
There needs to be a legally acceptable means for the management to check on the contents at the end of the day, Ashcraft said.|
Painful origins
Q: "Smart" has several definitions in the dictionary. The one that puzzles me is: How did smart become tied to the definition of pain?|
|V.H., Elliston A: Smart meant sharp physical pain when the word first appeared - in a collection of Old English poems back in 1153.
What's really puzzling is, how did a sensation resulting from stubbed toes, stings and blows get confused with intelligence and good judgment?
James Ussher, a British writer in the 1600s, was the first to draw a parallel between sharp pain and sharp minds, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
He didn't inspire a following at home, though. Most English authors of the time, including Shakespeare, used smart to describe pain, or a character's stylish appearance, or witty remarks.
When America's authors finally gained acclaim some 200 years later, Ussher's version of smartness was adopted on this side of the Atlantic.
Characters became smart enough to make a fortune. They made smart moves and smart investments. They were clever and sometimes impertinent.
The American version of smartness, by whatever logic it was adopted, does have certain advantages.
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